Thoughts on the Panel Review day

The panel review day went very well, actually better than expected. I was there early in the morning to set everything up, and was able to meet the first few panel members.
My meeting was later in the day, so I waited anxiously most of the afternoon. I asked students how their meeting went, and was surprised that most people had a positive experience.
My first meeting with Stretch Ledford was wonderful. I was very nervous as I walked up to the table and began to introduce myself and my work. I talked a little about my concept and what the project meant to me. Stretch was interested in this but seemed to be more interested in how and where my work was meant to be shown. He was interested in what type of audience my work was geared towards as well. Stretch is more of a commercial photographer, so it made sense that he was concerned about these topics.
He said some very inspiring and kind things to me. He could see that I was able to convey inner emotions through my work. He then went on to say that this was the meaning of true art. This may be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me about my work.
The only real problem he had with my presentation was my over sized portfolio box.
His photograph is shown above. (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 1993; color print.)

My second meeting with Aimee Koch also went very well. Again I nervous as I walked up to meet her. She was much more interested in the concept side of my work. I was a bit flustered and had a hard time conveying exactly what my work was about. This is something I will have to work on.
In the end she was interested in my work and mentioned a few times that it was unique. She gave me some great advice on how to arrange my series. She mentioned that some of the photographs were easier to read, while others were more abstract. She felt that it was important for the viewer to look at the less abstract pictures first, to get a feeling for the content, and then to be led onto the more abstract photos. This would hopefully get the viewer interested in the series and willing to spend more time with some of the more difficult pictures later on.
Her picture is also shown above. ( Shirt #4)