The Eye of the Beholder: Stafford County Fair

This was probably my favorite photo from our trip to Glacier National Park last year. I know that's a bold statement. But I loved the contrast of the bright and colorful fiberglass kayaks against the moody, overcast sky of Two Medicine Lake. Jill and Susan loved it, too. However, I liked a lot of the photos I took from our nation's breathtaking National Parks. Case in point: I filled a whole book with photos from that trip.

However, the judge at the Stafford County Fair last week had a different one he/she preferred. (I'm going to go with "they" because I don't know whether they were male or female). I got a white - or third in the class - with the photo of the bright kayaks. 

But they gave me Reserve Grand Champion on this black-and-white version of a photo I took at Jenny Lake at the Grand Teton National Park. 

Don't get me wrong: I like this one, too. I also like the color version, which I also entered. So did the judge. I got a blue on it, too. 

 

But it does demonstrate how "judging" and "subjective" should be in the same sentence. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's never more true than when you enter photos in a county fair.

As always, I entered a bunch of photos in the open class division of the Stafford County Fair last week. I've admitted here before: It's not a money-making proposition. In fact, I'm confident I lose money by the time I pay for enlargements and mat boards. (Not that he ever complains, but I tell Randy that my hobby is cheaper than his hobby, so I still come out ahead).

I felt like I had fewer to choose from this year. But, as I analyzed that feeling, I came to the conclusion that I usually feel that way. Admittedly, I have fewer photos for the "agriculture" category. But our travels gave me more "scenic" and "nature" photos than I could use.

 

This blue ribbon winner was from Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Ark.

This black-and-white print was also from Two Medicine Lake, showing the fast-moving, low clouds that were the backdrop for our morning there. It, too, got a blue.

So did this photo I took of the Big Boy steam locomotive during its stop in Salina last fall.

 I didn't have to travel quite as far to get this blue-ribbon winner - looking through a kaleidoscope at the Vernon Filley Art Museum in Pratt. 

But a couple of my blue-ribbon winners were taken in my own yard - literally.

I got a blue on the book I made for Randy after our Eureka Springs/Bentonville trip:

 

And I got second place on my National Parks book. (Again, I would have flipped the ribbons, but what do I know?) 

As I've said many times before, I don't enter at the fair for the ribbons or the premium money. But entering in the fair helps keep this rural American tradition alive. Sure, it's fun to see how your artistic eye stacks up against your neighbors. But it's even better to have a place to wander around and reconnect with people from across the county who you don't see on a weekly basis. You can't beat that! I've been doing that since I was a 4-Her in Pratt County several decades ago. 

Two of the photos I really liked didn't get a ribbon at all. I should learn my lesson: My bird photos and sunrise/sunset photos - or, I guess, Northern Lights ones - never fare well. 

I know how much time and effort - and unusable clicks of the camera - went into getting this shot of our backyard visitor. And it's not every day that you can see the Northern Lights without leaving home.  

I wasn't the only photographer in the family this year. Kinley will find out what color ribbons she'll get on her 4-H photography this week at the Shawnee County Fair in Topeka. We've worked together on that project for the past three years, but this year, she didn't need much help. I brought the needed supplies to Topeka to get the photos mounted, but she took the photos and mounted them herself. I guess that's the goal as a mentor: You're supposed to work yourself out of a job. 

I have not yet worked myself out of the 4-H foods superintendent job. Last year was my 30th year working with 4-H foods, many of them as superintendent. That volunteer job is more important than any ribbons I accumulate, I hope.

I wasn't the only family competitor at the Stafford County Fair this year. Randy entered garden produce and got a red on his pears and a blue for his longest zucchini. 

Really, we've both been winners with his work in the garden this summer. Well, for everything except tomatoes. Those have been a bust. We always joke when we go through the checkout at the garden store each spring whether the investment in vegetable seedlings will pay off. That remains to be seen, I guess. But garden-fresh produce is always a win.