Photography Contests

It seems like I am always trying to somehow prove my self.  My value or worth.  I have it in my mind that if I can win some photo contests somehow that will mean that I am a good photographer.  Somehow I always doubt my ability.  I was the high school newspaper photographer and thought maybe I would major in photo journalism  but I really didn't have the right camera equipment and the competition  was pretty tough.  I had children and a career and just didn't have the time to spend taking pictures  except of course for the pictures of my great kids, family vacations etc.  I bought a canon camera and then eventually bought a 100-400 zoom lens and a most recent buy a fish eye lens.  These are the contests that I have won so far.

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This photo won a Utah State Fair Blue Ribbon "Human Interest  in 2011.  

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And it also was on the front cover of  the National Association of Conservation Districts.    Spring 2012

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The two pictures above won the National Historical Landmark Photo Contest 2012.  the top photo is the State House in Boston and the bottom one is the Bear River Massacre Site near Preston Idaho.

Here is a link to that contest.  http://www.nps.gov/history/nhl/2012photocontest/index.html

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This picture is a National Natural Landmark photo winner.  It is a picture of The City of Rocks near Almo Idaho.   It is on their 2013 calendar. Here is the link to that website.  http://www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/currentwinners.cfm

My current picture is this one of Bloomington Lake.  It won a  Box Elder County Fair blue ribbon and also the Nature Conservancy Photo Contest and will be on their 2014 calendar.

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"What inspires You?"

I was looking for photo contests to enter and found one titled "What inspires you?"  I took a day off work with the intent of finding what inspires me. I made sure my camera had full batteries, cleaned my lenses  loaded the goodies and diet Pepsi   I thought maybe I would drive out towards the West Desert which really does inspire me.  As I was driving I thought--"What really inspires me?  What can I take a picture of that inspires me?"  I ended up at the spiral jetty and took really some pretty awesome pictures, but do they inspire me?  I don't know.
We had a little boy at school who was involved in a serious pedestrian accident.  He was hit when walking to school with his younger brother and 2 older siblings.  He was a Primary Children's for months.  His parents are good people but have had some bad luck and were homeless when the accident occurred and in fact are still homeless.  Both Mom and Dad work but they just can't get ahead.
Skyler was finally  released from Primary Children's and showed up at our school the next day.  He has some brain trauma issues but looks pretty normal.  As the Mom was talking with the principal and all of us were gathered around Skyler, I looked at his brother Zachary's face.  Zachary is one year younger than Skyler and they are very close.  I tried to identify the look on Zachary's face as he watched Skyler and then it hit me--Love.  This is what inspires me.  
We are helping the family at Christmas.  I asked the Mom what she might want for Christmas--I mean she is living in a hotel room with her husband and 4 children.  Her son has been seriously injured and has a long road ahead of him.  Surely she could use something to help relieve  the stress.  
She said, "You know I have everything I need."  Love