I Need Your Help

Notice I did not choose to go with the title, "I Need Help," which could be construed in oh so many ways and generally not in ways that would include helpful outcomes for me. Ahem. So, "I Need Your Help" seems to work better here.

So, here's how the Ate Up Amateur needs your help. I want to enter the Creative Arts photography competition at the State Fair of Texas. I have tried to remember to do this for the past two years. I have thought about it in August each year, after the deadline for entry. But this year - THIS YEAR! - this year I remembered a whole week before the deadline. Time is of the essence. Here are the general rules:

- you can only enter 2 photographs total, and they cannot be in the same class. (you cannot compete against yourself)
- prizes will be awarded in each class for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and honorable mention(s).
- all photos must be taken in the last 18 months and the theme of each photograph should reflect life scenes in the state of Texas and the State Fair of Texas.
- the competition is open to amateur photographers only. That's me!
- the photo has to be mounted on 11 x 14 foam board. You can mat the image, but it has to be at least 5 x 7, with mat making up the difference to 11 x 14. I'm thinking I'll just want to go with 11 x 14 images, but let me know what you think about that.
- you are also encouraged to reflect this year's State Fair theme, which happens to be, "All Aboard for the Great State Fair of Texas." I have nothing in this vein, I don't think.
- there are several categories (classes).

S and I went through my photos taken in Texas in the last 18 months this past weekend and found a few we thought might be OK for entering. More than two, that is. So, now, I am in a quandary - I don't know where to go from here. And, I've got to get them printed and mounted, paid and entered by Friday. And I'm packing to leave town for 9 days at the same time. So, I need a decision on this and I am unable to make it on my own. I need your help.

Which two photos should I enter?
Or, should I enter any at all?

I am going to list them below along with the classification I feel they would go in. And, if I think they could easily go into two different classifications, I am going to post them here twice, in each place. Please comment and let me know which two you'd enter - and remember, if they fit in the same class, it can't be those two - two different classes, please. You'll notice Greer Farm is over-represented here. It's still fresh in the memory, so I'm sure that's why. OK, here we go.

The first class - K100 - Texas Animals/Wildlife:

Greer Farm - although I didn't post this one.

Greer Farm - Bovine Baptism

K101 - Animals/Domestic:

Ellie and her beloved ball.

Earnest Echo in one of my favorite shots of her ever.

K102 - Birds/Insects:

My favorite photo from Greer Farm.

Black Swallowtail butterfly on Texas thistle - near Greenville, TX

K103 - Fish/Reptiles/Marine Life - I've got nothin' here.

K104 - Flora/Close-Up:

I should say I've got tons of these, as you know. Of course, many were not taken in Texas. And, I chose these sunflower photos over some others because they looked more "Texan" to me than some other blooms. I don't know why. Anyhoo...here they are. Also, all three here are from Greer Farm, of course.

You'll see I've got this one in four locations...maybe that rules it out as a good entry.

K105 - Flora/Vista

This is the biggest stretch, I think...

So is this one...not many flora visible here.
I do have some of black-eyed susans from this shoot.
I just didn't include them here -
S thought this was the strongest one from that group for other reasons.

K106 - Child-Preschool - I decided to not concentrate on this category. But, I do have those photos of Miss Sydney that would be cute...

K107 - Child-School Age - I have none from within the state of Texas.

K108 - Children - 2 or more - again, none in Texas, except maybe these, which didn't turn out too great.

K109 - People - one or a group. Didn't come up with anything here either.

K110 - Texas Rural/Scenes (Any facet of Farm or Ranch life):

These first few you've seen earlier in the post in another category...

This one was taken at Greer Farm, but last February.


This one and the next two, also from the recent Greer Farm adventure.

K111 - Texas Action/Sports - I had a few of these, (Even these maybe? maybe not...) but I decided this is probably one category where there are some real enthusiasts who photograph almost exclusively in this category, and mine are not all that great. Not a good place for me to focus.

K112 - Texas City Scenes -

There is another category where this one and the next probably should go...

...but the State Fair IS in the city of Dallas.

Also probably a better place for this...

...and maybe even this one.

This one will also come later...

...OK, this one too...so all my photos listed here you will see categorized somewhere else too.

K113 - Texas Scenery - Landscapes or Waterscapes - all repeats:







K114 - Texas Skies - Sunrise/Sunset/Weather

So, here's a new one...the moon over Texas Motor Speedway.

And, a couple of repeats...

And this one...only to play to their State Fair bent and because of the clouds.

K115 - Texas Architechtural Features/Buildings/Monuments - these three repeats could also go here, I think:



K116 - Still Life (Any assemblage of objects, either in an arranged or natural setting.)

I promise, last time for this one.

K117 - Abstract. I'm not very abstract.

K118 - State Fair/State Fair Themes/Texas Festivals/Holidays

We gotta have the ducks listed here...

S likes this one better, with the one duck staring up at the lens.

This one is of course on the State Fairgrounds.

And so is this one.

And, then because holidays are thrown in here - too bad for that.
I can't see how a holiday photo would ever win in this category.

K119 - Texas Humor. I'm not sure any of my photos are humorous enough to stand on their own in this category without my extensive explanation. Which, some would say, means there is no humor at all. So, nothing here. I guess the rubber ducks could maybe go here, but they aren't Texan, per se. They were at the Texas State Fair...I don't know. What do you think?

So, that's it. There are corresponding categories for black and white photos. So far, I'm listing all of mine in color.

Here's another fact about the contest - only photographs that win an award will be exhibited during the fair. So, this is probably all for naught if my only goal is to see my photo at the fair. But, that is not my only goal - I want to go through the experience of entering so that maybe one day I will be able to enter and have my photo displayed. I should say that I'm disappointed that they don't post all entries - I'd like to see all of them each year when I go to the fair. I've thought this every year - I wish I could see all the entries! But, I guess they don't have enough space for that.

