Bonsai nut 2020 expo

[Clicio]

...but right now, none of my trees are “show ready”. I would need at least a month’s notice.

I agree with Adair, the idea is really good and the effort to create a website, etc will not be lost if somehow we schedule the show with enough time to prepare our entries.
I my specific case it is the end of the Winter down here, so some deciduous are leafless (but ugly) while the tropicals are still sulking...

 

[Clicio]

@SouthernMaple and @zanduh thanks for the idea and for your efforts to make it happen!

 

[HorseloverFat]

Love the idea... can’t really participate this year.. as all most of my trees are collections, cuttings, seedlings, and nursery stock initially shaped...

I have never purchased a tree/plant with the word “bonsai” anywhere in the definition. (couldn’t afford it anyways)

MY “entries” would resemble complete garbage.. (gimme a few years.. I’m workin’ on it. )

I AM still excited to see “what happens”

 

[JudyB]

Judy thanks for your feedback, this is just a practice run to collect data and feedback, the actual contest will have a much longer deadline. Does 10-14 days sound better? Please let me know and post something before Sunday, it doesn't have to be perfect. Just wanted to do something bonsai related this weekend. Also my bonsai club cancelled all 3 shows we were having this year because of covid.

I really think that you need a few months or a yearly date to have something that can be aimed at. I start thinking about display 2 years out! I do things to trees that will be displayed either this year or the next always with the timeline in mind. Same with tables that need built and accent plants that need to be sorted out. If you want to do something off the cuff, then I suggest you just do a simple show us your trees thread. On the other hand maybe a yearly Bnut contest would be nice. I think that people here would probably be able to pick their own levels fairly.

 

[JudyB]

Wow...that doesn't sound fun at all. I'm a backyard hobbiest at best. I've never thought to categorize myself anything but. Glad I decided early on I can't participate.

I think that you've moved up further than you think you have. You've grown and bettered yourself, and your trees show it.

 

[JudyB]

To be perfectly honest, I do have a couple trees that are in show condition, as they had been accepted for the national show this fall that has been cancelled. But as soon as the cancellation happened, I stopped moving in that direction with them. For instance I have a layer of chopped sphagnum on the soil that would take time to remove at this point as the roots have started to grow into it, and to do it carefully in order not to damage them takes some effort and time. I also don't have moss that I've been working to prepare at this point for putting on the soil. That would have been something I would have been working on in the past week or two to collect and clean up. So a few days just doesn't really give anyone who really takes a serious view of display for a showing.

 

[Cadillactaste]

I think that you've moved up further than you think you have. You've grown and bettered yourself, and your trees show it.

Thank you Judy... that is kind of you to say that. I guess... I look up to so many, like yourself. That I don't see myself in anything other than where I've put myself.

I've no club, in a town well known and loved by the nickname Cow town...that...I fell into backyard hobbiest quite easily...And have planted myself there in that category. Its hard to see myself as anything but that.

 

[Soup Dragon]

Any feedback on the website I posted up the thread as the host/design for the expo?

It looks great to me. Did you envisage one photo per tree, or multiple?

 

[zanduh]

It looks great to me. Did you envisage one photo per tree, or multiple?

Forsoothe has stated that he won’t touch my site because of Wordpress’s use of cookies and my bet is others will feel like him.

It costs me nothing to keep the site up using the free plan so if this takes off and people do want to use the site then it will be ready for me to hand it over to whoever would be managing the expo.

You could absolutely do multiple pictures per post and have one as the “featured image” which shows up on the home page, but where it gets dicey is that the free plan only allows for 3GB of hosting. So if a ton of people wanted to all submit 10s of high quality pictures we would have to pay for an upgraded plan.

 

[Trenthany]

There are different types of shows. A Club show should be all inclusive so that everyone should feel encouraged to participate. Yes, “Showing a Tree” does force you to be more critical of your trees. And I feel it really does “pressure” you to do better. You do have to start to learn about pots, stands, and accents. “Showing” is an entirely different skill set than “bonsai”.

@Forsoothe, that’s interesting about how at your club everyone wants to be an Intermediate to win ribbons. At the Atlanta club, we have “novice”, “enthusiast”, and “expert” categories. A few enter the “novice” category, it seems everyone else thinks they’re “expert”! Lol!!!

At BIB, awards are given by tree classifications: “best conifer”, or “best deciduous”, etc. The goal of the show is to show excellent bonsai, and Boon decides If trees are “show worthy” or not.

@SouthernMaple brought up the NCExpo show. That’s an unusual show. To be able to show, you have to be a member of one of a few select bonsai Clubs in the Southeast. Each club gets two tables of display space. And innovative displays are encouraged. Some clubs spend a great deal of time and effort to create unique displays. The quality of the trees runs the full spectrum from poor to great.

The National Show in Rochester is “by invitation”, in that anyone who wishes to show submits a photo, and Bill Valavanis decides if the tree will be given an invitation. He tries to have a variety of species and styles. Unusual species, therefore, have a higher chance of getting accepted than the more common species. If you want to show a juniper, it had better be great!

