Here is a copy of the official press release from the PPOC:

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
2010 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS OF CANADA NATIONAL IMAGE COMPETITION

May 12, 2010 Mont-Tremblant QC

The 2010 National Image Competition of the Professional Photographers of Canada took place this week during Inspiration 2010, the Annual Convention of the PPOC, in Mont-Tremblant, QC.
Bruce Clarke, a professional photographer from Edmonton, AB, had 2 images accepted and exhibited in the National Image Competition, judged prior to the Convention by a panel of Master Photographers from across Canada. Acceptance in the competition earns the maker Merits toward several Degrees offered to PPOC members, including the prestigious Craftsman of Photographic Arts and Master of Photographic Arts. It is also an indication of the makers’ ability to produce above average images for their clientele.

The competition features entries from across Canada in many different classes, including Portraiture, Wedding, Commercial, Digital and Specialist categories. Members also are able to enter Salons in their respective regions of Canada annually, increasing their opportunities to earn recognition for their skills as a PPOC member. The Annual Convention also presents seminars by an international assortment of the world’s foremost photographers, as well as a Trade Show where suppliers display the latest in equipment and services to the Professional Photographic industry.

For more information on the activities and services offered by the Professional Photographers of Canada, interested readers may contact the organization by phoning 1-888-643-PPOC, e-mailing – ppoc@rogers.com, or visiting the PPOC Web Site at http://www.ppoc.ca. PPOC wishes the recipients and their sponsors continued success.

Submitted by: Brian Lee, HLM MPA Cr. Photog. National Exhibition Chair, PPOC lee.photog2010@rogers.com

And what blog post would be complete without showing you the image that was awarded a Merit score – my infamous Spanish Godfather.

The way print salon works is that each member is allowed to enter up to four images in a variety of categories such as wedding, portrait, editorial, etc. This year, there were approximately 260 images entered at the provincial level. I entered two images in the editorial category and two images in the wedding category. Images are judged in random order by a panel of 5 judges and awarded a rating of not accepted, accepted, merit, and excellence. Images with a rating of of accepted or higher earn service points which are used towards various designations such as Master of Photographic Arts (MPA) and Craftsman of Photographic Arts (CPA). Photographers with these designations next to their names are considered experts in the field of photography and have contributed greatly to the photography society.

Watching your image get judged by a panel of your peers is a nerve wracking experience with more emotional ups and downs than a gold medal Olympic hockey game. I spoke with several photographers who told me not to get too discouraged if none of my prints were accepted on my first attempt as the judging can brutal and the competition quite fierce.

As images came up on the screen, I started to think about the images I had submitted and self-doubt began to creep in. This is where the roller coaster of emotions begins to kick in. There were some awesome images in the show from photographers who’s work I’ve admired for years and who I look up to. I found myself starting to think that none of my images would stack up but I was prepared to accept that and hopefully get some constructive criticism at the very least. Often, I am my own worst critic when it comes to my work but I guess that’s just how I’ve always been.

To make a long story short, I was pleasantly surprised when three out of the four images I entered were accepted. However the surprises didn’t end there as I learned that one of my images had received a grade of Excellence. Being my first PPOC print competition, I didn’t fully realize the magnitude of the score until fellow photographers started to congratulate me and tell me what an amazing achievement it was to receive an excellent rating – particularly considering this was my first time entering. I was shocked but also excited at the same time and all that self-doubt and self-criticism started to melt away.

But the roller coaster ride wasn’t to end there my friends. First, by receiving a score of excellence, my image will automatically go on to compete on a national level with photographers from across Canada. I also discovered that my image was in the running for best Editorial photograph of the show. However once I found out who I was up against, good old self-doubt made a triumphant return and I figured at least it was an honor to be nominated but I was certain my time on the roller coaster was at an end. But just when I thought it was over, the coaster fired back up again and headed into a series of 360 loops. Not only did my image win best Editorial photo but it was also selected to receive the Pat Eisenbarth Award for Best in Show! Crazy!

I am humbled and honored to be recognized by such a distinguished jury of my peers. It was such a surreal moment to have photographers who I admire and look up to, come over to our table to introduce themselves to me. I’m usually pretty chatty but on this night I was at a loss for words.

I try to avoid getting to personal or too sappy on here but I want to take a moment to give a special thanks to my wife Sarah who’s support over the past few years has allowed me to pursue my photography dreams. Without her love and encouragement, I would not be where I am today. I also want to thank all of my friends and fellow photographers who have helped me along the way, encouraged me, and told self-doubt to take a hike. Your support means the world to me.

