Part of my journey in photography education was becoming a Certified Professional Photographer. I worked very hard to earn that title and I am incredibly proud of it. But that was just the beginning. Now, I'm working toward my Master of Photography degree!

To do that, you have to earn Merits through print competitions, such as PPA's International Print Competition. At IPC, you're competing with PPA members from across the globe and this isn't a competition playground: this level of competition (the IPC) actually involves two judgings. It's truly like the Olympics for Photographers!

This year marks my fourth entry in Professional Photographers of America's International Print Competition. The butterflies fluttered just as much this year as they do every year as I anxiously hit that "enter" button! I don't think that feeling will ever go away!

So, how did I do? FANTASTIC!!!  You can only enter 4 images and I went 3/4! Two images earned Merits!!! And One image went Loan!!! 

So what does that mean? PPA describes it this way:

• What's IPC? The International Photographic Competition (IPC) is where photographers from all over the world engage in fierce competition for professional bragging rights. In fact, the IPC is so intense that it actually involves 2 rounds of judging.
• What is A Merit Image? "A panel of jurors from across the United States selects the top images from thousands of submitted entries each year. Judged against a standard of excellence comprising 12 elements, the highest scoring images are then selected to be part of PPA's General Collection."
• What is A Loan Image? "Thousands of images are submitted, but only the very best get selected to be published in the esteemed PPA Load Collection Book - the best of the best."

I have just two Merits left to earn my Master of Photography degree!

It's time to get to work on my IPC 2019 Case!