READ ON....
To ASMP National:
In August I submitted 6 images to what I thought was a respected photo competition: "Photography Master Cup", also known as "The Color Awards", and perhaps, if not more than likely, some other names!. They have an impressive web site, and the list of jurors is International and very impressive, which is the only reason I ever enter these - I'm most interested in as many people as possible seeing my work - winning an award or prize is always nice, but not my major purpose.
Today I was paying my AMX bill and saw a charge for $105 which I recognized as the fee for this competition. However, the payee is "WORLD PHOTOGRAPHIC ABEVERLY HILLS CA, and the product is called: "Specialty retail"
Some internet research showed that their address is that of other company's like a dump yard a couple photographers (unknown ones), and the phone number is a non working one. I found a few scam complaints on the web, and then went to the Masters Cup website where all the judges are listed. At this point, the three calls I made was enough to convince me of their disingenuous motives at the very least, and perhaps criminal. First on their list is a NYC Gallery - Hasted Kraeutler. Mr. Kraeutler, a partner has never heard of them and is not involved in any way with Masters Cup. Same is true for Getty - both the New York and Los Angeles directors of Photography - neither now nor in the past have they had any connection to this competition. They were all surprised and upset to hear they were included as judges, and have nothing to do with this outfit.
I went no further than those three calls - that's enough for me. You may want to check some of the other "participant jurors" before warning the membership. Both Getty offices and Hasted Hunt thanked me all over the place for informing them, and of course AMX is refusing payment to them on my behalf.
What a world - I guess one can never take their guard down in our business!
Dear Ms. Spirit and Mr. Disgruntled Gentleman,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this warning. This is upsetting. It makes you wonder, if they are actually a sham, then what are they doing with all of those very large jpeg image files that they receive? Printing them? Selling them? If you think this is a ridiculous idea, check out this link (unrelated to the Masters Cup):
http://news.deviantart.com/article/158938/
Back to the subject of your discussion: the Masters Cup is related to the "Black and White Spider" awards, which hands out their own prizes to some really good artists. The news you provided is baffling, and should make all of us become more proactive to ask questions.
BTW, their Los Angeles phone appears to be working now. An overly-animated female voice is on their answering machine. I have no idea if they will actually pick up the phone during their "work" week.
Here are some other facts to add to your experience. One of my friends who entered one of their contests a while back wrote them a e-mail. My friend got an evasive response, over 8 weeks later. I guess that they are so busy, that they think it's justifiable to make someone wait that long. Then, when my friend complained in his next e-mail, he got no response at all.
-- Their e-mails are sent forth by a mysterious woman, known only as "Michelle". No last name or position provided. Anyone worth their weight in the art world will gladly provide their full name.
-- "Michelle" (???), if you are reading this, please respond!!!
-- Michelle would not provide any numbers (regarding the number of entries they receive). She did reveal this: "thousands of images received in each category and therefore a quantity of photographers receive nominations from the judges".
-- Next: this outfit has delayed their Awards announcements for the current Masters Cup about 4 times. They keep putting it off. Is this the mark of a reliable business?
Use your own judgment, but for my $$$, I'm relieved that I have not entered their contests, and I will avoid them, unless someone can prove otherwise.