The Vermont Professional Photographers Convention was a few weeks ago, and I would be seriously remiss to not share a bit of my gratitude for the amazingness of the weekend, the experience, and its members. To give you the “brief”: for the second year in a row I won the highest award in print competition, the Vermont High Level of Excellence Gold (along with 10+ other awards), immersed myself in learning and “people-seeing”, and was sworn in as VPP’s President.

The latter is what I feel the most gratitude for: the membership trusting little ole me to steer the ship. I’ve received so much from VPP over the last 10 years, and I am honored to be trusted with the responsibility, and excited to be able to give back to others in education, camaraderie and leadership. I do not take this role lightly, and promise to lead with the mentality that”a rising tide raises all ships.”    (informal and random side note: YOU GUYS! I get a gavel!!)

And then comes the “bling”… in a blog post I wrote after last year’s Print Competition I said “this past weekend was my biggest achievement in my professional photography career.” Well folks, this year I SURPASSED THAT – I met my own personal goal of having all 8 images merit, and received an additional 10 awards. My goal of achieving my Master of Photography Degree in an unheard of two years is looking far more promising. Now I select four of my pieces to go on to International Competition like last year. I shot for the moon and landed safely, one small step for this woman, one giant leap towards my Masters.

Goals aside, I was humbled and so very grateful to have received two very special awards, the President’s Award for outstanding service to the membership and a band to add to my awards lanyard, also for service. That necklace is getting heavy! These are the most honorable to me as it shows my dedication to this craft and its people. I am thankful and proud of the hard work my lanyard represents.

2022 VPP Print Competition Awards Received:
The Vermont High Level of Excellence Award – GOLD
Highest Scoring Image in Competition: “Unraveled”
Member’s Choice Award: “Bird’s-Eye View”
Best Black & White Award: “Unraveled”
Best Artist Award: “Floral Framework”
Best Illustrative Image: “Bird’s-Eye View”
Non-Masters Court of Honor: “Fowl Play”
Non-Masters Court of Honor: “Serenity”
and 3 Judge’s Choice Awards

It is just so gratifying to have put so much work into these pieces and have it pay off in spades. I am especially proud of the creativity my case represented this year. Thank you, as always to my image competition supporters: The Hubby and kiddo, and my art-partner Kelly – thanks for supporting my “crazy.”