Okay, enough of my blabbering on (this may go in the books as my longest blog post yet), Here is the image I entered which won Best in Show. The image is called ‘The Hunger’ and was for a project that I did for Edmonton’s Foodbank back in October of last year. For those who missed the post, you can read all about it here.

Below is a quick shot of the awards that I was presented with on Saturday night. Thanks again for all your support and encouragement and congratulations to my fellow photographers who took home trophies.

The promotion is entitled “Expressions of Hunger” – An Interactive Photo and Literary Contest. The public will be invited to submit their photographs, short stories, poems, or prose expressing the following elements of hunger: Mental, Emotional, Physical, Environmental, and Spiritual. The photographs and literary pieces will be displayed online for the public to choose their favourites and then there will be exhibition of the winning pieces on display in conjunction with World Hunger Day in June.

To promote the campaign, Tamara and Fay from the Foodbank wanted to put together a poster depicting the various elements and approached me to produce a photograph that captured as many of these elements as possible. After some brainstorming I kept coming back to a vision I had of an empty fridge in the middle of a farmer’s field. Tapping into the local community, we managed to locate a retro fridge courtesy of the Edmonton’s Eco Station. Once we had that in place, we needed a location for the photo shoot and Jesse from the Edmonton Corn Maze stepped up to the plate to offer up his property for us to do the shoot on. The final piece of the puzzle was to find some volunteers to be our models. Once again, Tamara and Fay located a fabulous group of volunteers who braved a chilly Sunday afternoon to stand around in a field.

A big thanks to my wife Sarah and to Owen Law from Naked Eye Photography for your help during the photo shoot. Here is the final image we wound up selecting for the campaign poster:

Once the image had been selected, the next step was to hand it over to the talented ladies at Woodward Design – Amanda and Kristin, to produce the final poster for the campaign.  You can see the results of their work in this PDF.

The official poster will be revealed to the public at the Edmonton Foodbank’s Harvest Lunch which will be held on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009. Full details on how to enter the contest will be found on the Foodbank’s website at www.edmontonsfoodbank.com.

On Tuesday, Global TV’s Lynda Steele (www.twitter.com/lyndasteele) sat down with Tamara and Fay from the Foodbank to talk about the campaign and provide a sneek peek at the final poster. Here is the segment that aired on Tuesday.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with this project and a special thanks to Tamara and Fay from the Foodbank for inviting me to contribute to such a worthwhile cause. For more information head on over to www.edmontonsfoodbank.com and be sure to follow the Foodbank on Twitter at www.twitter.com/yegfoodbank.

The criteria used in judging the photos was as follows:

• Stimulating subject choice
• Strong composition
• Creative cropping
• An awareness of lighting, lighting positions, shadows, etc
• The importance of tonal separation
• Effective exposure with the camera – technical and aesthetic
• Depth
• Selective styling and propping to enhance the subject matter
• Visual and emotional impact

The evening began with all the photos on display. There were some truly amazing images captured by the participants. Going into the competition I wasn’t expecting much and after seeing what my competition had submitted I was even less optimistic.

The Cigar Man – 1st Place – People Category. Winner of Best in Show

When the judging began, each photo was displayed in front of the three judges for approximately 30 seconds. Each judge gave their score out 10 and the combined scores were announced. It was very nerve wracking as the scores were announced. Photos that I thought should have scored higher got low marks and some photos that I didn’t find that strong received some fairly high marks. It was an emotional roller coaster as my images were being judged. The first few I entered scored in the bottom or the middle of the pack. I started to get a bit disheartened and wondered if I had really learned anything over the past two years. I had to remind myself that this was a learning experience and that these things are very subjective.

Once all of the judging was complete, the judges retired to another room to pick the top 5 in each category and select the overall best in show. I had loosely been keeping track of the scores and was surprised that one of my images had garnered the highest score of the evening – a 26 out of 30. Still, the judges had to review their scores and debate which ones they liked the best so I knew that the score might not be enough to win the competition.

When the final judging was complete, to my surprise my image of the “Cigar Man” that I captured while in Barcelona, Spain won 1st place in the People category and Best in Show. I also took 2nd place in the Abstract category with my image of the shadow of a co-worker playing golf entitled “Shadow at Play” I won $300 in photo finishing from McBain Camera and $175 in Gift Certificates for more courses at Metro. Needless to say I felt very honored to have been selected. It was a nice to receive some confirmation that I had learned something in the past couple of years and that perhaps I do have a good eye for this stuff. Even though many people have told me that I do, often I am my own worst critic and allow self-doubt to get in the way sometimes.

Probably the best part of the evening was the hour or so we got to spend having the judges critiquing images and giving us some insight into what they were looking for and why the scored the images they way they did. It was a valuable learning experience and I definitely picked up a few things that I will try to incorporate into my next shoot.