ITALY PHOTO TOUR…In May 2005, Frances led a fabulous two week photo tour to Italy. Blaney’s Travel co-ordinated this sold-out tour that has proven to be such a hit, that others are planned with Frances in the future. Watch for details.
SOLD OUT…Fujifilm awarded Frances it’s Outstanding Achievement Award in the Wedding Category as part of the Fujifilm 2004/2005 Professional Photography Challenge. This coveted award is given to only a handful of professional photographers each year. Frances has been a past recipient of a number of Fujifilm awards in her 15-year career.
MASTERS AWARD PLUS…The Professional Photographers of Canada (PPOC) recently presented Frances with the First Bar of her Master’s Award for Photographic Excellence.
INTERNATIONAL JUDGE…This year promises to be another busy one for Frances as she has been invited for her fourth term as a judge at the prestigious annual convention of Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) to be held at Bally’s & Paris in Las Vegas in April. “It is such an honour to be on a panel of such esteemed judges and be involved in scoring hundred of entries by professional photographers from around the world, not to mention attending a conference with more than 5,000 people who are all involved in the creative process,” she said.
SOLD OUT…At the invitation of Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), Frances presented a Master Class at WPPI in 2004.
This sold-out class was part of WPPI’s week-long event which attracted more than 5,000 photographers from around the world. In addition to speaking, Frances was also a member of an exclusive panel of judges who viewed in excess of 1,500 entries and was responsible for the scoring and presentation of the top trophies. “It was absolutely exhiliarating to be in the company of so many great photographers and have the opportunity to be fully immersed in such a wonderfully, creative environment. I was honoured to be invited to participant in such a prestigious event and have a full class too!,” she says.
VANCOUVER SEMINAR…Frances was delighted to speak to members of the Vancouver/Lower Mainland Professional Photographers Association of British Columbia in October 2004. More than 85 people registered for the evening, making it one of the best attended meetings of the year, according to the organizing committee. “Initially I felt a tad nervous about speaking to such a well-informed group of fellow professionals, but their warm welcome and involvement in my program really made it a pleasure, for which I’m grateful,” says Frances. Click here to read the article (pdf format).
THE BEST OF…Children’s Portrait Photography and The Best of Wedding Photography, two new books published by Amherst Media highlight many of Frances’ award-winning images. Frances was the only female Master photographer from Canada featured in the books. She’s in the company of some of North America’s top professionals.
CHARITY CALENDAR GIRLS…When approached to donate her time to a charity calendar in support of the Victoria Women in Need society, Frances immediately said “Yes!”, even though hours would go into the organizing and scheduling of 12 very successful local business women who offered to model. Click here to read the article which appeared in the Times-Colonist Daily Newspaper.
CURRENTLY FEATURED WORLDWIDE…the website of Queensbury Album Company, one of the top album makers in the world, is currently featuring a profile on Frances on its site…visit Queensbury Photographer Profiles.
NEW BOOKS...Not only has Frances been quoted in Katherine Gibson’s new book, Unclutter Your Life, but she is thrilled to have taken the author’s photograph as well as that for the cover of Cool to be Kind, featuring the Random Acts of Kindness team.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER…Frances was thrilled to be a keynote speaker at the 2004 annual Canadian Camera Conference convention. The conference, aptly titled Picture the Islands, was held in Nanaimo and attracted attendees from across Canada, the United States and even Europe. A full-house was in attendance for Frances’ inspirational lecture on Profiting From Your Passion.
BEST OF THE CITY… Frances thanks all the Victoria News readers who nominated her for the fifth consecutive year for Best Portrait Studio & Photographer.
2004 M AWARD FINALIST…Frances was a finalist in the Monday Magazine M Awards for “Most Innovative Photographer” with the winner being Gary Greenspoon for his 3-D work. Congratulations Gary!
BUSINESS AWARD FINALIST…Frances was delighted to be recognized in the Entrepreneurship category at the 2003 Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards ceremony hosted by the Vancouver Island Business Examiner.
HOT STUFF…Frances certainly had plenty of offers for help when she was chosen to photograph the Victoria Firefighters Flashpoint 2003 calendar.
“It’s amazing how many people wanted to assist me on that photo shoot,” she grins…Could it have something to do with half-naked firemen???? The calendar is in support of the Firefighters Burn Fund charity.
LUNCH WITH IONA…Frances had the good fortune to attend a wonderful luncheon hosted by Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo at Victoria’s Government House to celebrate International Women’s Day.
BEST WEDDING ALBUM…Once a year, the Professional Photographers Association of Canada awards one studio/photographer Wedding Album of the Year. Frances was thrilled to be the recipient of this highly coveted award at the 2002 national convention held in Toronto. Frances attended the prestigious award’s night banquet knowing she was to officially receive her Masters Degree in Photographic Arts and walked away with the top wedding trophy as well.
Earlier in the year, Frances was awarded the Best Wedding Album at the annual convention of the Professional Photographers Association of British Columbia, plus a Fuji Masterpiece Award for her wedding photographs of Corrie Allick and David Delisle’s wedding. As part of this recognition, Fuji published an image from this award-winning album in a fine art portfolio box set.
A full-page spread of Frances’ photographs from Corrie and David’s wedding also appeared in WeddingBells Magazine and Envision Magazine.
PROFESSIONAL JUDGE...Frances adjudicated the Professional Photographers Association of B.C. 2003 annual print competition/salon, where she and a team of eight other judges were responsible for choosing the top trophy winners in the province.
OFF THE PRESS…The front cover of the new gardening book, DeckScaping, published by Storey Books of Massachusetts, features a lovely photograph taken by yours truly in the James Bay area. Not only has the lovely garden of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson appeared on the cover of Deckscaping book, but another image from this garden taken by Frances was featured on the front cover of the Winter 1999 edition of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. (see below)
SPECIAL HONOUR…Frances was recently nominated by television personality Daphne Goode of SHAW cable and award-winning journalist Grania Litwin of the Times-Colonist daily newspaper in the Business/Entrepreneur category for a Women of Distinction Award. Both Grania and Daphne are past Women of Distinction Award recipients and have been “fantastic role-models,” claims Frances.
BEST SELLER… Making Glorious Gifts From Your Garden, published by New York’s Sterling Press, is now available in soft cover denoting its best-selling success. Written by Marie Browning and filled with Frances’ photographs, this book is available in bookstores across North America, Europe and Australia.
ON THE COVER…spring, summer, winter and fall Frances has brought west coast gardens to the international forefront with Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publications. Her images graced the front cover and inside pages of Better Homes’ internationally distributed magazines.
“I love working on these assignments, however, lighting and weather can play havoc with a photo shoot. Instead of relaxing in these fabulous gardens, I’m working hard to get the shot before the sun moves, it rains or the wind picks up. There’s always so much to photograph and so little time to do it in keeping within the time and framework of the assignment, especially when the assignment is out-of-town. But I’m always up for the challenge,” she says.
