When New Orleans photographer Yvette Ponthier first learned about print competitions, she was initially turned off by what seemed to be subjective judging and nitpicking. “I saw these beautiful images just being picked apart,” she says. “So I said, nope, not doing that. That was the biggest mistake I ever made.”

With his portrait photography work, Shelby, N.C., photographer Randy McNeilly is no stranger to delivering images with deep storytelling. Case in point: “The Colonel in Twilight,” above, a stunning portrait of a Vietnamese military man that won not only the Sunset Print Award and Best of Show at the PPA Southeast District print competition with a perfect 100 score, but was also awarded third place in the National Sunset Print Award last month.

By all accounts, Jeff Gulle should have been a doctor. But one of his sisters, who was also studying medicine, convinced him to follow his passion … and that’s what eventually led him to the world of photography. He started working on the yearbook and newspaper staff in school, and kicked off a career in photojournalism.

When comparing photographer Ken Stoecklin’s studio work to his print competition work, a viewer may be surprised to learn that they come from the same lens. The modern family portraits, energetic senior pictures and sweet wedding images are quite the contrast to his dark, controversial competition work, such as the 2015 Sunset Award Winning “The Evil That Men Do” print, pictured above, from the Wyoming Professional Photographers Association competition, and last year’s edgy Sunset winner, “The Decay of Man.”

Plymouth, Mass., photographer Stephen Poltorzycki may have only gotten serious about digital photography over the past few years, but his knack for it has certainly come into focus, as he recently won the Sunset Print Award in the “The Fine Art of Photography” show, organized by the Plymouth Center for the Arts. His winning image, “Samson,” is pictured at left.

The tall, dark and handsome subject of Suzanne Fischer‘s award-winning image, Headin’ Home for Christmas, has been a muse for her in years past. She’s photographed the cowboy, Bob Beebense, while he’s been camping out, riding in a blizzard, standing with his horse and more poses over the past few decades. But it was this quiet moment in the snow, bringing home the tree, that landed Fischer her first-ever 100-point score in the Professional Photographers of America’s Northcentral District in Iowa and the Sunset Print Award, thanks to the pristine snow and sweet storytelling of the shot. “The first prints I entered into a competition were of the same cowboy,” says Fischer, who joined the Professional Photographers of America in the 1980s. “I’ve taken pictures of him and entered him every year.” This particular shot was taken last December outside a cabin near Fischer’s home in Atlantic, Iowa. Fischer set up on a hill just north of the cabin to get the shot. “I like to do shots...

A self-proclaimed “print competition junkie,” Grandville, Mich. photographer Kari Douma is a judge’s dream contestant. “To me, it’s absolutely mesmerizing to hear what the judges have to say and to see all the beautiful images,” she says. “I would go to print competitions and write down every comment they said, what they liked as well as the negative things.”

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Gazing at photographer Dennis Hammon‘s image “Safe Harbor,” it’s easy to slip into a daydream of an early morning by the lake, the water still, the ducks circling together … and feel a sense of calm.

Photographer Ben Shirk isn’t afraid of a challenge. In fact, when considering what to shoot for this year’s print competitions, a friend dared him to created an award-winning photograph in-camera, rather than relying on his advanced Photoshop skills for creative editing.