TIPA 2022 General Assembly and Voting Session Held in Wetzlar, Germany
Madrid, 18 May 2022
The 2022 meeting of the Technical Image Press Association took place on 29 April, 2022 at Leitz Park in Wetzlar, Germany, the first in-person meeting of the group in two years. Nevertheless, due to travel restrictions among worldwide members of the association, the meeting was “hybrid,” meaning a small portion of the group attended via the Internet.
While the main business of the meeting was choosing the winners of the 2022 TIPA World Awards, other items of note included the election of two Vice-Chairmen of the association, Shridhar Kunte of India and George Schaub of the United States; election of the association’s first Individual Member, Makoto Shibata, long-time member of the Camera Journal Press Club of Japan and friend of TIPA; and a special recognition of Vice-Chairman Giulio Forti by electing him as Honorable President for Life. Giulio Forti, who is retiring this year, was part of the group who prepared the founding of TIPA and has been a member for over 30 years of its existence, served numerous terms as Vice-Chairman, and could always be counted on for his wise counsel and industry experience.
One of the highlights of the gathering was the visit to Leitz Park and a special dinner with Dr. Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leica Camera AG. The TIPA group also had the unique opportunity to visit the non-public archives of Leica, a treasure trove of hundreds of cameras, projectors, enlargers, construction drawings and marketing materials of the venerable firm. The visit also included a tour inside their lens production and customer service facilities that provided deep insights into their manufacturing processes, plus a special visit to the former residence of the Leitz family.
Other meeting highlights included updates on TIPA’s new testing partners, Testlab for cameras and DXOMARK for lenses and smartphones, along with an in-person presentation (via Zoom) from Pierre-Yves Maître of DXOMARK, who briefed members on the company’s comprehensive testing methods, procedures, and reports available to all member publications.
Voting for the TIPA World Awards in 40 photo and imaging categories rounded out the session. The list of candidates was prepared and offered to members by TIPA’s Technical Committee, with members from Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the United States. In keeping with changing technology and products, the list included new products and services that have advanced the art and science of imaging and point to further changes in the years ahead.
The TIPA World Awards will be announced on 19 May, 2022, with the live awards ceremony slated for Photopia Summit and Festival for Imaging in Hamburg, Germany, 13-16 October, 2022. Details will follow on the live and worldwide broadcast of this very special event.