We were thrilled when the Indian Nations Professional Photographers Association announced Curtis had won the 2019 Photographer of the Year award.  But, Curtis knew that this only meant we had to continue stepping up our game, even if only to show it wasn't a fluke.  So, he set out to do just that.  Of course, in 2020 the game changed with the arrival of COVID, which threatened photography studios around the entire country, but especially in states like Oklahoma.  Nonetheless, Curtis and Lisa made the necessary adjustments to work under the new conditions and committed themselves to continue to improve and become leaders in the field of professional photography in northeast Oklahoma.

In 2021, Curtis was elected President of the Indian Nations Professional Photographers Association (INPPA) based in Tulsa and was asked to sit on the board of directors for Professional Photographers of Oklahoma (PPOK).  These new duties brought more responsibility, but these additional responsibilities did not keep him off the print competition circuit.  Curtis understands that print competition is an effective way to improve a photographer's skills and he had no intention of letting healthy competition pass him by.

We are pleased to announce that Curtis was selected as Photographer of the year based on his scores in the statewide print competition sponsored by PPOK in 2021.  He went on from that competition to enter the International Print Competition sponsored by Professional Photographers of America.  The competition at this level is pretty fierce and will require any photographer entering to be on top of their game.  This competition is huge.  It is so big, it takes multiple jury panels several days just to judge the submissions.  The goal in this competition is to have your prints "merit" in the eyes of the judges.  Each photo submitted gets reviewed by a panel of jurors who determine whether or not the image is worthy of merit status.  Photographers are allowed to enter a group of four images, also called a "case".  All four images submitted in Curtis' case merited in the eyes of the judges.  This was great news.  Once a photograph has been deemed a merit image, it then moves on to be judged by another panel for "image excellence".  This process culls the selection of merited images down to the best.  It is every professional photographers dream to have an image judged to be an example of image excellence.  Three of the four images submitted in Curtis' case received image excellence distinctions from the jury panel.  This qualified him for a Platinum medal to be awarded at the Imaging USA conference to be held in Washington DC in 2022.

Curtis Sprague Photography is committed to providing creative and artistic portrait and commercial photography at an award-winning level to all of their clients.  If you're looking for unique photographic art to hang on your walls or put in your collection books, Curtis Sprague Photography is the place for you. Call 918-933-0866 to book your session today.