The Zebra Monochrome Magazine Issue #1 The Zebra Monochrome Magazine Issue #1 | Page 160

Having won many awards in NZ and in
Australia, how important are competitions to
your creative process and/or to your journey
as a photographer and an artist? Irrespective
of whether you win or not, what do you hope
to gain from each competition?
I initially entered the Canon Australian
Professional Photography Awards (APPA)
in 1995 when I was a young professional
photographer photographing weddings and
family portraiture. Joining this Institute taught
me how to become a better photographer
and a better businesswoman. I learnt how to
market myself and I used the kudos gained
from winning awards as personal validation
that I was on the right track as well as
validation to my customers. I was helping to
support my family through these years so it
was important for my Photography business
to make an income. The long term benefit is
the wonderful relationship that I have built up
with Canon, in Australia and New Zealand. I
am now a Canon Master (along with Mike, my

husband). We are ambassadors for Canon,
they believe in us and we believe in them.
This helps both our businesses. The awards
that I have won over the years has gained
me the honour title of Grand Master in the
New Zealand and Australian, Institutes of
Professional Photography. At this stage I am
the only woman to have both titles.
The awards were meant to be a way for
photographers to push their creativity. I
certainly used it to express myself and to
challenge the judges as to what a landscape
image is. I remember the first year