Non-Certified Awards
Outdoor Photographer of The Year (OPOTY) 2016
Shortlisted for the ‘’Small World’’ category
Audubon Society Denver Photo Competition 2016
Audubon Society of Greater Denver 2 images selected for top 250; see link below.
http://denveraudubon.contestvenue.com/top250.php?start=75
BlankWall Gallery International Competition 2016
Dear Rod Congratulations!
I would like to let you know that the attached photograph has been selected to be exhibited in Blank Wall Gallery from 28 April until 11 May at the exhibition titled “Moments of Color”.
You have been chosen from many remarkable submissions sent from all over the world (competition was very hard indeed)! The submitted photographs were more than 1800.
Best regards,
Maria Toutoudaki
Gallery Director
MariaLuisa 2016 International Competition
Dear contestant, Please, find attached a PDF file containing the relationship of photographs and photographers that have reached the final round of jury deliberations in this last edition of our contest, among them some of your authorship can be found.
Best regards,
27MML-Photo
LensCulture Review (28/01/2017)
Thank you for the opportunity to review your work Rod. Welcome to Lensculture!
By my estimation you are at the top of your craft for this genre of photography. You have the technology and know-how to make a very well-crafted image. You possess an intuitive eye for light, composition, color and form. This will serve you well as you move forward with your career as a photographer.
I can tell that you are passionate about macro wildlife/insect photography. For me your strongest images are your 1st, 3rd, and 6th in this series. I appreciate that they are composed to give the fly room—we get the sense they are looking forward, ready to launch in flight. So what is next? What is your interest in these specific flies? It seems to me that you should consider partnering with a biologist. This type of collaboration might inform your work, and inspire new photographs. This type of partnership might also lead to exhibition opportunities in unexpected places like natural history museums or University laboratories. I wonder if some of these insects are endangered? Could your images be the first step in a conservation effort? Important photographs are successful photographs. Publishers and curators will take notice if you can write about your work in a way that describes its value.
On that note, continue to work on your project statement. Tell us more about your process. The project statement is a great place to do this. Be specific about why your work is important. What are your intentions? The world is saturated with photographs and photographers. Tell us why we should pay attention to your work? Addressing these issues will open up exhibition and publishing opportunities for your work and provide added value for curators, editors, and publishers.
I would encourage you to attend major portfolio reviews to put your work in front of editors and publishers of wildlife magazines and scientific journals. You might look at alternative conferences that are attended by scientists and biologists. It is helpful to determine who is the audience for your work and then create a strategy to engage with that audience.
You are a very skilled photographer. I would suggest you look for online entities and magazines that publish this type of work and begin to network with professionals in this industry. Best of luck for the future!
