I arrived home last night after nearly five days in Melbourne, most of which was spent at the Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPA) judging. The judging took place inside the Digital Life expo, a three day event for photographers, designers and those associated with the industry at the Melbourne Convention Centre. As many of you will know, I only joined the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) in January, and so this was my first time entering and attending the APPAs, and wow, what an experience!
My itinerary also included a heck of a lot of socialising and an insane amount of laughter. I met many new people, and got to spend time with many lovely friends as well. (Oh, and I shopped too, of course! A trip to Melbourne is never complete without shopping!)
And quite apart from the social aspect, I saw some absolutely amazing work, a lot of which was by those I am fortunate enough to call friends. Many of my fellow ’emerging’ photographers entering for the first time picked up more than one award for their prints, and it was all just so exciting to watch and be a part of. Congratulations to all of you gorgeous, clever people, including those who didn’t make it over that frustrating ’79’ – you are all winners in my eyes!
Those of you who follow my facebook page may have have noticed a few excited status updates from the judging, but for those who don’t, I’m so thrilled and happy to share with you that I was awarded three silver awards for the three prints I entered! The first two were in the Illustrative category, and third was in Portrait (the same image I got a silver for at the state awards earlier in the year). There is a new category in the APPAs called Family, which is all about the every day work of photographers who specialise in photographing babies, children and families – it was fascinating to watch the judging of that category and I will definitely be entering it next year.
So for anyone reading this who:
- has never been a part of the AIPP APPAs or state print awards
- is just getting into photography and looking for inspiration
- wants to see some amazing work that you would never ordinarily get the chance to see
- wants to learn and network with other photographers
- is about to make the leap into professional photography…
Let me urge you to go along to next year’s APPAs (which I believe will be in Sydney) and watch the judging. Treat yourself to three days of total immersion in the professional industry. It’s fascinating, inspiring, educational and a whole heap of fun. I am already looking forward to 2011!!!
