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Editor: Sam Schaen - Email: Editor@NVPS.org
Inside 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. March 4, 2008 Middleton Evans has spent the majority of his 20-year career
documenting the many faces of Maryland. Favorite subjects include Chesapeake
Bay waterman, cities and towns, festivals, farm life and equestrian sports.
A milestone was reached in 2001 when Maryland Public Television selected
Middleton as one of six local photographers to be featured in the documentary
film Images of Maryland: 1900 – 2000, chronicling the
state’s most distinguished lensmen of the 20th century.
Returning home in 1982 with a degree in Economics from Duke University's McDonogh School, but no defined career path, he put his imagination to work. A life-long passion for photography, ignited by a semester abroad in London, was parlayed into a 2-year photographic odyssey through Maryland, with hopes of being published. In 1988 he launched a family business to realize that dream, and Maryland in Focus was released to celebrate the compelling subjects encountered along his travels. Encouraged by rave reviews, Middleton next set his sights
on Baltimore, capturing its colorful characters, charming neighborhoods,
architectural icons, and vibrant cultural life. After Baltimore was
published in 1992, a new challenge was sought, and the allure of nature
photography beckoned. Four years of exploring roads less traveled culminated
with Maryland’s Great Outdoors, an inspiring collection
of wildlife portraits, lush landscapes and outdoor adventures.
In 1998 his career took yet another turn. An extraordinary 10-day Florida bird marathon served as the genesis of Rhapsody in Blue, an epic five-year adventure including 33 trips all over North America in search of miraculous encounters with native waterbirds. Over the same time frame Evans made hundreds of trips to his favorite pond in Baltimore’s Patterson Park, better known for soccer games and summer concerts than Wood Ducks and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. An astounding 120 bird species, and many other natural treasures, were discovered in this urban oasis for a book to be titled The Miracle Pond, slated for a fall 2008 release. An amazing yellow labrador retriever from Savage River Lodge
in Western Maryland captured Evans’ heart for a most joyous coffee
table book called Bodhi: The All American Lodge Dog, released
in 2007. Ravenwood Press will be expanding its offerings in the near
future with such projects as the amazing life and adventures of pioneering
National Geographic photojournalist Thomas Abercrombie; the secret lives
of wild tigers in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park, by wildlife
photographer Kim Sullivan; and Kristie Evans’ children’s
books, including Maxwell Smellswell and his Canine Capers.
Please join us for dinner with Middleton at Chili's at Tyson's at 6:00PM prior to the meeting. Please inform Tom Brett if you plan to come to dinner. Thank you. Tom Brett Scott Musson An Ounce of Prevention Last 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 reminded me that for many photographers who are not experienced with computers have a real challenge, and that challenge can be a nightmare if they don’t have a good backup and recovery plan. Coincidentally a member who saw my Digital Workflow presentation a couple of weeks ago at Vienna Photographic Society called me and asked for more details on how she should backup her computer. She explained how she had recently lost some files due to a hard drive failure. I’ll bet there are a number of members who have horror stories of their own. While my hard drive was under warranty and Dell sent me a new one overnight with my original image (impressive), the restore was not without some data loss. Thank goodness it wasn’t much more than one day’s shoot of still life for our themed competition (I could have been a contender!) and a presentation I have of my images that I can certainly recreate. It could have been much more disastrous if I didn’t have a good backup plan. I’ll share with you some of the basics and you can consider for your own backup plan. I am a Windows user, however the concepts I’ll present here should translate to any operating system, but I will describe some specific Windows tools. Basic Strategy Software can always be reinstalled it just takes time, your pictures and documents are not replaceable so always have more than one copy of images and document files. Your first priority should be backing up your images and files, then worry about backing up everything else if you have time and are so inclined. Every time I copy image files to my computer I then run file synchronization software to copy them to my external hard drive. At the same time any modifications to my images will get picked up and copied off as well. Also every time I spend some time working with my images in Photoshop I synchronize to my external hard drive. I use the Windows backup program to do a complete backup of my computer once a week. I schedule it to run at night when I’m sleeping. Tools Used
