NHCC's Centennial celectration -- Paul's Judging workshop was a resounding success!

Kudos to Paul Peterson for setting up and presenting the judging workshop that was held today in Branford, CT. It was a resounding success! This workshop was part of the New Haven Camera Club's Centennial celebration.

62 photographers (camera club judges, potential judges and interested parties) attended to learn about the strengths and weakness of judging photographs. It was an enlightening experience. We did not solve the world's problems (or should I say the world of camera club's problems) but we all came away with a better understanding of what makes a photograph less like a snapshot and more like Fine Art (technical aspects, the composition, the overall interest and the impact). We also learned about the inherent subjective nature of photography and how to make better comments (start with something positive and then move to a constructive criticism). After the mock judging portion of the program we split into four groups of 15. My group was only consistent with regard to their scores on 2 or 3 images, for many we were scoring 6 or 7 to 9 or 10, with impact (that "wow" factor) being the largest variable (and the hardest to make consistent)
 
We got to meet a lot of camera club members from across CT; some from as far away as Canton, Harwinton and Tolland, CT. Needless to say it was well received and we hope we can do it again next year. Someone suggested that we make this an annual event, with a different Connecticut camera club hosting each year. I think that would be awesome. I also learned that Bridegport meets an hour before their meeting to talk about aspects that make a photograph good and about judging and that Norwalk has a monthly judging forum.
 
Immense gratitude to Paul! Thanks to Linda Thomas, Bob and Laura Parisi for their help purchasing and setting up the food. A special thanks for Carmel for her hard work and the great coffee cake!