I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  As I write this, my newly married children are on an airplane from San Francisco to spend the holiday with us.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. It is a time to be with family and friends and to give thanks for all the blessings of the past year. A very large part of my life since summer of ’09 has been NVPS. I am so grateful for this terrific club, its members, the board, and the numerous volunteers that make it the premier camera club in the Mid Atlantic Region.

November continued with increased membership, record breaking numbers for competition, a fabulous speaker, workshop, members gallery and forum and our first overnight field trip this year. Please make sure you check Fotofax and the website for upcoming field trips and NVPS events as well as all the terrific content. New members, don’t forget about the newly launched Members Resource Program which has a link on the website as well as “links” to sites for everything photography.  As we enter the holiday season, if you don’t know what to put on Santa’s list, consider some new photographic “toys” or workshops presented by the many area photographers or groups.

The big highlight in November was the Mid Atlantic Nature Photography Expo (MANPE) or Nature’s Vision that was held on November 13th and 14th at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. It was a beautiful show and it was jam packed with educational lectures, workshops, critiques, raptor shooting opportunities, vendor information and discounted items. Congratulations to those who had images that were juried in as well as Marilyn Gaizband (Best In Show), Pat Lonergan (3rd Place), Ursy Potter (People’s Choice) as well as the 7 members that received 9 overall sponsor/vendor choice ribbons. Thank you to John Quigley (Exhibits Coordinator) as well as the many volunteers that helped to make it all possible.

We are now officially into cold and flu season. Please, if you are not feeling well or even think that you might be coming down with something – STAY HOME so as not to spread the misery!

Winter also brings us snow and ice. Please check the website and Fotofax for the club’s policy on weather closings. Check WTOP www.wtop.com or Fairfax County School systems web site for closings. You can also sign up for emails or cell phone alerts http://www.fcps.edu/news/emerg.htm

I would like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. And of course, make many beautiful images and memories.

Happy Holidays!

Sandi Croan
pashli "at" aol.com

Alternative Print Media
Barbara Ellison
Tuesday, December 7th, 7:30 PM

Barbara Ellison has been fortunate to be able to combine five loves – photography, art, gardening, travel and teaching – into her work.  As a ProMarket representative for Canon USA since 1989, she has traveled throughout the US, lecturing and instructing on various photographic topics such as botanical and macro photography, printing and alternative processes.  Her husband Michael operated a species orchid business for years, where she experimented with creating orchid art pieces from their own collection.  Her work has been published in various books and magazines and has been shown in galleries throughout the East Coast.  In December, Barbara will be showing at the 251 Gallery in Warrenton and Penn Camera in Springfield, Virginia.  She lives in Goldvein, Virginia with her husband, four dogs and a cat.

Barbara believes that capturing an image is just the beginning of your creative process--the final print is the finishing touch.  Barbara will discuss and show images on alternative substrates, as well as discussing options for displaying your work.  Please join us for an interesting twist on optimizing your final photographic prints!

Mary O'Neill
mary.m.o’neill "at" gsk.com

Techniques for Improving Your Portraits
Fred Chitty
December 14th, 7:30 PM

Join us on Tuesday, December 14th, when Fred Chitty will present a workshop on how to take better portraits.  Fred will demonstrate portrait posing, choice of wardrobe and the differences between hard and soft portrait lighting.  Fred will discuss photographic key as well as using fill flash for taking better portraits.  Fred will be demonstrating a subset of the techniques live, using a model with studio lights.  Some of the demonstrations that he has planned include background lighting, gelling lights, the use of reflectors to improve shadow detail and camera setup.

It was in an 8th grade shop class where Fred made his first print from a pin-hole camera that made himself.  From that point he was hooked on the idea of watching the print develop in the darkroom.  He continued that fascination in college at UNC Chapel Hill, working in the University photo lab for two of his college years.  A highlight of his college photographic career was attending two lectures by Ansel Adams.  He has shot with various camera types and manufacturers including medium format, 4x5 and 35mm SLRs.  He no longer develops his own film, but processes digitally using Adobe Lightroom.