So, dear friends, dear blog readers, help a girl out. Please comment today and tell me which photo(s) to enter - or tell me to not enter at all - or, I guess, if there is a photo you've seen here that would fit the bill and I've not included it and you think I should have - tell me that too. And I'll take your sage advice and move forward. And I'll tell you what the decision was, of course, right here, too, later this week. Thanks bunches for the help. I can't wait to read your remarks. See you tomorrow.

Last One...I Promise...For Now

Before the week is up and I've totally annoyed you with my ramblings about last weekend, I figure I should wrap up this love fest I've been having all week about our time at the Greer Farm. So, today's post, for a Friday, includes all the other stuff I wanted to show you but still haven't from our little getaway last weekend.

But, before I go any further, I should mention Sunday will be another birthday for my oldest niece, Amber, who y'all have met here on Ate Up Amateur on several occasions. Happy Birthday Amber! Oh, and WELCOME to follower number TWENTY-THREE! YAY! And, now on to the post. Here we go!

We shopped for groceries at Brookshire's.

I signed up for a discount card to save $4. We don't have Brookshire's in Dallas. Wonder what the street value of a Brookshire's discount card is...$4? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?

We explored Daingerfield - did you know they have a two screen first-run movie house that charges $1.50 admission? Amazing. Of course the popcorn is $14.75. Just kidding.

We had a good, cheap meal at this restaurant.

We explored cool stores in all the small towns nearby.

And we went here for lunch.

Pretty good wine.

And TONS of food.

Wine grapes...in Texas!

Nice place.
_________________________________________________

I bought these at the farm.
And I ate these at the farm. Ahem.

I also cooked with these fresh herbs from Eva's garden.

S made pancakes Saturday morning.

He wanted a picture of the one with the "star" on it. We have no idea how to recreate said star. None of the others had stars. It was a grade-A pancake, huh. We had bacon, too, of course. We're both fans of the bacon. Mmm...bacon.

Speaking of bacon, S, being the jokester he is, taught the little girl who used to live next door to us to call her toy pig - you know, the one in the Fisher-Price barnyard? Yeah, that pig - he told her that the pig's name was Bacon. He did. Maybe she'll go into the meat business.

This is a photo of the S-man watching charcoal burn here...so he could cook me a steak.
He doesn't eat steak, either. Such a good man he is.

__________________________________________________

As I mentioned previously, I was quite taken by the flower bouquet.

Photographed it many times.

I was, as always, taken by the growing things.

Are these blueberries?
Inquiring minds want to know.

I can't pass up a pretty flower to photograph.

_________________________________________________

I was also taken by the bugs.

They were big. And photogenic, I thought.

My favorite photo.

I'm very proud I was able to take this without a macro lens. Maybe it's terribly flawed or no big deal to a professional. But I like it a lot. I really wanted one of the dragonflies with the black and white wings. But they never sat still long enough or let me get close enough to do something like this. Heck, this little guy might have been dead. Like I would have noticed!

_________________________________________________


I mentioned we loved on and played with the resident dogs.


This is the same dog - sans "summer cut" - last February.

She is completely obsessed with that block of wood.
(Notice above, she had one in her mouth in February, too!)

She is quite possibly one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met.

This old boy - also one of the sweetest dogs ever.

He looked like this last February.

And he hung out with us quite a bit at the cabin.
He even slept on the front porch for a spell.

Did I mention how great that porch was? It had two rocking chairs on it. And a large overhead fan. It was perfect for watching the sunset. Or listening to/watching the birds and bugs in the morning, drinking coffee. And, certainly perfect for catching up on all the most important things in the universe with the one I love. Awww, sniff. I know, sappy. But, he's a keeper!

This little guy was at the winery...trolling for presents from the tables.


And this precious old girl had to be his mama.
She'd roll over and let you pet her tummy in a half-second if you looked her way.

___________________________________________

And - look at this - a male Eastern Bluebird and a juvenile!
They came by while I was sipping my coffee.

Two sheep, with their "summer cuts"- I think they are Suffolks.

They looked like this last winter when we saw them.

Here is one of the many happy vocal roosters you find at Greer Farm.

Cock-a-doodle-do happens all day long!

AFLAC!

A barn kitty.

Look at that goat's earnest face. I'd trust him, wouldn't you?

This one was a character - same character we saw last winter, actually.

A cute baby goat.

A mama cow...before the baptism, I think.

They watched me carefully.

Suspicion in those eyes, no? Who the heck is this lady?

This face - this here - this is a bull.
Out in the other pasture. Don't believe me?

Believe me now? Uh-huh. I bet you do.

_________________________________________________

And of course, above all, I liked the scenery.
And the serenity of the surrounding natural vistas.

Even the old barns were scenic. And relaxing.

I did not want to leave.

Good-bye, Greer Farm. For now...

And, good-bye to another week! We had some nice, cooler days in Dallas this week. But it's supposed to be a hot one today and tomorrow...and maybe Sunday. So, summer hasn't gasped it's last hot breath yet. We've got a couple more months before it does. But the break in the triple digit heat was certainly nice. And so appreciated. The dogs loved being able to stay outside all day two days in a row. What a treat. Then, to celebrate, I gave them baths last night. Poor girls. They hate that. I hate it, actually, but it has to be done from time to time. I mean, I hate laundry, too...but I digress.

Best wishes for a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you're up to. We have no real plans, and that's good, since we'll be heading out for vacation next weekend. We need some time to catch up before we leave town again! See you next week.