Photographed in Canada Australia and the USA, the competitions represented here are not world-class sporting events nor the most well-known jamborees, but the more ordinary. There is the local cat show, rodeo, Lego-building event and cheerleading nationals. The provincial, suburban existence of the majority of the entrants is too easily sneered at by Metropolitans, but celebrated by most. Sandy Nicholson opens up worlds to us that we may never otherwise have seen.
These portraits are as poignant as they are amusing. Coming 2nd, I began to think as I looked at these photographs, is better than coming first. No room for exaggerated egos or inflated boasting, but a place for pride, inevitable disappointment and a determination to do better next time. There is something a bit more human about the conflicting and contradictory emotions that coming second evokes—being the runner-up is something we can all relate to.
