I don’t consider myself a “commercial photographer”, rather, I would describe myself as a photographer who challenged herself to something new and succeeded.

The journey into joining the Professional Photographers of Canada came about mostly because I was curious how my rodeo work was perceived by industry professionals in other genres of photography. The PPOC organization offers opportunity to connect with photography minded peers, to learn and challenge ones’ self, and to have one’s work scrutinized by an experienced panel of accomplished photographers in their respective fields.

My rodeo work entered in the Press and Editorial classes generally scores well, and at the National level I have yet to have an entry fail to meet the minimum criteria the judging panel adheres to when scoring. Last summer, I departed from the norm and entered an image in the Product Illustration class in the Alberta Regional Image Salon. A winter project from 2022, I wanted to see how the wine bottle I’ve dubbed “Vino Reflection” faired. It failed. The panel didn’t have any remarks as to why other that to say they felt the wine glass used in the composition wasn’t needed. 

I took that information, reworked the image, and entered it in to the 2023 National Image Salon for scrutinizing. What happened next is something I never expected. 

The image itself scored a Merit - think Gold/Silver/Bronze - I equate a Merit score to a Silver. Decent enough!! I was more than happy with that. Then, about a week after the live judging, Class Finalists and Photographer of the Year Nominee’s are announced. 

Vino Reflection was shortlisted as a Finalist for Best in Class Production Illustration, and I was shortlisted as a Finalist for Commercial Photographer of the Year!!

My submissions in the Editorial and Press classes scored Accepted and Merit respectively. 

Winners will be announced April 22 during the Canadian Imaging Expo and Conference. Best of luck to all the Finalists!! It’s a tough field and I don’t envy the judging panel tasked with the final decision.