Vintage Photography - Enter Now

Those of you who have travelled to Margaret River or the Barossa valley may recognise the purple liquid filling the glass in our heading image - that's right; nasty old sour grape juice. You'd hate it - if anyone gives you a bottle, best send it to me and I'll dispose of it... It does, however call up the idea of vintage photography - and what might be made of it. First a definition: Vintage photography - pictures that are old enough to be good and good enough to be old. Without being old about it. You will have some gems amongst your portfolio - vintage images that retain their flavour and value for year - decades - after they were shot. If you are an amateur they might be unappreciated - if you are a professional they might be unavailable. You might have done them for hire or pay and no longer have a copyright to them. But however they are, the are superb. This is a writer's way of making you feel good. And a criminal's way of making you show where the goods are hidden. If I praise you, you'll go immediately to the hidden store and look at it. If I praise you further - skilfully - you might be cozened into showing them - or sharing them on the internet. Then I can get hold of them, copy them for my own purposes, and make money off them. I'll be fair to you - I'll only pinch the best material - if yours is really good consider it a complement when it goes missing. Does this seem cynical? Good - I have longed for many years to cynic for Australia. The green and gold cap is treasured amongst us. How many times have you seen an advertisement asking for you to submit your best work to a contest or exhibition - one you have never heard of before? One that you do not seek out in the first place. Try looking up a few photographic subjects on the internet, let the algorithms trade sandwiches with each other, and watch your social media feed. You don't need to know where they are because they know where you are. Do you bite? You might if you don't recognise the bait. You might send off your images and never think of where they've gone and what they've been used to sell once they are off on-line. You might get a better-luck-next-time note from the " contest " or you might get a " we-think-you're-wonderful-send-more " gush. I am willing to bet you will not get a cheque. Please do not think that I am calling into question wine judges at ag shows or wine societies - I'm sure they never gull the growers. And they spit out the samples every time. I could never be a wine judge because I have an under-developed spit reflex. Except when it comes to internet photo contests...