YMM Parent’s cover photographer awarded by Professional Photographers of Canada

Crystal Mercredi was awarded the prestigious Best in Class award at the Professional Photographer’s of Canada Alberta (PPOC-AB) Region’s 2019 annual competition in Edmonton on October 26.

Mercredi is a multi-award-winning photographer whose work has been showcased throughout the region and nation. Her work is also featured on the front cover of the latest issue of YMM Parent with a photograph of contest winner Hadley St. Denis and her brother Hudson.

As an accredited photographer with PPOC, she was able to enter four images into the competition and each one was accepted and exhibited in the Provincial Image Competition. One of the photos received the highest designation of excellence and two received merit. All of Mercredi’s photos will be showcased in the PPOC-AB’s regional exhibition.

It was her photograph titled: “The Night The Ancestors Danced” that received one of the two merits and claimed the winning title in the Pictorial/Floral class.

“It’s kind of ironic that the image that won Best in Class is the only image I’ve ever entered that doesn’t have a person in it,” Mercredi said of her photo showcasing the Northern Lights.

A local photography business owner of Life and Portraits and a member of the Arts Council Wood Buffalo, Mercredi shares her talents with other professionals through an interest group (Photographer’s Coffee Group) on a regular basis.

Photographers of the local group are also members of the PPOC-AB. Three of them joined Mercredi at the recent Light Matters – Educational Event for Photographers conference and banquet.

“We’d love to have more join our cohort if anyone is interested. Our photographic community is unique in that many of us work together to enhance the experience and success of one another, as well as work to build the capacity of each member,” Mercredi shared.

“We meet approximately monthly to support each other through business, technical and creative stumbling blocks, and to always push each other to reach that next level in our work. Being members of PPOC steps that up a notch, as it allows us to submit work for accreditation and competition, and be judged my masters from across the region and country so we can get feedback on how to always be improving.”

To see more of Mercredi’s talent, follower Life and Portraits Facebook page. If you are a local photographer interested in joining her Photographer’s Coffee Group, contact Mercredi through her business’ social media platforms. 

The group is specifically for people who run photography-related businesses. However, there are some meetups that include photo walks and they welcome everyone to join.

About the author

Dawn Booth

Editor-in-Chief at YMM Parent | dawn@balsom.ca

Dawn Booth is the Editor-in-Chief of YMM Parent Magazine and Your McMurray Magazine. She has actively worked in the Wood Buffalo region's media industry since residing in Fort McMurray in 2007.

Her passion is writing poetry and puts it at the forefront of the community through her volunteer work as the President of NorthWord Magazine. Most important, Booth puts her family of five first, which includes her husband Ryan and their three children, Landon, Dawson and Tessa.