Inside Monthly Program Note: You can click on the above links to go directly to the article; or you can scroll through the entire newsletter. You can also print the entire newsletter. September 4th 2007 Steven L Miller has been called a cultural portrait artist. Steve's September Program, entitled "Street Stories", reveals how he finds life on the streets. He will talk about goals for street photography, his approach, what he looks for and how he shoots. He will also talk about getting close to people as subjects. With nine of his images in the permanent collection of The Smithsonian, critics and collectors believe that Steve captures the unusual in the usual- especially when it comes to reflecting the "human condition". Steven L Miller is a Washington, DC-based image maker. His images reflect life in countries around the world. Trained as a journalist, he spent a career leading non-profit agencies in six states. In 2002, Steve resolved to spend all his time "creating words and images that portray the human condition". Recently, 50 of his images- reflecting people with special needs- hung in the Virginia State Capital. He teaches photography at two DC- area institutions and has published a book entitled, "Image Reflections". You are invited to join Steve and me for dinner at Chili's at 6:00PM, 4 Sep. at 8051 Leesburg Pike, in the Tyson's area, near Tiffany [drive west on Route 7 from the Beltway, turn left at the 1st light, then an immediate left on the service road, then a right into the parking lot past Tiffany. Chili's is at the "back" of the lot]. Please inform Tom Brett if you'll attend.
Welcome to New Year Welcome to a new year at NVPS! I’m very excited about what NVPS will offer this year. We have a nice mix of new and experienced board members who’ll bring us interesting presentations, spirited competitions, a variety of learning possibilities with workshops and field trips, and opportunities to exhibit our work both inside and outside the club. We’ll all be working to maintain the wonderful tradition of NVPS as one of the premier photo clubs in the area. The club is incredibly fortunate to have a great group of volunteers on the board this year who’ll donate their time and efforts at making NVPS a fun organization to be a member of. My highest priority for the club this year is to renew our efforts to help new members and novice photographers feel welcome and comfortable so that they will ask questions and look to the experienced members of NVPS for guidance, knowledge and help with their photographic pursuits. I believe the reason new members come to NVPS is learn how to become better photographers and to gain comfort and enjoyment in their photographic pursuits. In fact it may be the reason that all of us come to NVPS. It’s a wonderful side benefit that we meet nice people along the way who are willing and eager to share their knowledge with others. Our first meeting of the season is Tuesday September 4th, 2007. I look forward to seeing you at NVPS! New Meeting Times for NVPS for 2007-2008 Please note that starting September 4th, 2007 Northern Virginia Photographic Society (NVPS) meetings will be at 7:30 PM at the Dunn Loring Fire Station. Doors open at 7 PM for Meet and Greet. The membership showed a strong desire to have competition meetings earlier this year at 7:30 PM. Since workshops were already at 7:30 PM, the NVPS board felt it would be simpler to have one start time for all meetings. Special Schedule for January 2008 Also note that January 1st, 2008 falls on a Tuesday so there will be no NVPS meeting on that evening. Since there are 5 Tuesdays in January, we will push everything back one week to allow all for the 4 regularly scheduled meetings to occur. So January 8th, 2008 will be program night, January 15th will be workshop night, January 22nd will be competition and January 29th will be Members Gallery and Forum. This change is for January 2008 only all other months we will meet on the first, second, third and fourth Tuesdays at 7:30 PM at the Dunn Loring Fire Station. Scott Musson September Judge John Nuhn Northern Virginia Photographic Society's FIRST monthly competition of the 2007-2008 camera club year will take place 7:30 p.m.TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th, at the Dunn Loring Fire Station, Gallows Road. The judge will be JOHN NUHN, photography director of the award-winning National Wildlife Magazine, flagship publication of the National Wildlife Federation. John is a founder and past president of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), and currently president of the NANPA Foundation which supports nature photography education. The September competition is OPEN; i.e. there is no theme Amie Tannenbaum VP Competitions
