Getting a Silver in the International Photographic Competition in 2025
I have entered the IPC (International Photographic Competition) in PPA (Professional Photographers of America) for many years, and merited enough times to earn my Master of Photography and Master Artist degrees, but this is the first time I scored in the round of 32 in the Wildlife category, and then advanced to the sweet 16 round, earning me a Silver medal (actually just a pin). The competition is fierce, these are the best images submitted by professional photographers worldwide (the PPA has international members). I am honored to score high in this competition and be in the company of other wonderful professional photographers.
Coincidentally, this is the same image I showed in a previous blog announcing that you can purchase some of my images in an online store.
This is an image I captured in 2023 while visiting Hokkaido in Japan. The Steller’s Sea Eagle is native to northeastern Asia, from the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia, to Japan and even to China and Taiwan. One of the heaviest eagles, with average wingspan of more than 7 feet, standing around 3 feet tall, and weighing up to 21 lbs for females. They have beautiful white and black feathers, and prehistoric looking large beaks. Although I have never seen them while living in Taiwan. Speaking of Taiwan, there are many amazing birds there and it is a birder’s paradise, but I wasn’t either a birder nor a photographer back then.
For those of us who are more familiar with the Bald Eagles, here is a quick composite I made to compare the two eagles. Although Bald Eagles have wingspan of 6-7 feet, they weigh a lot less than the Steller’s sea eagles, averaging between 9-12 lbs.
