The dust has settled on the annual photographic migration to the Australian Institute of Professional Photography’s Australian Professional Photography Awards and now the herds of professional photographers are heading back to their summer grazing grounds to regroup, celebrate or lick their wounds.
To see the nervous anticipation on Day 1 as photographers gathered, standing on the precipice above the river that represents the stream of amazing and not quite so amazing prints presented for judging, wondering if they would be the ones to get devoured by the waiting judges or swim through collecting those high scores that we all aspire to, is something to behold. As a judge and an entrant I felt all the nerves of standing on that precipice along with the anxiety of a judge waiting in the river below, who wants to deliver the best, most honest and fair result for everyone in the categories I was involved in.
To everyone who took the plunge into the uncomfortable waters, your bravery will be rewarded whether that’s reflected in your scores or just in the knowledge that you’re part of a community that is strong, talented and willing to share their experience for the benefit of others. Those hard, gut-wrenching places are where growth comes from so enjoy the next year’s creative journey and come back to the APPA river in a year’s time with new offerings for us all to enjoy.
Moving away from the migration references (must be safari time), I can now reflect on my own submissions and share some of my journey with the creation of each print. In summary though, my prints scored well for a Silver and three Silver Distinctions which gave me a high enough aggregate to make me a finalist in the Illustrative category for which I am grateful and thankful.
To all the category winners, Gold awards gatherers, volunteers, judges, panel chairs, sponsors, supporters and especially to those whose expectations weren’t met but who held their heads up proudly … well done and it is all of you who make me proud to be a part of the photography community.
