2018 Diamond Photographers

The 2018 crop of Diamond Photographer images takes imagination and technique to new heights. This next-level group of images represents the best of the best in PPA’s most recent International Photographic Competition.Earning a Diamond in IPC means that all four of a photographer’s images submitted into competition (i.e. the whole “case”) earned a spot in the coveted Loan Collection. Participants may enter a case in each of two categories: Photographic Open and Artist. Photographic Open images are judged against PPA’s 12 Elements of a Merit Image benchmark. Artist images are judged not just by the finished work but also by the complexity of the process used to achieve the final outcome. In 2017, 16 cases in the Photographic Open category and six cases in the Artist category earned Diamond status. One photographer earned a Diamond in both.A sampling of these outstanding images follows, with words from the photographers on the behind-the-scenes efforts it took to create each compelling photograph. Congratulations to this year’s distinguished Diamond Photographers for making amazing images that challenge the field to a new standard of excellence.