Awards don’t matter. But they are fun!
As we drove through Salina Colorado early in the morning we passed this vintage gas station motel and this scene immediately caught my eye. It was beautiful. Straight out of a movie. Unfortunately I we were on a time crunch and not able to stop to capture any photos. I made a mental note that on the way home I would hopefully have decent light and be able to capture a few photos.
Later that evening on the way back home I had completely forgotten about this gas station. The funny thing about mental notes is they don’t last very long unless you write them down or set a reminder on your phone. Luckily just a few blocks before we passed it, my brain jolted and I remembered this scene. As we pulled into the parking lot, it was there. The beautiful after noon light was perfect. I hopped out and snagged a few photos ensuring each one was purposeful in what I was capturing. I did not want to show any modern cars in the photo. Each photo had to contain no elements of modern day design. I love photos like this. If you didn’t know, this photo could have been taken a few decades ago and no one would know the difference.
I couldn’t wait to get home and edit the series of photos. Afterwards I had these beautiful images that were exactly what I wanted. What to do next? Well, I decided that I would upload this shot over on the Leica Fotografie International website…. Basically Leica’s magazine. I visit this site often and always wondered how photographers got their images featured. No the technical side, because I knew how to submit a photo and had submitted ones before, but more of the “what does Leica like”. How could I get a photo on there some day. I submitted this photo and all the details, not thinking much of it because I had never had any luck in the past. Not that I don’t feel like I am a good photographer but I have always held Leica in such high standards that I just never thought I could get to that level.
Fast forward to the next day. We were coming off the mountain and not having any service and I happened to check my email…. I had an email from LFI.. That was weird cause I don’t normally get emails from them unless a new edition of their magazine comes out. The email thanked me for my submission of the photo and that their editors had selected it as a Leica Master Shot. Ugh, what…. A Leica Master shot. An image that would be displayed on their website with my information and I would be ranked amongst the best of the best in terms of Leica. Now, I am not someone big on photography awards. Often times a good story or if you know the right people you can win but for me this was different. Getting a Leica Master Shot doesn’t mean anything in the grand term of things. No money, no one will ever really care, but for this one I cared. Having Leica recognize my photo as a Master Shot is something I am really proud of. It is an image that now hangs on the wall in our home and something I can look at every day and know that for a brief moment in history, I took an image that Leica was proud of. That is pretty killer.
Image taken on the Leica Q2
Link to the image on LFI