External Storage I use USB 2.0 external hard drives (Firewire will work also) to store my backed up files. Make sure you get a drive(s) that has plenty of free capacity for you to grow as you shoot more images. Also hard drives tend to perform poorly when close too full (90% or more). Hard drives are the most reliable long term storage device and are relatively easy to work with if you have comfort with copying and moving files and directories/folders around. I suggest not going for the cheapest drive you can find, but to buy a reputable brand with good ratings. You can check CNET for example for ratings (http://reviews.cnet.com/4244-3190_7-0-1.html?query=external+hard+drive&tag=cat_1). You might consider getting multiple drives and storing one at a friend’s or relative’s house or in your safe deposit box if you have a large one. I keep one at my desk at my office. If we had fire, flood, etc. I wouldn’t lose all my data. Start with one if you don’t have any, then consider expanding after you get comfortable with the process. CD’s & DVD’s (even archival versions) are far less dependable than an external hard drives. They are also more cumbersome, slow and it’s an error prone process making sure you get all of your images backed up. If you have a 300 GB hard drive it would take more than 60 DVD’s or over 460 CDs. Backup Software Windows XP & Vista include their own backup program. While it’s not hard to use if you are comfortable with computers, you can select what to back up, where to back it up and what type of backup (complete, incremental, etc), and allows you to schedule your backups so you don’t have to remember to do it. For a complete article on backing up Windows XP checkout http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx For Windows Vista see the following article: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/backup.mspx There are major changes in Vista’s backup program and be sure you choose the type of backup that will work for you. Articles for you Mac users: http://www.index-site.com/backup.html and http://8help.osu.edu/1247.html. It’s important that you experiment with both backup and recovery. Not only will you boost your confidence that you have properly backup your images, when faced with a stressful situation as a hard drive failure, there’s nothing to clam you down more than having some experience under your belt. File comparison/synchronization software These tools come in a lot of different flavors, but one that really stands out for the novice or the experienced computer user is SyncToy from Microsoft. Version 2.0 beta was released last year and it is very easy to use. It takes a lot of the guess work out of backing up your images, documents and whatever you would like. It detects changes to existing files, new files added and files deleted and will keep a directory on your hard drive in sync with a directory on your external drive. It has a preview mode which allows you to see what it will do before it actually makes changes to your files. You can find this tool at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C26EFA36-98E0-4EE9-A7C5-98D0592D8C52&displaylang=en or in the Microsoft Professional Photography site http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/default.aspx. For those of you who want a more robust synchronization tool try BeyondCompare from Scooter Software (http://www.scootersoftware.com/), I’ve used this fairly inexpensive tool for many years. It detects differences, additions, deletions, allows complex filtering, content comparisons, etc. While it’s very useful for some things, I find SyncToy 2.0 to have some advantages. Here’s a listing of other file comparison tools available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_comparison_tools I hope this helps you get your backup plan in order before you lose any of your precious images. Scott Musson
“The best place to photograph is where ever you are” – Freeman
Patterson March 18, 2008 The NVPS monthly competition scheduled for tuesday, march 18, will be an "open" competition judged by Clarence Carvell, photographer, published author and teacher. In addition to his three published books, Clarence's work has also appeared in Outdoor Photographeer, Shutterbug, Theater Arts, and other publications. He has been staff photographer for the Civil War News for 8 years and a few years ago was chosen to photograph the recovery of the S.S. Monitor turret off Cape Hatteras. Clarence earned a degree in photography from Howard Community College and a BFA from the University of Maryland and taught at both these schools. Later, he worked as a teaching assistant for John Sexton. Over the years, Carvell has participated in about 40 workshops with people such as John Sexton, Bruce Barnbaum, Henri Cartier Bresson, Jerry Uelsman, Arnold Newman, Mary Ellen Mark, Joyce Tenneson, and others. Recently, he completed the judging workshop given by Joseph Miller. In 1991, Clarence started the Maryland Photographi Alliance, a group of select image-makers who meet to share their work and offer critical feedback. He teaches Photoshop on an ongoing basis to groups of all levels.
The above images won 1st place in their respective categories in the December Competition. A larger version can be seen by clicking on each image.
