AWARD WINNING! It seems like that should mean something real doesn’t it. I mean, you won right? That means you are, somehow, quantifiably better than others. It means that you’re a real professional? It means that you’ve been measured to deliver more/better/stronger/faster than others who do, or try – HA! – the sad little non-Award Winners out there? The thing is, it means everything if you win – cause that’s cool and you get to write a blog post about it – and nothing if you don’t – cause it’s all about perspective and next round, with different judges, the picture that didn’t win this time may win Best in Show the next.

Every single photographer out there has won an award of some kind. You’ve seen them, we’ve all got ‘em. Some awards mean a lot, like the one we all know about, the Pulitzer, or others are just special because of what the work meant to the photographer personally, it’s judged by peers you respect or because it’s the critically acclaimed insider contest like the World Press Photo or POYi awards for Photojournalism. {Full disclosure: I’ve won a First Place in World Press and several awards from POYi}. I’ve won plenty of awards from the meaningful-career-changing “National Geographic called and wants to talk to you” kind of big deal to other smaller less earth-shattering kinds of awards. Some even come with money! Contests are rather funny things. They can tell you more about the judges and what they are used to seeing or the kinds of pictures they personally like or respond to. They don’t, or shouldn’t, tell you that you are BETTER than someone else. At their absolute best, contests are a benchmark for a craft. It captures the spirit of a style, time and set of values. And if your work is included among that collection, wonderful. If not, so what.

Which brings me to Fearless Photographers. This is kind of different. Fearless is a new group/organization/cabal/cult/gathering of like minded spirits, I don’t really know just yet but I’m a part of it. Fearless Photographers is new and it looks like it’s going to be fun. It doesn’t really feel like a contest to me. The object is to reward photographers, and by extension the clients who hire and love them, for taking a risk. For going well beyond the ordinary or expected images from a wedding. Photojournalism busted down the doors of traditional wedding photography in the 1990s and now we’re looking to push more. Get more creative, richer, more curious types of image making and storytelling. This isn’t about Photoshop tricks or digital magic. It’s about great photography and how at it’s most creative, raw, energizing best it’s so amazing. Us Fearless types will always provide the basics you are counting on but this “contest” – really it’s a curation more than a contest – is about something more, greater, unexpected, riskier. Fearless.

I entered a range of work with my 10 image entry, I had no better idea of what Fearless would mean than anyone else. I wanted to see what came out the other side for me. I’m happy that two of the pictures I was rather proud of this past year made the cut. Only 10% of the 1,200 or so images entered made the cut. There’s no First, Second, Third Place or Honorable Mentions (or as a photographer I once worked with described that award as “First Last Place”.) The picture is either Fearless or not. That’s kind of a cool idea, no? You may hate these pictures, that’s cool. Check out the other winners HERE. You don’t have to love them but you can still hire me because I have a wide range and I know what you’ll need to see and my job is not to just produce the expected shots but also go beyond what you expect. You may not even choose them for your album, Ayana! but know that your Fearless photographer is always looking for special moments all the way into the corners of the room. If you want to know more about why I liked these, or why I think the judges liked these, contact me and ask or comment below. What’s great is that there’s a place out there that’s focused on raising the bar for creative, risk taking and meaningful image making as a part of documenting the spirit, fun, beauty, love and unexpected awesomeness of a wedding.