Excuse me, I have an important announcement to make!
Oh, the title is a massive spoiler....
Better not take forever to say it then.
Are you ready?
I wasn't!
But as quoted from actor Hugh Laurie “It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.”
So now is the time I get to it and announce that last night I had the utmost honour and pleasure to be awarded the title of AIPP ACT Student Photographer of the Year!!!!!!
Entering the State Print Awards was a blast and I was exceptionally happy with my results achieved through that process. There was no planning on asking more from the experience but apparently it wasn't done with me quite yet. I was encouraged to join the accredited big guns aiming for the prestigious category/overall awards at the presentation night on Tuesday evening. Happily riding a high from being awarded GOLD on one of my prints, it was great to chat to those I hadn't seen over the weekend and be there to celebrate the talent of ACT's photographers and be likewise congratulated on my bull out of the gate approach to awards with the AIPP.
The presentation began and it was fantastic to see photographers get absolutely deserved awards and do so amongst the supportive group I was surrounded by. Then the student category popped up onto the screen. Knowing there had been other students who had entered and done well you don't ever want to assume and outgrow your boots but you always hope. When I was suddenly reading my own name on the screen however there as absolutely nothing to stop me from claiming my gorgeous little "paperweight" and certificate presented to me by Ross from Nikon. A proud partner of the awards and a company that aims to encourage student members to enter and succeed through incentives and support.
My little paperweight as it has been dubbed as well as the gold for my print, represents to me, a validation for everything I have managed to work towards the last two years both in and out of the realms of photography. That recognition is a fantastic start to what I hope is a long career of creating emotive and memorable images for whoever is in front of my lens.
I have a long list of people to thank and some won't get the necessary mention just yet. Those will come with a six part blog on my experiences leading up to, throughout and after the awards. Reason being I started writing and thought I should tell a bit more of the story so those will follow this blog post at a later date and include those who are not mentioned here. A HUMUNGOUS thank you goes to:
My parents (of course) - for supporting me in everything I do
Lib Ferreira - the most approachable, thoughtful and guiding president in the AIPP
Katie Kolenberg - The challenge queen and judge who skyrocketed my print to gold
Lori Cicchini - The first to see potential in that first iteration of my golden print and for the WOOHOO immortalised on the youtube recording of the awards stream
Dave Appleton - Much respect for those printing skills and experience
Buvelot Picture Framers - For allowing me to hound them until my matting/mounting was perfect
ACT AIPP - For being such a supportive bunch
My fellow students - for giving me an environment to thrive in
CIT - for giving me a photographic home/refuge while I figure out this crazy journey
The various people who bear hugged and supported me when I was a puddle - in life, during the epic judging of the golden print and really, any other time.
and lastly my somewhat unwilling Grandpa and G-ma - for allowing me to not only photograph them but to go back and do it again, and again, and again in an effort to tell the story I wanted to tell. The images I have made with them will not only be forever treasured but have shown me I have the power to really, truly move people.
For that, I am forever grateful.
Just to clarify
- I qualify as a student as I am currently undertaking a course at CIT in Canberra.
- AIPP stands for Australian Institute of Professional Photography. A national body that is for professional and aspiring image makers
- This award was earned through entry to the State Print Awards where scoring a certain amount of points allows you to be eligible for winning a host of categories with students only able to win the student category.
- Student doesn't mean not working at a professional level. It just means I decided to get better at what I already do to provide the best skill and products for clients within an educational environment.