All New Format and Content!

Feature Articles by PPC Members:

• Carol Pisciotta
• Kim Messmer
• Ken Sklute
• Tim Meyer  

Complete West Coast School Instructor & Class Guide

Western District Image Competition Award Winners

A Glimpse of the 2013 PPC Installation Event

Additional content you don’t want to miss:

• Photoshop Lesson by Suzette Allen
• Business Article by David Bever
• Marketing Article by Dawn Jirsa-Fairfield
• Tech Review by Dennis Nisbet
• Business Finance Article by Robin Swanson 
• … and much more!

Professional Photographers of California Members – watch your mailbox for your own copy in print – or go to Pro Photo West Spring 2013 Issue now.

Print competition for the members of PPC in 2013 will be very exciting.  For the first time in the history of PPC, there will be 2 District competitions next year.  The first competition will be in February and the second will be in August (in conjunction with Pro Photo Expo).  Why is this happening?  Since PPC changed their dates for Pro Photo Expo from winter to summer, we have had to change the sequence of competitions to stay within the competition calendar of PPA.  The PPA International competition is held each summer and PPC has to conduct their competition prior to the PPA judging

The February District competition will be for the 2012/2013 competition year.  The August District competition will be for the 2013/2014 competition year. This will only happen next year.  All following years, we will only have one District competition and that will be conducted during our annual conference in August.

The district competition is hosted by PPC, but run by PPA.  All entrants will have the opportunity to earn the PPA Seal of Approval.  The competition this year (2012) was a district event.  We will hold our state competition in conjunction with the district event.  The same categories will be judged and awards will be selected by the PPA qualified jurors.  The award ceremony for both competitions will be held at the 2013 Pro Photo Expo in Pasadena.

As print chairman for these events, it is my responsibility to keep our members informed.  You will receive email notices, on a regular basis about the print competition containing important updates.  If you have any questions, please email me.

Tim Mathiesen M.Photog.Cr. F-ASP, FPPC

For entry and competition dates, rules and more information on this year’s Western District Print Competition visit our Print Competition page

The office for the Professional Photographers of California will be closing from Friday, December 21, 2012 to January 1, 2013 so we can spend time with our families during the holiday season and complete the upcoming Executive Office move.  If you have an emergency you can call the 800-439-5839 number and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Although our address is changing from Escondido to Lompoc our phone number will remain the same. The new address will be:

Professional Photographers of California
1191 Pellham Dr.
Lompoc, CA 93436

We hope that this will not be too great an inconvenience. We are excited about the change and hope that you will be too as we look forward toward the completion of our transition.

Happy Holidays to all from the Professional Photographers of California!

Pro Photo West and Editor Rodney Ninow capture the
Professional Photographers of America’s Top Affiliate
Publication of the Year Award!

Rated the number one printed publication of any state or local affiliate in the nation
based on editorial content, overall appearance and service to members, this prize
returns Pro Photo West and the Professional Photographers of California to the best
affiliate photographic publication in the country.

Congratulations to all the worth participants and the complete list and release from PPA is included below:

It’s not too early to sign up for West Coast School!

West Coast School is an exciting, week long experience of professional imaging instruction for professional photographers.  They made a commitment to teach attendees practical, real-world skills that can be used to build a satisfying and prosperous career in professional photography. Come experience an incredible week of networking, education & fun!

Held  June 16-21 at the beautiful University of San Diego.

Check out our wonderful variety of classes and the professional photographers who will be instructing them below. Then, go to www.westcoastschool.com to sign up and learn more.

Don’t delay…sign up today classes will fill up quickly!

Recognizing Excellence …

Professional Photographers of America recently held their Award and Degree Ceremony in New Orleans, LA. It was a night that honored professional photography and the individuals who set themselves apart in our industry. Held every year, this ceremony celebrates PPA members who’ve earned degrees and awards through their service, competition excellence and instruction.

PPA Degrees

We are proud to announce the accomplishments of the following Members of our PPC Family who earned PPA Degrees:

• Michael Collins - Lompoc, CA – PPC Past President, Webmaster & Awards Committee Chair, received his PPA Master of Photography Degree.

• Penelope Palumbo - Pasadena, CA – PPC Secretary, received her PPA Master of Photography Degree.

• Tashia Peterman - Mission Viejo, CA – PPC Marketing Production, received her PPA Master of Photography Degree.

• Robin Swanson, PPC Treasurer, received her second PPA Master of Photography Degree, as well as her PPA Photographic Craftsman Degree.

