"Jim Charter" <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote in message 
news:4202cbbc@news.povray.org...
>>
> I totally agree.  And you said it well.

Yep.  A long-race against worthy opponents, perhaps.  I hate to think of 
anyone as being an "opponent" though.  :-)

>
> The whole thing evidently weighed on people's minds a lot. Several people 
> feeling the need to explain their decision, one way or another. I think a 
> high-profile event like this is quite a learning experience for us, and 
> across several issues.  During the course of the entire contest, in both 
> its phases, I believe I have personally experienced every feeling of doubt 
> and apprehension that has been voiced here.

Luckily, I guess I shoved most of my doubt and apprehension aside until 
after I submitted my image.  Then I started looking around at raph.com, 
trying out new ideas, looking at Gilles' Mini Cooper scene, etc.  Suddenly, 
my entry didn't seem good enough anymore.  Eventually it wore me down.  For 
a few days I was convinced that my entry would "suck", and I sunk into a bit 
of depression.  I've shown my entry to some family and friends and I got 
some encouraging words, but also things like, "What's that supposed to 
be???" and, "I don't get it..."  I'm sure everyone gets that.  It's hard to 
know if you should take someone's advice.

Tonight, I feel more relaxed, thanks in part to Gilles' statement.  Funny 
how that works.  Somehow, knowing that the entries are higher quality makes 
me feel better about everyone involved, including me.  Competing in any 
competition always teaches me something about myself.  Regardless of the 
end-result, I think THAT is a good thing.

I'm glad the judging for this competition is anonymous.  Otherwise, I would 
feel less inclined to speak this openly.

-- 
Jeremy
www.beantoad.com