Attached is an excellent list of places to take photos in the Washington DC area, particularly for Nature Photography. Thanks to Denise Silva the author for allowing us to post this and George McLennan for his updates. more

Here's a link to Paul's presentation that he generously provided. Please note this may take a minute to download: http://nvps.org/main/docs/BirdPhotography2012.pdf... more

Over the years I've heard some funny things said about cameras and photography.  Some of them intentionally funny and some... I thought I would share a few.  Perhaps you've heard some too?  Send them in and I'll add them to the... more

From the icy Arctic to Africa's dense jungles - and the mountain tops of Mongolia to the deep waters of the Pacific - the BBC series Human Planet has explored mankind's incredible relationship with nature. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12618167... more

The following is a wonderful presentation provided by Ed Funk on February 14th, 2012 on Composition and Creativity. Thanks to Ed for providing an inspirational presentation and for sharing the presentation on the website. more

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Social Photography is a visual capture of the history and meaning of an event (parties, reunions, service projects, conferences, ceremonies, amateur sports, performances, etc.). It is a utilitarian form of record keeping and a highly creative genre enabling the viewer... more

Here's a how-to on the use of monitor and printer profiles. (from Jay Heiser  1/1/2012)Photo Club Presentation - Profiles.pdf... more

Thanks to Bob Friedman for these links:From the ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographersor in Know Your Rights Photographers.pdf.From PhotoJOJO http://content.photojojo.com/tips/legal-rights-of-photographers/... more

Cold weather causes problems for photographers. For some, this may be a review. For others, a warning.*** BEFORE you enter a warm house, car, or building, put a plastic bag on the camera while it is in the cold. That... more

The following is the document presented on 11/29/2011 by Scott Musson on preparing your images for digital competition: http://nvps.org/main/docs/Preparation%20for%20Digital%20Projection%20Competition_v2%202.pdf... more

Here are materials that were used in the Oct. 11 workshop on The Basics of Matting. The first is a pdf file The Basics of Matting that was put together by Roger Lancaster, and includes a list of suppliers and... more

Dennis Govoni provided the presentation from the workshop "Mastering the Art of the Digital Camera" and it is available for download from this link: Camera Essentials.pdf... more

This presentation contains some great ideas and some wonderful photography by Sandi. Click on this link to download the file: SeeingCreatively.pdf. This is a large file. ... more

Should be of interest to members: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/technology/22camera.html?_r=1&ref=businessanother link on same subject:http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/06/22/auto.focus.camera/... more

This is a fascinating place recommended by a friend of mine. It is in Staunton, VA and would probably be of interest to club members who are looking for a day trip. Thanks, Sandi Croan website:  Camera Heritage Museum  ... more

Here is an interesting article that talks about the future of film.Link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-06-03-photo-film_n.htm... more

Interesting article especially for those of us who like to debate Nikon vs. Canon: http://tiffinbox.org/what-happens-when-a-canon-shooter-uses-a-nikon/... more

Judy McGuire presented a forum on March 22nd, 2011, and this was a list of books she's used and recommends for travel photographyBIBLIOGRAPHY:  MY TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY LIBRARY                        ... more

We'd like to thank Joe Miller for coming out to share his passion for abstracts and give us some pointers on how to create them.  Joe has been kind enough to provide his presentation as a PDF file, including all... more

Attached is a PDF of the key points of the presentation on the portfolio project from 01/25/11. Portfolio Project Presentation... more

The US Army is advising against posting images from your smart phone to social networking sites. I think this is advise that us civilians should also consider. At least we all should understand the potential risk to our privacy posting... more

Fred Chitty has been kind enough to make information from his presentation on Portrait Photography available to you. Please follow the link below to see a PDF version of Fred's notes. Even if you didn't attend the lecture the information... more

Attached you will find the notes and some very nice tips from Willa Friedman's forum on Monochrome Photography that was presented on November 23rd, 2010.Notes on "Monochrome Photography" by Willa Friedman... more

With the competition theme "Through Doors, Out Windows" coming up in January, I wanted to share this article on Photographing Doors and Windows from Picture Correct.comhttp://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/window-and-door-photography-tips/... more

