Awards

New 11th Gold Bar Degree Awarded to Bry Cox

I’m happy to announced that I was awarded my 11th ‘Gold Bar,’ which is the equivalent of earning my Master or Craftsman degrees eleven additional times. Less than 1% of professional photographers are Certified, and even fewer have all three credentials, Master, Craftsman, and Certification.

For those unfamiliar, photographers wear their credentials to conventions. It’s a quick way to recognize someone’s rank and level of service to the industry, and it also encourages others to earn their credentials. The yellow ribbon and Master medallion is for the Master degree, blue ribbon and medallion is for Craftsman. Someone who earns both gets a yellow/blue combo ribbon. And every time you earn one of of those again, you gain a gold bar.

Each degree represents many years of continual learning, competitions, and service. Additionally, some of the pins show I’ve been Certified for over 10 years, a PPA member for over 15 years, and the triangle pins are ‘National Photographer of the Year’ award for Bronze and Silver levels. I also have two pins for speaking at big events in China, PPA China many years ago, and Photo Plus about a year ago.

Master of Photography (M.Photog.)
Awarded for superior photographic skills—demonstrated through the PPA International Photographic Competition, advanced education and service to the industry.

Photographic Craftsman (Cr.Photog.)
Awarded for service as an orator, author or mentor. This degree shows a photographer has gone beyond the creation of images, dedicating time to move the industry forward and encourage education.

Certified Professional Photographer (CPP)
Assures a photographer’s knowledge, experience and continuance to develop new skills and techniques. It is a declaration of professional competence and quality assurance because certification is a credential consumers and businesses understand.

If you’re a photographer wanting to continually enhance your knowledge while working towards earning your credentials like Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman, and/or getting Certified, you should absolutely join PPA. Part of being a degree holder is teaching, so also check out my live workshops as well as online training videos and resources at BryCoxWORKSHOPS.com to help speed up your learning process.

And if you’re someone looking to hire a great photographer, give me a call at 801-728-3317. I’d love to hear from you.

And until next time, America.

Bry Cox Studio Spring Highlights

Spring is here, school is ending soon, and there are lots of reasons for fun new portraits. Check out some of these highlights from my blog. Click on any image to see more about that shoot or story.

High School Seniors & Grads

School will be ending soon which means that it’s time to get your senior/grad in for portraits. I can make you some really cool announcements or make up photos to go in announcements you may have ordered from school. Many senior men are also getting missionary pictures at the same time. See some samples from the shoots for Whitney and Blake.

Cox_WBigler-sr-8x20-The-Cape-oooClick image to see more of Whitney’s Senior Pics

Cox_BJohnson-sr-292-edgeClick image to see more of Blake’s Senior Pics

Weddings

I love weather. It gives me a lot to work with in creating a dramatic image at a wedding. Here are two weddings, one in the wind from this last weekend and one from a rain storm that you’ve got to see.

Cox_KLowe-W-1185b-EdgeClick image to see more of Kami’s windy wedding.

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Click image to see more of Rachelle’s rainy wedding.

If you’re getting married, come in and let’s talk about weddings. You’ll be able to see in person my very custom wedding albums, and what I’ll make for you.

New Awards and Recognition

• My lighthouse image, “Isle of Light” was featured in Professional Photographer Magazine.

Cox_PPAMAG-Apr2014_CropClick image to see more of about the magazine story.

• Top Wedding Album and Design Scored HIGHER Than Anything in Utah

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Click image to see my albums.

• The Professional Photographers of America have awarded me “Elite” Status

Cox_PPA2014-104b-750pClick image to see more…

Hunting Lighthouses

This last week I was teaching a workshop on lighting up in Tacoma, and I took a free day looking for lighthouses on Vancouver Island, Canada. See what I shot.

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BCox_Victoria-2014-425-Pano3-Edge

Summary

Spring is a great time to create some personal art for your wall, whether it be family portraits, high school seniors, or something for your upcoming wedding. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to talk about your dream portrait, and also feel free to browse my blog and main portfolio website for more cool images.

Until next time, America.

