The 12 Elements Podcast

At the time of the last episode, I was getting ready for the Iowa Print Competition. While at convention I wanted to do two interviews with someone that had never competed: one before and one after the judging. These are those interviews.

This episode features an interview with Sarah Stiles from Layton, Utah. She specializes in Maternity, Newborns, Children, family, high school senior and wedding photography. 2016 marks the 4th year of doing print competition. Even though everyone one of her entries don't merit, she still continues to get in there and create images for her clients and for competition. I think that that is something worth celebrating.

I Interview Steve Kelly of American Color Imaging about tips and hints about printing for print competition with a professional lab.

We're fortunate to have Woody Walters on the show today. Woody is a consummate artist, print competition judge, professional photographer, teacher and speaker. For years, he has shared his artist vision and passion for photography with photographers from around the world. His Digital Photo Candy website provides a unique resource for photographers and digital artists for creating edgy, mind-blowing images.

In this episode, Mark talks about the images that didn't do all that well at IPC this year. He shares the images and the judges critiques.

Interview with Master Photographer and national speaker Dan Frievalt of Frievalt Photography in Green Bay, WI. If you've not seen Dan's work or see him speak, It is something you should do. He does some mind blowing stuff that has a great balance of grit and beauty....if that makes any sense.

On this episode of I talk with Master Photographer Thom Rouse from Chicago, IL. We're lucky to have Thom. He has some cool stuff. I have his book titled, "Latent Icons," which has an amazing collection of beautiful images. Thom's art integrates fine portrait with surreal elements to create something I find unique.  I met Thom last February at the Iowa Winter convention. He served as one of the print competition judges and was one of the final keynote speakers for the convention. I admire Thom work as it cuts across some of of the traditional images that we see in print competition, but still maintains a connection to the 12 Elements.

Interview with Mark Bortz of Fusion Edge Photography in Robins, IA. Mark hails from my neck of the woods. I see him and his wife at many of the Iowa events I attend. I'm excited to talk with him today about some great travel photography he entered in the Internation Print Competition this year. His images went 4 for 4 in the photographic open category.

Interview with speaker, IPC judge, and Professional Photographer Dennis Hammon of Hammon Photography in Idaho Falls, ID. I met Dennis back in the late 90s when he spoke at McKennavention. I've always been amazed by his images. He was a judge at the Iowa print competitions a couple years ago and just helped judge at the 2015 IPC. he talks about judging at 2015 IPC and his 2014 IPC images

Interview with master photographer Toni Harryman of Johnson Photography in Norwalk, IA. Toni is a former president of Profesional Photographers of Iowa and has been one of the great advocates of print competition. She always seems to be helping photographers get started with and to grow in print competition. She talks about how to get started with print competition and tips for you.

An interview with Certified Professional Photographer and national speaker Bree Barber Adams of Bebe Charm Photography in Mansfield, TX. Bree just completed her PPA Masters degrees at the 2015 International Print Competition. I only recently became familiar with Bree's work. I have to say, she does great competition and client images. In April, one of her images graced the cover of Professional Photographer magazine.

I talk about my personal experiences and getting started with print competition. I include some of the things I've learned the hard way and advice I've gotten from some great photographers and judges. If you're just getting into print competition, I think this one will be interesting to you.

An interview with Adam Hunter of Cedar Rapids, IA. I've seen Adam's work for years, and he has some great illustrative images I wanted to talk to him about. Adam also works as an instructor for Hawkeye Institute of Technology, which has an incredible professional photography program. Adam discusses four of his competition prints that span illustrate his disinct style and artistic vision.

This episode features an interview with Kim Stephenson of PawPrint Pixs in the Chicago area. As you can probably guess, Kim specializes in pet photography. If you've watched a PPA Print Competition before, you surely noticed lots of images with animals. Kim seems to have an eye for photographing our furry friends. Unlike the previous guests, Kim Stephenson has just started entering images at the national level.

This episode features photographer, author, speaker, and affiliate judge, Bob Coates. Bob lives and works in Sedona, AZ. He's written several books and trade articles, and Panasonic sponsors him as one of its US Lumix Luminary speakers. We talk about his 2014 images from both the Photographic Open and Master Artist cases.

Ben Shirk joins the podcast today. If you're not familiar with Ben's work, I'd advise you to check it out. Ben is probably best known for his composite images that can take you to another place. You may have seen him on PhotoVision and this past April he had the Number 1 wedding and Number 1 portrait photos in the World Photographic Cup Finals. How awesome is that?!?

Interview with Wendy Veugeler of Cellar Portrait Studio in Crystal Lake, IL. Wendy's photos have a distinctive, artistic style that I find reflects the Master painter look from the Renaissance. I met Wendy last year at our state convention where she was a speaker. She has generously helped mentor me on my competition images and was willing join this episode.

An interview with Larry Lourcey. Larry is an PPA International judge and talks about the 12 Elements of the Non-Merit image.