Geoff wins AIPP highest honour - now a Fellow of the Institute.

Last weekend saw the judging of the Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPAs) in Melbourne.  Over 2000 prints, created by outstanding photographers from the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP), were judged in 11 categories, with some additional awards for students, albums and photo books.

Monday night saw the announcement of the winners, including category winners and the 2017 Australian Professional Photographer of the Year at the gala dinner.   Congratulations to Karen Dobia for a fantastic portrait portfolio that went on to win the Photographer of the Year award.  You can see the winners here;  http://www.aippappa.com/

The night was also important as it was an opportunity to recognise the work of some AIPP volunteers through the AIPP Honours system. 

As a result of a nomination from the ACT AIPP Committee and in particular, Ben Kopilow, I was made a Fellow of the AIPP.  This is Institute's highest honour and is one which is regarded as paramount in the profession of photography in Australia.  In the more than 50 year history of the AIPP, only 41 Fellows have been honoured.

AIPP volunteers work with the Institute as a way of giving back to the industry and often don't expect anything more than a 'thank you'.  It was great to be recognised for over 22 years of work within the Institute and I would like to thank the AIPP community for the trust they have shown in me.

Most of my  work with the AIPP has been based around the AIPP ACT Committee.  To have been part of the ACT Divisions development,  has been a great experience!

I would encourage those within the AIPP to consider the role of a volunteer within the Institute.  Regardless of your length of time as a member, you always have something to give.  It is no coincidence that many AIPP longer serving volunteers go on to do well in state and national awards and have good photography businesses.  The volunteering experience puts you in touch with a range skilled photographers, business people and mentors.  Some of this will rub off on you!

I would like to thank my family for their support and also to the ACT Committee and Ben for the nomination.

Geoff

(The significance of the ribbon in the photo is as follows;  the purple represents the AIPP Fellow honour and the black is my Grand Master of Photography, awarded to me last year).