I've contacted one of the judges, and he assures me that there was a serious day of judging of submissions and that winners were selected for color and B&W in the Master and Student categories, and that some of the submissions (those that were submitted as prints) were available for viewing somewhere at the conference location. He says that he did not keep a list of winners, and he did not say how many prints were selected, but he seemed cordial and forthcoming with what he knew. I think that he has no reason not to be truthful, as his professional reputation is worth more than any benefit he may have received from his association with Foto3, and I do not doubt his account of his participation.
The real questions, it seems, go beyond the participation of the judges. Indeed, there may have been judgments made and winners selected, but were all the winners informed of the results? Were prizes distributed in all categories? And, did the winning participants receive an appropriate degree of public recognition as is the norm in such competitions? These are not questions that the judges are in a position to answer.
In most cases, announcing the winners is not something that a competition organizer does begrudgingly. Indeed, most competition organizers want to show off the results of their efforts and take pride in the quality of submissions they have received. This is normally good publicity for the organizers and builds success in future competitions.
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