We just returned from the Professional Aerial Photographers Association, International (PAPA) conference in Houston, Texas. We had a great time, learned a lot, and came home with an impressive collection of awards! But before I get to that, I'd like to mention a few things that we did while we were there. Both Stan and I were asked to give presentations to the attendees. Stan's presentation was on Air-to-Air photography and was well attended - standing room only! I gave a presentation on Construction Progress Aerial photography - not as glamorous as Air-to-Air, but a large portion of our aerial business. It went well and during the presentation I shared the results of on online survey I had conducted about general construction progress aerial photography practices by members of PAPA. Interesting results.
This year, like last year, I was asked to be one of the judges for the print competition. Always a popular event at the conventions, this years show was no disappointment. I didn't enter any prints this year as I wanted to avoid any perceived unfairness of judging my own prints (which doesn't happen anyway because we have alternate judges that step in when a judges print comes up). I did step aside when Stan's prints were judged as well. I'll get to the results in a second. Pat Belanger, who has been the print competition chairman for the past few years, was elected to be the president of PAPA at the convention. As a result, he resigned his position over the print competition and asked me to step in and take his place. I am honored to serve in that capacity. PAPA has been great for us and I'm happy to give back to the organization.
On to the awards! Stan cleaned up with his entrys. He entered the Air-to-Air, Commercial, Scenic and Artistic categories with photographs we took over the last year. I've put low res images of them after this paragraph. Each catagory offers two chance to win top honors - the peoples choice (every attendee votes on their favorites) and the judges choice. In the Commercial catagory, Stan won the Best Air-to-Air Judges Choice with his shot of a Top Cub in front of a snow covered mountain. His night aerial of Temple Square at Christmas time won not only the Best Commercial Photograph Peoples Choice, but the Judges Choice as well. However, it was his sunset photograph of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park that took the cake - it won the Best Scenic Photograph Judges Choice award and also the Aerial Photograph of the Year award for being the highest overall scoring print in the competition! It was amazing, and the awards ceremony turned into the Stan Macbean Show!
As one of the judges, I was honored to pick my personal favorite image and award the photographer with a with a plaque stating the same. I picked a panoramic aerial of a misty mountain scene shot by Todd Quam of Digital Sky Aerial Imaging in Sacramento, CA.
Towards the end of the awards ceremony, I was surprised to learn that I had earned my PAPA International Master Photographer Award for Aerial Photography Excellence. To achieve this award is a major milestone for me and I am grateful for the recognition of my peers in the aerial photography industry.
All in all, it was a great conference! We re-united with some great friends and fellow photographers and came away with some great awards and a renewed spirit to improve our aerial photography business any way we can. To see the images that won in greater detail, just follow this link: http://tr.im/R69S You can even buy you're own print of your favorite image! I would do that if I were you... ;)
This year, like last year, I was asked to be one of the judges for the print competition. Always a popular event at the conventions, this years show was no disappointment. I didn't enter any prints this year as I wanted to avoid any perceived unfairness of judging my own prints (which doesn't happen anyway because we have alternate judges that step in when a judges print comes up). I did step aside when Stan's prints were judged as well. I'll get to the results in a second. Pat Belanger, who has been the print competition chairman for the past few years, was elected to be the president of PAPA at the convention. As a result, he resigned his position over the print competition and asked me to step in and take his place. I am honored to serve in that capacity. PAPA has been great for us and I'm happy to give back to the organization.
On to the awards! Stan cleaned up with his entrys. He entered the Air-to-Air, Commercial, Scenic and Artistic categories with photographs we took over the last year. I've put low res images of them after this paragraph. Each catagory offers two chance to win top honors - the peoples choice (every attendee votes on their favorites) and the judges choice. In the Commercial catagory, Stan won the Best Air-to-Air Judges Choice with his shot of a Top Cub in front of a snow covered mountain. His night aerial of Temple Square at Christmas time won not only the Best Commercial Photograph Peoples Choice, but the Judges Choice as well. However, it was his sunset photograph of Delicate Arch in Arches National Park that took the cake - it won the Best Scenic Photograph Judges Choice award and also the Aerial Photograph of the Year award for being the highest overall scoring print in the competition! It was amazing, and the awards ceremony turned into the Stan Macbean Show!
As one of the judges, I was honored to pick my personal favorite image and award the photographer with a with a plaque stating the same. I picked a panoramic aerial of a misty mountain scene shot by Todd Quam of Digital Sky Aerial Imaging in Sacramento, CA.
Towards the end of the awards ceremony, I was surprised to learn that I had earned my PAPA International Master Photographer Award for Aerial Photography Excellence. To achieve this award is a major milestone for me and I am grateful for the recognition of my peers in the aerial photography industry.
All in all, it was a great conference! We re-united with some great friends and fellow photographers and came away with some great awards and a renewed spirit to improve our aerial photography business any way we can. To see the images that won in greater detail, just follow this link: http://tr.im/R69S You can even buy you're own print of your favorite image! I would do that if I were you... ;)
Recent Comments