Rangefinder Magazine
Features

The Awards of Excellence
WPPI's Prestigious Print and Album Competition Winners

The Awards of Excellence 16x20 print and album competitions represent the culmination of the annual WPPI Convention and Trade Show, an affair held annually in March. This year’s WPPI show was held at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas and, as usual, the print and album competitions provided some stunning photographs. Each year, the Awards of Excellence print and album competitions produce some of the finest examples of the art of wedding and portrait photography to be found anywhere. Close to 600 16x20 prints and over 40 albums were adjudicated by a total of 19 judges over the three days of the competition.

The print competition is made up of 15 categories that span four divisions: wedding, portrait, digital and premiere, the latter being for first-time competitors. The album competition features three categories: wedding; event, non-wedding; and non-event.

Winners in the various categories receive valuable prizes for their winning efforts. For example, in the digital category, this year’s grand award winner received a Kodak DC 290 digital camera. The portrait grand award winner received a Mamiya 645 SVX. In the wedding category, the grand award winner received a Bronica RF 645 with 65mm lens. The premiere category’s grand award winner received a Fuji FinePix 4700 digital camera. And in the album competition, the grand award winner won a Hasselblad 501 CM with 80mm Planar lens.

Here then are the grand award winners as well as the first place award winning prints. We have also included images from the grand award winning album, as well.

First Place and Grand Award/Wedding Category Bride or Groom Alone Geoff Parrington, Sale, Australia “Natalie’s Dress	First Place Bridal Party Rick Ferro, Orlando FL “Soulmates”	First Place Digital/Wedding David Anthony Williams, Ashburton, Victoria Australia “Untitled”
First Place Child Louise Botticelli, Setauket NY “Simone"	First Place and Grand Award/Digital Category Digital/Non-Wedding Robert Hughes from Columbus, OH “I See”	First Place Engagement Brian Shindle, Westerville OH “Forever’s As Far as We’ll Go”
First Place Animals/Pets Gary Fagan, Dubuque, IA “A Sleigh Ride for the Master”	irst Place Group Tammy Loya-Howser, Ballsten Spa, NY “My Three Sons”	First Place Bride & Groom Together John Solano, Beverly Hills, CA “On Top of the World
First Place High School Senior Frank Frost, Albuquerque NM “Spoiled Rotten”	First Place and Grand Award Portrait Category Individual Filip Paulus, Santa Barbara, CA “Little Mermaid”	First Place and Grand Award/ Premiere Category Stephen Maclone, Somerville, MA “Oh Gentle Lady’s
First Place Special Effects Melinda Baigent, Richmond Nelson, “Reversed Attention”New Zealand	First Place Special Effects Richard Pahl, Mesa, AZ “Counter Balance”	First Place Wedding Photojournalism Jeff Carrillo, Upland, CA “The Swan”