Amie Tannenbaum VP Competitions
717-398-9705 miladyamie@aol.com
Images for Digital Competitions must be uploaded by 6 PM on the Sunday preceding the competition. The upload location is: http://nvps.org/dc/. Help for uploading can be found at: http://nvps.org/main//misc/digital-competition-info/ . Matthew G. Schmidt
Spring Gardens Visit
Saturday, March 15, 2008 Join us for an amazing breath of spring and photograph at Brookside Gardens on Saturday, March 15, 2008. "Brookside Gardens is Montgomery County's incomparable, award-winning 50-acre public display garden situated within Wheaton Regional Park. Included in the gardens are several distinct areas; azalea garden, rose garden, children's garden, formal garden, fragrance garden, Japanese style garden and trial garden. The garden also features two conservatories for year-round enjoyment." Friends of Brookside Gardens will also be sponsoring an Orchid Festival on March 15, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm at the Visitors Center Auditorium. The Gardens are located at 1800 Glenallan Avenue in Wheaton MD, 20902
and can be contacted at 301-962-1400, or online at http://www.mc-mncppc.org/parks/brookside/ Directions to Brookside GardensFrom I-270 and points west, take exit 4A, Montrose Road east, which turns into Randolph Road. Go approximately 7 miles and turn right onto Glenallan Avenue.From I-495, the Capital Beltway, take Exit 31A (north on Georgia Ave./Rt. 97) toward Wheaton. Drive three miles north on Georgia Avenue to Randolph Road and turn right. At the second traffic light turn right onto Glenallan Avenue.
We will car pool to Brookside from the Dunn Loring Fire Station, leaving promptly at 6:00 a.m. Please park along the street or at the school next door, since there may be other activities scheduled at the fire station. Sign-up Information You can sign up at a 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 Great Smoky National
Park April 23-27 REMINDER: So far only 2 rooms have been reserved for the field trip. PLEASE let Bob Friedman know, ASAP, if you are planning on coming. If there really is no interest, he would like to release the rooms, so some other camera club can use them. Bob has reserved eight rooms at the Econo Lodge Inn & Suites Parkside (was Comfort Inn in 2007) in Townsend, TN. He reserved the last eight non-smoking rooms available. The rooms have two queen beds. If you are interested, call to make your room reservations, 1-865-448-9000. The rooms will be held until April 12th. Just ask for the rooms held for NVPS. Use Bob Friedman's name if necessary. The cost is: $53.99 + tax for the first two nights $89.99 + tax for the next night $80.99 + tax for the last two nights. Please let Bob know if you are going to be there. He can make some dinner reservations for at least the first night. Econo Lodge Inn & Suites Parkside , 7824 E Lamar Alexander Parkway (along US-321) in Townsend, TN 37882 - Phone: 1-865-448-9000 Bob Friedman
March
25, 2008 Mary O'Neill
March 25, 2008 How did this insanity come about? At the time Bob and Jorja got married (26 years ago) Bob was into large and medium format black and white photography. As often happens, shooting and darkroom time grew increasingly scarce. So, he put aside the cameras and closed the darkroom to devote time to career and family. Now that the kids are out of college and raising their own families it is time to resurrect the passion for photography. Bob bought Jorja her first DSLR (a Canon 20d) about three years ago and that’s when the fun began. Once Bob saw first hand the advantages of the digital world, he immediately abandoned film, darkroom and all, and purchased his own 20d. Additional camera and computer equipment quickly followed as their desire to learn flourished. The climb up that never-ending learning curve is as exciting to them as the time spent out of doors together. Their enthusiasm for nature photography immediately became more than hobby; it is now a central focus in their lives. They have photographed from Costa Rica to Nova Scotia, and will go to Iceland this summer. But some of their best photography is done in their own backyard, at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, at Huntley Meadows Park, at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and at other local birding hotspots. Their current project is an exhibit scheduled for April and May at Huntley Meadows Park. Val Tepordei - Digital Projection Val Tepordei began his “photographic career” in the early 1950s in his native Romania and soon photography became his main hobby. As a geological engineering student he traveled through Romania and took a lot of pictures. In just a few years he proved to be a skilled photographer and became a member of the Romanian Association of Artist Photographers (AAF). Some of his photographic images traveled around the world being displayed in international photographic exhibitions. In recognition of his active participation in the AAF and his high quality photographic work, in 1968 he received the international title of Artist FIAP (International Federation of Artistic Photographers). In 1969 he published a book in Romania on how to process black-and-white films and photographic papers. After his arrival in the U.S. in 1970, Val continued his photographic work as his main hobby. In 2006, Val Tepordei retired from the U.S. Geological Survey where he worked as a scientist, but continues his association with the agency as a Scientist Emeritus. After retirement, Val is dedicating a significant part of his “free time” to his old but renewed passion for photography. He now travels and works on “photographic assignments,” expands his “digital photographic lab,” and improves on its capabilities. In March and April 2007 he displayed 60 of his best images in a photographic exhibition al the U.S.G.S. in Reston, VA, entitled 50 Years Behind the Camera. His motto “Learning
