{"id":5462,"date":"2016-09-06T13:00:20","date_gmt":"2016-09-06T03:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richardmcgibbon.com\/news\/?p=5462"},"modified":"2016-09-07T12:49:26","modified_gmt":"2016-09-07T02:49:26","slug":"appa-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richardmcgibbon.com\/news\/appa-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Professional Photography Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again the Australian Professional Photographers Awards<\/a> (APPA’s) have come around. Last year I struggled. Even though I managed to scrape together a point I failed to get any awards which was a bit disappointing for me. So this year I spent time looking into how I could improve.<\/p>\n

I’ve learned a couple of lessons in the last year regarding the print as a product. The importance of paper choice and how it effects the final outcome of the print was my main lesson learned. Before the previous year I was rather ignorant on some of the finer points in paper quality. I printed my work on Canson Rag which although it’s a beautiful paper didn’t suit my type of work so well. It is a matte paper that gives the image a beautiful soft, almost dreamy feel with its low contrast. Great for landscapes and portraits but not so great for action sports. I needed something a bit more edgier, more contrast. I ran various test prints on various papers in the last year and have settled upon Ilford Gold Fibre Silk. It’s a semi gloss with enough contrast in it to give the print some punch.<\/p>\n

I believe printing is a whole other branch of photography with its own unique skill sets. It’s one that I never thought I would follow but with the introduction of the rule last year whereby photographers must submit printed entries to the APPA’s, I have had to start down that path. It has been interesting learning about the art of printing.\u00a0I went to a couple of print reviews put on by AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photographers) and picked up a few tips. I had them critique my previous years prints to see where I had gone wrong.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest boost along the road is to have the support of Angus from Gusha Pro<\/a>.\u00a0Angus spent time with me looking over my work and pointing out what I can’t see. Sometimes being too close to your own work can blind you to how others may view it. Angus’s help has also been invaluable to me as I have started on the path for printing. If you are ever looking to get high quality prints done and need some advice on which direction to choose I highly recommend getting in touch with him.<\/p>\n

This year I am happy to say that I have walked away with 2 Silvers and 1 Silver with distinction. The gold still eludes me so I shall have to pick up my game again this year and set my sights higher for next. Gaining points in the APPA’s this year has given me the honour of becoming an associate with the AIPP which I am very happy about. Next title on the list to aim for is Master Photographer.<\/p>\n\n\t\t