I'd like to thank Ed again for the inspirational presentation on Creative In-Camera Techniques.  For thoseof you who were looking for additional information about the techniques, Ed has updated his blog toinclude the "Out-of-Frame" technique in addition to several of... more

Please find the presentation "Montages: Interpreting Reality" by Matthew Schmidt from the Workshop, Education and Training Session on Oct 26th, 2010.Link to Presentation... more

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/10/photographers_documentary_film.html?hpid=newswell The federal agency responsible for protecting more than 9,000 federal facilities is reminding its security guards that the general public has the right to take photographs and shoot video outside the courthouses, office buildings and campuses they protect.Full article... more

Attached is the PDF from the September 28th, 2010 presentation on Lightroom 3 Basics that was presented by Dennis Govoni... more

Attached is the PDF from the September 14th, 2010 presentation on Blacklight that was presented by Scott Musson... more

Thanks to Bob Friedman for these links:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/nyregion/28about.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=picture%20this&st=csehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072502795.html?hpid=newswell... more

On May 25th, 2010 Sam Schaen presented an excellent forum on bird photography.  He's been kind enough to provide his presentation to post here on the website.  Link to Sam's presentation... more

In March, Chuck Veatch, chairman of the Board of Nature's Best Photography magazine and competition judge, led some members of our club on a tour of the Smithsonian exhibit of the winners of the Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition.... more

An interesting news item club member Michael DuBois thought other members might enjoy:BBC Wildlife Magazine has opened up its articles on 'photo masterclasses' to free downloading.All the articles are about different aspects of nature photography and clicking the links downloads... more

Max Lyons presented a one of a kind program on April 6th on panoramic and mosaic images.  A description of Max's background and links to his site and software can be found in this article:http://nvps.org/main/meetings/programs/april_6th_2010_-_program_night/You can download a copy the... more

The attached PDF includes a portion of the presentation from Scott Musson on Photo Books and Calendars presented on 3/30/2010. Click here for the PDF.... more

Just like all other art forms, fine art photography is a craft.  I recently visited two exhibits in DC that reminded me of this fact.  First was the national gallery exhibit, "history of photography before digital cameras".  It was a... more

GigaPan has a new version of their product coming out in April that will support SLRs...http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000524-264.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20... more

After a recent field trip to the US National Arboretum a member indicated that other members would enjoy knowing what is in bloom at the arboretum throughout the year.  Here's a link to the US National Arboretums "Average Blooming Dates".... more

After a recent field trip to the US National Arboretum a member indicated that other members would enjoy knowing what is in bloom at the arboretum throughout the year.  Here's a link to the US National Arboretums "Average Blooming Dates".... more

Bill Prosser's Adaptation of Dave Carter's, "Some important Principles of Composition." (1998)   [Revised 10-20-2009]. Please see the attachment.bp_10_27_2009.pdf... more

That may sound strange given the amazing technical developments during the past two decades. Since Louis Daguerre the goal of photography always has been to produce a good image that appears within the picture space, be it a glass plate,... more

The following are the images and documents used in my presentation on Photoshop, I hope you find it useful.Preparation for Digital Projection Competition.pdfCreative Techniques for Photoshop - CS3 & CS4Creative Techniques for Photoshop - Elementshttp://nvps.org/main/2009/10/11/2ofhearts.jpghttp://nvps.org/main/2009/10/11/2ofspades.jpghttp://nvps.org/main/2009/10/11/2cards.jpghttp://nvps.org/main/2009/10/11/bug.jpghttp://nvps.org/main/2009/10/11/building.jpg... more

Attached is a presentation from Joseph Miller on "What Judges Look For" in competition images.NVPS Forum - Judges - FOTOFAX.pdf... more

A friend recently sent me a link to a new tool that has proven to be so beneficial for me, I thought that I would share it with the rest of you.  If you are photographing landscapes, the times for... more

After 74 years Kodak announced today June 22nd, 2009 that it will no longer manufacturer Kodachrome film. more

Sandi Croan presented "Creatively Seeing, Before and After" at the NVPS Forum on May 26th. The text only notes were requested by several members. Hope you have a great summer and make beautiful images! Sandi CroanSeeing Creatively_TextOnly.pdfBlack and White Photos with Selective Color in PSCS3.pdf... more

