Competitions

I enjoy the challenge of creating images for various international online competitions, expanding my horizons and improving my skills.  Some of the competitions are specifically for photography, others are for all forms of art.  I prefer juried competitions as I feel they are a more accurate reflection of artistic merit, as opposed to the popularity contest of voted competitions, where the winner is usually the one with the most followers on social media.

The organisers have different ways of ranking and categorising entries, some have “finalists”, some “shortlists”, and some have neither.  Light Space & Time, for example, awards “Special Merit” which they describe as “the artists and their artwork which we felt could easily have been placed higher but due to the size constraints in each media category, this art was placed in this special category. Any of the Special Merit art, in many cases, is interchangeable with the best art that we selected for the top tiers.”  I see that as a success; they also award “Special Recognition”, which I translate as “shortlisted”.

Competition successes:

  • July 2022 – “Sanctuary” placed 9th in the Top 20 Artists in the Photography & Digital category in Light Space & Time “Summer 555” competition
  • March 2022 – “Sweet couple” [Random] selected for inclusion in F-Stop Magazine issue #112 “Amusement” April-May 2022
  • January 2022 – “Haunted” [Abstract] awarded Honorable Mention in the Art Show International “Abstract” competition
  • November 2021 – “Shepherd’s Delight” [Nature] Winner Photo of the Month Bob Books “Red”
  • September 2021 – “Stelvio” [Scapes] and “Grand St Bernard” [Scapes] selected for inclusion in F-Stop Magazine issue #109 “Landscapes” October-November 2021
  • April 2021 – “Scratch” [Abstract] awarded Honorable Mention in the Art Show International “Abstract” competition
  • April 2021 – “Ready to Rock” [Street] selected for printing and inclusion in the Chania International Photo Festival exhibition taking place June 28-July 5 2021
  • March 2021 – “Celestia I” (“Planets I”) and “Celestia II” (“Planets III”) selected for inclusion in the Loosen Art “Decontexts” exhibition to be held in the Millepiani (Rome) in June
  • September 2020 – “Braids” awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “Patterns” competition
  • August 2020 – “Weapon of Choice” selected for inclusion in the Loosen Art “Man and Machine” exhibition to be held in the Millepiani (Rome) in November
  • July 2020 – “Prologue” awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “10th Anniversary” competition
  • July 2020 – “Stripes” awarded Honorable Mention (top 15) in Light Space & Time “Primary Colors” competition
  • April 2020 – “Jealousy” one of the winners of the London Photo Festival April “Street Art” competition
  • February 2020 – “Let Me Stay” [Shadows] selected for inclusion in F-Stop Magazine issue #99 “Still Life” February-March 2020
  • September 2019 – “Still We Stand” [Scapes] voted into 6th place in Your Art Gallery “Seaside Vacation” contest
  • August 2019 – “Scratch” [Abstract] selected for inclusion in the London Photo Festival “Abstracts” exhibition taking place September 2019 in London
  • July 2019 – “Mirror Man” [Random] selected for printing and inclusion in the Loosen Art Gallery “Mannequins and Puppets” exhibition taking place November-December 2019 in Rome, Italy
  • June 2019 – “Hideaway” [Monochrome] awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “555” (Open Theme)
  • April 2019 – “Dandelion Life” [Nature] Winner Photo of the Month Bob Books “Spring”
  • February 2019 – “Flight” [Abstract] awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “Abstract”
  • December 2018 – “Phantasm” [Abstract] awarded Honorable Mention in Chromatic Awards 2018 Amateur Abstract category
