07/27/2026
MEET The MAKER MONDAY
Meet Christine Aitchison, Last Year’s Photographer of the Year.
What did earning Photographer of the Year mean to you?
Winning Photographer of the Year wasn’t about one competition. It was the culmination of a lifetime with a camera.My father handed me my first “real” camera when I was eight years old. Photography was his first love. As a teenager, he had his own darkroom and even had photographs released by the Associated Press at just 13 years old. Although he eventually became an attorney, photography was always a part of him.He insisted that every roll of film I shot be processed as slides instead of prints because he believed they would preserve their color for years to come. As a child, I was never happy about it, but decades later, images printed from those slides are still as vibrant as the day they were taken.I fell in love with the darkroom myself in high school, and from then on, I rarely went anywhere without a camera. Ironically, like my father, I eventually found myself in law school, and photography took a back seat for many years.
When I returned to photography, I realized I had inherited not only my father’s love of photography, but also his perfectionism. Over time, that perfectionism evolved into self-doubt. I constantly compared myself to other photographers and never felt my work measured up.Even after winning a Canon competition in 2020 with a single image entry and receiving a Canon R6 as the prize, I assumed it was a fluke. I didn’t enter another competition until a fellow photographer and friend finally convinced me to take the leap and enter the 2025 PPA South Carolina Print Competition.I entered hoping only not to embarrass myself. I certainly never imagined winning multiple categories, Judges Choice awards, and ultimately Photographer of the Year.What the award gave me wasn’t validation from others as much as permission to trust myself. It quieted that inner voice that always insisted my work wasn’t enough and reminded me to trust my artistic voice.My father passed away before I opened my studio, so he never saw me return to the passion he first placed in my hands. I wish he could have seen this chapter of my life. More than anything, I wish I could have placed the award in his hands.
Which competition image are you most proud of and why?
The competition image I’m most proud of is the one that won the General Portrait category. It is a portrait of my mother, taken less than two years after her quadruple bypass surgery. My mother is, and always has been beautiful, but as she approaches eighty, she sees herself much differently than everyone else does. Like so many women, she focuses on every new wrinkle, every laugh line, and every reminder that time has passed. She has never liked photographs of herself unless they were retouched to her satisfaction. When I photographed her, I wanted to tell a different story. I included everything she would have wanted me to hide - the scar from her surgery, the laugh lines that speak to a lifetime of joy, and the hands that once made me feel safe but are now shaped by arthritis. To me, those weren’t imperfections. They were the evidence of a life well lived, deeply loved, and fiercely fought for. I titled the portrait The Luxury of Aging because growing older is a privilege denied to so many. I entered the image assuming my mother would never see it. But after it won, she insisted on seeing the portrait. I panicked. I was certain she would be upset that I hadn’t softened the wrinkles or hidden the scar. Instead, she saw herself through my eyes. For the first time in my life, my mother loved an unretouched photograph of herself. As meaningful as winning Best Adult Portrait was, giving my mother that gift was the greatest award I could have received.
How has image competition helped you grow as a photographer?
Image competition has challenged me to be more intentional, but perhaps its greatest gift has been confidence. Every element of an image matters- from the light and composition to the expression and even the title. It taught me to ask not just, “Is this a beautiful photograph?” but, “Does this image tell the story I want it to tell?” For years, I was my own toughest critic. I questioned my work far more than anyone else ever did, and that self-doubt often kept me from putting my images out into the world. Competition pushed me outside my comfort zone. Thoughtful critiques helped me see both my strengths and the areas where I could grow, and the recognition reminded me that maybe my inner critic wasn’t always right.Ironically, competition didn’t change the way I photograph people. It changed the way I see myself as a photographer.
**I know we all would love to see Christine's images. Christine did not share her images yet because they are being entered into other competitions.
