January 2012

Happy New Year!

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Bob Friedman President, NVPS

January 3rd - Program Night: Jonathan Newton

Sports Photography

One of our most celebrated speakers, Jonathan Newton, Sports Photographer for the Washington Post, will be back for a return engagement as our guest Program Speaker for our first meeting of the New Year!  Not only is Jonathan an outstanding photographer, but he is a great storyteller as well. Jonathan Newton is entering his 25th season as a professional photographer.  He joined the staff of The Washington Post in the summer of 2000.  

Newton has covered almost every major sporting event in the world: the Olympics in 1996 and 2008; the Kirkwall Ba in Scotland, in 2007; four World Series; six National League Championships; six NCAA Final Fours; the Kentucky Derby; the Preakness; several heavyweight title bouts in Las Vegas; college football championships; the Super Bowl; and countless high school sporting events.

Newton’s awards include the Morris Berman NPPA Citation; White House News Photographers Association awards; Baseball Hall of Fame photo contest; first place in the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors sports competition; and three-time Georgia Photographer of the Year. More details about his career are available on the club website at: http://nvps.org/main/meetings/january_3_2012_-_nvps_program

Jonathan will be joining us for dinner at Chili’s at 5:30 PM prior to the Program, so if you’d like to attend dinner with the speaker, please rsvp to: mary.m.o’neill "at" gsk.com or text 703-216-9340.

January 10th - Workshop

Jim Jenkins: Intro to Portable Flash - Effective Use of Speed Lights for Better Photography 

This will be a hands-on workshop for beginner and intermediate users alike. We will focus on a single flash unit as a creative tool to enhance your skills as a photographer shooting in daylight, indoors and at night. We will focus on using a single on-camera portable flash (speed light) and briefly introduce multiple flash units. Examples and demonstration will be provided as well as practical exercises that will be instructor lead in small groups. We will cover how to use bounce flash, light modifiers, flash modes, control exposure, color correction and more.

Bring your camera, flash and manuals for each. Optionally, some foam core sheets or mat sheet scraps (white and/or black) to use as reflectors/flags and a subject such as a small or medium size object you would like to photograph.

January 17th - Competition - Judge Mary Louise Ravese

Tom Burden and Melanie Marts, co-VP's of Competition, are pleased to host Mary Louise Ravese as competition judge.  The theme for this month is “Shadows”.  There are no guidelines for this theme, but common sense dictates that shadows be the main subject of the image.  Please upload your digital images by the deadline, as per the current instructions on the club website.  Prints should be signed in by 7:15, so our judge can preview them.  You must be a paid member to compete.  You are invited to join Mary Louise for dinner at The Olive Garden Restaurant in Tyson's, at 5:30 p.m., on the 17th.

Mary Louise is founder and owner of Bella Vista Photography in Waterford, VA. She specializes in fine art nature and travel photography from locations across the world. Her favorite subject matter includes country landscapes and nature close-ups. She draws inspiration from a variety of visual arts to produce photographs often described as "painterly".

Mary Louise’s fine art photography is in private, university and corporate collections in over 30 states and is exhibited nationally through art shows, galleries and shops. Her images have been used in calendars, magazines, books and websites including various projects with National Geographic maps.

Mary Louise studied photography through the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz extension programs, the Washington School of Photography, and through study with such noted photographers as Barbara Brundege, Mark Citret, and Harold “Doc” Edgerton.  She is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association, the American Society of Picture Professionals, the Equine Photographer’s Network and the Loudoun Arts Council.

Mary Louise is a regular speaker and competition judge for photography clubs in the Mid Atlantic. She also enjoys teaching on a wide range of topics related to nature, travel and creative photography. She leads classes and field workshops in the Mid Atlantic region and at a variety of locations across the US and abroad. Locally her work is available for sale at the Applegate Gallery in Vienna, VA.

Please visit her website to see examples of her photography, and the list of classes she is offering in this area: www.BellaVistaPhotography.com

Bio provided by Ms. Ravese.  Submitted by Melanie Marts.

December Competition Results

The full December competition results can be found at: http://nvps.org/main/meetings/competition/competition_results/december_20_2011_-_competition_1/

Some of the winning images from December

Clicking on any of the images above will display a larger version of the image.

Competition Images

The NVPS Website has a gallery of past winning images at http://nvps.org/gallery/v/competitions/. If your image placed first, second, third or received an honorable mention in a club competition, it is eligible for this gallery.  This is not done automatically; you must specifically provide consent for your image to be included in the gallery.

