Set for March 28 in San Antonio
Awards Presentation at Texas School in April
by Steve Kozak
The Calendar of Events for Texas PPA has dramatically changed for 2020. A look at the Texas PPA website (www.TPPA.org) reveals an exciting lineup of events for this year at various locations throughout Texas and beyond. Many of these events are an expansion of the popular Texas 10 Workshop concept while others like the iHeart Photo Conference and the Texas School of Professional Photography continue to just get better. But one thing that is noticeably absent is the TPPA Summer Seminar (Summerfest) that has been held in Conroe and Kerrville.
Because the TPPA Image Competition has traditionally been held at the TPPA Summer Seminar, some major changes had to be made. Even though the image competition itself has become more popular than ever in recent years, the lack of attendance at the summer seminar caused the Executive Council to look at alternatives. After a lot of study and debate, a decision was made to expand those events that were more popular and step back from those that were not. Therefore, it was necessary to find a new home for the annual image competition.
The 2020 TPPA Annual Photographic Competition will be held in San Antonio on March 28 at the Double Tree San Antonio Airport. Moving the competition to March allows TPPA to “right” the confusing sequence of events as related to the PPA District Competition and IPC. Now, you will be able to compete in the TPPA State Competition before you start submitting images to District Competition in May. This will provide you important feedback as you prepare your images for District Competition and the International Photographic Competition. This move also allows TPPA to host future competitions in other Texas cities.
Professional Photographers of America and its state and local affiliates, including the Texas Professional Photographers Association, host annual photographic competitions that serve to stretch your talent and help you grow as an artist. By entering your images and listening to the judges’ comments, understanding the scores and acting on the jurors’ recommendations, you will stretch your artistic ability immensely.
Engaging with those in the passionate and supportive photographic competitions community will help you improve your work, earn recognition and peer admiration as well as improve your business.
The core of PPA Image Competition is that it is not a “head to head” competition where one image competes with another. Instead, entries are judged against a standard of excellence which puts all entries on the same level right out of the gate. The standard is based on “The 12 Elements” of Image Competition. TPPA has prepared a 40 page Image Competition Guide Book explaining the entire process, procedures, tips and ideas, which is available to all members at no cost. Members can download the book at TPPA365.com. Learn more about the TPPA Annual Photographic Competition and how to enter at http://tppa.org/events/tppa-annual-image-competition.
Image Competition Rules and Fees will be the same as the previous year. Only the time and location will change. Everyone is encouraged to attend the judging which is free of charge.
But, to make the trip even more memorable, there will be a “Studio Crawl” held in conjunction with the judging where you will be able to visit the studios of Ross Benton, Elizabeth Homan, and others. This tour gets you behind the scenes and inside the minds of the owners as they share how they utilized the space they have and their thoughts behind the way they have set it up for success. Then, on Sunday, there will be live image critiques from 9am to noon and a Leadership Workshop from 9am to 4pm. So, if you are coming from out of town, book your room at the Double Tree and get a discounted rate just for TPPA members!
Also new for 2020, the TPPA Annual Image Awards will take place on Sunday, April 26, at Noon at the Renaissance Dallas Addison Hotel, home of Texas School. You do not need to be registered for Texas School to attend (but why would you NOT register for Texas School?) and the awards presentation is open to everyone.
