Grand Master of Photography (GM.Photog.)
Peter was the second photographer ever to be awarded the Grand Master of Photography. It is awarded by the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) as part of its honours system.
At the heart of the system is the Canon APP Awards.
Professional photographers are invited to submit their best four prints once a year for assessment. In addition to winning the Canon AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year Award or one of the categories, members can accumulate Award points.
A score of 80 or more for a print earns one Award point; 90 or more earns two Award points.
A member of the AIPP can earn their Associateship by accumulating five Award points in a four year period. The next step is Master of Photography, requiring a further 10 Award points in a five year period.
Photographers who continue to enter the Canon APP Awards can gain Bars for their Master of Photography, each Bar requiring an extra 10 Award points.
To achieve the status of Grand Master, five Bars are required.
This is a total of 65 Award points when you include the Associateship and original Master of Photography. In addition, there must be at least five Gold Awards and ten Silvers with Distinction (85 or higher) included in the 65 Award points.
Given the most points you can get in a year is eight (this has only happened a handful of times because Golds are so hard to come by) and few photographers earn more than four each year, it takes not only a considerable time to earn the Grand Master, but a consistently high standard of work as well.