I Know a Lot of Stuff

"Knowledge in the Ruins," 2001.

Apparently, I know a lot of stuff about photography.

I began the certification process with the Professional Photographers of America in June. The process involves an exam and the submission of 20 images to a panel of judges.

The exam was in July. I started studying in June.

What I found was that college actually did teach me something. Working in the “real world” taught me even more. Quite a few questions that were on the exam made me think, “Well, this wasn’t in the book. But I know it.”

I was a little nervous, though. There are medium format questions on the test. Medium format is something I have very little experience with. Also, photographers who I consider to be really good told me they had taken the test two or even three times.

Yesterday, I found out I passed. Image judging is coming up on August 20th, so I could soon be a Certified Professional Photographer.