I enter competitions for the same reason. I want to see how my work is doing, how my skills mesh with others across the globe, and see what and where I can improve. In fact winning is just a perk but the process of selecting image, titling it, debating if it can compete, and then seeing the outcome is far more rewarding.

I have been doing competitions for years, long before I had a camera even. I was an artist and in high school my art teacher pushed us and sometimes required us to submit art work to competitions locally and state wide. Yes we wanted to win but he taught us it was the critique and participation where we would learn the most. Yes, we celebrated the wins, but he ripped the bandaid off teaching us to take critiques with grace and to seek out learning opportunities while putting ourselves out there for whatever the outcome maybe.