Capture Minnesota

I just went to bed, but am too excited to sleep.  As I was trying my best to slip off into dream land, I noticed my phone blinking indicating that I had a new e-mail.  I checked it, and to my surprise I was notified that I'd been chosen for the "Photo of the Day" Award on Capture Minnesota. 

 

Last week I just happened to re-read my Bucket List, and had almost forgotten that one of the things on my list is to get a photograph published.  I've won awards at the fair and have gotten some photos published in the local paper and places like "The Catholic Spirit", but I really want to get published "for real" before I die.  Just one picture.  So, at 3 a.m. this morning, as my noisy neighbor kept me up with all of his usual drunken thumping, I joined Capture Minnesota.  I uploaded my maximum of 20 photos and really didn't expect anything to come of it, particularly after seeing many of the photographs on the website.  Many of these photographers are professional and they are beyond amazing.  Much of their work is so great that their photos look more like paintings than actual pictures.  So, I was pretty intimidated and figured I would be lucky to get any feedback. 

 

This morning, though, I woke up and I had 58 e-mail notifications from people who had commented on my images, and had hundreds more throughout the day.  These people are incredible!  Everyone is so encouraging and it's great to see what other people are shooting around Minnesota.  There are different awards you can win, but I'm not really sure what they mean.  For instance, if you get 100 comments on one of your photos, you get an award.  If you cast 1,000 votes, you get an award, etc. I think most of these awards are just morale boosters.   

 

It seems the further you get down the list, the more likely your chances are of getting published in the Capture Minnesota book.  Photo of the Day has had 449 winners (I'm assuming 365 for the first edition of the book, and 365 for the upcoming edition), and they are publishing 200+ photos, and next on the list is to get published in the book.  I don't think you have to win the Photo of the Day category to get published, but the more likability your photo has, the more likely the judges are going to be to use it.  I know my chances are slim of getting published, as like I said, there are so many absolutely brilliant photographers on this website, but the idea of the possiblity has me excited. 

 

I don't think normally I would be so excited, but I feel like I really needed this, or something like this.  My life has been so depressing lately, more than I've let on to anyone, and most days I feel like I have no purpose.  This may be the push I need to get out and start shooting again.  (You may have noticed that I haven't done that in quite some time.) 

Anyway, I'm not trying to toot my own horn, so I hope it doesn't come across that way.  There are just very few moments in my life where I feel good about myself or inspried, and nothing I feel like I am truly good at, but the great folks on this website have renewed my faith in myself a little bit and given me something to look forward to.  Regardless of whether I get a photo published in the book, I am thankful to smile today, which is something I haven't done in a very long time. 

Below is the photo that was chosen.