I must say that I am sincerely and very pleasantly surprised, even a little shocked!
Not that I’m one to brag… uh… too much. But it seems that my little tome won first prize in its category at the 2016 International Photography Awards (IPA).
Now, that must surely make it a halfway decent Christmas for someone you might like, love, tolerate from time to time, or even cross the road to avoid.
While it is truly awe-inspiring to receive any gong, the manner in which I found out I had won reflected my level of expectation.
Late last night I opened what I thought was IPA junk mail and discovered a request for a high-resolution image for the new IPA photography book, featuring this year’s winning images . I responded by asking if they were sure they wanted anything from me, as I didn’t think I had won anything. Um… that’s not true, Mr. Hill. And now some things started to occur to me. Why had I received an invitation to attend the awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York last month? Maybe it wasn’t just an invitation to part with a huge wad of cash on plane tickets and tickets to an event they were promoting. Anyway, the invitation was received at very short notice and although they said the tickets were free, I had work booked in Sweden (which was then canceled at even shorter notice short… ho hum).
However, I never suspected that I actually had a chance when the application was sent. I wasn’t even sure the competition was important or particularly recognized. Um… that’s not true, Mr. Hill. Maybe my category was a little low in registrations? Um… that’s not true, Mr. Hill. So hey – I’m pretty happy! Thanks guys!
Maybe now I can actually feed myself a little and get those heavy boxes of books off my desk. So if you fancy buying a book or ten for someone this Christmas, or for a birthday or even just for fun, then do it? Signed copies won’t increase the value, but I can still hold a pen.