The real reward I get from taking photographs is when someone has an emotional response to an image which grows over time, or sees a glimpse of a real person in the 2-dimensional frozen moment captured in the photograph.

""The photos are beautiful. I've been told that they capture my "inner essence", so congratulations on doing so with your camera!"
"The more I look at the photos, the more I like them. You have a great eye"
"The photos of the children turned out beautifully. I sure do like the treatments that you've added to some of the pictures. And I have to admit, even though I am one of those people who prefer to be behind the camera instead of in front of it, there is a photo of me that turned out very nice. Well done!"
"You did a fantastic job, and I think the difficulty for us lies in choosing from amongst them"
""He is so good at what he does... he just made me feel so comfortable and at ease"

I am also grateful however, for the formal awards that I have won for my images, shown below.

1st place, 2010 CVCC show and 1st in 2011 TS

1st place, 2010 CVCC show and 1st in 2011 TS

2nd Place, B&W Portraiture, CVCC 2010

2nd Place, B&W Portraiture, CVCC 2010

People's Choice, 2010 Todos Santos Show

People's Choice,  2010 Todos Santos Show

1st Place, 2010 Todos Santos Show

1st Place, 2010 Todos Santos Show

3rd place, 2011 Todos Santos show

3rd place, 2011 Todos Santos  show