I went to THEE Waterfowl Festival in Easton Md this weekend to scope out the possibility of showing there next year. It's a juried show and a bit expensive so I wanted to talk with a few of the exhibiting photographers to get a feel for things. And here's what I found out:
1. The work I saw was for the most part average, there were a few standouts like a guy doing high heat transfers of his pics onto tiles, and an older lady named Mary who I had a very informative conversation with(thanks Mary). But for the most part I've seen much better work here on FM by "amateurs" !!! I'm not saying my work is better, I just expected more standouts considering the prestige of this event.
2. Hardly any pics of Waterfowl!!! I kid you not. I didn't see any Buffles, nor Pintails, nor Widgeons. Some Woodies and Geese.
3. With the exception of large birds like Eagles and Osprey, hardly any BIF.
4. Major lack of creative displaying as well as very little non standard sizes and custom matting. Most stuff was 11x17. The booths were beat up non painted pegboard and hardly anyone covered them up with fabric. Really junky looking.
This is my first year really taking photography seriously, especially wildlife. I understand that setting up for a show is hard work and can get expensive. I guess I had unrealistic expectations. I have an extensive event planning and management background and guess I look at things with a bit more critical eye.
So for those of you that do show your work, is this normal? I mean for a juried show I expected more. Any input on this is appreciated as I'm hopefully going to start showing next year.
