Howard Moo Young, Contributor 
ON TUESDAY, July 11, at 5:00 p.m. at Shortwood Teachers' College, the 2006 Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Visual Arts Competition results will be announced and the winning entries will go on display until August 12.
Guest speaker will be Her Excellency The Most Hon. Rheima Holding Hall, wife of the Governor-General of Jamaica. She is also an artist and photographer who has judged the competition in previous years. Jamaican photographers from all walks of life, from various parishes across the island, young and old alike, first-time entrants as well as the more experienced, will be able to view the results of another National Festival Competition.
YOUR PHOTO MIGHT WIN
But guess what? If you didn't enter, you can't win! I'll bet that some of you photo buffs might well have a few winners carefully packaged and stored away in some file, box or closet at home. And it might be that if you had entered this year, your photograph might have caught the eyes of the three experienced judges and given you that elusive medal. I won't call any names, but every year we have many surprises, and this year is one of those years. Believe me, there are some great images to be seen come Tuesday evening.
Photo competitions have changed my life. In 1969, after graduating from art school in New York, I returned to Jamaica to be employed to McCann Erickson (Jamaica) Ltd. in the post of art director. At that time in my life, photography was a part of my advertising and graphic design training until I entered my first photo competition. After meeting Ronnie Yee Keow, staff photographer, who was trained at Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, U.S.A., my interest in photography was suddenly renewed in a special way. He gave me many useful tips, having sat in on some of his still-life sessions and darkroom printing, that's when I decided to pull some of my black-and-white negatives from New York, made some custom prints myself, and entered my first photo contest.
That was 35 years ago. I entered 10 black-and-white prints in the 1971 Jamaica Festival Photography Competition and won one first prize with a bronze medal and nine honourable mentions. Since then, I was encouraged to enter other competitions as my interest in photography started to increase. I soon joined the
Colour Photography Club of Jamaica that included members of the caliber of Archie Lindo, Warren Robinson, Maria LaYacona, Robert Paisley, Kai Meng Lui, Roy Dezousa, and other experienced photographers.
I always looked forward to, and enjoyed the monthly in-house competitions (slide clinics as they were called), and that is where I really learned the do's and don'ts of good photography. I did not miss any of them, those evenings I'll never forget, as each slide was graded and discussed openly by the judges in the presence of the members, and we appreciated the remarks, after all, it helped me to improve my photography. These were 35mm colour slides being projected onto a screen. Believe me, when you learn to take pictures using colour transparencies, nothing can compare, because there is no room for mistakes e.g. over-exposure, under-exposure, etc. Our members used to win the top prizes in Festival year after year, and we produced many champions.
SECOND PLACE
As a club, we entered the 1979 Commonwealth Photo Exhibition in Edmonton, Canada. I entered a black-and-white image of a 'baton changeover' taken during the relays at the Stadium, and also a colour photograph of Bob Marley taken at the 'One Love Peace Concert,' also at the Stadium in 1978. As soon as I read the words, "Congratulations! You have won second place (Silver medal) in colour portraiture and third place (Bronze Medal) in black-and-white sports categories in the Commonwealth Photo Exhibition," I knew instantly where my photography was heading.
Since then, I always encouraged other photographers to enter the Festival Photo Competition. By then, I had captured a good amount of pictures, as I did a lot of travelling to other parts of the island almost every week. You really don't have to travel abroad to capture great images. I find that many photographers have a difficult time trying to decide on their final choice for entries, and editing their own images is sometimes a real headache, especially if they are used to it. A good understanding of each category is very important, especially when an image can be entered in several categories.
RAVE REVIEWS
Well, 1982 was the year that Andrew Hope from The Gleaner, and Archie Lindo from The Star gave my photos rave reviews, as I emerged Champion Photographer in the Festival Photo Competition winning several Gold, Silver and Bronze medals and many Merit Awards. I again repeated this feat in 2003. But guess what? I couldn't win if I didn't enter. That is the point I'm trying to make! Don't hide your talent in some old envelope; your best photographs packed away in some slide tray; or great prints wrapped up in some cardboard box. You might as well keep that roll of film unprocessed, or don't download your digital images on a CD.
Better still, you need to know how your photos will compare with others. If you have entered, cherish even the small victories at first, such as a merit award, then move up the competition ladder to a bronze or a silver medal. This year, one such consistent participant in the 2006 Competition has finally struck gold after many years of trying, I'm sure that this individual will be pleased with the results. Others have also achieved this and more, by entering the competition for the first time, Congratulations to old timers and newcomers alike! Photography in Jamaica is getting better. Don't miss the judges' report come Tuesday evening, or better still, view the entire exhibition with an open mind.
If you don't win, study what pictures did, and think about those and how you can come up with something original whenever you are in the field with camera in hand. Enter as many competitions as you can find, even those you'll find in the photo magazines or on the web, and have fun with it!
Howard Moo Young is an advertising/graphic design/photography consultant with over 40 years' experience. Email:howardmooyoung@getcaughtmedia.com
(All Photos are medal winners in previous JCDC Photography 2004/2005 Competitions supplied on CD - Please give photo credit to all photographers)
