Iowa State Fair update and contest

Those who follow this blog for a longer time might recall, that I submit images to the Iowa State Fair contest since 2009. The first year, none of the shots were even displayed. Last year, two of the images were displayed. I did not get a chance to see them, as I was spending summer on the other side of The Pond. Luckily, they were marked for display and I knew it when I picked up in December. Great news this year, not only three images are going to be displayed, but one of them also got an award!
I have to admit that this is a very nice feeling, to win an award, any award – see that somebody likes and appreciates the images you created. I think the progress in my “successes” at State Fair is both due to taking more and more pictures, but also, and maybe most importantly, editing them and picking the right ones to show or submit. It provided me a lot of motivation to go out and shoot, and do things on blog this passing week.

I will not know neither which images were chosen for display nor which image and what kind of award it got until the Fair starts. Well, not exactly. Until I go there and see for myself, and receive the award during the Salon on August 7th. Until then, I can only keep guessing. And I thought it would be a great idea for a contest- to share the guessing with my blog readers! Take a look at the images, remember, that you can open a larger version if you click on them. Use the poll below to quickly vote on your candidate. But, if you would like to enter the drawing, you have to leave a comment, explaining why you think the image of your choice is the winner. Or just say something nice about that image. It is just so I have your e-mail address to contact you with the prize! At the end of the day on August 6th, I will post my guess and explain why I think it will be the one. My entry will close the eligible comments section. And when I come back home on August 7th, I will pick randomly the winner from the correct guesses in the comments!

The prize in this contest is a $15 gift certificate from Craft & Vision. I am reviewing many of their e-books when they are released here, on blog. I find a lot of inspiration and plainly great tips in them. If you have never looked at their selection before, you can choose from beautiful portfolio series (Venice, Safari, Island,Chasing reflections), practical advice on various genres of photography (Microstock, Extreme Perspective, Winter in the Canadian Rockies) and video (Vision in Motion), and many more. This gift certificate might introduce you to their selection, or help add to your existing library.