Photographer Of The Year 2015 : Winner and Final Top 10 Ranking

We always challenge our members to do their best. Our calendar is packed with monthly theme contests and PhotoMeets (shoots or activities where we meet, we simply do not want to use the term "eye ball") to keep Focus photographers motivated and always on their toes, so to speak. For this year, we also introduced the VERSUS head-to-head tournament and quarterly team competition to further spice things up.

It's a year-long race and all the points our members accumulate are recorded for our PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR competition. Whoever garners the most points from January to December shall be awarded Photographer Of The Year 2015.There were a total of 23 contests this year (12 theme contests, 2 team competitions, 7 photomeet contests, the annual Focus Portrait Project, and the People's Choice contest during our exhibit) which were eligible for POTY points, in addition to the 7 rounds of the VERSUS tournament.

At the end of the year, there could only be one grand winner. The last man standing. The ultimate champion. Watch the video below to find out who is Focus Bulacan's Photographer Of The Year for 2015 :

CONGRATULATIONS TO RALPH DERRICK "CHI" LOPEZ FOR WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR HONORS FOR 2015! 3 first-place finishes, 2 second-places, 5 fourth-places, and a semifinals finish in the VERSUS tournament. Well-deserved, to say the least.

Aside from the DSLR-inspired crystal plaque, Chi also gets a Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM lens and a Xiaomi Mi 4i phone (his choices). All courtesy of Focus Bulacan.

We're also introducing two awards this year : Most Improved Photographer and Newcomer of the Year.

Most Improved Photographer is for the Focus member who exhibited improvement in his photography and a substantial rise in the Photographer Of The Year ranking (as compared to the previous year).

Most Improved Photographer 2015 is none other than BRIAN SANTOS. Congratulations!

Meanwhile, we're having the Newcomer Of The Year award for the best-ranking Focus photographer who only became an official member (approved as an applicant) during the year.

Our Newcomer Of The Year 2015 is Manuel Joson. Way to go, MJ!

Here's the year-end Top 10 of our Photographer Of The Year 2015 competition :

Congratulations again to CHI LOPEZ, Photographer Of The Year 2015.

Special thanks to Alih Viaje and Bluprint Studio for the announcement video, and to Triple Cup Advertising for the plaques.

And so ends our 2015 competition. Focus Competition Officer Jer Sandel will now be turning over his duties to Amen Alcoriza starting January 1, 2016. Mr. Alcoriza will now be handling all Focus contests, while Mr. Sandel will now be eligible to join them.

Focus photographers, get ready for 2016! :)