2019 Diamond Photographers

Whether it’s the stunning realism of a Roman cityscape or the remarkable surrealism of an amber-eyed orchid, the 2019 Diamond Photographer images show that imagination, technique, and tenacity offer astounding photographic results. The following Diamond-level creations represent the best of the best from PPA’s International Photographic Competition.Participants are named Diamond Photographers when all four of the images in their "case" earn a spot in the coveted Loan Collection. The competition has two categories: Photographic Open and Artist.Photographic Open images are judged against PPA’s 12 Elements of a Merit Image benchmark, which considers impact, technical excellence, creativity, style, composition, presentation, color balance, center of interest, lighting, subject matter, technique, and storytelling. Artist images are judged not just by the finished work but also by the complexity of the process used to achieve the final outcome.This year, 15 competition entrants earned Diamond Photographer status, with three of them earning the Diamond distinction in both the Photographic Open and Artist categories.Click through the photographers' winning works below: