The Canon Creative Asia Photography Awards

The Judging Panel Our Finalist judges have now been announced. We are excited to have such amazing talent on offer for the inaugural Canon Creative Asia Awards. Our online category judges are now being finalised. Look out for judging announcements over the coming weeks.
The Finalist Judging Panel. (Judged Live during the conference, 19th January 2011)
	Michael Greenberg is renowned for taking photographs that are characterized as art pieces. Voted Canada's top ten wedding photographer, he once wanted to be a pilot and astronaut. Photography eventually came top, a passion which began with his first camera at the age of seven. Among his many talents, Michael is renown for his Renaissance-era-inspired elaborate group portraits he produced. One of them, “Family” won a Grand Award at WPPI 2010. He has won 11 WPPI awards in the last four years. His work has been published in numerous photography magazines including a recent book "The best of wedding photojournalism" by Bill Hurter.
	Manny Librodo was named by Scott Kelby as one of "best five photographer you might not have heard of". An visionary and poet of light, colours and patterns, Manny believes a lyrical picture sings a song that speaks straight into the hearts. His photo of a Burmese boy graced the cover of UNICEF's wall calendar 2009. He is a three-time Grand Prize winner of www.betterphoto.com and Digital Camera Magazine's (UK) Photographer of the Year. Manny is a highly sought-after speaker who had conducted sold out workshops in US, Canada, Australia, Holland, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines.
	Joe McNally is known internationally for his ability to produce technically and logistically complex assignments with expert use of color and light. An acclaimed American photographer and long-time photojournalist, Joe is a 20 year contributor to National Geographic magazine. He is renowned for his photographic series on "The Future of Flying", a 32-page cover story published in December 2003. The story was the first all digital shoot for the magazine, and that issue was a National Magazine Award finalist, as well as one of the most popular NationalGeographic covers. From 1994 to 1998, Joe was LIFE magazine's staff photographer, the first one in 23 years. His most well known series is the "Faces of Ground Zero - Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th", a collection of 246 giant Polaroid portraits shot in the Moby C Studio near Ground Zero in a three-week period shortly after 9/11. In 2008, McNally published his critically acclaimed, award winning book, The Moment It Clicks, which has been touted as, "one foot on the coffee table and one foot in the classroom." In 2009, McNally published his newest, much anticipated book, The Hot Shoe Diaries. It immediately cracked Amazon.com's top ten list of best sellers within the first week of publication. He has shot cover stories for Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, Geo, Fortune, New York, Business Week, LIFE and Men's Journal, among others.
	Louis Pang is an internationally sought after photographer and speaker. He is a the first Asia-based photographer to speak at Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) convention, the world's largest wedding photography conference held annually at Las Vegas, USA. He has been a featured speaker for Asukabook, Epson, Lastolite, Nikon and Think Tank Photo. His photo "Standing Tall" graced the cover of Wedding Photographers Handbook by Bill Hurter, published by Amherst Media. Louis'work is published in numerous publications including the American Photo magazine, a recently published book Wedding Photography and syndicated by the Associated Press and AFP. He has taught workshops in Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, USA. Louis is one of four Grand Award winners of WPPI print competition in 2009. It was a historical feat as it marked the first time the Grand Award went to Asia. To date, Louis had won eight WPPI awards. He is also one of fifty international judges who judged the WPPI's prestigious Accolades of Excellence print competition in Las Vegas. A passionate & inspirational educator, Louis runs WedShooter.TV, an online educational portal for wedding photographers. Louis makes his home at the picturesque east Malaysian state of Sabah. Together with his wife, Jasmine, they run a thriving photography studio.
	Ryan Wong started his own photography studio in the year 2007 after some years in the industry. Started out as a portraiture photographer and now a commercial photographer. Ryan felt that he is blessed because he was trained by a Hasselblad master and several top commercial and fashion veterans before he realise his dream of being a photographer. And now he cherish every opportunity to share with his fellow photographers and peers. Won several top awards at international competitions. He has a relentless passion in teaching and guiding countless photographers in their gradings at MPA and a judge at MPA grading(Far East) for several years now. His contributions have made him the ambassador of MPA(Far East) two years ago and Vice president of PPAS this year.