never ends” continues to guide his scientific as well as photographic
work. Luella Murri
March 11, 2008 March 11th Workshop will consist of a presentation by Joe Miller and a critique of portfolios. As usual it will be at the Dunn Loring Fire Station starting at 7:30 P.M. Geometry in Photography First, Joe Miller will present a short program showing examples of Geometry in Photography. This program is designed to help those who plan to enter the April 15 Geometry in Photography competition. Portfolio Project Critique NVPS Portfolio Project critique will be held during second half or our Workshop meeting. In order to accommodate the large number of participants (over 50), we will have five “critique workstations.” Each workstation will have a critiquer, facilitator, digital projector and computer. Those participating will be assigned to a workstation prior to March 11th. Except for those individuals shooting film, the images loaded on www.nvps.org are the images that will be critiqued. Unfortunately, we must have a deadline for submitting images to the website for critique. It will be March 7th. This will give those doing the critiquing an opportunity to review your work and will us time to get your images off the website and onto the correct “critique workstation” computer. Of course, participating in the critique is optional. If you choose not to do so, you can still submit your printed portfolio for judging in late May. Directions for submitting images: 1) All the images received will be sorted and displayed based upon the file name you provide; therefore, please assign your name to the images followed by a sequence number (i.e. PaulSimmons_01.jpg). This file name will also be displayed under the image.If you have questions you may contact us by email or phone: Workshop Coordinators:
It is hard to believe, but the end of year banquet is soon upon us. ..soon enough to mark your calendars for June 6th, the first Friday in June. We will have a cash bar at 6, a buffet dinner at 7, and festivities to follow. The superb winning photographs of competition winners throughout the year will be on display. The photographer of the year will be honored, there will be a speaker, prizes, oh, yes, and did I mention food. Prices will be $35 per person paid in advance. Send or hand your checks to Fred Chitty, Treasurer, made out to NVPS. The same tickets will cost $40 each at the door. We will be at the Tysons Westpark Hotel, 8401 Westpark Drive, Mclean (703 734 2800). This is half a mile west of the beltway on the north side of Rt. 7. It is the same place we were last year. Andy Klein
Photographers of Northern Virginia Repeat programs of Photographers of Northern Virginia are now being shown on a regular basis on Fairfax Public Access Channel 30 every Monday at 3:30 p.m. and every Friday at 3 p.m. They will no longer be shown on Channel 10. The March schedule is as follows:
The schedule can also be found on the NVPS website (http://nvps.org/main/upcoming/tv_program_photographers_of_no/). Luella Murri
Meadowlark Thanks to those of you who assisted in making Meadowlark the best ever. Special congratulations to the following participants who received Sponsor’s Awards and thanks to the sponsors whose support makes the event financially possible. David Wheeler—Three Sisters—Trek Tek The date for Meadowlark Photo Expo next year is March 28-29, 2009.
Ed Knepley Ed Knepley had a successful November 2007 through January 2008. In November his image Multiple Exposure Art took 2nd place in the BetterPhoto.com's monthly contest which attracts over 36,000 images world-wide per month and professional photographer judges from their instructional staff of Pros like Tony Sweet. In December, Ed repeated the BetterPhoto.com November award with Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. In January Ed entered two of three categories in the Washington Gardener Magazine's 2008 photo contest. Three of his images won - first place in the Small Wonders category (floral macros and close ups), first place in the Garden Creature category, and the Grand Prize. The images will be on display starting with an opening reception of the Photo Show on Friday, March 28 from 6-8pm at the Adams Bank Lobby in the World Building on Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, MD. The reception is open to the public and is free to attend. After the opening, you may come by and view the photos any time during the normal bank lobby hours (M-F 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-12noon). The show runs through May 22. They will also be published in the March/April issue of the magazine. Tom Hady Tom Hady judged the February competition of the Dallas Camera Club. Yes, Texas! The judging was done entirely by mail, and Tom recorded his comments, to be played at the meeting. The assigned subject was “Reflections,” and there were some very creative responses to the assignment, including a couple of very good mylar reflection pictures. Dallas has a very smooth judging system using FedEx.
