2014 Queensland Professional Photography Awards

2014 is the third year I’ve entered the Queensland Professional Photography Awards (aka “the QPPAs”, which our kids think is hysterically funny). I’m pleased to say it was a successful year for me, with four prints receiving Silver awards, including my first two submissions in the Travel category.

Submitting prints to an AIPP judging is quite a strange experience really; you select images that speak to you and that you think will speak to a panel of judges, you tune them to make sure they’re as strong as they can be, then print them and matt them on a standard size board, pop them in a print case, and send them on their way. OK, summarising it in one sentence doesn’t sound too bad… It’s amazing how much time and attention and angst gets poured in to that little print case.

Each year I learn a bit more about the process, and hopefully a bit more about what it takes to be successful. This year I paid a lot more attention to print quality and paper, and after some professional critiquing went to legendary landscape photographer Darren Jew to help with my printing. I think that had a positive outcome. I learned a lot watching the judging too, especially what the judges look for with respect to communication with the viewer. I’m really proud of what I submitted to the QPPAs this year, but I’m even more focused on next year’s submission now.

Here are the images – hope you enjoy them 🙂

Dawn at dawn – Silver award, Illustrative category

I’m still very happy with the session we did with Dawn back in 2013. (That was a big photography day for me; after getting up well before sunrise to shoot the band, I headed off to Hair of the Dog, an AIPP conference focused on learning and workshops, not to mention hanging out with other passionate photographers.) This was actually the last image to be included in my submission; it’s one of Wanda’s favourites, and she really wanted to see it go up for judging. And she did. And it went well.

Stepped Pool – Silver award, Travel category

This image came from our trip to Bangalore in 2013. The Bhogandishwara Temple outside of Bangalore was a fantastic place to visit. This stepped pool was magnificent.

When we first came in to the stepped pool area, there were five or six tourists around, and a dog or two as well. We wandered around, taking a few images and generally being awed by this ancient building.

This man in white came in and sat, probably like he’s done every day for thirty years, and probably like he’s going to do for the rest of his life. And then, one by one, the tourists filed out, until for a few seconds the pool was empty save the three of us and the man. I motioned Wanda and our photographer friend Hari towards the back of the pool area, lined up the shot, and took two exposures before more people came in. Good timing I think.

Dream Weaver – Silver award, Travel category

Most of the time when you’re in a shop buying something, you know it was probably manufactured a thousand miles away, and passed through twenty pairs of hands to get to you. Not this time. On our Bangalore trip, while Wanda and our friend Neeru were in a silk shop, our driver Rajesh led me out of the shop and through an adjacent door, then through a winding dark hallway. I’ll admit to being very curious and maybe a little apprehensive about it… Until he opened a door to this man, working on a pretty amazing and very noisy silk loom, weaving items for sale next door.

This is probably my favourite picture from our Bangalore trip.

Lonely Walk – Silver award, Illustrative category

This is one of my favourite images from a self-commissioned shoot we did late last year with Elizabeth Best. We had a fantastic little crew to put this together, including Shane Skerik, Nigel Riley, and make up artist Danielle Riley (Principal MUA of à la lumière Makeup and Beauty) – the crew really brought this shoot to life. Although we did have a little man-made rain to start the shoot, I think by this stage Mother Nature came to the party with a good downpour.

Because this image went to a challenge in the QPPA judging, I was treated to a fantastic critique of the print. I love it as it is, but if I take it to the APPAs (the national awards later this year) I have a few things to try…