Hello fellow CAPA members.
In 2020, Canada will enjoy its highest showing at the World Photographic Cup in the last 5 years. While it is too early to know the exact results, 4 Canadian Photographers finished in the Top 10 of their respective categories. This is exceptional, as each one of those images (from the 18 submitted) get Team Canada points towards a country award. And each one of those Photographers will qualify for a medal.
Welcome to the World Photographic Cup! I highly recommend that you go to their website to understand the organization and this competition.
In 2020 (teams assembled in 2019) there were 43 countries competing for the top spots. Over 750 images in 6 categories vying for the right to call themselves the best.
It’s the Olympics of Photography.
The final awards ceremony has been postponed to September 28, 2020 at 18:30 local time in Rome Italy (editor’s note: The ceremony has been moved to September 28th). Canada will be well represented with 2 Team Canada members and 1 co-captain (all of this is dependent on travel restrictions due to the Novel Coronavirus). You can watch it online – just go to the World Photographic Cup facebook page.
Why do we have a Team Canada?
We have a Team Canada because 4 organizations (CAPA, CAPIC, NPAC, and PPOC) were able to reach out to their members and assemble a library of incredible images to choose from. WPC Team Canada is not affiliated with any specific national association – it transcends any specific organization and reaches out to all 4.
Each association allocates a representative and any resources they feel can help us put together a great team. PPOC is currently the financial and administrative sponsor, while NPAC provides strong support on the press release side. This year we were able to get national exposure thanks to NPAC. CAPA provided a strong judging contingent as well as some great training to our Co-Captains regarding understanding international judging.
Anyone can enter. Any Canadian who feels they have an image that is worthy of the international stage can enter. It can be from someone who does it for a living, or someone who happened to be at the right place at the right time with the right equipment. They don’t even have to belong to an association (although that does get you a small discount!).
What do you get out of it? If Photography is your business, you can get great marketing opportunities – from “I am on WPC Team Canada” to “I won a medal at the Olympics of Photography”. If Photography is not your business, then you go for the glory and the bragging rights!
It’s not for the faint of heart. I watched 60 top notch images in one category get whittled down to 10 – and then 3. Like the current state of the salary cap NHL, the difference between the 4th best image and the 20th best image was miniscule.
The judges are trained to choose the best images for INTERNATIONAL competition. Why is this important to you? Because it means you should not put in your favourite image from a North American competition but go to the World Photographic Cup and see what other nations judges love – see what did well in International Competition. The world is a big place, and there are a lot of different tastes in China, Japan, and Russia! Give yourself that edge and do your homework.
I look forward to seeing your entries. The portal will open in early June 2020. More images to choose from means a stronger team. A stronger team means that if you make it, you made in spite of greater odds. But you won’t make it if you don’t try.
I am always available for questions and always willing to help. Don’t hesitate to email me at geraldpdavid@me.com, or call me at (403) 816-9935.
Gerry