Rejected by JCDC :(

So my two entries did not get through to JCDC this year. I'll be honest and say im more a little surprised and confused. I read through the judges' reports for the past few exhibitions and got the impression that they did not want the usual run-of-the-mill work i.e. pretty flowers or landscapes. They want people to be more adventurous with their work, something that had more meaning behind the image being portrayed. It has to stand out, and of course that makes sense because the judges are looking through hundreds of entries, so if your work is too ordinary they will just pass it by.

So I entered the below:

 



"Down to Hades"



 



"Land of wood and ..."


Not too ordinary right? I can see with the 2nd photo, it is perhaps not the strongest photo composition-wise. But I thought I would have gotten through with the first one at least. That photo made it through to the Art Fresh exhibition earlier this year, which is a competition for more serious artists. So, yeah, puzzled that a photo that got through in a competition for more serious artists did not get through for a competition for amateurs.

So im now a bit put off from JCDC. I doubt I will have the same drive to enter next year. We'll see.