YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

I was just telling my friend Joshua about my morning ~ and decided to share it here as well!
I went to "town" this morning to judge a youth photography contest. It was sponsored by our local artisans conservatory. Keep in mind I do not know that much about photography, but was asked to judge ( them knowing I did not know much ) so I said I would. Never in a million years did I realize it would be so hard! Wow oh Wow! I have acquired such an appreciation for the arts this past year.
There were 4 age levels... the first being K-3rd grade.... you can't even begin to imagine the quality of these photographs! The next was 4-6th grade, 7-9th grade and 10th -12th grade.
I have to say the oldest age group was the least quality ( odd ). The 7-9th grade had the best quality, but I later found out that over 1/2 the photos entered were from the same 2 kids. Not just photo quality but also overall subject matter and the way the kids viewed their subjects was just incredible! I am still in awe and only hope I did them justice. I would never want to disappoint a child to the point of causing them to quit this art form. We had 1st - 3rd place, then however honorable
mentions I wanted ( usually 3 per level ). Every student gets a ribbon no matter what and then there was a "judge's favorite". The awards program is in March and I am excited to go... the folks who put it on said the kids whoop and holler and get very excited. So I stepped out of my comfort zone today and it felt good! I hope the kids are motivated to continue in their craft!