I recently purchased a new pair of polarized sunglasses, and while driving the other day I noticed that I was tilting my head from side to side just to see what impact my circular polarizer would have on a potential photo shot.  I must be a photographer…

If someone walks up to you and says: “Your camera takes really great pictures,” and you say: “Thanks!.  I taught it everything it knows…”, you must be a photographer…

In a little less than two weeks, the Northern Virginia Photographic Society will begin it’s 2016-2017 season!  I hope you are all as excited as I am to be able to share your passion for photography with others who are just as passionate as you are about this fascinating addiction we call photography.

Notably the best value around for a photography club, we meet each Tuesday to learn, to share, to compete, and to share each other’s company.  I hope each of you have had a great summer and have been able to spend time behind the lens capturing the beauty around us.  It’s difficult to believe that summer is already coming to a close, but the good thing about it is that our new season is about to begin!

We have wonderful volunteers who serve in our group and we thank them all!  Those who serve on our NVPS Board have put together a wonderful schedule of Programs, Competitions, Educational and Training Nights, Field Trips, Member’s Gallery and Forum Presentations, and a Portfolio Project, all for our benefit.  It’s going to be a great year!

Remember to arrive around 7 pm each Tuesday evening to meet and mingle, and the meeting will begin at 7:30 pm.  The only exception to the 7:30 start time is our competition night on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, which will begin at 7:15 pm.

So bring your questions, bring your knowledge, bring your friends, and join us at NVPS!  We’ll see you there!

Kevin Egan
NVPS President 2016-17

Treasurer’s Report

The NVPS Board has kept dues at the same price for the upcoming 2016-2017 club year: $65 for family and $45 for individual memberships.

Dues may be paid by check [to “NVPS”] or cash, with the fillable form from the NVPS website [under “Membership’’, from ‘’All Things NVPS’’] and given to the Membership Chair [Patty] at NVPS meetings, starting on 6 September, or a check, with the form, mailed to Tom Brett, 4216 Wynnwood Drive, Annandale, Va. 22003. You may also pay dues through PayPal, by way of the NVPS website.

During the last NVPS club year, 2015-2016, Board member expenses were kept within the budget.

Annual expenditures during 2015-16 were:

$4,590 for the meeting hall rental at Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department [the club’s largest expense];
$1,939 for Competitions [judge honoraria and meals, three years of monthly ribbons, End of Year [EOY] Banquet
         ribbons and trophies, plaques and printed programs];
$794 for Programs [speaker honoraria and meals];
$992 for EOY Banquet subsidy;
$500 for liability insurance;
$1,128 for three years of Spudz gifts for judges and speakers;
$250 for Exhibits;
$250 for calibration of the digital projector;
$452 for Membership;
$149 for Education & Training, and
$85 for a two-year Photographic Society of America [PSA] membership. 

The EOY Banquet cost for the Waterford meal and support fees was $4,062 against ticket sale income of $3,070 at $35 per person. NVPS paid the $992 subsidy to allow ticket prices to be $35 per person.

Income from Membership dues was $9,689 and from sales of Spudz micro-cloths was $190.

The NVPS bank account balance on 3 August was $9,021, which will increase as dues are received in September and October.

Please encourage your friends to renew or to join NVPS.

Thank you,
Tom Brett, Treasurer

Monthly Program

September 6th: Long Exposures with Denise Silva

Denise Silva was the featured photographer in the July/August 2015 Photoshop User Magazine Who's Who in the Kelbyone Community article.

She finds every aspect of photography rewarding. From in-camera composition to post-processing, photography is meditative, creative, and challenging. Denise’s passion is to capture images, from landscapes to urban decay, and to share her experiences and knowledge with fellow photographers. 

To this end, she and Don Rosenberger started Road Runner Photography Tours. 

Through Road Runners, Denise and Don look forward to sharing their passion for photography with you, knowing that their tours will not only take you to great places, but also give you an opportunity to build your network of photography friends, all while enhancing your photography skills through experience and knowledge sharing in a supportive environment. 

Denise believes that there is no better place to learn and develop your skills than in the field!  