Today Fred shoots with Nikon DSLRs using a wide range of subject matter, such as family portraits, landscapes, nature/wildlife, abstracts and macro photography.  His home portrait studio is still in active use.

I'd like to thank Ed again for the inspirational presentation on Creative In-Camera Techniques.  For those of you who were looking for additional information about the techniques, Ed has updated his blog to include the "Out-of-Frame" technique in addition to several of the other techniques that he had demonstrated at the presentation.

The Out-of-Frame post can be found at: http://edkphoto.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/out-of-frame/

Selective Focus post: http://edkphoto.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/lesson-1c-selective-focus-for-creative-images/

Motion and Multiple Exposure posts:

http://edkphoto.wordpress.com/2010/02/20/creative-uses-of-shutter-speed-camera-motion-2/

http://edkphoto.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/camera-motion-multiple-exposures/

http://edkphoto.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/the-illusion-of-motion-examples/

Bokeh post: http://edkphoto.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/bokeh/

For a complete listing of all of Ed's posts on his blog: Table of Contents

For more of Ed's work, see his Photo a Day website at: http://www.pbase.com/ed_k/picture__a__day/

Matthew Schmidt
mgs "at" loreleistudios.com

Judge: Frank Van Riper
December 21st, 7:30 PM

On Tuesday December 21st, our competition judge will be Frank Van Riper.  There is no theme for the December Competition.

On competition night, please plan to join us and Frank Van Riper for dinner at Chili’s at 5:30 prior to the competition.

Frank Van Riper is an award-winning documentary and fine art photographer, journalist and author whose work has been published internationally.  His latest book, done in collaboration with his wife and professional partner, Judith Goodman, is Serenissima: Venice in Winter, a coffee table collection of black and white photographs and essays, published in 2008 both in the US and Italy. www.veniceinwinter.com.  Frank will have his book available for inscription and sale at a special club discount price of $40.  It is a great last minute Christmas gift. 

He is a  popular teacher and lecturer, is on the faculty of PhotoWorks at Glen Echo Park, Md., and has lectured and/or taught in the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program, the Maine Photographic Workshops, the University of Maine at Machias and at other colleges and universities in the mid-Atlantic.  A native New Yorker, Frank was born in Manhattan grew up in the Bronx. He is a  graduate of the City College of New York

You must be a paid up member to compete.

November Competition Results

Competition results can be found here on the website. If your name or the title of your photograph is spelled incorrectly, please do not blame the VPs of competition. The simple reason is that you did not PRINT clearly. Please be more careful in the future.

Competition Images

Did your image win in a competition this year? Would you like your image displayed in a gallery of NVPS competition winners on the NVPS web site? Just send an email to competitionwinners@nvps.org and we'll upload your image to the competition winners gallery on the NVPS web site at nvps.org/gallery/v/competitions/2010/. First place winners will be added to Fotofax if sent by the Friday following the competition.

To be included in the Gallery, images must have received 1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honorable Mention in competitions from September 2010 to May 2011 to be eligible.

Important: Please identify the class/category and award in the email subject. E.g., "Restricted Color Prints - 1st Place".

For those of you with winners in Digital Categories/Classes, you do not need to send the image (except 1st place images), but you must send the above information in the subject and your consent to post the image. If your image won 1st place please attach the image to your email so it can be included in the next issue of Fotofax.

For those of you who won in Print categories, please provide the image in an email, no larger than 1024 pixels wide or 768 pixels tall.

Willa and Bob Friedman
Co-VPs Competition
willa-f "at" cox.net
bob-f "at" cox.net

Night Photography in Old Town

The field trip to Old Town Alexandria was originally scheduled for Sunday, December 5th, but in order to have the town more to ourselves, it has been rescheduled for Monday night, December 6th.  Although this is a work night, the time would be 7:00 – 9:30 pm, no different from a NVPS meeting on Tuesdays.  If you do not have to wake up early, you could stay out longer. 

