Chris Lommel has earned the Master of Photography degree from the Professional Photographers of America. The degree was presented to the Monticello-Big Lake area photographer by PPA President Jack Reznicki at the association's annual convention, Imaging USA, held earlier this month in Tampa, Florida.

The awards ceremony had an added special event for Lommel when his first portrait photography class instructor, Frank Cricchio, was honored with PPA's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lommel, who owns and operates Chris Lommel Photography with his wife Kim, has met the standards of excellence set by the Professional Photographers of America. The degree is earned through participation in years of continuing education and demonstrating high quality image-making standards. Nominations for the honor are presented to the PPA Board and approved by the council.

The degree is one of the highest honors awarded by PPA, an organization with more than 20,000 members worldwide. Individuals receiving this degree are automatically made life members of PPA.

PPA exists to assist its members in achieving their professional, artistic and fraternal goals. It promotes public awareness of the profession and seeks to advance the making of images in all of its disciplines - as an art, a science and a visual recorder of history.

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Released: January 9, 2008