Fair Weather

I didn't have any purple ribbons attached to my photos at this year's Stafford County Fair. I wasn't particularly surprised. In open class, it's only the Grand Champion and the Reserve Grand Champion who take home purple ribbons. After several successful years, I've certainly had my share of success, and I don't enter for the ribbon placing anyway ... though it is always fun to see what a judge thinks.

It's always good to know the people behind-the-scenes. One of the open class photography volunteers told me that two of my photos were considered in the champions conversation. One was the photo I took at dusk in my backyard. It was one of my favorites, too. I love the color and the glowing light of the yard light emanating off the swing and the freshly-fallen snow.

The other was a black and white version of a photo I took this spring during a cattle drive past our house.

But, in the end, two others were chosen. Both belonged to my friend and faithful fair competitor, Jennifer. The one the judge chose wasn't Jennifer's favorite of those she had personally entered. She and I have had the conversation before: It's just one person's opinion on one day. (The same volunteer who shared the information about the championship "drive" also had two photos under consideration.)

It wasn't a banner year for me. I had another couple of blues - one a black and white version of a photo I also took on a snowy January day ...

 

... and a black and white landscape scene taken just south of Quivira National Wildlife Refuge after a different snowfall. 

In open class, blues are ranked 1st in the class. I got five reds  - or photos ranked 2nd in their class - and three whites for photos ranked 3rd in their class. And I had several that didn't garner any ribbons at all. 

I also entered a couple of the travel books I made for Randy for Christmas last year. The Chicago trip book got a blue ...

And the other - documenting our trip to Kentucky and points between - was the second in the class for computer-produced scrapbooks.

The Stafford County Economic Development office sponsors a photo contest for pictures highlighting Stafford County. I was pleased to win first place in the Commerce category for a photo I took at the Stafford County Flour Mill during the tour with Kansas Master Farmers last spring.

I also got a runner up prize in the Places category for a photo I took at the Ritz Theater.

As I've said many times before, I don't enter at the fair for the ribbons or the premium money. Frankly, I come out behind when I consider how much I spend on photo enlargements and mat board every year. 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 wasn't the only photographer in the family. For the second year, Kinley and I worked together throughout the year. She also took some photos on trips with her family. While she didn't have any overall champions this year, four of her seven 4-H photos were starred, which meant they were considered in the championship drive. 

Three of her four photos considered in the championship drive were: left top, taken on a family trip to San Diego; the top middle, taken during a photo shoot with conversation heart candies with Grandma; and top right, sunflowers arranged like a heart in the wheat kernels, also a Kinley/Grandma photo shoot.

 

Another Valentine candy heart photo was the other 4-H photo considered.

Kinley's decorated cookies were the champion in that category.

They were amazing. She has more patience than I do. I should have taken a photo of the whole plate, but here are a few examples.

She also had a purple on an orange chiffon cake and a blue on a strawberry angel food cake. 

She and Summer also had a successful second year in the dog project.

She got a champion in arts and crafts on miniature vegetables fashioned from clay, along with a couple of other entries. (Again, that patience and attention to detail shine through!)

Brooke had a good fair, too. She earned a champion ribbon for her consultation about her casual outfit for the Shopping in Style project (formerly Clothing Buymanship).

She had a purple on her dressy outfit for the style show.

She earned a purple ribbon on a jewelry dish she made from clay. (She and I worked on the patriotic wreath when the girls were at the farm in late June. It got a blue.)

She got a purple ribbon on her jam-filled cookies. 

Thankfully, there were some leftovers at home and all the grandparents got to sample those. She also got a purple on her angel food cake and a blue on her yeast rolls.

Her Harry Potter display reviewing all the books in the series also received a purple ribbon.

Ribbons are fun. But 4-H is about much more than that. It's about learning by doing, exploring new interests, getting comfortable with public speaking, working with others and so much more. The 4-H program has been doing that since way back when - even back to the day when Kinley's and Brooke's great-grandparents were part of the program. That's a family tradition worth keeping.