Wedding photographer James Simmons has been named 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year. In addition to taking home the $10,000 top prize, Simmons was also awarded the title of 2014 AIPP Australian Wedding Photographer of the Year.
"I work really hard for what I do but I never dreamed this win was possible. I’m honoured to be positioned in the ranks of so many photographers that I’ve idolised," said Simmons. "I’m a pretty adventurous person. I like to push people out of their comfort zones and give them the confidence to be photographed".
Judging for the awards was conducted over three days at the Digital Playground, which was held last weekend at Luna Park, Sydney. Thousands of images were entered and each image was scored out of 100.
“The Canon AIPP APPAs are the forefront of creative photography and, in essence, they reset the boundaries of expression through images,” said Australian Institute of Professional Photographers (AIPP) Executive Officer, Peter Myers. “The competition is stronger than ever and saw more than 2,790 entries in total”.
2014 marks the 38th year of the Australian Professional Photography Awards (APPAs). The Awards are open to all Australian and overseas professional photographers. In addition to an overall winner, entries are also judged in sub-categories covering a range of specialisations with each category winner awarded $1,000.
The full list of category winners is published below. Special mention goes to regular AP contributor Anthony McKee who was named 2014 AIPP Documentary Photographer of the Year. Well done Ants!
2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year – James Simmons, WA
2014 AIPP Australian Documentary Photographer of the Year – Anthony McKee, VIC
2014 AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year – Ricardo Da Cunha, VIC
2014 AIPP Australian Science Environment & Nature Photographer of the Year – Joshua Holko, VIC
2014 AIPP Australian Advertising Photographer of the Year – Matthew Everingham, NSW
2014 AIPP Australian Fashion Photographer of the Year – Peter Coulson, VIC
2014 AIPP Australian Commercial Photographer of the Year – Aran Anderson, NSW
2014 AIPP Australian Sport Photographer of the Year – Matt Palmer, QLD
2014 AIPP Australian Travel Photographer of the Year – Nick Rains, QLD
2014 AIPP Australian Illustrative Photographer of the Year – Keren Dobia, VIC
2014 AIPP Australian Portrait Photographer of the Year – Peter Rossi, QLD
2014 AIPP Australian Wedding Photographer of the Year – James Simmons, WA
2014 Australian Highest Scoring Image Award – Kelly Gerdes, TAS
2014 AIPP Australian Student Photographer Of The Year – Jacqui Hogan, VIC
2014 AIPP Australian Emerging Photographer Of The Year – Adam Williams, NSW
2014 AIPP International Photographer Of The Year – Luke Edmonson, US
2014 AIPP Australian Album of the Year Award – Nadine Saacks, NSW
2014 AIPP Australian Birth Photographer of the Year – Victoria Berekmeri, SA
2014 AIPP Australian Family Photographer of the Year – Kelly Brown, QLD
2014 AIPP Australian Creative Photographer of the Year – Kirsten Graham, WA
2014 AIPP Australian Photography Book Award – Peter Eastway, NSW
2014 AIPP Australian Tertiary Photography Institution Of The Year – Photography Studies College, VIC
Photo by James Simmons, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year and Wedding Photographer of the Year.
Photo by James Simmons, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year and Wedding Photographer of the Year.
Photo by James Simmons, 2014 Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year and Wedding Photographer of the Year.
Photo by Anthony McKee, 2014 AIPP Australian Documentary Photographer of the Year.
Photo by Anthony McKee, 2014 AIPP Australian Documentary Photographer of the Year.
Photo by Joshua Holko, 2014 AIPP Australian Science Environment & Nature Photographer of the Year.
Photo by Joshua Holko, 2014 AIPP Australian Science Environment & Nature Photographer of the Year.
Photo by Ricardo Da Cunha, 2014 AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year. 
Photo by Ricardo Da Cunha, 2014 AIPP Australian Landscape Photographer of the Year. 
Photo by Matt Palmer, 2014 AIPP Australian Sport Photographer of the Year.
Photo by Matt Palmer, 2014 AIPP Australian Sport Photographer of the Year.