To have your winning image included in the gallery, email competitionwinners@nvps.org and provide the following information:

Your name
Image Category (digital, color print, monochrome print)
Image Class – for those categories with classes (Advanced or Novice)
Competition Date

Digital Winners: just provide consent for posting your image

Print Winners: send a digital version of your print, sized as if it were for digital competition (smaller is ok, but not too small).

The Fotofax newsletter is usually finalized during the weekend immediately following the monthly club competitions.  If your image is a first place winner and you send it in before the weekend after competition, your image will be forwarded to the editor for inclusion in Fotofax.  If you have not provided permission before that deadline, your image will NOT be included and another winning entry may be used for that category in Fotofax.

Southwest Florida Birding Field Trip

Thursday, January 26 – Friday, February 3

Join fellow NVPS members for a week of photography in some of the best birding sites in Southwest Florida — Sanibel Island (J.N. “Ding” Darling NWR and more), Coral Gables (burrowing owls), Estero Bay (shorebirds), Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Venice Area Audubon Rookery, and more.  Our itinerary will be flexible, to accommodate your interests, the latest sightings, and the weather.  Some outings may involve walking considerable distances over generally flat terrain (e.g., the 2.25 mile boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary).  This field trip will not provide formal instruction, but fellow NVPS members will be glad to share their experience and advice.

On Thursday, January 26 we will meet at J.N. “Ding” Darling NWR on Sanibel Inland at 3:30 PM.  We will shoot along the Wildlife Drive until closing.  Expect “abundance of shorebirds, waterfowl, wading birds, passerines, and raptors.”  A $5 fee is assessed for each car.  Dinner afterwards at the Island Cow (2163 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel Island) to plan for Friday (we will plan each day’s activities at dinner the day before).

Lodging.  You are free to choose any hotel, inn, or B&B in the area.  Some members will be staying on Sanibel Island (~$175 / night); you can find rooms on the mainland (Fort Myers area) for less than $100 / night) 

January 24th - Jay Heiser - Social Photography

During his time in Europe, Jay was a member of England's Bracknell Photo Club and The Royal Photographic Society where he earned the photographic distinction of "Licentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society."

Upon moving back to Vienna, VA in 2010, Jay joined NVPS. He enjoys dabbling in multiple photographic genres and competition nights at NVPS, yet his favorite photographic activity is giving people pictures of themselves doing the things they love to do. While it is mostly the case that photographers should seek to please themselves, Jay finds it far more exciting and fulfilling when others are pleased by his images.

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 to know and remember who was there, what they did and experienced and how it made them feel. It is an exciting and fulfilling form of journalistic photography that requires very different skills from the tripod based to the painstakingly stalked or staged subjects.

Jay's presentation will provide practical ideas and examples of technique, aesthetics and equipment. It will also include flash diffusion, subject rapport, processing and distribution. Jay thinks you will enjoy seeing a selection of images very different from normal club fare.

January 24th - Prints - Rosemary Smith

Rosemary Smith was first trained to take black and white photographs of archaeological sites and artifacts when she studied archaeology in college and grad school. If she closes her eyes, she can still smell the chemicals in the dark room. Her career, however, took her into the fields of law and science fiction writing.

Many years later, in 2007, her husband, John Naman gave her a Canon G-9. He told her to be aware of backgrounds and to use a polarizer. Actually, he told her a great many other things, but those are what stuck. So she began photographing what she always loved, the unexpected beauties of nature and the lives of the creatures around us.

The collection is entitled Darwin's Creatures. In it, you will see the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands that fascinated Charles Darwin over 150 years ago and led to his masterpiece, The Origin of Species. Here are blue- and red-footed boobies, lava gulls, fur seal pups and sea lions, albatrosses, giant tortoises, land and marine iguanas, and Sally Lightfoot crabs, all going about their daily lives in their unspoiled habitat.

Rosemary extends special thanks to Lorraine Chickering for taking her along on a fabulous voyage of discovery, seeing her safely over the volcanic rocks, and bringing the lens cleaner.

January 24th - Digital Presentation - Dr. Edward Fink

Edward Fink is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who specializes in trauma and bone and joint infections. He attended medical school at the University of Virginia, and moved here several years ago after practicing and teaching at Harvard Medical School hospitals for nine years.

He has considerable experience working in developing countries educating physicians and health care workers while nurturing a passion for medical anthropology, cross-cultural communication, and cultural photography. Immediately following the earthquake in Haiti, he was invited to join one of the first groups of American doctors to provide medical assistance in the care of the injured.