Denise’s presentation:  Long Exposures

This long exposure presentation will discuss the tools and techniques used to create pleasing long exposure images. Long exposure images can be taken of coastlines, clouds, waterfalls, people and more. We will review images and discuss how they were created. Remember the only limit is our creativity! So let's explore the technique and get our creative juices flowing! 

The VP for Programs for 2016-2017 is Willa Siegel.

Education & Training

September 13th: Portfolio Project with Bill Corbett and
        Dennis Govoni

Welcome back to another great year at NVPS!  For our first Education and Training session for the 2016-2017 year, we are going to start by having Bill Corbett and Dennis Govoni provide an introduction to this year’s Portfolio Project.  Then we are going to have a “Before and After” presentation and hands-on demonstration of different image processing techniques used by several of our members.  The goal is to start the year by providing different ideas on how to process an image to get some amazing results.

Each participant has been given the same raw image files to process in a way that expresses their artistic vision. In the meeting they will show you the results of their efforts and discuss the steps they used to achieve their images.

Afterwards, we will have five stations set up around the room, where the presenters will process one of their own image files using various techniques and tools such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Photomatix, Nik Filters, and others.  They will make the images available for you to work along with them as they process the image from start to finish.  So please feel free to bring your laptop with you for this participative event.

The Education and Training Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Chuck Campbell.

Competition

September 20th: Judging by Ellis Rosenberg

As a photographer for over 40 years, Ellis thoroughly enjoys the art form. He previously served eight years as Chair of the Reston Photographic Society (RPS), and is a board member of The League of Reston Artists that includes the RPS. He also continues serving The Nature Visions Photo Expo (naturevisions.org) as a board member and other capacities.

These positions have provided him with an excellent exposure in the area of judging.  He enjoys photography competitions and, as a graduate of The Joe Miller Seminar on Judging, he endeavors to put the knowledge gained from that seminar together with his experience to be a competent judge. He has judged over 20 competitions and hopes the participants have benefited from and enjoyed the competitions as much as he has.

“The Official Photographer” (unpaid) has been his designation on a number of occasions for diverse groups of people and organizations. Ellis’ wife Gerry, also a photographer, and he photograph various events and she, as director and producer, combines the photos along with music and effects to make a great Pro Show slide presentation that are cherished by the participants.

Ellis’ Criteria for Judging: “My first consideration would be conformity with the rules of the competition. Next would be the four Cs – craftsmanship, composition, creativity, and communication. The judging should be a learning experience for everyone involved, including the judge. Negative aspects should be minimized while focusing on the positive attributes of the work. Originality, uniqueness, feeling, mood and capturing the moment would hold a prominent place in the selection criteria.”

Competition Themes for 2016-2017

Note: The Board reaffirmed that there will be three themed competitions per program year, but there will be no theme competitions in the months of December, January, and February. 

The themes for 2016–2017 are:

• Love - October 14, 2016
  We turn our attention to one of the most valuable virtues; an international language and possibly the strongest of all feelings…Love! It is an invitation to explore the path of love as an emotion, an attraction, an attachment… in all its forms! Some sample images might include: a lovers’ embrace, a passion you love, an X drawn in vapor trails, a goodbye, a friendship, etc.
• Drag the shutter - March 21, 2017
  Show us your best shutter drag. Whether capturing motion in waves or panning cars zooming by, we want to see you get creative with this topic. Slow down your shutter speed to show a sense of motion or action.
• Colors - May 31, 2017
  Life is a stream of color. Red, blue, yellow, and a billion pigments in between… For this theme we ask you to show us color-inspired photographs. Scenes, details, narratives or moods. Subtle tones or Technicolor daydreams, color must be a primary component of your image.  For the Monochrome Print category, instead of producing a black and white photo, show us a color other than black along with white, i.e., red and white, blue and white, etc.

Competition Themes for 2017-2018

The themes for 2017-2018 are:

• Faceless Self Portrait:
  This is not your normal selfie. Be creative and express your identity by taking a photo of yourself without your face.
• The American Experience –Americans at Work:
  For this month's themed contest, show us your best photos of Americans at Work. This may be of a single person, or multiple people, at work. The person or persons and the work being performed must both be clearly evident in the photo. Let’s showcase Americans at Work by demonstrating their emotions, determination, strength and pride!
• Visible Emotions:
  Some of the most powerful photographs are those that have captured emotions. Photographs that have impact and tell a story, show individuals with visible emotions. For this theme, photograph a person that shows us clearly visible emotions. This could be happiness, surprise, anger, sadness, excitement, pride, fear or disgust.