We haven't had many submissions to F-Stop lately, so I thought I would provide some information I've found on the web to inspire and help you.This is a wonderful, short article on improving your photography skills.http://www.wikihow.com/Develop-Your-Photography-Skills... more

Destroying Digital.pdfThe February 10, 7:30 PM workshop at the Dunn Loring Fire Station will attempt to show members a number of computer techniques to solve their digital darkroom problems. A panel of digital darkroom experts will show techniques that can... more

For the past year, I have been researching how to make my images "tack sharp". I will briefly summarize what I have learned and tell you a no-cost, simple way to improve the sharpness of everything you shoot (the way... more

If one were asked: "what is photography" or "what is two dimensional art" there would be many different answers. Yet both photography and two dimensional art have a similar challenge: it's all about the picture space.What is the picture space?... more

Tom Hady presented a forum on Nov 25, 2008 on entering international exhibitions.  Attached is information he's prepared from his presentation for sharing with the membership in case you might have missed his presentation or would like notes from the... more

Attached you will find the notes from the Dec 9th Workshop, Education and Training presentation on "An Introduction to Black Light Photography".I hope you have as much fun trying black light photography as I do!Black Light Workshop.pdfAlso check out some... more

Old timers like myself reminisce about the days when photography had personality and we wax eloquently (well, at least wistfully) about certain cameras, lenses and films that we felt exuded personality. We remember fondly the early Leica and Contax cameras... more

Many photographers like nature photography and some wonderful images of nature are produced.  Others produce competent images -- all well done, all well exposed, all reasonably well composed, all sharp if needed to be sharp, all potential ribbon winners, all... more

I'm always looking for inspiration to stretch my photography and inspiration to get out and shoot.  With the crispness of the air approaching and the first signs of leaves turning, it's not hard to find great subjects in autumn.  Pumpkin... more

Bill Prosser's Matting Strategy  For 8.5 x 11 photo paper:I make all my images, both portrait and landscape, longest dimension 10 inches. I then decide what standard sizes I tend to print and order at least two mattes of each... more

How to Look at a Photograph? The operative words are "look at." In this context look at is much more than glancing. Look at means seeing, and, unfortunately, seeing takes time, and these days we are busy and don't have... more

There is a subject that is not given enough attention in photography. That subject is seeing -- how to see a scene we want to photograph. We live in a fast-paced world, but, alas, seeing takes time. Seeing is more... more

There once was a time in photography when it was easy to separate good photographers from average photographers. That distinction largely had to do with technical skills. Was the image sharp, was it well exposed, etc? For the most part,... more

Membership in many camera clubs is increasing. That is good. The number of images entered in monthly competitions is also increasing. That may not be good. The more images entered in competition the less time the judge has to make... more

Get Your Files Organized - April Letter from the President Thank you all for your kind words about my article last month "An Ounce of Prevention" about backing up your precious image files so a hard drive failure won't... more

The late comedian, Rodney Dangerfield, used this line referring to himself and he was very funny. But it is not funny when judges on the camera club circuit are not given proper respect. Judging is a thankless task and judges... more

March Message from the President An Ounce of PreventionLast week I encountered the biggest nightmare of the digital photographer, a failed hard drive on my computer.  While it wasn't the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last, it... more

Some members had recently questioned the quality of the digital display during the nvps competitions.  The most common complaint was its being too bright and blowing highlights.   Matthew Schmidt has spent considerable time in identifying the root cause of the... more

We're always looking for member authored articles for the f-Stop section of the website.  Contributions should be submitted to webadmin@nvps.org and of course must be related to photography in some way.  Submit your article and you'll help other learn what... more

To have our photographs thought of as art is a high honor. That said, images presented as art may not fare well in camera club competitions where judges must make quick decisions based primarily on immediate impact and, of course,... more

What a wonderful meeting we had on December 4 with Darryl Barksdale and his presentation about starting a photography business.  Based on the huge turnout these seems to be a popular topic so I want to share some resources that... more

An essay by Joe MIller: I review literally thousands of images each year. Some are from classes where students learn about visual design and composition, some are from camera club competitions, and some are from workshops where area professionals and serious amateurs submit images for critique. My remarks here refer to my evaluation of images for camera clubs and workshops more