717-398-9705 miladyamie@aol.com Digital Projection Competition For the second year of digital competition for NVPS, I thought that it would be worthwhile to provide an update to the guidelines for uploading your images to the website. Last year we had at least one error in every month's upload. Most months I was able to reach the person who had the problems before Tuesday morning when I left for work, but sometimes it just didn't happen, leaving someone out of the competition or displaying an image that was not optimally configured. First and foremost, upload early. Images need to be uploaded to the NVPS website at this link. That way if there are issues with the upload there is plenty of time to get in touch with Phillip Moore (pdm@pobox.com) or me (mgs@loreleistudios.com) so that we can work out the problem. If you run into a problem, even on the Sunday before competition, please email Phillip or me right away so that we can feel comfortable in accepting a late entry. Also, be sure to check your email on Monday, the day before the competition if at all possible. I cannot review the files until Sunday night at earliest. If I notice something that I believe is wrong with your image, I will send an email to the address submitted during the upload process. This process saved several participants from displaying a thumbnail-sized image during competition last year. I will accept an email image if it is the same one that was uploaded erroneously, but again, I generally don't get access to my email after 7 AM on Tuesdays before meetings. Also, I don't always get the opportunity to check the mail on Tuesday mornings, although I try to do so on competition Tuesdays, especially if I am waiting for a response. If you get an error that your image is over 1024x768, and when you check it doesn't seem to exceed these dimensions, remember that image sizes are always stated as width x height. So 1024x768 is not the same as 768x1024. I believe that most cameras produce an image that is nominally 1.5x1, so a 1024x768 image requires some cropping. If you do not crop the image and scale it down for competition it will probably produce an image that is 1024x683. If you have a portrait image (meaning that the long side is on the vertical) your properly scaled image will be about 512x768. You are welcome to produce odd-size images for the digital competition if you like. We didn't see many square crops last year, but there is nothing to prevent you from doing so. Also remember that digital manipulation beyond what can be accomplished in a dark room is allowed for the digital competition images. Only your imagination should set the boundaries. Mandatory parameters for upload:
The resolution setting is irrelevant, since it only affects the printed image. Additional Recommendations:
Good luck to all of you. I look forward to another season of interesting images.
Matthew G. Schmidt Sandi Croan - Prints Sandi has always looked at the world through the lens of a camera. She has been taking photographs for family, friends, and her own gallery since her first "Brownie" camera. Over the past 4 years, she has gotten much more serious about portrait, landscape, nature, and travel photography. Now, she is devoting herself full-time to her photographic passion, and constantly striving to capture that special moment in time. She took her first camera class from Wayne Wolfersberger four years ago and joined NVPS shortly thereafter. Professionally, she has been a registered Physical Therapist, Director of Personnel and Administration at a Social Science Consulting Firm, and President and Co-founder of a personnel staffing agency. Sandi shoots exclusively with Nikon Digital cameras and loves "developing" her raw images in Photoshop, printing, matting and framing all her work. This summer she traveled to Greece and to Canada for a Freeman Patterson/Andre Gallant workshop. Polly Terriberry - Projected Images Polly Terriberry has been a member of NVPS since the year 2000. Since then she has taken full advantage of all the club has to offer and as a result she has grown photographically. As her love for photography grew, so did her collection of photo albums. One day, it occurred to her that after she and her husband (and very handy tripod carrier), went to their big photographic reward in heaven, her earthly photos would most likely wind up in the landfill, complements of her two non-photographic children. She began to wonder why she pursued this hobby with such passion. Shortly after that, she learned about Shutterstock.com from visiting a photographic web site and decided to give it a try. Maybe there were a few people out there that could find a better use for her images than stuffing them between the two covers of a photo album, never to be opened again. So, for this month's members gallery she will show a digital sampling of her portfolio now selling on Shutterstock.com. Sandrah Pederson
TENTATIVE NVPS FIELD TRIP CALENDAR 2007-2008
Subject - Photojournalism The first excursion of the NVPS Field Trip 2007-2008 season will begin with a trek to the Great Frederick Fair. The fair runs nine days from Sept 14-22, with a full schedule of events including livestock shows, horse pulls, harness racing, equine expo, carnival rides and entertainment - although we will only experience a small slice of all this activity. The events are listed below for Saturday, September 15. More information can be found on their website at www.thegreatfrederickfair.com, or (301)663-5895.