Competition Judges for 2016-2017

The Co-VPs Competition for 2016-2017 are Bill Millhouser and Judy Graham (competitions@nvps.org)

Rules of Competition Change

At the Board meeting on 12 July, the Board discussed the changes that were made to the NVPS Rules of Competition, and found that one section of the rules no longer made sense, after the changes we voted on near the end of our 2015-2016 season.  Last year we voted and approved changes to Section “C. Eligibility” to read as follows:

C. Eligibility

Only NVPS Club members are eligible to enter Club competitions. The total number of images each member may enter in any one monthly competition is limited to three (3).

• Members competing in each Class (1, 2, and 3) can enter a maximum of 3 images.  One image may be entered into each of the 3 different competition categories: Color Prints, Monochrome Prints, and Digital Images.

All entries must have been photographed by the entrant and must satisfy the definition of photograph in Section II-

A. Plagiarism will result in disqualification of the image. All entries must be submitted prior to the start of the competition for the Category/Class in which it is being entered and must not, in the opinion of the Vice President for Competitions, interfere with the process of preparing a competition Class/Category for judging. Entrants should strive to submit their print entries at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.

In order to bring Section “B. Number of Competitions” into conformity with the changes approved above, we will need to make modify section B to read as follows:

B. Number of Competitions

During the club year (September through May), NVPS will sponsor nine (9) monthly competitions.  For a monthly competition in a Class/Category to occur, there must be a minimum of four (4) images submitted.  When there are less than four (4) images submitted, the judge shall critique and comment on the submitted images, but no awards or points shall be given. 

This change to Section B will be presented to the general membership at the September meeting for a vote.   Editor's note: We like to share competition winning images on the website and include a representative winner from each category in the monthly newsletter, but we cannot do this unless the photographer specifically grants permission. When you win a ribbon in the competition, please remember to grant permission. See the note in the following section for details.

Competition Image Use

The NVPS Website has a gallery of past Competition 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.  Images are not posted 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" at "nvps.org and provide the following information:

Your name
Image Category (digital, color print, monochrome print)
Image Class (1, 2, or 3)
Competition Date

Digital Winners: When you upload your image for the competition, you can check the box to grant permission for it to be posted if it wins.  

Print Winners: send a digital version of your print, sized as if it were for digital competition.

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 Friday following competition, your image will be forwarded to the editor for inclusion in FotoFax.  If you have not provided permission before that deadline, another winning entry may be used.

Portfolio Project

What Is The Portfolio Project, what does it entail, and why should you join?

What It Is: It is a nine month exploration of a photographic theme chosen and refined by YOU.

What It Entails: You choose a theme, craft an artist statement, capture and select your best 10 to 15 images, and then present them to the club during an interim critique in January, and during a final critique in May. Along the way, as you get feedback, you can adapt your theme, sharpen your artist statement, and substitute new and better images.

Why You Should Do It: This is a self-assignment, designed by you, that provides expert feedback that will help you improve the photography skills YOU care most about.

What Else You Need To Know Now: The Portfolio Project Is Not A Competition. All club members of ALL SKILL LEVELS can participate. Start shooting NOW and keep building and refining your portfolio and its theme all year. Shooting for your portfolio will test and strengthen your ability to pre-visualize and capture images that fit your theme. Your portfolio may include some older images, too.

Possible Themes: The sky is the limit. Last year's Portfolio Project themes included: birds; time-lapse highway views; the four seasons at Scotts Run; colonial life depicted at Gadsby's Tavern; iPhone scenics& architecture; the majesty and reverence of the National Mall and monuments; macro/absracts; mandala images that symbolize both mind and body; aerials from the window seat; doorways and entrances through the ages; shadows using natural light; patterns in nature; flowers on texture; reflections of pedestrians at 13th & I Streets; and, flower transformations.

