flowers score well, some landscapes, baby animals, visually interesting street photography. Birds, wild animals unless you took them in the Galapagos, Brazilian Rainforest, African Wildlife Preserves, Architectural, waterfalls unless they are exceptional, people unless they are shot in a foreign land, etc often don't do well at all. Jump in, don't expect much and be surprised and happy if you do well.

I used to be a member of PPA and found the judges to be somewhat arbitrary, but they all seem to be that way anyway even outside of PPA. It's hard to be objective about something that is very subjective. Just because a judge doesn't like it (or doesn't understand it) doesn't mean that a)it's not a good picture, b)other people won't like it, c)it won't sell. I once entered an image into a themed competition where the topic was "street lighting" - and I selected an image that was taken on NYC's Highline Park. I selected it because part of the landscape architecture criteria involved lighting - and the winning solution was one where there wasn't a single pole, lamp post or floodlight above eye level - so that the scenery - in this case the buildings lit up at night - was not obstructed by lights. All the lighting was task lighting, and the walks, benches and stairs were beautifully and well lit, without dark areas. A very elegant solution. The judge DQ'd it because she didn't see any lamp posts. Sometimes you have to wonder how these people became judges. SMH. . .

Thank you!, I totally agree with you about the judges, in the town that I live in there is an art festival every year, I have entered three times, only one of my pictures Was excepted and hung up on the wall! It was a black-and-white photo of the Zakim bridge in Boston Massachusetts ,I was so happy just to get one picture excepted! Looking back it was the only picture I had had professionally printed and framed, so maybe there’s my answer?, But who really knows, last year I entered six pictures and all were rejected, rejection is no fun! LOL this year I opted out!