	Jim is the owner and principle master photographer of the successful photography studio, Jim Liaw Photography, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since 2007. Assisted by his wife, Ning,has been in wedding and portrait photography business for nearly 18 years. A respected speaker and member of the Master Photographers Association, UK (MPA) and the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), Jim has been operating his photography business in Witney, a small town about 12 miles from Oxford City. He returned home to Malaysia at the end of 2006 and started Jim Liaw Photography business the following year. On April 2010, Jim and his team moved into the new and fully equipped studio, further providing portraiture work to the local community. Jim has been awarded International Overseas AvantGarde Wedding Photographer of the year in United Kingdom, been honoured with a Fellowship from the Master Photographers Association, United Kingdom, for his outstanding wedding photographic works. An appointed Malaysian Ambassador and active member of the Master Photographers Association. He is the first Malaysian awarded Fellowship in Master Photographers Association. For further information, visit www.jimliaw.com
The online category Judging Panel. (More to be released over the coming weeks.) Marcus Bell Australia http://www.marcusbell.com/ Marcus Bell is a Master of Photography (Awarded by Australian Institute of Professional Photography) and Creative Director and Principal Photographer of Australia's number one photography studio "Studio Impressions". Marcus has been named in the top 10 Wedding photographers in the world by BBC Television, is the author of "Master's Guide to Wedding Photography" published by Amherst Media NY in 2006 and is currently in the top ten photography best seller list. Marcus' images have been published in more than 20 books in 50 countries, and he has been featured in three photography documentaries. Dennis Orchard United Kingdom http://www.dennisorchard.com/ Twice UK Wedding Photographer of the Year, Dennis has, for the last 6 years, Judged internationally at WPPI Las Vegas and has also been a UK national Judge with SWPP. Dennis holds the highest award at WPPI, the Accolade of Lifetime Photographic Excellence and in 2006 was honoured with WPPI's Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to the Photographic Industry. Bill Hurter United States http://www.rangefindermag.com/ Bill Hurter started out in photography in 1972 in Washington, DC, where he was a news photographer. He even covered the political scene, including the Watergate hearings. After graduating with a BA in literature from American University in 1972, he completed training at the Brooks Institute of Photography in 1975. Going on to work at Petersen's PhotoGraphic magazine, he held practically every job except art director. He has been the owner of his own creative agency, shot stock, and worked assignments (including two and a half years with the L.A. Dodgers). He has been directly involved in photography for the last thirty five years and has seen the revolution in technology. In 1988, Bill was awarded an honorary Masters of Science degree from the Brooks Institute. In 2007 he was awarded an honorary Masters of Fine Arts degree from Brooks. He has written more than 35 instructional books for professional photographers and is currently the editor of Rangefinder and AfterCapture magazines. Luke Simon Australia http://lukesimonphotography.com/blog/ Spending almost half of his life with camera in hand, Luke has established a highly successful boutique wedding studio in Hyde Park, South Australia. Luke is fast becoming a household name in the wedding photography industry and his imagery has been published in numerous magazines, both nationally and internationally. A multi-award winner, his talent is regularly sought out by wedding couples in Australia as well as the UK and USA. CM Leung Hong Kong http://www.cmleung.com/ CM Leung is the creative director and principal photographer of CM Leung Fine Art Gallery, one of the top photography galleries in Asia. With his god-given talent in art and photography, cm is the first asian photographer who has been granted two grand awards that include “international wedding print of the year” and “international photojournalism print of the year” by WPPI in 2010, within a single year’s time. In addition cm is also the possessor of seven winning prints (includes 1st, 2nd & 3rd places under different categories ), the 3rd place of non-wedding album award and more than 110 excellence awards of WPPI competition since his first participation in 2008. Starting from 2009, CM has either accomplished or going to conduct seminars and workshops in different places over the world like USA, Australia, Spain, London, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. as he is widely recognised by the world as a master in lighting and photoshop techniques, CM has been invited as the guest speaker and also one of the judge panel of the annual WPPP (Wedding & Portrait Photographer of Philippine) in 2010. With the presentable and beautiful profile, CM Leung is no wonder a rare outstanding talent in this creative and artistic industry. Matthew Tan Singapore http://www.portraitgallery.com.sg/ Matthew Tan has been in the wedding and portrait photography industry for 18 years. His affluence style of approach in modern classic photography has kept his clients going back to him. Matthew is the principle photographer of Portrait Gallery. He has won 5 times MPA overseas Wedding Photographer of the Year held in UK and with a record of more than 50 national and international awards. Matthew believes in continual education to hone his skills and keeps him updated to the latest technology and trends in photography.. He is the elected president of WPAS ( Wedding Photographers Association Singapore). Matthew is also actively involved in the community as mentor and trainer. While often seen on the judging panel of MPA qualifications held in Singapore and Malaysia and in photographic competitions, he's better known among his clients as an unassuming photographer and friend. Louis Pang Malaysia http://www.louispang.com/ Louis Pang is an internationally sought after photographer and speaker. He is a the first Asia-based photographer to speak at Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) convention, the world's largest wedding photography conference held annually at Las Vegas, USA. He has been a featured speaker for Asukabook, Epson, Lastolite, Nikon and Think Tank Photo. His photo "Standing Tall" graced the cover of Wedding Photographers Handbook by Bill Hurter, published by Amherst Media. Louis'work is published in numerous publications including the American Photo magazine, a recently published book Wedding Photography and syndicated by the Associated Press and AFP. He has taught workshops in Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, USA. Louis is one of four Grand Award winners of WPPI print competition in 2009. It was a historical feat as it marked the first time the Grand Award went to Asia. To date, Louis had won eight WPPI awards. He is also one of fifty international judges who judged the WPPI's prestigious Accolades of Excellence print competition in Las Vegas. A passionate & inspirational educator, Louis runs WedShooter.TV, an online educational portal for wedding photographers. Louis makes his home at the picturesque east Malaysian state of Sabah. Together with his wife, Jasmine, they run a thriving photography studio.

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