So it’s mid Summer which is a very important time around here at LifeIntrigued. Sure, it’s the heart of running season but there is another race of sorts that is just as important to me and one in which the results can have a lasting (as in a year’s worth) of impact. Unlike running where the competition is between me and my less than amused inner voice, this particular race is between myself and my wife. Yes, we are talking about the highly competitive photography contest we affectionately refer to as the UB Battle. If you recall last year was hard fought with the victory going to yours truly (link here). I guess for clarity it really meant the umbrella handle was firmly in Linda’s hands. With the new year, a whole new batch of photographs had to investigated and the candidates painstakingly poured over. If you really want to add some stress in your life try taking your “babies” and deciding which ones are worthy of public viewing. In the past I’ve often relied on Linda to be my final critic once the set was whittled down to a manageable number. Knowing how much she hated losing last year (and how painful it was to hold the umbrella for me all year) I wasn’t sure how objective that process was going to be. To offset any bias there, I also employed my brother and his wife to help make the final choices. The final responsibility (and all blame) still lies with me but having a third and fourth set of eyes is extremely helpful in this nerve racking process.
Now, in the past there has been some wiggle room in determining the UB. Maybe the rules were slightly vague in a particular area or the scoring may have been open for a different interpretation. Hell, there were even outside conditions such as expert critics making comments that clearly played into a people’s choice vote. The good news is this year there is no question who the winner is and therefore who the UB is. Quite frankly it was a clean sweep on all fronts but we’ll go ahead and throw a small lifeline out just to lessen the blow.
So we’ll start with the HOI Fair results. Each of us selected our best efforts and put them out there to be judged. This year I went with two color 8×10’s, 4 color 11×14’s and one BW 11×14. Linda went with 1 color 8×10, 4 color 11×14’s, 1 BW 11×14 and two entries for the special pet portrait category they had this year. When we went to check the results I was somewhat stunned that I had earned two Honorable Mentions – one in the 11×14 color category and on in the 8×10 – Yeah!!!
So you might have noticed there is actually a third picture in the frame – a BW selection that was submitted by Linda. Turns out that later in the evening Linda got a call indicating they had disqualified a BW winner (no explanation as to why) and that her picture was the next one in the ranking order so they awarded her an Honorable Mention as well. A big congratulations to Linda for her first ribbon in the large pond – well done! That gave us three HMs for the HOI fair – the most we’ve ever taken and the most for both of us individually. We are slowly breaking the code for that venue.
Hit the link to see all the images entered and more importantly .. the result so of the county fair!