Due to weight allowances on a six-seater plane, they were allowed to take no more than toiletries, though he figured himself such a lightweight, he brought his camera along as well. Based upon his two weeks of work there, Edward has created from his experiences a photojournalistic essay, created by a 'surgeon/photographer' shooting 'real time' in the midst of providing treatment and care.

Only casual glances or rudimentary poses could be requested of these individuals who were thrust into probably the most traumatic time of their lives, knowing that they were some of the lucky few who survived. No image was shot to win club competition night, but rather to convey a sense of life under duress, humanity, and the human spirit.

January 31st - Swap Meet and Portfolio Review

Swap Meet

Members are encouraged to bring unneeded and unwanted camera equipment and/or supplies to the meeting for sale, trade or give away. We will do this at the beginning of the meeting for about 30-40 minutes followed by the portfolio critique.

If any non-members are interested in attending the swap meet are welcome to attend, but we are not allowing non-members to sale/trade/give away equipment or supplies at the meeting.

Everyone is expected to police their own equipment (even the stuff for give away) prior to leaving the firehouse for the evening, so please do not plan on dropping some things off and leaving. The people who stay until the end of the evening will appreciate your help when it comes time clean up the firehouse for the night.

Workshop: Portfolio Critique by Sherwin Kaplan

The portfolio workshop will be devoted to critiquing individual portfolios of members participating in the Portfolio Project. We are fortunate to have Sherwin Kaplan to critique portfolios. Sherwin has critiqued NVPS portfolios in the past and been praised for his insightful thoughts about overall portfolio construction. He also is an outstanding critic of images and always offers insightful, constructive suggestions about how to improve them.

We currently have about 25 members signed up for the project and 15 who have indicated they would like to participate in the critiques. The logistics of critiquing this volume of images will take serious effort and planning; especially since it will be preceded by the swap meet.

We request participants have their portfolios and artist statements entered on the website and ready for Sherwin to review by Jan. 20th. This will give him adequate online preview time to provide useful suggestions about your images and portfolio as-a-whole. He will devote approximately 5 minutes of oral comments per portfolio. (If you need assistance putting your images on the portfolio gallery, please contact the Website Managers.)

Jim Steele, another excellent professional photographer and portfolio critic, has promised to try to also view the portfolios and make on the on-line suggestions and comments to the portfolios. Jim was our competition judge in May 2011.

If you plan to participate in the critique, please email Bill Prosser (prosserwm "at" aol.com). (Only members participating in the Portfolio Project will be eligible to have images critiqued.)

Bill Prosser (prosserwm "at" aol.com), Paul Simmons (pwsimmons11 "at" gmail.com), and Ginger Werz-Petricka (vze39dgt "at" verizon.net). If you have questions or need help with your portfolio, feel free to contact us at portfolio@nvps.org

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

Our board officers are:

Notice: Workshop and contest announcements of events not sponsored by or affiliated with NVPS are provided as a courtesy to Members. Individuals should review the detailed contest rules and conditions to determine what impact entering images has on rights and ownership of the submitted images. Review the descriptions of workshop to whether participation in a workshop would actually meet personal learning goals. NVPS attempts to screen events for legitimacy and quality, however NVPS does not recommend these events and cannot assume responsibility for their ultimate quality. We recommend due diligence and encourage you to share your experience with other club members.

Exhibition Opportunities

NVPS Winter Holiday Gallery

What did you do during the Winter Holiday?  A new gallery has been set up to share a holiday photo with club members.  Rules are simple.  Photograph has to be taken from Thanksgiving Day to New Years Day, this year.  Only post one photo.

Gallery Info:  
http://nvps.org/gallery/v/winterholiday/

This is a gallery of images from NVPS members showing what they did on their Winter Holiday between Thanksgiving and New Year. Upload (or email to nvpsimagegallery@nvps.org)  ONE image per person, additional photos will be removed.

Name the Photo "Your Name.jpg" and enter the "What you did" in the caption field. If you need help, with uploading our image, you must be a registered user of the photo gallery, if you need additional help please email nvpsimagegallery@nvps.org. For security reasons you will not be able to make corrections or delete images.  Just email us if you would like to change something.