In Japan, there are all kinds of shows. From “family shows”, to club shows, to the big shows like Taikan-ten and Kokofu. We tend to focus on the big ones, which are dominated by the professionals. Just like horse races... we hear about the big ones, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. We never hear much about all the others.

@Trenthany, to properly prepare a tree for showing, that requires a lot of work. Sometimes months of preparation! But certainly time to install good moss, tidy foliage, Obtain stand, install wire and/or remove wire... many of us might have photos of our trees that are reasonably cleaned up, but right now, none of my trees are “show ready”. I would need at least a month’s notice.

Very nice breakdown! Maybe in a few years.. or decades! I got into it for me but the more I learn the more I actually want to show a tree! Eventually!

 

[Vance Wood]

I agree with Adair, the idea is really good and the effort to create a website, etc will not be lost if somehow we schedule the show with enough time to prepare our entries.
I my specific case it is the end of the Winter down here, so some deciduous are leafless (but ugly) while the tropicals are still sulking...

No one seems to comment on the quality of the photography???? How many of these posts put up by newbies are totally unrecognizable as a bonsai, not because the trees are so poor but the exposure of the photograph is execrable? If you are going to do something like this the issue of taking pictures will have to be addressed.

 

[Trenthany]

I really think that you need a few months or a yearly date to have something that can be aimed at. I start thinking about display 2 years out! I do things to trees that will be displayed either this year or the next always with the timeline in mind. Same with tables that need built and accent plants that need to be sorted out. If you want to do something off the cuff, then I suggest you just do a simple show us your trees thread. On the other hand maybe a yearly Bnut contest would be nice. I think that people here would probably be able to pick their own levels fairly.

I do love the idea and an annual contest is a great idea. Especially with tiers otherwise the contest would be dominated by the ones we’re all here to learn from.

 

[zanduh]

No one seems to comment on the quality of the photography???? How many of these posts put up by newbies are totally unrecognizable as a bonsai, not because the trees are so poor but the exposure of the photograph is execrable? If you are going to do something like this the issue of taking pictures will have to be addressed.

Absolutely agree. There would have to be some guidelines to the photography. Not like “must be taken with this 3000 camera and lighting rig” but “at a bare minimum you need a plain background and the photo must be well lit”

 

[Trenthany]

No one seems to comment on the quality of the photography???? How many of these posts put up by newbies are totally unrecognizable as a bonsai, not because the trees are so poor but the exposure of the photograph is execrable? If you are going to do something like this the issue of taking pictures will have to be addressed.

Perhaps a minimum resolution and set size to crop to? Most people know someone that could take a good picture. I can take decent pics with iPhone 11 Pro but I definitely am still learning from the people with years of experience on how to frame and set the tree. I need to get myself a backdrop as well!

 

[Trenthany]

Thank you Judy... that is kind of you to say that. I guess... I look up to so many, like yourself. That I don't see myself in anything other than where I've put myself.

I've no club, in a town well known and loved by the nickname Cow town...that...I fell into backyard hobbiest quite easily...And have planted myself there in that category. Its hard to see myself as anything but that.

Your trees I’ve seen are way better than mine! You have to remember this Is just fancy gardening. You don’t have to have the all the fancy stuff, just an ability to grow trees and a decent eye for design.

 

[Vance Wood]

If what I am reading comes to pass this is what I think is going to happen. Everyone will have to have really good pots for their trees, great stands, a scroll behind the tree and an accompany plant to display with the tree. All of this will have to go into a tokonoma and be properly photographed. I have found that there are quite a few individuals that are as interested in the area of display as they are in the trees themselves,----and we have not even talked about moss yet. If you want to discourage the newest members of the forum this is a good way to do so.

 

[Trenthany]

Love the idea... can’t really participate this year.. as all most of my trees are collections, cuttings, seedlings, and nursery stock initially shaped...

I have never purchased a tree/plant with the word “bonsai” anywhere in the definition. (couldn’t afford it anyways)

MY “entries” would resemble complete garbage.. (gimme a few years.. I’m workin’ on it. )

I AM still excited to see “what happens”

I feel you! One of these days I’ll be there but not today! Lol

 

[Trenthany]

If what I am reading comes to pass this is what I think is going to happen. Everyone will have to have really good pots for their trees, great stands, a scroll behind the tree and an accompany plant to display with the tree. All of this will have to go into a tokonoma and be properly photographed. I have found that there are quite a few individuals that are as interested in the area of display as they are in the trees themselves,----and we have not even talked about moss yet. If you want to discourage the newest members of the forum this is a good way to do so.

This is a concern. Because I don’t have any of that and don’t know when I will. Full display will be hard for many people unless it’s made open to more creative interpretations of full “display” perhaps a painting/poster instead of a scroll? Suiseki instead of a companion plant? I don’t think that was your intent but it would open it up to more people.

 

[Clicio]

... If you want to discourage the newest members of the forum this is a good way to do so.

Yes and no.
It may discourage some but it will make many others aware of all the work and demands to properly exhibit bonsai.
In the end it can be a very good learning experience for many.

 

[zanduh]

If you can see the tree clearly and there are are no beer bottles for scale then you should be good to post