So. Deep breath. How about these apples? Earlier this month, food photographer Matt Armendariz put out a call on his twitter feed for submissions for a food photography show at Darkroom Galleries. The show, called Feast, would be judged by Matt who would chose 45 photos including a Juror's Choice and three Honorable Mentions.

Well, dear reader. I entered it. It took much deliberation, honest it did, but I culled through my food photographs and even shot some new ones. Once I narrowed them down to about ten, my photography group helped me narrow those down even further to the four you could submit. Finally with the back up of Neel and Cal, I hit enter. Matt chose two, the ones you see above, for the exhibit.

I never, in a million years, dreamed that this would happen for me.

When I decided to submit some of my photos, my real goal was simply to go through the process. I haven't really done anything like this before, and I wanted to learn a bit about myself (I did) and a bit more about who I am as a photographer (I really did). Working with my photo group was amazing. Just talking it out with them, helped to focus my thoughts, and gave me more confidence in the choices I made about my submissions. I know what I'm good at and where my weaknesses lie, and I knew were not to push myself and where to really trust my eye.

You may not know Matt Armendariz, but people, he's the bomb. Aside from being a phenomenal photographer, he's written two books, one a cookbook and the other a food photography book, and he's shot for many big names including Target, the Food Network, Food and Wine, Pom Wonderful and Coastal Living. Just knowing that he'd be looking at my work was enough to A) terrify me, but B) give me the push to do it.

And knowing that he chose two of my photos? Well, I'm proud, and astonished, and humbled, and pretty much over the moon.

I still haven't come down yet.

Here's the link to Feast, where you can see all of the photos chosen for the exhibit, including the Juror's Choice and Honorable Mentions.