Exhibitions Without Walls

(Editor's note: Per the warning notice at the beginning of this section - we receive a variety of promotional material. This one seems to be legitimate, but you should check the rules carefully before sending your work to an unknown organization. )

Call for submissions from photographers and digital artists to NATURE'S EXPRESSIONS, an online-juried competition and exhibition held by Exhibitions Without Walls for Photographers and Digital Artists.
Acceptable submissions will be any style of photography or digital art and include subject matter such as florals, fauna, natural landscapes, etc. Entry fee: $20 (US) for up to 5 images. Over $1,100 in cash awards and prizes will be awarded to the top three finalists. Five Honorable Mentions will also be awarded. To learn more or to make a submissions go to http://www.exhibitionswithoutwalls.com .

CONTACT: Ed Wedman, ewedman "at" exhibitionswithoutwalls.com or call 503-799-7849.

Members News:

Our members routinely receive photo awards and recognition and have images in shows. As FotoFax only comes out monthly, the best place to look for current events is on the website at :

http://nvps.org/main/member_news/

Willa Siegel currently has a show of 12 images on display at the Penn Camera Store located at 8357-E Leesburg Pike, Vienna. The images will be up until mid-January.

Events

Members' Resources:

Do you need help with a photography problem, but don’t know who to ask? The Members’ Resource Program is here for you. Have you ever been asked “How do you do that?” If so, then consider sharing your knowledge with other club members.

The Members’ Resource area of the club web site (http://nvps.org/main/members_resource/) contains a growing set of presentations and ‘how to’ documents created by club members. It also contains the Members’ Resource List, which provides the names and email addresses of club members who have volunteered to help club members looking for help on specific technology and technique topics.

If you have a photography question, check the Resource List for the name of a club member who can help you with it. If nobody has indicated they have expertise in the topic, then contact me and we’ll find somebody. If you have some expertise that you’d like to share, let me know what topics you are able to address.

If you’d like to share your knowledge through a presentation, club website document or Fotofax article, and just need some help getting it off the ground, let me know and I can help with writing, editing, or graphics. Jay Heiser, Members’ Resource Program Coordinator, jay “at” heiserhollow.net .

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Charles and Pat Bress have a collection of jazz photos in the Smithsonian's permanent collection. Chuck was recently notified that some of their photos were installed for viewing through February 29, 2012, as part of a new exhibit at the Archives Center entrance of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Congratulations!