Although the town will still be busy, there will be more shooting room compared to the previous weekend celebration that had Alexandria bringing in the Holiday Season.  The holiday decorations and lights will be up at this time.  A positive aspect with Alexandria is that I have never heard bad stories regarding the use of tripods compared to Washington, DC.

I will be at Market Square on King Street, between North Royal Street and North Fairfax Street at 7:00 pm.  There is a parking garage underneath and plenty more garages around the town.  It should not be hard to find a parking spot because it is a week night.  From Market Square, I will probably shoot my way down to the dock behind the Torpedo Factory.  You are welcome to join me or go wherever you desire. 

January Trip to the National Cathedral is Canceled

There will not be a field trip to the National Cathedral in January.  We would have to make reservations for a group visit and do a tour.  The tour would be about 30 minutes, and there would not be time to stop and take photos.  They also want payment for the group four weeks in advance.  Instead, the trip to the Dulles National Air and Space Museum (The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center) will be scheduled for January 8, 2010.  Details will follow in the next Fotofax and be updated on the website soon.

Curtis Gibbens
gibbensc "at" verizon.net
703-802-6283

Note: Clicking on any of the images above will display a larger version of the image. Simply hit the "back" button in your browser to return to the newsletter. Additional images from this and past field trips can be found on the NVPS web site: http://nvps.org/gallery/main.php

Cancelled Due to Holidays

Due to the holiday break, there will be no Member Forum presentation in December.

Tom Burden
TomBurden "at" me.com

Cancelled Due to Hollidays

Due to the holiday break, there will be no Member's Gallery in December.

Charlotte DeFuria
cdefuria "at" yahoo.com

NVPS Award Winning Images

The following images received recognition by the judges and sponsors.

Black and White Digital Photography

Few people can be both excellent BW and Color photographers. The craftsmanship for both is the same; i.e., you still have to produce sharp pictures with appropriate exposure, focus, and depth of field. Visual design elements are often the same, but color relies on hues for many of its lines, shapes, and textures; while BW relies on tonal differences in addition to the physical shapes of objects. Contrasting colors, such as red and green, that can produce stunning color contrasts often produce monotone monochromes with almost the same tones. (That's why you can meter off of grass and red dresses to get a pretty accurate medium gray exposure readings. )

For beginners who want to try to learn about BW photography, one of the most difficult skills to conquer is to know what tones various colors will produce. Most experts suggest that one should shoot in color and then use software to convert to BW rather than shoot BW. (If for no other reason that you can always convert color to BW, but not the reverse.) I have found that it is helpful, however, to practice with my camera color-setting to BW to get a feel for tonal differences of different colors. As a result, just as many old-time medium format photographers used to shoot Polaroid pictures before exposing their film, I have found that carrying a Point and Shoot camera set on BW and an SLR camera set on color is a nice combination when shooting for BW images. I look at the point-and-shoot LCD and often snap a picture to see what a color scene might produce in BW. When I find a good one, I usually shoot it with both cameras. It is also nice to have a color image to help you decide during post-processing how to adjust color tones to make a color-to-BW conversion more contrasty, but that is a subject for another possible tip.

Bill Prosser
PROSSERWM "at" aol.com

Fill vs. Opacity

A member asked Matthew Scmidt about the difference between the Fill and the Opacity slider adjustments in the Layer Palette the other day. He found an answer through Google and it can now be found on the NVPS web site at:   http://nvps.org/main/misc/members_resource_fill_vs_opacity.doc

A list of current Board members and their contact information can be found at nvps.org/main/about/board-members.

Meet Your Board Members

As part of a continuing series on our board members, we continue with biographies for John Quigley and Charlotte DeFuria.

