The Carolina Gallery Photography Invitational

Poinsett Bridge in Autumn

The Carolina Gallery, a local art gallery here in Spartanburg, held a photography contest recently. Last night was the opening reception for the gallery's show of the contest participants' entries. The show is scheduled to run from last night through August 4th.

The contest had two categories: Color and Black & White. More than 150 photographs were on display last night. Styles ran the entire gauntlet of photography from landscapes to fashion, from realistic to ultra-stylized. I was really impressed with the variety of images selected for the show. There are a lot of really good photographers who entered the contest from the local area, North Carolina, and even Georgia.

More after the jump.

Furman Lake at Twilight

You may recognize the two photographs that I posted today. I've posted them here before and these photographs were my entries in the competition. It was the first photography contest that I have entered and I wasn't really sure what to expect. As I said, there were lots of great images in the contest and such things always come down to the opinion of someone that you don't know. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that my Poinsett Bridge image was named the Third Place winner in the Color category.

I wasn't able to sleep very much last night for some reason. It wasn't as if I was jumping up and down all night. I was just too happy to be able to go to sleep. Maybe there is something in this photography stuff for me after all? My mind was spinning with the possibilities.

If you are in or passing through the Spartanburg area between now and August 4th, then stop by Carolina Gallery downtown. The photography show is on the third floor, but the other two floors are also filled with paintings, sculptures and local crafts you may also enjoy viewing.

Keep shooting.