Long Exposure #3 : Challenge accepted!

Celine built Photoblogchallenges from the ground up almost 3 years ago. She was already very passionate about photography and very involved in sites like Moody Mondays, Two for Tuesdays and posting/commenting daily on Aminus. Each challenge site had its specialty and its core of participants. The idea behind photoblogchallenges was to try to federate all the various sites into one and showcase the pictures to as much people as possible. It’s not because you don’t do macro photography that you can’t appreciate it and can’t vote for it.
After more than 440 challenges offered (about 3 per week), I’m really glad to be part of this adventure. It gave me the opportunity to see some amazing shots over the years and interact with great people. I’m always sad when I realize that some regular is not participating anymore but I’m overjoyed when I see someone new giving the challenges a try. There’s a lot of anticipation and questions. Will he have fun? How “good” will his pictures be? Will they be on topic? Will he come back? Will he participate to all the challenges or only some? These questions are important to me as Celine puts her heart, soul and countless hours in the site without expecting anything back. (donations or comments are encouraged)

Art is subjective and is about feelings and expression(s). What I look for in a challenge is to see how my pictures are received. I know what I wanted to achieve with my shot, but if it doesn’t translate to the viewer, I failed. When I participate in a challenge, winning is not the most important thing. I want to know where I’m at and how I stack against the competition. I’m still learning daily and I find that to challenge yourself is a way to move forward. I discovered Smoke Photography, Water droplet, macro (among others) through challenges and I do believe that I’m a better photographer and editor because of it.

I have the feeling that I’m ready to move from Single-A to AA and maybe one day I will join the Majors. For that I still need to work and learn a lot but I still have plenty of time.
Here are 2 galleries of contests with inspiring shots:
– PopPhoto August Best submissions
– Winners of the 2013 Red Bull Illume contest