Sometimes entering The Guild of Photographers’ Image of the Month competition is more about playing the long game than going for awards each month. There are two elements to the competition – obviously there are the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards that are given each month to individual images, but there is also the ‘annual’ element, where you can gain the accolade of being awarded the Photographers’ Bar.
To get the Photographers’ Bar, you have to score 24 points over the year with 24 images entered in the same category (3 images x 8 months). As the competition runs over 10 months, this effectively gives you up to two months off in each competition year.
Personally, I don’t like to have any months off too early in the competition, because you never quite know what might crop up towards the end of the year. This year, I’ve already had a month off in May, so although things were super busy at the end of July, I really wanted to make sure I entered the competition and keep the entries up for the Bar.
It was difficult to choose what to enter – I didn’t have much time to edit, so it had to be images that only needed a competition polish rather than a full or extended edit. In the end I selected a few shots from earlier in the year, gave them a polish and entered – not expecting too much
So I was thrilled to be awarded two Bronzes for July’s entries!
This shot of Ruby and Peggy is super special for a couple of reasons. The photo shoot was bought as a gift for their human, and as both girls had reached double figures, it was important to get the session organised sooner rather than later.
They were super stars on the day and we captured this image which was a favourite for their Mum. It’s all the more poignant as Ruby sadly passed over the Rainbow Bridge just a few weeks after their photo shoot, so it was extra special to be able to capture such precious memories AND to have one of those images awarded.
The second shot is of Ash and was taken in one of my favourite woodland locations. Ash is a foreign rescue dog who hadn’t been with his family for too long when his photo shoot took place. As he is still learning about life in the UK, he stayed on his lead throughout the photo shoot.
But this didn’t stop us from capturing some wonderful moments with him and his humans, including this shot of him relaxing in the woods – one of my favourites!