Individual admission to the fair is $5 per person and will be purchased at the admissions gate. You will have to pay for parking also. We will leave the Dunn Loring Fire Station promptly at 7:30 AM, carpooling as much as possible. Please remember to park along the street or at the school next door, since there may be other activities scheduled at the fire station. We can expect to arrive approximately 8:30 AM. We can meet upon arrival at the fair’s visitors center, located inside Gate 4, between the cow barns and farm machinery row and take it from there, plan for lunch, etc. if desired. Subject - Action Join us for a delightful sail from Annapolis harbor in the heart of the Chesapeake. On Saturday, September 29, NVPS Field Trip participants will walk aboard the graceful Woodwind, a 75 foot schooner. This is just one week preceding the U.S. Sailboat Show, and we can expect to see the waterfront tour of the Naval Academy, the scenic Severn River, Spa Creek and sites of sailing under the Bay Bridge and will be among some beautiful sailboats arriving, practicing and preparing for the upcoming show. The cruise is two hours and although the crew is adept and the nature of sailing is smooth and relaxed you will be moving! On board the schooner is not optimal for tripods. You will have to increase shutter speeds and shoot for action. However, the outing does promise some stunning photographs of extraordinary things. The sail is scheduled for 11-1:00. There is one caveat, for guaranteed seating, we need 18 people (the boat holds 45) and you must sign up no later than September 14, so act now, they are quite busy. The cost is $36.50 per person. Otherwise tickets may be purchased online -- only within 6 days of the cruise. If we don’t have enough early decisions we will sign up individually online beginning September 23 and take our chances. They are $34.00 online. Snacks and soft drinks are included in the fare, with cash beer, wine and champagne available. Only soft soled shoes can be worn aboard the ship. For more information, see http://www.schoonerwoodwind.com. We will leave the Dunn Loring Fire Station promptly at 9:00 AM. Please remember to park along the street or at the school next door, since there may be other activities scheduled at the fire station. We can expect to arrive approximately 10:00 AM at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront and board the boat from the pier directly behind the hotel at 10:50 AM. (Walk through the hotel.) Parking is available from the hotel for a fee and nearby. Old Post Office Building, Washington D.C.Subject - Cityscape The Old Post Office observation deck is “one of the city’s best kept secrets”. It is located at Pennsylvania Avenue and 12th Street. The panorama spans the monuments and Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor and the silhouettes of the Washington Cathedral and Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The 315 foot tower makes it the third tallest structure in the District. Visitors can also view the Bells of Congress, one of the largest sets of change ringing bells in North America. This is where we’re off to for our October 6, 2007 NVPS Field Trip. Admission is free. It opens from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM from September through March. For more information please visit their website at: www.tourofdc.org We will leave the Dunn Loring Fire Station promptly at 9:00 AM. Please remember to park along the street or at the school next door, since there may be other activities scheduled at the fire station.Highland Scenic Highway, Monongahyela National Forest, West VirginiaSubject - Fall Foliage - Landscape
This overnight field trip takes us to the beautiful Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia at the peak (I hope.) of the fall color. Jim Clark has immortalized this area in his book “West Virginia, The Allegheny Highlands.” I have attached a map of this area on the following page. There is literally miles of picturesque landscape. For more detailed information go to www.fs.fed.us/r9/mnf and click on "Special Places." The Highland Scenic Highway is a beautiful corridor through the Monongahyela National Forest. This Scenic Byway extends 43 miles from Richwood to US Route 219, seven miles north of Marlinton. The Highway follows State Route 39/55 for 21 miles from Richwood to the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center and passes by Falls of Hills Creek. It then turns onto State Route 150 for the 22 mile Parkway section that passes by the Cranberry Glades and the Cranberry Wilderness. The Highway traverses the mountainous terrain of the Allegheny Highlands and Plateau, and rises from Richwood, elevation 2,325 feet, to over 4,500 feet along the Parkway. Adventurers can photograph the exquisite beauty from different starting points. From the Cranberry Nature Center, a middle point closest to our Motor Inn, the scenic highway follows WV-150 north for 23 miles. This is the Parkway section of the highway and is the region’s highest road – at 4500 feet above sea level. It has four developed scenic overlooks – each with restrooms and a picnic shelter. From the Cranberry Mountain Nature you can also travel along WV-39/55 west/northwest to Richwood and back. We will be staying in Marlinton, WV at The Marlinton Motor Inn, http://www.marlintonmotorinn.com. I encourage you to make your reservations early, as this is their busy time of the year. Phone (800) 354-0821. We have a reserved block of rooms, with the rates starting at $60.95/single and $67.95/double per night. Please, get your reservations completed no later than Friday, October 5 for the NVPS group rate. We will depart early Friday morning from the Dunn Lorring Fire Hall. On Friday and Saturday nights we will gather in the Motor Inn lobby at 7:30 PM for our traditional group dinner. Sign-up Information You can sign up for any of these trips at club meeting,
by e-mailing me at tek7@cox.net or
by calling me at (703) 938-6391 most evenings. Although email is
preferred, if urgent call my blackberry (day) or cell (eves) at (571) 201-0497
and (571) 217-1010 respectively.