Photographic Society of America
Tom Hady
Exhibition Opportunities Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year for 2008, sponsored by the Natural History Museum (UK) and BBC Wildlife Magazine, has begun. It costs £20 to enter online and £27 to enter by mail. Deadline is 24 March for postal entries and 31 March for electronic entries. Details can be found at: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/wpy-entry/?src=enews Workhouse Arts Center THE WORKHOUSE ARTS CENTER, a project of the Lorton Arts Foundation is currently accepting submission to jury for Studio and Associate membership in the Workhouse Artist Association. There are still studios of varying sizes available in the 5 general use studio buildings. For photographers they also are accepting submission to jury for membership in the Workhouse Photographic Society. Information can be found at www.lortonarts.org Marti Kirkpatrick National Wildlife Federation Contest NWF invites you to submit your favorite nature images to their 2008 Photo Contest. Cash prizes totaling $18,000 plus camera equipment and other gifts will be awarded to the winners in three separate divisions: professional, amateur and youth. The grand prize winner will receive $5,000. Plus, a portfolio of award-winning entries will be published in the 2008 December/January issue of the magazine. The deadline for all submissions: July 1, 2008. For more details about the categories, how to submit your photos and other information, read the official rules at: http://www.nwf.org/photozone. Workshops and Tours Patzcuaro, Mexico Bill Rau of Galapagos Islands Sunny Reynolds had 4 people back out of an April Galapagos trip and is offering a discount on the trip. Biotrek Adventure Travels last minute offer We are offering a SPECIAL!!! Regular price is $4800.00 today's price is $4200.00! The dates are April 11-April 21, 2008. We have a beautiful 12 passenger catamaran reserved. This will include air from Washington Dulles to Ecuador, in country air to the islands, accommodations, and meals on the boat. This is a photographers dream destination! Sunny Reynolds Nature Photography Workshops Christine Bowles will be offering 3 nature photography workshops this spring in Howard County, MD.
She is offering a 10% discount for students who register by February 29, 2008. Christine Bowles Using your Digital SLR Camera March 15 at Eggspectation Bistro's private meeting room, 5009 Westone Plaza Dr., Chantilly, VA. Mary Louise Ravese
Fairfax County Adult and Community Education Wayne Wolfersberger will be teaching the following photography classes among others this spring through the Fairfax County Adult and Community Education Center (ACE). More information, including how to sign up can be found at http://www.fcps.edu/aceclasses.
Tours for Photographers Ltd.
Nicholas Reuss ARPS John Shaw - Nature & Digital Photography Seminar Well known nature photographer, John Shaw, will present two seminars in Baltimore on April 12-13. The first day is devoted to Nature Photography. The second day covers Digital Photography and Digital Workflow. Cost is $225 for the entire weekend or $160 for one day. More information can be found at the Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris website: http://www.photosafaris.com. Josh Taylor's Workshop Schedule
More information can be found at http://www.archiphotoworkshops.com Corey Hilz’s 2008 Location Workshop Schedule
Corey Hilz’s 2008 Local Class and Workshop Schedule
Details about each workshop (and photo galleries) can be found at www.CoreyHilz.com in the “Instruction” section. Feel free to contact Corey with any questions: corey@coreyhilz.com 2008 VA Safaris
10% discount for repeat participants 10% discount for camera club members To sign up for a Va Photo Safari go to www.vasafaris.com. Jack Nevitt & Alan DeFelice. Costa Rica Costa Rica awaits, come photograph BATS, birds and more with Wildlife Photo Tours in 2008. Costa Rica is home to all three species of Vampire bats and we hope to photograph all three. Additionally, Costa Rica is home to some of the most magnificent birds on the planet! Other tours for 2008 include Bosque del Apache, Aransas, TX for Whooping Cranes, and bats and venomous reptiles in Arizona and New Mexico. Visit our website at www.wildlifephototour.com for additional tour information. 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.
Manassas Warrenton Camera
Club
Program: On Monday March 17th
we are fortunate to have Scott Musson President of NVPS. Scott will
be giving a presentation on digital image workflow in Photoshop CS3
Field Trip: Sat (3/22) at 8:00am… Virginia side of Great Falls Park… contact Terry Goplerud (Terrygoplerud@yahoo.com) for more information Self-Improvement Outing: Sat (3/8) at 8:00am… Green Springs Park… topic is “Rhythm”
200mm Marco Lens for sale: Nikon 200mm MACRO f4 lens for sale. The three year old lens is in pristine condition. Will sell for $950, was over $1400 when purchased new locally. Contact Wayne Wolfersberger 703-476-6048 or wwolfers@verizon.net
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