The second round votes are all counted, and a sincere thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to share their views on the competing images. I definitely appreciate both the insight and the thought you've all put into your responses, and I'm eager to see where this next round leads, as many "crowd favorites" will now be meeting head to head.
First though, congratulations to Michael Floy, the most recent prize drawing winner for a $25 gift certificate. Michael is a gifted photographer and I especially love seeing his photos from Northeastern Iowa- and of course value his input on my work as well. Thanks for your continued support, Michael, and congrats!
This next round is a big one as we've made it to the Divisional Championships, which will likely determine my four entries for the 2022 Iowa State Fair. I will admit, I've been surprised by some of the results so far, but that's why it's such a beneficial exercise to seek your opinons. It's hard as a photographer sometimes to remain an objective judge of your own work- there's so much backstory and emotion attached to every image we put out- and sometimes that can cloud our anticipation of what will appeal to others. (And yet other times, with photos that carry extra sentiment, it can be reassuring to find that people seem to enjoy them; to see that they stand up on their own merit, even beyond our own bias. That's certainly been the case with a couple in this contest as well.)
Voting for this round will open on Tuesday, March 29 and run through Wednesday the 30th. The matchups are as follows...
IOWA PLACES & LANDSCAPES DIVISION
"Weathered Soul"
Cedar County
vs
"Country Road (Take Me Home)"
Cedar County
Fun fact- the second image was taken standing beside the first. A couple years apart, but still... I grew up in a pretty special place...
*******
U.S. PLACES & LANDSCAPES DIVISION
"Crystal Mill"
White River National Forest, Colorado
vs
"Buffalo River"
Buffalo National River, Arkansas
*******
BLACK & WHITE LANDSCAPES DIVISION
"Half Dome"
Yosemite National Park, California
vs
"Storm Clouds"
Cedar County, Iowa
*******
"THE OPEN ROAD" DIVISION
"Crystal River Road"
White River National Forest, Colorado
vs
"Right Hand Fork"
Cache National Forest, Utah
*******
Watch for posts on my social media accounts Tuesday and Wednesday night (March 29-30) or to cast your votes by email, click HERE and send me a list of your choices.