Teresa Klinkosz September 25, 2007 Seeing is the essence of photography. Seeing happens when we forget the name of what we are looking at and start to look for and appreciate the interplay and relationship of visual elements that exist within the picture space. Far too often we pursue subject-based photography. This forum will stress the importance of design-based photography. Joseph Miller conducts workshops for serious photographers and frequently speaks, critiques, and judges at photographic societies. He writes extensively on a number of photographic subjects with particular interest in visual communication and design, judging photographs, and judging judges. He was instrumental in the creation of the Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs. He works out of his Center for the Photographic Arts in Northern Virginia. Mary O'Neill
September 11th Workshop: Portfolio Project The Portfolio Project is a nine month project starting in September and running through May. The September 11, 2007 Workshop will be devoted to explaining what is contained in an artist portfolio and clarifying the project. Jim Steele, past president of NVPS and a successful professional photographer, will be talking to us about the beginning stages of formulating a portfolio - picking a theme or concept, the artist statement, etc. The goal is to create a printed portfolio of your best images collected from June 2007 to May 2008. These are the images you would be proud to share with others for years to come. Portfolios will be critiqued in early spring, and the final printed portfolios will be submitted in May for judging. The portfolio judged the best will receive an award at the end of year banquet and all portfolios will be displayed at the banquet. Each portfolio will contain 10 to15 (Exact numbers to be determined later.) images. Portfolios will begin with an “Artist’s Statement” in which the photographer explains what he or she is trying to accomplish with their images. Portfolios may be bound as in an album or contained loose in a traditional portfolio box. Portfolio boxes and albums are available from B & H Photo (www.bhphotovideo.com) and Light Impressions (www.lightimpressionsdirect.com). We have also found albums at Michaels and Penn Camera. Joe Miller has offered the use of his binding equipment which can handle up to 8-1/2 by 11 inch format. We have purposely left the physical characteristics of the portfolio up to the photographer. Thus, you will be free to choose the type and size of portfolio that best reflects your content and/or style. Portfolios will be developed online using the club’s website, www.nvps.org. The online version is only used to facilitate sharing and critiquing of the images throughout the portfolio’s development. It is the working version. It allows those doing the critiquing to work at home whenever they have the time. It also allows us to see and comment on each other’s work as it progresses throughout the year. The online version of the portfolio is limited to 24 (?) images. Of these images, only 10 – 15 will be selected for the final printed product. The online critiques will be conducted by NVPS judges that have completed Joe Miller’s judging course. The critiques are intended to not only help participants improve their images, but also help them in choosing their best work to be included in the final printed portfolio. This is an excellent opportunity to create a high quality portfolio to showcase your best work. There is a wealth of information on the web on creating a portfolio. A good starting place is the following link: http://www.computerclubhouse.org/alumni/alumniartist.htm. The workshop will be held on September 11th at 7:30 pm in the Dunn Loring Fire Station. Workshop Coordinators Paul Simmons Bill Prosser Minnie Gallman
Hendry House The annual Hendry House exhibit for NVPS will be November. 9 through 11. All current members are eligible to enter. The number of photos that we can accept will depend on the number of people entering. The pictures must be framed with wire securely attached on the back for hanging. More particulars are forthcoming. Please sign up at the September meeting or call or e-mail Jan Ponder. Arlington Library We have a chance to exhibit at the Arlington Library. The exhibit would be no sooner than December. The theme of the exhibit will be "Flowers of Virginia" .Flowers can be any that grow in Virginia . Please submit 5 of your best flower photos on 5x7 photo paper for review only. No frames or mats. Put your name and title on the back. Submit by the October 2nd meeting. We have to submit them to the Library Exhibition Committee. They will decide if we will exhibit or not. It is an excellent venue to show off our talent. All who are interested sign up at the September meeting or call Jan Ponder. Jan Ponder