I Am a PPA Elite Member

Just before the national convention, I found out that I was now a “PPA Elite Member.” This is quite an honor and I’m glad to be a part of this elite group of photographers. The PPA for those who don’t know is the Professional Photographers of America. Being an Elite member is something that is brand new and brings some very tough requirements.

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The requirements for being an Elite member are:

  • Certified Professional Photographer in good standing
  • Hold a Master of Photography degree
  • Four for four on images from a single case from previous year’s IPC (Bronze or Silver IPC medalist)
  • Two non-photographic merits earned during the previous year
Here's how my PPA Credentials page looks now: Master, Craftsman, Certified, Elite.
Here’s how my PPA Credentials page looks now: Master, Craftsman, Certified, Elite.

I will not stop being a Master or a Certified photographer, and I certainly earn plenty of merits each year through service. So to keep this status I must hang all four images I submit each year, which is tougher than it sounds. I’ve done it the last couple years straight, as well as on and off over the years too, sometimes missing it by one. It’s always been a personal goal, but has never been easy to do. Having this recognition is nice and gives me another reason to do it each year.

I appreciate the PPA for starting this program that shows extra appreciation to photographers who have gone above the expected norm of professionals. It makes me want to strive even harder to say an Elite member.

Until next time, America.

My Lighthouse Image Featured in PPA Loan Collection Art Book

My lighthouse image, “Isle of Light” scored so well last year, that it is now featured in the PPA’s Loan Collection Book that just came out.

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The “Loan Collection” is a group of the highest scoring images (about 7%), that go on loan to the PPA for a traveling exhibit. The loan images are all published in a book each year, and my copy of the book just arrived.

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It’s always a great honor to get a Loan print and add another Loan Collection book to my collection. This image will also soon be featured in a magazine article on it’s creation, which I will post when it is made public.

You can also purchase this image from my Scenic/Art store here if you’d like a beautiful canvas to display in your home or even office entry.

Until next time, America.

My Wedding Album Scored HIGHER Than Everything at IPPA 2014

At the last minute, I got word of our state’s professional competition this year. I quickly picked and entered my prints digitally the same day to make the deadline because I had no time to print them. However I also picked up my sample wedding book off my table and turned it in too. It is an exact copy of what the bride and groom received. It was not designed special for competition or display, it was a real wedding sitting in my studio.

That book wowed the judges and the audience. It scored higher than anything else in the show. You may have seen it, in a past blog entry, Called Jaqui’s Wedding in Corpus Christi, Texas.

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I also feature it in this video about my wedding albums. It is the medium sized book, 12×14.

I also won these awards, Master’s Court of Honor (one of the top scoring Masters), 2nd Place Master Pictorial/Illustrative for this image,

BryCox_Aspens_AloneOneDay_Cox

…and 2nd Place Finished Product for my album. The first place went to a framed piece because the award was sponsored by a frame company. (Gyp!)

Anyway, if you’re getting married, you must come in and see my weddings. Call me at 801-728-3317 to talk to me and check out my main website, BryCox.com.

Until next time, America.

Bry Cox Interviewed and Featured in Professional Photographer Magazine, October 2012 Issue

I was interviewed by Professional Photographer Magazine, a publication that goes out to all professional photographers throughout the US as well as other parts of the world as well. That interview is now out in the current October 2012 issue.

This is the cover (image is not by me), and below are some screen shots of my article where all the images are mine.

The article is humorously titled, “The Anti-Specialist” because where most photographers need to focus on one niche or another to succeed, my particular specialty has been to focus on exquisite lighting and emotion. I mix technical proficiency with a unique style of creativity to develop images that tell a story of the person being photographed, and hopefully makes the viewer feel like they know the person. It’s a uncommon approach that allows me to photograph a mix of genres well, like families, children, weddings, and even celebrities and VIPs.

For the opening spread, the magazine chose my images of Linda Rondstadt and Olympic Gold-Medalist, Rulon Gardner.

The last image used, is of 90 year old sax player, Joe McQueen. Interestingly, this is the second time this magazine has asked to use this image. I can see why as it really is one of my favorite portraits. It shows dramatically what exquisite lighting and emotion can do to make an image unique and inviting.