  • December 2018 – “Coogee Beach (Sydney)” [Scapes] and “Vegas Baby” [Scapes] selected for inclusion in F-Stop Magazine issue #92 “At Night” December 2018-January 2019
  • October 2018 – “Flight” [Abstract] awarded Honorable Mention in the International Photo Awards (IPA) 2018 Fine Art Abstract category
  • October 2018 – “Metropolis” [Abstract] awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “Patterns”
  • July 2018 – “Flight” [Abstract], “Airport” [Scapes] and “Lagoon” [Scapes] selected for inclusion in F-Stop Magazine issue #90 “Land, Sea, Air” August-September 2018
  • June 2018 – “Crimble Mill” [Scapes] selected for inclusion in The Heritage Trust “Lost” 2019 calendar (July page)
  • June 2018 – “The Party Is Over” [Monochrome] selected for printing and inclusion in the Chania International Photo Festival exhibition taking place August 28-September 5 2018
  • May 2018 – “Flight” [Abstract] selected for printing and inclusion in the Praxis Gallery “The Abstract Image” exhibition taking place June 8-27 2018
  • May 2018 – “Piastrellato” [Abstract] selected for printing and inclusion in the Blank Wall Gallery “Moments of Color” exhibition taking place in June-July 2018
  • April 2018 – “Building Blocks” [Scapes/Monochrome] won Second Place in The Motif Collective “Cities and Towns”
  • April 2018 – “Kissing Camels” [Nature] voted runner-up (4th place) in Your Art Gallery “Animal Kingdom” competition, from 80 entries
  • April 2018 – “The Journey” [Monochrome] selected for printing and inclusion in the Blank Wall Gallery “Black and White” exhibition taking place in May 2018
  • February 2018 – “Haunted” [Abstract] and “Jubilee” [Minimalism] both awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “Abstracts”
  • January 2018 – “#Manchester Framed” [Scapes] selected for printing and inclusion in the Blank Wall Gallery “Cityscape” exhibition taking place in March 2018
  • January 2018 – “Ice Forest” [Glitches] Second Place in Contemporary Art Gallery Online (CAGO) “2017 Photography/Digital Art”
  • December 2017 – “Assimilation” [Abstract] and “Blue For You” [Abstract] both awarded Special Merit in Light Space & Time “Patterns, Textures and Forms”
  • November 2017 – “Piastrellato” [Abstract] Best In Show in Contemporary Art Gallery Online (CAGO) “All Colors” Photography/Digital Art category
  • November 2017 – “Summer Stars” [Nature] won Viewbug Peer Choice Award
  • July 2017 – “Divine Dahlia” [Nature] Special Merit Award in Light Space & Time “Floral and Botanical”
  • June 2017 – “Summer Is Coming” [Nature] Honourable Mention (Top 10) in Alverton Gallery “Month of May”, exhibited in the gallery for 30 days
  • June 2017 – “Spring Has Sprung (Summer Is Coming)” [Nature] Special Merit Award in Light Space & Time “Seasons”
  • May 2017 – “Grand St Bernard” [Scapes] Winner Photo of the Month Bob Books “Landscape”
  • May 2017 – “Yulara (Australia)” [Scapes] Special Merit Award in Light Space & Time “Landscapes”
  • April 2017 – “Post Office Dog” [Monochrome] Honourable Mention (Top 10) in Alverton Gallery “Open Label”, printed and exhibited in the gallery for 30 days
  • April 2017 – “A Conflict Of Interest” [Abstract] selected for printing and inclusion in the Blank Wall Gallery “Moments Of Color” exhibition April-May 2017
  • December 2016 – “Dusty” [Motorsport] and “Not For Highway Use” [Motorsport] selected for inclusion in The Swift Motorsport Gallery exhibition, May-November 2017
  • December 2016 – “Bahrain Palm” [Shadows & Silhouettes] People’s Choice winner Viewbug “Sun At Dusk” challenge
  • July 2016 – “Bahrain Palm” [Shadows & Silhouettes] included in “Summer Selection 2016” by ViewBug team
  • July 2016 – “Sunset over Manama” [Scapes] 3rd place in Fusion.Art “Cityscapes” competition

The near misses are also successes of a kind, being shortlisted from hundreds or thousands (and in some cases hundreds of thousands) of entries:

  • January 2023 – “Post Office Dog” finalist in London Photo Festival “Black and White”
  • December 2022 – “Silver Rain” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Minimalism”
  • November 2022 – “Lakeside” finalist in London Photo Festival “Autumn”
  • August 2022 – “Flight” finalist in London Photo Festival “Shadows”
  • July 2022 – “Building Blocks” finalist in London Photo Festival “Glass”
  • June 2022 – “Arona Dawn” finalist in London Photo Festival “Sun”
  • March 2022 – “Shuttered” finalist in London Photo Festival “Parallel Lines”
  • November 2021 – “The Journey” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Silhouettes”
  • November 2021 – “Shine” finalist in London Photo Festival “Green and Gold”
  • September 2021 – “Classic Car” finalist in London Photo Festival “Nostalgia”
  • May 2021 – “Rings” finalist in London Photo Festival “Angles”
  • April 2021 – “Red Centre” finalist in London Photo Festival “Space”
  • December 2020 – “Uncovered” finalist in London Photo Festival “Masks”
  • October 2020 – “The Party’s Over” finalist in London Photo Festival “Night”
  • July 2020 – “Strangers in the Light” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “10th Anniversary”
  • July 2020 – “Leaf Bones” finalist in London Photo Festival “Macro”
  • January 2020 – “Rings” finalist in London Photo Festival “Contrasting Colours”
  • October 2019 – “The Sentinels” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Silhouettes”
  • August 2019 – “The Abundant Broom” finalist in London Photo Festival “Flowers”
  • June 2019 – “Jubilee Bridge” finalist in London Photo Festival “Bridges”
  • June 2019 – “Scratch” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “555” (Open Theme)
  • February 2019 – “Door” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Abstracts”
  • December 2018 – “Together” finalist in Fusion.Art “Leaves and Petals”
  • October 2018 – “Flight” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Minimalism”
  • October 2018 – “Red White Blue” finalist in Fusion.Art “Colorful Abstractions”
  • September 2018 – “Rings” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Colors”
  • September 2018 – “Follow Me” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Open”
  • August 2018 – “Ready To Rock” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Silhouettes”
  • July 2018 – “The Party’s Over” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Black and White”
  • May 2018 – “Divine Dahlia” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Nature’s Glory”
  • May 2018 – “Hideaway” finalist in Fusion.Art “Black & White”
  • March 2018 – “Mirror Man” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Figurative”
  • February 2018 – “On The Rack” finalist in Fusion.Art “Colors”
  • January 2018 – “Venice” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Cityscapes”
  • January 2018 – “Defiance” finalist in Fusion.Art “Leaves & Petals”
  • December 2017 – “Summer Stars” and “First Frost” finalists in Fusion.Art “Seasons”
  • November 2017 – “Pollen Raider” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Nature”
  • November 2017 – “Up In The Air (Piastrellato)” finalist in Fusion.Art “Colorful Abstractions”
  • October 2017 – “The Two Seas (al-Bahrayn)” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Seascapes”
  • October 2017 – “Airport” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Minimalism”
  • September 2017 – “Post Office Dog” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Open”
  • September 2017 – “All You Can See” finalist in Fusion.Art “Skies”
  • August 2017 – “Transition” finalist in London Photo Festival “Macro”
  • August 2017 – “I Stand Alone” finalist in Fusion.Art “Black & White”
  • July 2017 – “Day’s Eye” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Floral and Botanical”
  • July 2017 – “Arona Dawn” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Sunrise/Sunset”
  • June 2017 – “Summer Palm (Bahrain Palm)” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Seasons”
  • June 2017 – “Pollen Raider” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Nature’s Glory”
  • June 2017 – “Farewell To Muharraq” finalist in Fusion.Art “Cityscapes”
  • May 2017 – “Grand St Bernard (Italy)” and “Deserted (Bahrain)” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Landscapes”
  • May 2017 – “Venice Grand Canal” and “Manama Sunset” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “City”
  • April 2017 – “Polaroid” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Figurative”
  • March 2017 – “Kaleidoscope” Special Recognition in Light Space & Time “Abstracts”
  • March 2017 – “Fiatarancia” finalist in Fusion.Art “Colors”
  • February 2017 – “Dreaming” finalist in Fusion.Art “Plants & Leaves”
  • December 2016 – “Together” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Minimalism”
  • November 2016 – “Post Office Dog” finalist in Fusion.Art “Artist’s Choice”
  • October 2016 – “Kaleidoscope” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Abstracts”
  • September 2016 – “Kinderdijk” and “Silver Lake” finalists in Fusion.Art “Waterscapes”
  • August 2016 – “Bahrain Palm” finished in top 1% of Viewbug “Unedited”, from 27,492 entries
  • July 2016 – “Kinderdijk” shortlisted in The Motif Collective “Black and White”
  • July 2016 – “Post Office Dog” finished in top 1% of ViewBug “Black & White Masterpieces”, from 122,232 entries