PPA 2011 International Photographic Competition Awards

Congratulations also to the recipients of PPA 2011 International Photographic Competition Awards. The following PPC Members demonstrated excellence in their craft and earned tremendous achievements in PPA’s 2011 International Photographic Competition:

PPA Diamond Photographer of the Year

Diamond Photographer of the Year had all four competition images accepted into the PPA Loan Collection:

• Melinda Hughes – Santa Rosa, CA

PPA Platinum Medalist

Platinum Medalist had three images included in the PPA Loan Collection and one image in PPA’s General Collection:

• Tashia Peterman – Mission Viejo, CA

PPA Gold Medalists

Gold Medalists have the distinction of two photographic images being included in the PPA Loan Collection and two images in PPA’s General Collection:

• Kip Cothran – Murrieta, CA
• Jeff A. Davidson – Santee, CA
• Anne Hutton – Camarillo, CA
• Paul Tsang – San Carlos, CA

PPA Silver Medalists

Silver Medalists have achieved the inclusion of one photographic image into PPA’s Loan Collection and three images into PPA’s General Collection:

• DeeDee (Darla) D. Dallas – Riverside, CA
• Karen Nakamura – Gardena, CA
• Penelope P. Palumbo – Pasadena, CA
• Yogi Patel – Moorpark, CA
• Nadia Salameh – San Diego, CA

PPA Bronze Medalist

Bronze Medalist had all four images submitted by the photographer accepted into PPA’s General Collection:

• Joerg Lehmann – Davis, CA

Professional Photographers of California commends these PPA Degree and Award winners for their Excellence in Professional Photography. We are proud of you all!

2012 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

The Professional Photographers of California proudly awards scholarships to the following people:

Jon Campbell                                  Linda Eaman

Diane Costello                                Laura Marshall

Rae DeVito                                      Karen Nakamura

Robert FLetcher                             Charlie Naramore

Ramiro Gaytan                               Nancy Snyder

Joseph Herkel                                Paul Speaker

Locations TBA

The cost for the workshop is $49.00 per person for PPC members. $99.00 for non-members.  Sign-up Now.

Watch the PPC website and blog for updates on new dates and a locations near you.

Photographic print judging is a very enlightening and challenging process.  It takes courage and confidence to begin the process.  Most photographers want to learn about judging to improve their own photographs and learn to be objective when it comes to commenting upon and judging other images.

Judging is conducted at several levels.  All competitions begin at the local chapter or guild level.  Within California, we utilize 3 levels of competition.  After the local event, we have the PPC state competition.  On alternating years, PPC hosts the PPA District/Regional competition.  Finally, the International competition is hosted each year by PPA in Atlanta, GA.

PPC is preparing a list of qualified jurors.  The list will be given to each of the PPC affiliates so they have a list of judges for their scheduled judgings.  To be included on this list it will be necessary to complete a judging workshop and pass an evaluation at the completion of the workshop.  All members of PPC are invited to attend the workshop.  Workshops will be conducted at various locations across the state.

Holders of the PPC Fellowship and/or PPA Masters degree are encouraged to attend. We want members who are passionate about image competition and who want to improve their photography and learn the judging process.

Over the last 2 years, there have been more changes in our judging process than in the last 3 decades.  With the addition of digital files, the process of evaluating images has risen to a higher level.  Learning to evaluate what is now called Electronic Imaging causes more concern and confusion.

The workshop will be an extensive, all-day event.  We will cover all aspects of the judging process, including terminology, scoring, ideology, digital vs. print, presentation and conduct. This workshop will cover the content of judging and will break down the judging process so that you will be able to understand the “12 Elements” of print competition, scoring, challenges and, most importantly, the rules that govern the entire print competition event.  The 12 Elements are the foundation of judging within our system.  They are used at all 4 levels and help the judges determine the final score.

Examples of all levels of scoring will be discussed.  This workshop will involve all those in attendance.  All seminar attendees will have an opportunity to participate in a mock judging, using images that they brought.  I encourage all in attendance to bring digital files that may be used for discussion purposes.  All attendees should be prepared to sit in the “hot” seats.  When you have completed the workshop, and have passed the judging evaluation, you will have an understanding of the judging principals and be able to participate in future judgings within in your local association.  You will then have the training needed to be a juror for the other PPC affiliates.

Tim Mathiesen M.Photog.Cr. F-ASP
PPA National Jury Chairman

In our very first Discovery Safari, we will visit the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, near San Simeon close to Hearst Castle. (Big Sur area). At this time of the year the 14′ long, 3 ton bulls are fighting for their harems and mating and there can be anywhere from a few hundred elephant seals to thousands on the beach.

This event will be held Jan 10th, 2012 (the day after the PPC board meeting in El Segundo).

Stay tuned for more info at ppconline.com

The Professional Photographers of California will be offering Discovery Safaris around the State, starting in January 2012. The intention is to have one a month. Sometimes there could be a fee depending on location and permits, we will endeavor to keep the expense around $25 per person if needed.

If you have ideas for future Discovery Safari locations, let us know!