John Quigley
Exhibitions Representative

John Quigley has been Member of NVPS since September 2005, Exhibits Coordinator since December 2008, and winner of NVPS Novice Monochrome Print of the Year Award in 2007. He uses Canon equipment and prints his own prints on an Epson printer. He has had a life-long interest in photography beginning with a 1920's-era box camera and a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye. As a graduate student at George Washington University in the 1960's he spent many of his weekends photographing scenes of the many antiwar and civil disobedience demonstrations taking place on almost a daily basis in Washington. John got his first "serious" camera, a Minolta SLR, while stationed in Taiwan with the United States Air Force. While his interest in photography never went away, the demands of family and work prevented much serious attention over the next years. As digital photography began to emerge and digital cameras became more professional John decided it was time to take up his old hobby. He bought his first digital camera, a point and shoot, in 2003; but still shot film with his Minolta SLR's.

In 2004, he bought his first digital SLR and rapidly upgraded from a Canon 10D, to a 20D and a 5D, both of which he uses today with a variety of wide angle and telephoto lenses.

John likes travel photography and photojournalism/street photography and particularly likes to concentrate on people when travelling. Most recently he has photographed in Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, the Greek Islands, Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and China. This Fall he will be spent three weeks in England, France and Germany.

Charlotte DeFuria
Members' Gallery

Charlotte grew up in New Jersey where she graduated from Kean University. During that time she studied dance and performed with a local modern dance company.  Shortly after, she moved to New York City to pursue a career in advertising where she sold ad space for consumer magazines including Cooking Light and Coastal Living.  In 2009, Charlotte moved to Arlington, VA.  She currently works for The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show.  Charlotte has been interested in photography for as long back as she can remember.  Yet, the only camera she owned was a point and shoot.  It wasn’t until she joined NVPS in October 2009 that Charlotte was motivated to take her love for photography to a new level.  Soon after coming to NVPS, she purchased her first SLR camera, a Nikon D90.  The supportive and creative environment of NVPS has been more than inspiring.  She says she's met some of the most talented people who have been very forthcoming in sharing their knowledge.  The many programs and presenters have increased her understanding and perspective of photography.  And, the field trips and workshops have been both educational and great fun!

Right now, Charlotte enjoys shooting nature, but has an interest in learning how to photograph people.  She continues to learn through the many workshops and classes offered by the very talented and creative NVPS members, including: Corey Hilz and Josh Taylor.  And, she looks forward to increasing my learning experiences through additional workshops.

Joseph Miller's Contributions Recognized

Joseph Miller became the first recipient of the NVPS David E. Carter Education Award in recognition of his continuous contributions to the photography education of DC area people. His many photography contributions, encouragement and advice have led many of his ''students'' to refer to him as ''Professor Miller'' and to consider him as their ''mentor''. Throughout his 15 years in NVPS, Joe Miller has conducted numerous workshops open to all members of VA., MD. and DC photography clubs at his Joseph Miller Center for Photography. He has conducted training for photography competition judges, made countless presentations at clubs and expositions, judged competitions & exhibits, conducted critiques, and written articles and pamphlets for publication–all oriented at the education, encouragement and improvement of photographers.

He is considered to be a master of photography composition and has worked tirelessly to educate photographers on the fine points. His contributions to the knowledge and joy of photography have greatly increased the photography skill levels of people.

The trophy consists of a film-camera mounted on a large, solid wooden base with brass plates. The award was presented by Tom Brett, NVPS Past President & member of the NVPS Named Awards Committee.

Tom Brett

Jan Ponder

Jan Ponder has two pictures juried in to the Power of Color 11 exhibit at Gallery West of Alexandria. Plains of Palouse and Festival Boliviano will be showing through November 28. She also had a picture accepted in the Torpedo Factory exhibit Small Works and Large Works during November.

Laura Howell

Laura Howell had 2 images juried into the Capturing Nature in Photographs exhibit–a juried exhibition of nature photography in association with FotoWeek DC 2010 at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. She received 2 awards - Third Place for Meadowlark Reflection #1 and honorable mention for Great Horned Owl.