I really appreciate and feel honored to have been interviewed for the magazine, and I love the direction they took with the article. I hope other professional photographers find it interesting and helpful.

Well, until next time, America. 🙂

New Regional Awards Announced, Including High Print Case and a National Photographer of the Year Award to Come!

After my state competition earlier this month, my images went on to District Regionals where I won the High Print Case for all of Utah (usually called “Photographer of the Year” at the state level), “4 for 4” meaning that all 4 prints scored so well that I’ll receive a national Photographer of the Year award in 2013, and finally my lighthouse image, “Isle of Light” won a a special “Distinguished” award and was my highest scoring print.

This is the 2nd time I’ve won the High Print Case for Utah at Regionals (SWPPA), and the 4th time I’ll have won the Photographer of the Year award on the national level. I’ll have to wait until next summer to find out what rank I’ll be, Diamond, Gold, Silver, or Bronze. So I’ve won two Bronze and one Silver.

Earlier this month I won four more awards at the state level: another Kodak Gallery Award (that makes 7 of these for me know), the ASP State Elite Award (called the Best of the Best, my 2nd one), 1st Place Master’s division, and Master’s Court of Honor.

I’ll let you know how this print case does at nationals in the summer of 2013.

Until next time, America!

4 New Awards at the IPPA State Convention

I just won 4 more awards this week at the Intermountain Professional Photographers Association yearly convention. This was the image that won all four awards, the light I photographed when I was stuck in Maine. I just mentioned it actually in my last blog post. It’s titled, “Isle of Light.”

The awards it won were a Kodak Gallery Award (that makes 7 of these for me know), the ASP State Elite Award (called the Best of the Best, my 2nd one), 1st Place Master’s division, and Master’s Court of Honor.

The level of competition is very difficult in the Masters, because the skill levels are all so high. I like competing though, because I like knowing that I can continue to create great images year after year and am always doing better.

I am always trying to raise the level of quality that I offer my clients each year, and to do a better and better job.  As expectations and competition rise, I hope that clients see these awards as a sign that my quality and commitment to great images also rises each year.

Well now my print case has been shipped off to regionals and I’m anxious to see how they do. I’ll keep you all posted.

Until next time, America.

Bry Cox featured in This Month’s Photography Magazine, ‘Rangefinder’

I’m featured in this month’s Rangefinder magazine, a publication that goes to all the professional photographers. This is how the cover looks (which I didn’t shoot).

It was for the big WPPI event in Vegas for which I created this collage below, mentioned in a previous post. I was pushing and hoping this would be the cover, but it didn’t make it for that. However, it was used in the story, positioned on the edge of the page to catch viewers eyes as they flip through the magazine.

Here’s the opening spread. I added little targets on my images (5 of the 8 on this spread).

The bottom left image is a multi-image stitch created by Alain Martinez, one of the other two people on the project with me. He shot me and another of other prominent photographers one by one, and put it all together for this one image.

There are more images of ours in the story, along with a little write-up of the three of us who worked on the project: me, Alain Martinez from Miami, and Henk van Kooten from the Netherlands.

There is a book that will follow, and I’m very excited to see how that comes out. It was a real honor to be asked to work on this as well as to work with Alain and Henk and get to know them better.

On another note, it’s spring time and now is a great time to get a new family portrait. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.

Bry Cox Interviewed and Featured on PocketWizard Blog

I was recently interviewed for the PocketWizard blog, and the story just posted today!  You can read it here (http://blog.pocketwizard.com/?p=3150).

Bry Cox on Pocket Wizard Blog

The point of this article was to show how I use a monopod to mount a flash fired by a PocketWizard.  This way I can custom light people with full control, and can move the light and adapt as the model moves.  The point of great photography is to always light someone in a custom way that makes them look good.  Most people just light the person in a general way.  By having my light mobile, I can constantly move and adapt to get great lighting as the client moves.

For my non-photographer followers, PocketWizard makes devices that sync your flashes to fire when your camera fires.  Normally you’d have to wire them all to your camera, but with these radio syncs, a wireless signal is sent instead.  This allows for wireless shooting which means putting your flashes anywhere, and not just where a wire will reach.

