Park City Photographers shine at 2025 IPPA Competition

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The Intermountain Professional Photographers Association (IPPA), an affiliate of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), announced the winners of its 2025 annual photographic competition. This year’s competition featured approximately 25 artists entering 205 images in 11 categories. All images are judged by five PPA-trained Master Judges outside of Utah using the rigorous 12 Elements of a Merit Image, which evaluate areas such as visual impact, composition, lighting, technical excellence, storytelling, and more.

Park City photographers win 13 awards

Five members of the Park City Photography Club entered the competition and all five earned one or more awards, underscoring the exceptional photographic talent within the Park City creative community. The five Park City photographers who won are Liz Dranow, Howard Meltzer, David Winegar, David Breslauer, and Bill Tafuri.

The event was supported by Pictureline Camera Store located at 305 West, 700 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101, which hosts many educational photography events throughout the year.

If you are interested in photography, join the Park City Photography Club that welcomes residents of any level of experience. They meet on the second Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the Park City Library. This talented group of photographers loves sharing their knowledge.

Competition Highlights & Award Recipients

Liz Dranow earned the title of General Photographer of the Year, based on the average score of her top four images. All four of her entries featured dogs and included:

• 1st Place — “Symbiosis” (Animal Portrait) — magical image of a dog at sunset
• 2nd Place — “Warmth on Winter Shores” (Animal Portrait) — compelling evening image of a dog along a beach
• 3rd Place — “Lift Off” (Animal Portrait) — mountain scene of a dog leaping in the snow
• 1st Place — Male Portrait — a man in a loving embrace with his dog

Howard Meltzer — Multi-Category Award Recipient

• 1st Place — “Winter’s March” (Wildlife) — bison photographed in Yellowstone
• 2nd Place — “Where’s Waldo” (Landscape / Cityscape) — a colorful fishing village in Faroe Islands
• 3rd Place — “Reflections on a Cold Night” (Landscape / Cityscape) — captured in Yellowstone
• Judges Award — “The Hippo” — a sandstone face formation near Kanab Utah

David Winegar — Awards in Fine Art / Illustrative and Reportage

• 1st Place — “Windswept” (Fine Art / Illustrative) — phragmites blowing in the wind / Bear River Bird Refuge
• 1st Place — “Into The Inferno” (Reportage) — a DC-10 dropping retardant on a Utah wildfire
• 2nd Place — “Shades of Summer” (Fine Art / Illustrative — Black & White) — umbrellas on a beach in Camogli, Italy

David Breslauer — Wildlife Recognition

• 2nd Place — “Ground Clearance” (Wildlife) — a bald eagle photographed in Alaska

Bill Tafuri — Rookie of the Year

• Rookie Award — “SLC Library S Wing Night” — a dramatic black-and-white nighttime architectural image of the Salt Lake City Library South Wing