Exhibition Opportunities

78th Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography (WIEP)
Entries Due January 22nd

Up to four digital images and four prints may be entered in each section: Prints, Large Color, Monochrome, Small Color and Photo Journalism. For detailed rules and entry forms, log onto www.wiep-photo.org

A Single Drop of Water Photography Competition
Entries Due December 15th

A Single Drop of Water is an environmental awareness project that uses the arts, specifically photography, to document the journey of water. Our goal is to raise awareness about this importance resource, it’s scarcity in some communities, and water pollution. The project will provide photographers with a platform for sharing their images and stories. Winning entries shall be exhibited in New York City, and will be used in future Statement Arts education materials to teach students about water and inspire them to produce their own artistic work. www.asingledropofwater.org

Adam Lister Gallery
Entries Due December 5th

The Adam Lister Gallery is searching for innovative and thought provoking artwork of any medium, size and subject matter. This submission will be juried by a panel of gallery staff, curators and collectors. The deadline for submission is December 5th, 2010. This juried group exhibition will run from January 14th to February 21st, 2011. For details on how to submit artwork visit: www.adamlistergallery.com/submissions.html.

adamlistergallery "at" gmail.com

Events

Melony A. Price-Rhodes
My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things, a photo exhibition by Melony Price-Rhodes, will be on display at Beanetics Coffee Roasters beginning Nov 4th through mid-December. Beanetics is located at 7028 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003 703.941.4506; www.beanetics.com There is a reception Sat., Nov 13, 2010 7-9 pm. Please RSVP by Nov 9th to

Melony Price-Rhodes
mpricerh "at" vt.edu

Workshop Offerings

NIH Camera Club

The NIH Camera Club is sponsoring an introductory workshop on bird photography with Tom Bancroft showing how to use the scanner as a camera from 7-9:30 PM Tuesday, December 7 at the Classic Residence by Hyatt/Vi Living 8100 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. Free.

Roy Sewall

One-on-one Coaching: This coaching is intended for novice and intermediate photographers. Coaching sessions are tailored to an individual's specific needs, and the scope is flexible. Representative topics are: how to operate a digital SLR, equipment selection, photo critique in a private setting, on-computer demonstration of photo improvements, and field technique. Roy judged an NVPS competition in October 2009 and presented a program in November 2010.

(301) 530-6720
roy "at" sewallinc.com
www.roysewallphotography.com

Nikhil Bahl Photography Workshops

Workshops offered at local destinations. Nikhil is an NVPS member and presented a forum in March 2010.

www.nikhilbahl.com
240-246-6654
nikhil "at" nikhilbahl.com

Josh Taylor, Jr.

Fall workshops, classes, and lectures are posted at archiphotoworkshops.com. Please take a look and hopefully, you will find something of interest, including Canon camera classes. Josh is an NVPS member and most recently presented a workshop in March 2010.

jtaylorj "at" verizon.net
archiphotoworkshops.com

Awake the Light Photo Tours and Workshops
Mollie Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem

Join two well-known professional photographers on their exciting and educational photo tours. For 2011 they are offering trips to Alaska's Denali National Park and Katmai National Park, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley in Arizona, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Acadia National Park in Maine. All tours include extensive photographic opportunities in the field, as well as personal one-on-one assistance and classroom instruction. Mollie and Mary gave NVPS Programs in October 2009 and October 2010.

Mollie Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem
www.awakethelight.com
757-773-0194  
awakethelight "at" cox.net

Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs (NVACC)

The Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs (NVACC) is an informal entity started in 1997 by Joseph Miller with the assistance of Dave Carter and Ed Funk. It purpose is to promote communication and cooperation among area camera clubs. NVACC is made up of Member Clubs and Associated Member Clubs.

NVACC publishes a monthly Calendar of Virginia Member Club Events that can be found at www.nvacc.org/Calendar.html.

.NVACC has published a Field Trips Guide Book for Photographers, which provides information about nearby areas that camera clubs might wish to visit (http://www.nvacc.org/Field%20trips%20Guidebook/NVACCPublications.html).