Two recent award announcements from the APA

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m a member of the APA (Advertising Photographers of America (New York Chapter)) and I’ve benefitted greatly over the years from my involvement with the organization. There are many benefits of membership, including savings on insurance and software, free resources such as sample contracts, as well as the opportunity to attend a variety of educational programs held around the USA at photo studios, Apple Stores and schools where APA members come to speak. Often, the talks are free, or a nominal cost to APA members. Even non-members are almost always invited to attend APA-sponsored events.

Virtually all of the people who help run the APA are volunteers, and it takes a lot of time and dedication to put events together and to run the day to day operations of each chapter. This year, the APA is celebrating its 25th year anniversary, and they are marking the event in part with the APA 25th Anniversary Recognition Awards. As explained in APA’s press release “the APA 25th Anniversary Recognition Awards were created to honor leaders within the organization who have made significant contributions to further APA’s mission while helping to strengthen the photographic community. Voted on by their peers, six recipients were honored at APA’s 25th anniversary party co-hosted with Digital Railroad at the Sandbox Studio in New York on October 19, 2007.

Voted on by their peers, the recipients are:

Jeff Sedlik, APA Advocacy Award;
Bobbi Lane, APA Education Award;
Michael Grecco, APA Professionalism and Integrity Award;
Peter Krogh, APA Innovation in Technology Award;
George Fulton, APA Creativity Award; and
Will Mosgrove, APA Leadership Award

Complete bios of all the award winners can be found on this page.

Another 25th Anniversary event was the 2007 APA National Photography Competition, “Silver to Pixels,” unveiled at APA’s 25th anniversary party, co-hosted with Digital Railroad at the Sandbox Studio in New York on October 19, 2007. APA’s press release gives an excellent overview: “Winning competition images were displayed digitally throughout the event with over 1,100 in attendance and at the APA Booth at PhotoPlus Expo. APA sincerely thanks each photographer who submitted work for the competition. With over 2,000 entries, they gave the esteemed panel of judges a real workout in making their selections.”

“The judges had the difficult task of settling on the winners and APA is extremely pleased with this opportunity to highlight outstanding work representing the extraordinary talent of photographers from around the country,” comments Constance Evans, APA National CEO. “Many thanks to our generous sponsors, prestigious panel of judges, and a special thank you to Digital Railroad whose technology powered the competition.”

The 2007 National Photography Competition Winners for the Silver to Pixels competition were:

Grand Prize Winner – Steve Brooks (APA)
Lifestyle – 1st Place – Adrian Hyman (APA)
Portrait – 1st Place – Adam den Haene (APA)
Fashion- 1st Place – Michelle Joyce
Action (Sports / Adventure) – 1st Place – Steve Brooks (APA)
Still-Life / Food – 1st Place – Miles Keep
Landscape / Architecture – 1st Place – Douglas Hill (APA)
Personal / Fine Art – 1st Place – Carlo Van De Roer
Legacy (images made before 1997) – 1st Place – John Deane (APA)
Student – Best of Students – James Cole (APA)

Winners will be featured in the December issue of Rangefinder Magazine and will also have a liveBooks Gallery for all the images.

To view a fantastic slide show of winning images from the competition, visit this page on the APA website.

The Center for Fine Art Photography Portfolio Show-Last day to enter 11/20/2007

About a week ago, I had the honor of being the juror for a show at The Center for Fine Art Photography. The experience was fantastic, and many of the images are still etched firmly in my mind. The Center for Fine Art Photography currently has a different type of show (The Portfolio Exhibition) that is accepting entries until 11:59PM MST (Mountain Standard Time) 11/20/2007.

Twelve photographers will be chosen to display their eight-image portfolio in The Center for Fine Art Photography’s gallery. The Portfolio Exhibition will be January 4 – 19, 2008 and the opening and public reception is Friday, January 4, during the Fort Collins Gallery Walk. The exhibition will also appear on the Center’s online gallery for the next two years.

For more info, visit The Center for Fine Art Photography.

Interview posted on Inside Digital Photo Radio

A few weeks ago I was a guest on Inside Digital Photo Radio. The show airs weekly in a number of U.S. markets and is then made available to a global audience online and as a podcast via Apple’s iTunes.

I’ve been listening to Inside Digital Photo Radio since the show began about a year ago, and I’ve really enjoyed the mix of guests from many different segments of the photo industry. You can listen to the 35 minute interview online here, or you can subscribe to the show in iTunes.