From Inspiration to Merit- Everyone starts somewhere! Let’s explore how/where ideas for images come from, what inspires us to gain the skills to execute our visions, and how to take advantage of our preferences and passions. Let’s talk about how we set ourselves up for creative success and how to become inspired by our mistakes! I will seven share with you the progress from some of my early flops all the way to PPA Loan prints.

Chris Richman is an award-winning photojournalist and fine art photographer. Chris' photographs have won awards from the NC Press Association, Carolina Nature Photography Association, Cary Photographic Artists, the Professional Imaging Group of Eastern North Carolina (PIGOENC- PPA local affiliate), the Professional Photographers of North Carolina (PPNC- state affiliate) and the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), including the PPNC 2018 & 2019 Photographer of the Year and the PPNC 2019 Service Award.

Her twenty years as a senior research scientist, her decades of teaching and leadership in the informal science education arena and her years of editorial sports and event photography give her an eye for precision, composition and story-telling. In addition to coaching photographers through personal photography projects, Chris is a mentor, a frequent speaker, offers photo critiques and juries competitions for photography associations at both the professional and amateur levels. She has successfully completed the PPA Judges Workshop and is a juror for PPA Local and State Affiliate image competitions.

She holds the PPA Master of Photography, Master Artist and Craftsman degrees and is a Certified Professional Photographer. She is a member of The Image Salon, The Professional Imaging Group of Eastern NC (PPA local affiliate), The Professional Photographers of NC (PPA state affiliate), The Professional Photographers of America and the American Society of Photographers.