The brand new PocketWizard Flex and Mini systems have been improved to allow for E-TTL, meaning that they have electronics inside that compute how to fire a flash multiple times in a shot, and in just the right way so that you can use a flash with cameras that in higher sync speeds than normal.  This means you can get the look of overpowering the sun with a small and lightweight setup.

These devices are amazing and I have loved them.  And I really appreciate PocketWizard calling and interviewing me about them too.

Well thanks for looking and remember, that it’s the best time right now to do family portraits in the garden studio here at Bry Cox Studio.  The place looks fantastic and the weather is perfect.  Call now to schedule something soon.  I have some specials going on right now too, which is an added bonus to getting a Bry Cox portrait right now.

Also, browse some of my past blog entries (BryCox.com/blog) or even my my main website at BryCox.com.

Bry Cox on Cover of Rangefinder Magazine!

This month, I’m on the cover of Rangefinder Magazine, a magazine for professional photographers.

While speaking in Vegas recently, I also had some meetings with some of my sponsors.  One sponsor asked me to pose for a photo collage they were working on of some of their favorite photographic artists.  The result I found out is now the cover of this month’s Rangefinder Magazine.

The idea was a hallway of photographers, each posed doing something else that they loved besides photography.  Aside from photography, I really love guns, music, and I guess I could add girls to that list too.  But not having any props prepared, I used my ipod as a substitute for a musical instrument.  I also really like comedy and so I over-posed in a fun way, really low.  This was the resulting image.

If you’re a professional photographer, this magazine should come to you automatically.

And if you’re not a photographer, but are looking for great images from an artist that trains all the other photographers around, then give me a call.  801-728-3317. Come visit with me and see how fantastic I will make you look in your photographs using natural techniques like light and optics.  Look great without the over-retouching and plastic skin look.  Great portraits are heirlooms, and everyone deserves images of themselves that they absolutely love!

Thanks for looking and please browse my main website at BryCox.com (or more from my blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed reader BryCox.com/blog).

National Photographer of the Year, & Speaking at ImagingUSA PPA Convention, Jan 2011

I spoke at the national photographic conference, ImagingUSA in January, and had a jam-packed room!  It was awesome!  The event was held in San Antonio, TX and my hotel was just a block away from the Alamo.

I actually spoke twice, doing a lighting demo at pre-convention and then later on the main stage during the main convention.  The lighting demo was actually 3 classes repeated throughout the day.  Then later that week I spoke on the main stage.  Here’s a photo of the room looking from the main stage, as I was setting up.

I’ve spoken to some big groups before, but this is probably the biggest room yet!  The problem with a big room is that you can have hundreds of people and it will still look empty.  In fact some speakers that week only filled it half way.  But I was so happy to see it packed all the way to the back, with people standing too.

I was later told that I had about 1100 people — a full house!

The room was set up with four projection screens, 2 up front, and 2 half way back so that everyone could see, no matter where they sat.  My friend took this photo of me on her phone from the back of the room before it all started.

I like this photo because it shows the incredible depth of the room.  The brown podium and stage at the front of the room look so small and tiny from the back of the room, and here you can see all four projection screens.

While I was there, I also was presented with the national Photographer of the Year Award (silver level).  I barely made it in time for the group photo with the other Photographers of the Year.  I ran up on the stage just in time.  I’m on the far right.

On the national level, there can be more than one photographer of the year, and there are levels, bronze, silver, gold, and diamond.  I won the silver.  This is based on how well your images do in national competition.  I’ve previously won 2 other national photographer of the year awards too, in the bronze catagory.

On the state level, there is only one photographer of the year and one Master photographer of the year.  This year I am the Master photographer of the year for Utah, which you may already know from this past blog post.

So all around this was a great trip!  I packed my seminars, won more awards, and had a great time with my photographer friends from all over.

Thanks for looking and please browse my main website at BryCox.com (or my entire blog if you’re reading this in a separate feed reader BryCox.com/blog).