Today, a hugely successful report card from the Balkan Circuit in Serbia! This salon had only three categories -- open color and monochrome, and nature -- so I only entered twelve photos, which were judged five times within the circuit. That's 60 entries, of which 23 were accepted. Ten of my twelve photos were accepted by at least one judging. Two of my photos were awarded Salon Honorable Mentions, one of them in two different judgings. So all in all a highly successful result!

Let's talk photos! Here are the eight figure nude photos accepted by the Balkan Circuit:

1. "Den lille havfrue": accepted at Novi Sad, Ruma and Vrbas, and received Salon Honorable Mention awards at Novi Sad and Vrbas! Queen Dandelion's work at Rialto Beach in July 2018 continues to excel.
2. "Ohanapecosh 215": accepted at Aleksinac, Novi Sad, and Vrbas, and received a Salon Honorable Mention at Novi Sad! Katlyn Lacoste is another amazing artist and model, and this photo from March of this year has tremendous promise.
3. "Portend": Leo Velo's portrait from Seattle in February 2016 was accepted at Aleksinac, Novi Sad, Ruma and Vrbas! I'm so pleased that this older photo is finally receiving the attention it deserves.
4. "Framed by Light I": DianaJean at Amanda Park, Washington in July 2016. An reliable favorite that this time was accepted at Aleksinac, Novi Sad, and Ruma.
5. "The world comes apart" is another photo of Katlyn Lacoste at Ohanapecosh this March. I love both the color and black & white versions of this image, and both have been successful. This one was accepted at Novi Sad and Vrbas.
6. "Gothic sundial" is the oldest of this set, from all the way back in October 2012 in Seattle. But I love this image of Psychopomp and am pleased that the judges in Novi Sad and Vrbas liked it too.
7. "A Rose on Mazama Ridge," by contrast, is the newest photo in this list, made with Invy Rose at Mount Rainier National Park this August, and accepted at Vrbas. (Photographed responsibly using Leave No Trace techniques.)
8. "Exclusive" has both color and black & white versions. This was the color version and was accepted at Novi Sad. The model is Marzipanned, photographed in Frink Park in January 2019.

Den lille havfrue (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Accepted x3, HM x2) Ohanapecosh 215 (Open Color PIDC) (Accepted x3, HM) Portend (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Accepted x4) Framed by Light I (Open Color PIDC) (Accepted x3) The world comes apart (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Accepted x2) Gothic Sundial (Open Color PIDC) (Accepted x2) A Rose on Mazama Ridge (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Accepted) Exclusive (Open Color PIDC) (Accepted)

Other thoughts: I've been operating under a theory that past levels of accepting figure nude photos is predictive of how successful my own entries will be. I think that's still valid in cases where the acceptance rate is extremely low, though those can often be predicted just by the sponsoring country. This result, though, casts doubt on the predictive power of mid-range acceptance rates. I would have expected only mediocre results rather than the success actually experienced (and recent salons I would have expected good results from have proved disappointing). I guess the lesson is that my theory isn't as predictive as I thought it might be.

• October 1, 2022, Balkan Circuit (2022-534), Serbia, Photographic Society Contest
  • "Den lille havfrue" (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Novi Sad, Ruma and Vrbas), Salon Honorable Mention at Novi Sad and Vrbas, Queen Dandelion, Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, July 2018
  • "Ohanapecosh 215" (Open Color PIDC) (Aleksinac, Novi Sad and Vrbas), Salon Honorable Mention at Novi Sad, Katlyn Lacoste, Ohanapecosh, Mount Rainier National Park, March 2022
  • "Portend" (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Aleksinac, Novi Sad, Ruma and Vrbas), Seattle, February 2016
  • "Framed by Light I" (Open Color PIDC) (Aleksinac, Novi Sad and Ruma), Amanda Park, Washington, July 2016
  • "The world comes apart" (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Novi Sad and Vrbas), Ohanapecosh, Mount Rainier National Park, March 2022
  • "Gothic Sundial" (Open Color PIDC) (Novi Sad and Vrbas), Psychopomp, Seattle, October 2012
  • "A Rose on Mazama Ridge" (Open Monochrome PIDM) (Vrbas), Invy Rose, Mazama Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park, August 2022
  • "Exclusive" (Open Color PIDC) (Novi Sad), Marzipanned, Frink Park, Seattle, January 2019