Ollie Fife Citation The following quotation is from the fascinating book, "Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our Recent History: by Kati Marton: "On the eve of his resignation Nixon summoned the White House photographer to the upstairs solarium for a final family portrait. 'Ollie,' an astonished Pat greeted the photographer, 'we're always glad to see you. But I don't think we need pictures now.' The president signaled the photographer to proceed." Long-time NVPS members will recognize "Ollie" as our own Ollie Fife, in whose memory our Ollie Fife Award was established. As a photographer for the U. S. Information Agency, he recorded many historic moments. As a member of the Photographic Society of America, he won many of its highest awards. In retirement he applied his photographic skills to the cause of defeating a proposal to build a highway through Huntley Meadows Park. Luella Murri Photographers of Northern Virginia No new programs are being taped. Repeat programs are being shown by Channel 10 on a filler basis. Please refer to the nvps website, www.nvps.org, for each month's schedule. Luella Murri
Frank Van Riper Fall/Winter Classes, Field Trips at PhotoWorks Frank Van Riper, longtime Washington Post photography columnist, author and lecturer, will be offering a full plate of workshops and field trips this fall and winter at PhotoWorks at Glen Echo, Park, Md. Frank is one of PW's most popular teachers, who emphasizes hands-on, no-pressure, instruction in everything from studio lighting, documentary photography, to mastering your on-camera flash. His classes fill early, so early registration via the Photoworks website is strongly recommended. Upcoming offerings include: Master Class with Dr. Flash (9/27-10/5, $325); Flash Photography Demystified (Sunday morning, 10/4, $95); Documentary Photography--Digital or Film (11/1-12/13, $300); and a field trip to the National Gallery East Wing (Sunday, November 4th.) See Glen Echo Park website for further classes and registration: http://www.glenechopark.org/ Frank also can be contacted directly: GVR@GVRphoto.com Va Digital Photo Safaris Calendar Sep 8 - Birds of Prey Cost is $60 and 50% of the cost goes to the Virginia Wildlife Conservatory to help to take care of and feed the birds. Because of that, there is no discount offered for this safari. The Conservatory is located in Falls Church, Va. The Virginia Wildlife Conservation program is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of injured, ill or orphaned birds of prey native to Virginia and also increase public awareness of these raptors. This will be a very educational experience in addition to having these beautiful birds up close and personal to photograph. This is one of our favorite safaris of the year. Don’t miss it! Oct 20 – Fall Foliage; Oct 27 – Meadowlark Gardens – Fall Foliage; Nov 2-4 – Chincoteague – Fall Migration; Dec 1 – Blackwater NWR – Bald Eagles 10% discount for repeat participants 10% discount for camera club members To sign up for a Va Photo Safari go to www.vasafaris.com CKB Photography Classes Christine Bowles will offer two workshops in September - Water Photography and Macro Photography. Both workshops will take place in Ellicott City, MD. For dates, prices, and additional information, please refer to the attached flier or visit the Workshops area of my website at: www.ckbphotography.com. Corey Hilz Garden Photography Workshop World Press Photo Award-Winning Photos A photo exhibit that is accessible on the web, but which
unfortunately will not be coming to Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz Exhibits at the Corcoran Gallery There will be an exhibit of Ansel Adams works including some famous and some rarely-exhibited prints at the Corcoran Gallery from September 15, 2007 to January 27, 2008. Her professional work along with some of Annie Leibovitz's personal photographs will be on display from October 13, 2007 to January 13, 2008. Tickets are required. Visit the Corcoran website ( http://www.corcoran.org/index.asp) for further information. Dreamscapes and Destinations - Andre Gallant The Manassas-Warrenton Camera Club is sponsoring a full day
of tips, techniques, abstracts, montages and instruction by Andre Gallant.
The seminar is November 3, 2007 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM and the fee is
$60 before September 30th and $70 afterward. For information call 703-590-5921
or 540-347-0006 or visit www.mwcc-photo.org. NOVACC Events Loudoun Photography Club Meetings are held on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays at 7:00 pm at theCascades Library (aka Eastern Regional Library) or as indicated. Program: 9/13 - Member Night: “What I Did
on My Summer Vacation”
Manassas Warrenton Camera
Club Forum: none
Program: On Monday Sept 17th we are fortunate to have Ian Plant as a speaker. Ian will be presenting natural landscape and wildlife images from his new book "Chesapeake: Bay of Light. An Exploration of the Chesapeake Bay's Wild and Forgotten Places." Please check out Ian’s web site at www.ipphotography.com. Competition: None Forum: None
Self-Improvement Outing: Sat, 9/8 @ 9:00 a.m. (Green Spring Gardens Park, 4603 Green Spring Rd., Alexandria) … This is a fixed, small group of photographers … the September assignment is “Lines” … for more information, contact Dan Feighery at VPS_Dan@cox.net
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