Nautical Abstracts Collection

"Nautical Abstracts" is a captivating collection of three abstract photographs that celebrate the unique and vibrant textures found on the side of a fishing boat in the picturesque harbor of St. John's, Newfoundland. Each photograph in this series showcases a different facet of this coastal beauty, rendered in bold and contrasting colors of red, turquoise-blue, and rust. These pieces can stand alone as stunning artworks or come together to form a harmonious triptych, making them versatile additions to any space.

Whether displayed individually to infuse a room with a specific color palette and mood or as a set to create a cohesive visual narrative, "Nautical Abstracts" transcend the ordinary. These abstract photographs not only celebrate the textures of a fishing boat in St. John's, Newfoundland but also invite viewers to explore the dynamic interplay of colors and emotions that define this unique coastal experience. "Nautical Abstracts" is a versatile collection that brings the spirit of Newfoundland's shores into your space, echoing the age-old stories and vibrant traditions of this maritime gem.

The Nautical Abstracts Collection makes a bold and colourful statement of the walls of a seafood restaurant.

National Best in Class for Animals 2021

An award winning photo of a Golden Retriever in autumn leaves.

My photo of a Golden Retriever in autumn leaves in Centennial Park, Moncton won Best in Class for Animals in the 2021 Professional Photographers of Canada National Image Competition! I also received scores of Excellence on my Modern Family and Black to the Bone images, and was a finalist for National Photographic Artist of the Year.

You can find more of my Pet Photography here.

Atlantic Region Photographic Artist of the Year 2020

The winning images from my 2020 Photographic Artist of the Year Award from Professional Photographers of Canada, Atlantic Region.

Well, this is getting to be a habit! For the third year in a row, I took home the Photographic Artist of the Year trophy in the Professional Photographers of Canada Atlantic Region Image Competition!

My photo of a canoe at sunset on Bennett Lake in Fundy National Park won Best in Class for Pictorial/Floral and a Judge’s Choice.

My photo of a black Ayam Cemani rooster titled “Black to the Bone” won Best in Class for Fine Art and a Judge’s Choice.

AND my photo “Modern Family” depicting a blended family of dogs, a cat, a rooster and sugar gliders won Best in Class for Animals, the Bruce Berry Award for Best General Print, and not one but two Judge’s Choice Awards!

Atlantic Region Photographic Artist of the Year 2019

My winning images from the 2019 PPOC Atlantic Regional Image Competition

I was surprised and delighted to win the title of Photographic Artist of the Year for the second year in a row in the Professional Photographers of Canada Atlantic Region’s Image Competition.

My photo of an abandoned house titled “Reclaimed Wood” won Best in Class for Fine Art, and my close up photo of a black bear, titled “Bear Neccessity” won Best in Class for Animals.

CBC New Brunswick Article

This beautiful sunset at my beloved Anderson Hollow Lighthouse was one of the images featured in the CBC New Brunswick article.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a message from CBC New Brunswick on Instagram. They had featured some of my work in the past, now they wanted to know if I’d like to do an “IG takeover” where they’d share a few of my images throughout one day, along with some of my photography tips. Of course, I said “yes”, and sent off some images and captions. Well they loved my tips so much, next thing I knew, a reporter called and interviewed me for a full article on their website! What an honour! Here is the article:

Capturing nature: 5 tips from an award-winning photographer | CBC News

Tracy Munson may have discovered her passion for photography later in life, but she's always had a love of animals. Before she became a full-time photographer, Munson was a veterinary technician in Ontario for 25 years, so pet photography was an obvious transition for her.

Focus Camera Club Awards

My image, of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, won the 2019 Ken Dunphy Landscape Award at the Moncton Focus Camera Club.

When we moved from Toronto to rural New Brunswick last year, one of the first things we did was join the Focus Camera Club in Moncton. It has been such a great experience and helped us to get out, meet people and make lots of new photography friends. The club is quite large, very active and the members have been extremely welcoming and span all levels of expertise in photography. I highly recommend it to anyone in the Greater Moncton Area, who has an interest in photography. One of the best things about the club is that the monthly contests all have 3 groups: beginner, intermediate, and advanced, so you’re always competing against photographers with a similar level of experience.

Left: the Ken Dunphy Landscape Award, Top Centre: Best New Recruit (Advanced), Bottom Centre: Advanced Photographer of the Year, Right: A second place Merit from CAPA. Photos courtesy of Paula Lirette.

The Focus Club year runs from September to June, like the school year, so the year end award ceremony was a couple of weeks ago. As you can see, I brought home some bling! My image from Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta (top of this post) won the Ken Dunphy Landscape Award. Then I won both Best New Recruit and Photographer of the Year in the advanced class. Finally, a representative from CAPA (Canadian Association For Photographic Art) was there, to present me with my 2nd place merit for photos of New Brunswick in the national competition “Our Country”. My winning image (below) will also be included in a gallery exhibit in 2020 at the National Museum of Photography in Drummondville, QC.

My image, “Cliffside Camping”, from the Hole in the Wall Campground on Grand Manan Island took 2nd place for photos of New Brunswick in the CAPA “Our Country” contest. Sadly, these amazing cliffside campsites have since been closed. I’m so thankful that we got to spend 10 glorious days there, watching whales and seals right from our campsite.

Next year, I’ll be speaking to the Focus Camera Club about Infrared and HDR photography.

Wildlife Photography Accreditation

I’m so excited to announce my sixth accreditation through the Professional Photographers of Canada, this time in the Wildlife Photography category. My submission was accepted with an overall quality of “Good” (which is better than merely “Accepted”).

These are the 10 images that made up my successful Wildlife Accreditation submission.

Animal Portraiture Accreditation

I’m happy to announce that I have just received notice of my fourth Professional Accreditation through Professional Photographers of Canada, this time in Animal Portraiture. Here are the 10 images that were accepted, along with the press release from PPOC.

Press Release

2018/10/20

The Professional Photographers of Canada is pleased to announce that:

Tracy Munson ,

has just earned an accreditation in Animal Portrait, at our Accreditation judging in Edmonton, AB.

Accreditation is the first elevation above the general membership level, and is achieved by submitting samples of the

applicant’s photography to a PPOC Board of Review for Accreditation. Accreditation demonstrates that the photographer is

capable of delivering above average quality photography in a chosen category.

In assessing Accreditation Submissions, the judges will consider the following criteria: Impact, Creativity, Style,

Composition, Presentation, Color Balance, Centre of Interest, Lighting, Subject Matter, Image file quality, Technique and

Story Telling.

Along with other service and print merits, a minimum of one Accreditation is required to qualify for a Craftsman of

Photographic Arts and two accreditations are needed for a Master of Photographic Arts.

For more information, please contact:

Tracy Grabowski, MPA,SPA

Tracy Grabowski Photography

11313 - 69 Street

Edmonton,AB

T5B 1R8

780 413 4550

tracy@tracygrabowskiphoto.com

Tanya Thompson

PPOC Executive Director

T: (888) 643-PPOC (7762)

F: (519) 537-5573

e-mail: exec.director@ppoc.ca