ANNUAL IMAGE COMPETITION!
Join as an entrant or observer to learn and enhance your skills by hearing the judges' conversations, seeing the scores, and listening to challenges.
When: October 22, 2025
Time: Judging starts at 10:00 a.m. EDT.
Where: Zoom
Join via Zoom to view and hear the judging live. Viewing the event is free for everyone who registers!
Entry Details:
- You may enter up to a maximum of ten entries in any one category
Entry fees:
Members $12
Nonmembers $20
Our Annual Competition is different than our quarterly competitions, so please be sure to carefully review our Image Competition page for the updated rules.
Judges:
Bob Coates, M.Photog.M.Artist.Cr., CPP EA-ASP
Coates started taking photographs with an SLR borrowed from a friend for a vacation back in 1983. After successfully managing other peoples businesses for 14 years while photographing on the side, he decided to follow the quote "Do what you love and you will become a success."
In March of 1994 Bob left the restaurant business and took the leap to become a professional photographer. According to Bob, “The wonderful thing about photography is the continual learning and growth. Every day is a new discovery, a new way of seeing and new way of processing images to see my reality come to life. Coates constantly challenges himself to expand his knowledge of photography and shares that information with others.
Photographer, educator and author, Bob Coates is based in Sedona, AZ with his wife and best friend Holly. See his photographers web site - successful-photographer.com. Check Bob’s photographic work out on his other web sites coatesart.net and bcphotography.com. Bob has Milky Way and Night Sky Photography Workshops in Sedona, Arizona and is available for mentoring.
Thea Martin, M.Photog., FP-OR, DFP-OR
Thea Martin has been photographing for over 45 years and had a camera in her hand as soon as she could walk. While she specializes in Fine Art and Nature Photography, she knows her way around a studio as her father is a portrait photographer in Mexico. Her travels take her around the world and understanding new locations quickly by using technology help her make impactful images. As a PPA juror, she enjoys evaluating images and learns from each event every time. She has her Masters from PPA, has earned multiple medals by competing at IPC and a World Cup Team member for 2024 & 2025.
Kathryn Meek, M.Photog.Cr., CPP, API
Kathy Meek is co-owner of Gary’s Studio of Photography in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Kathy has received her Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman degrees from PPA and is a Certified Professional Photographer. She is also an Approved Photographic Instructor (API) and is a PPA International Juror. She has received the Image Excellence Award from PPA. She has received the Associate Fellowship, Fellowship, and Senior Fellowship Degrees from the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association and the Associate Fellowship, Fellowship, and Senior Fellowship from SWPPA.
Kathy is active in State, Regional, and National Associations. She is a Past President of the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association. She is a Past President of the Southwestern Professional Photographers Association and the American Society of Photographers. She has served on the Professional Photographers of America Board of Directors.
She has received numerous image awards on the State, Regional, and International levels. She has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association and the PPA National Award from the Arkansas Professional Photographers Association, the Southwestern Professional Photographers Association, and the American Society of Photographers.
Kathy has received the Tom McDonald Award (formerly the Gerhard Bakker Award). The Tom McDonald Award is presented by PPA to an individual, school, company, or organization that best epitomizes outstanding service through education in the field of photography and visual communications.
Tim Meyer, M.Photog.Cr., CPP
Tim Meyer is a highly regarded photographer, educator, and author with over 45 years of experience. Known for his creative approach and technical skill, his work has gained international recognition. Tim has lectured globally, including in England, Germany, and Mexico, and served as a college educator and Portrait Program Chair at Brooks Institute of Photography.
Tim holds the PPA Master Photographer/Craftsman degrees, CPP, as well as an MA and MFA in Art and Photography.
He is the author of The Portrait: Understanding Portrait Photography (second edition), a widely used textbook, and Light Shaping. Both books have been translated into multiple languages.
Tim’s fine-art photography is exhibited in museums across the U.S. and held in private collections.
Sandra Pearce
If you have any questions, please contact printcomp@marylandppa.com