Mummer's Parade - New Years Day - Philadelphia Looking for a challenge to test out that new camera that Santa brought you? The annual New Year's Day parade in Philadelphia might be a good test of your street photography skills with those colorful Mummers' outfits. Tracing its roots to ancient Roman Saturnalia festivals, the parade begins in South Philadelphia in the morning and snakes up Broad Street to City Hall, ending approximately eight hours later. Grandstand tickets are $19.50 and there are a variety of other paid events, or you can watch it street side. Details are available at: http://www.visitphilly.com/events/philadelphia/the-mummers-parade/ Second Annual Joseph Miller Abstracts Exhibit First Call for entries for the Second Annual Joseph Miller Abstracts Exhibit to be held at the Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts, 4811 Catharpin Road, Gainesville, VA 20155. Tentative Timetable: -- Presentation by Joseph Miller on Abstracts Photography, January 4, 2012, to the Vienna Photographic Society. Presentation to be given at Thoreau Middle School, 2505 Cedar Lane, Vienna, Virginia. -- Abstracts entries due at JM Center not later than Wednesday, February 29, 2012. Data on how to send entries (CD and/or email) will follow. -- Notification of acceptances by last week of Marc, 2012. -- Drop off / delivery of accepted, matted and framed prints Saturday, April 28, Sunday, April 29, Monday, April 30, 2012. -- Abstracts Exhibit opens Friday May 4, 2012. -- Reception and Awards Sunday May 6, 2012. -- Abstracts Exhibit closes Monday May 28, 2012. -- Pick up accepted prints at JM Center Friday June 1, Saturday June 2, and Sunday June 3, 2012. Further details regarding entry requirements, official entry form, gallery hours, etc., to be posted on line at the NVACC Website: www.nvacc.org . Workshop Offerings Photoworks Photoworks in Glen Echo Park offers a variety of photography classes & workshops for adults and children, taught by many familiar names, including former speakers at NVPS. For schedule details, check their website class listings at: http://www.glenechophotoworks.org/ Penn Camera Penn Camera would like to offer NVPS members a $20 discount on select classes on a regular basis in the future. Details are at: Please contact Marie Joabar, Education Programs Manager at Penn Camera for details and the discount price. Email: penntraining "at" penncamera.com Full class list: http://penncamera.wildapricot.org Wayne Wolfersberger Wayne Wolfersberger (NVPS member and past President) will be teaching many classes for his thirteenth year with Fairfax County’s Adult and Community Education - ACE. Anyone can sign up (Fairfax residency not required). Courses are designed for beginners, intermediate and advanced skills in photography which includes Outdoor (Nature) classes, flower and garden classes, as well as well as classroom table top shooting for composition and creativity. Several classes include weekend field trips. See http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/index.shtml and then go to Art – studio art for details or http://www.waynewolfersberger.com/ Roy Sewall Roy was the November 2011 judge and presented a program in November 2010. He offers one-on-one coaching for novice and intermediate photographers, tailored to an individual's specific needs. 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. See his recently updated website for more details and information about upcoming workshops or to sign up for his newsletter: http://www.roysewallphotography.com/iWeb/Home.html Nikhil Bahl Photography Workshops Responding to a request for proposals, Nikhil Bahl has plans to offer three workshops to NVPS members at a reduced rate. Nikhil gave an NVPS Forum program in April 2011. The three workshops are: 1.  MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA Dates and Schedule: April 21-22, 2012 The workshop will start with a presentation at 12pm on Saturday, April 21, followed by a critique session. We will go into the gardens for an evening field session. On Sunday, April 22 Nikhil will start with a field session at sunrise.  In the afternoon, Nikhil will provide post-processing techniques and tips followed by an evening field session. Tuition: $190 -- Regular fee would be $225. A $35 discount will be offered to all NVPS members. Participants are responsible for travel, hotel, food and other incidentals are not included as part of the workshop fee. 2.  FLORIDA AVIAN PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP, Titusville and St. Augustine Dates and Schedule: May 5-10, 2012 There will be field work every morning and evening during the workshop and classroom sessions in the afternoons in Titusville. The afternoon of May 8 will see the group travel from Titusville to St. Augustine (less than 2 hours away). Tuition: $545 -- Regular fee would be $645. A $100 discount will be offered to all NVPS members. Participants are responsible for travel, hotel, food and other incidentals are not included as part of the workshop fee. 3.  CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP Dates and Schedule: November 16-18, 2012 The workshop will start with an orientation on Friday, November 16 and end after a critique session Sunday, November 18 at 1pm. There will be field work every morning and evening during the workshop. There will also be classroom sessions in the afternoons. Tuition: $375 -- Regular fee would be $425. A $50 discount will be offered to all NVPS members. Participants are responsible for travel, hotel, food and other incidentals are not included as part of the workshop fee. If you are interested in any of these offerings, please contact Nikhil at: www.NikhilBahl.com www.facebook.com/nikhil.bahl.photography 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 a NVPS Programs in October 2010. Mollie Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem http://www.awakethelight.com/ 757-773-0194 awakethelight "at" cox.net 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 and was our September 2011 Competition judge. jtaylorj "at" verizon.net archiphotoworkshops.com Mike Moats Mike was our November Program Speaker on the topic of Macro Photography. He is conducting a Macro Boot Camp in our area on May 18th, 19th, 20th, 2012. The cost is $149. It will be held at the Hampton Inn & Suites, at 22700 Holiday Park Drive in Sterling (Near Dulles/Washington Airport.) For more details, check the events listing on Mike's website: www.tinylandscapes.com Want Ads For Sale Nikon D2x body - $750 and Nikon D2xs body - $750. Both have about 25000 shutter actuations. Nikon AF-S VR G ED 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 lens - $525 and Nikon AF VR D 80-400mm 4.5-5.6 lens - $925. Please contact Stanley Bysshe via: smbysshe "at" gmail.com 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. Its 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 www.nvacc.org/Field%20trips%20Guidebook/NVACCPublications.html . Editor's Note Happy New Year. Thanks again to those who have taken time to give me comments and suggestions for the newsletter. Constructive criticism helps us improve. We have some great events coming up in January - staring our really highly rated speaker, Jonathan Newton. This should be pretty exciting for anyone who likes to take sports photos. Jim Jenkins will give us a great flash tutorial during our second meeting and Mary Louise Ravese is our judge during the third meeting. For those seeking a break from nature photography, Jay Heisel will cover Social Photography during the member forum in the fourth meeting, along with member images from Edward Fink and Rosemary Smith. Our fifth meeting includes both a Swap Meet and a portfolio review. All requests and submissions should be sent to editor@nvps.org . Editor, Dan Ward Copyright 2012 by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society and its Contributors. The contents of this FotoFax are copyrighted. No material herein may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the Editor or the material’s specific contributor. All photographs are copyrighted by the photographers who have granted permission for NVPS to use their image in FotoFax and/or on the NVPS website, but otherwise retain all rights to their image.