Whoooooohooooooo!!! That’s the greeting that most people encountered this morning on MSN Messenger. It accompanied my name for today of B(ig-shot award-winning photographer!! (P) ).

If you haven’t heard yet, last night was the opening and awards ceremony for the UWI Camera Club’s annual exhibition. This is my first as I only joined them last September. After months of preparations, it is finally over. and what do I have to show for it?? First place in the Nature category (as predicted by Winston’s expert eye), a third place also in the Nature category and several honourable mentions. Of the 13 pieces I entered, 6 received awards.

I have been bouncing off the walls because outside of the academic arena I don’t think I have ever actually won anything. I know in swimming I was a bronze medal girl. In pan, my quartet placed 3rd (almost 2nd) in Trinidad. But I can’t remember a first place. This is an amazing feeling!!

I am not a competitive person and my joy here is not about beating out other people just the fact that I could do this. It feels a little unbelievable because I look at the pictures and see the same little prints I worked on, looking almost ordinary. But people seem to like them, and when I say people I am including my resident experts of Pops and Uncle Johnny. Whew!! To impress these two is no easy feat.

Next step - pricing my work so people can buy them (imagine that - people wanting to buy my photographs).