To see those portfolios and many more from the eight years of the Portfolio Project, visit the club website at
http://nvps.org/gallery/v/Portfolio+Project/ .

This year's co-chairs Dennis Govoni and Bill Corbett will explain more and answer questions during the September 13 meeting. You can join the Portfolio Project now or ask them questions at portfolioproject@nvps.org

The Powerpoint slides for their September 13 presentation are here:
http://nvps.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Portfolio-Intro-to-members-2016-2017-with-NO-calendar.pdf

Join us!

The Co-chairs for the Portfolio Project for 2016-2017 are Bill Corbett and Dennis Govoni.

Forum

September 27th: A Year of Travel with Ginger Werz-Petricka

Ginger Werz-Petricka got her introduction to photography while attending Virginia Commonwealth University in the 1970s.  The needs of work took her away from her artistic pursuits for too many years but she came back to photography in 2009 when she joined NVPS. 

Ginger has been avidly following her passion since then. Ginger will photograph whatever moves her and has explored a wide variety of photographic subjects, including landscapes, street photography and most recently the figure.  Ginger is drawn to pattern, shape, and strong contrast in particular, and finds herself leaning more and more to her black and white beginnings.

The group of images for tonight's Member's Forum (entitled A Year of Travel ) comes from trips that she (and sometimes her husband Ron) took during 2015.  It was a year with a lot of travel; sometimes everything went well and sometimes there were issues, but there was always a camera!

The Forum Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Kirk Johnson.

Upcoming Forum Presentations:

Members Gallery

September 27th: Digital Images by Michael Aarons and
                   Prints by Patricia Deege

Michael Aarons

Michael has been consuming space and oxygen at NVPS meetings since the 2014-2015 season. Michael is a relative novice with a camera, having first used a DSLR in 2010. To his recollection, which is shaky, Michael has neither sold a photo nor won an award. That's probably because Michael has never entered a competition.

Michael's first love is rock music – his interest in photography stemmed from that. After a few thousand occurrences of an image in Lightroom failing to live up to the promise it presented in the camera's rear LCD screen, it dawned on Michael that perhaps he should learn to operate a camera a bit better. This remains a journey in progress.

Michael has a tough time figuring out what other subjects actually interest him. If not at a live music venue, Michael will photograph his dog, which will, occasionally and begrudgingly, hold still for treats.

Until 2015, Michael primarily used a Nikon D5000, but now uses a Nikon D750 as his “go to” body. His lenses include the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6, Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye and a few others. Recently, Michael acquired some Yongnuo YN622 triggers and a Yongnuo YN568 speedlight to play with off camera flash. Michael post-processes in Lightroom 5 and Photoshop Elements 12 with the Nik filter suite and a few Topaz filters as well.

Michael's photographic aspirations are to get images in focus and properly exposed. At this point, everything else is gravy. This presentation is called "Muddling", because that's pretty much what it is.

Examples of Michael’s work:

Patricia Deege

A native of England, Patricia’s artistic journey began in childhood with watercolor painting and a box camera. Married with three children, and now a grandmother of six grandchildren, she returned to photography in 1995, having been inspired through lectures and seminars to once again delve into the fascinating mysteries of the camera and the art of creating images that “speak to the heart.”

Patricia has been a member of NVPS since the late 1990s and is also a member of several other area camera clubs. She often participates in exhibits and competitions, winning many awards, among them “Best in Show” at the annual Claude Moore Photography Exhibit and the prestigious Nature Visions Expo in Manassas, Va. Her images have been published in the International Library of Photography, several magazines such as Shutterbug, Outdoor Photographer, and Wild and Wonderful West Virginia, as well as in camera club newsletters and websites. She rarely leaves home without a camera and often finds opportunities to photograph in unexpected places.

Although her first love has always been nature, Patricia is interested in all aspects of photography, and the digital age and extensive new processing software have added a new dimension to her work. She uses mostly Nikon equipment, but has recently added an Olympus four-thirds system which is lighter and easier to carry. From her place behind the lens she is continuing to learn the art of seeing what is often unnoticed and unexpected.

The camera has opened up a fascinating arena of sights and experiences and her life has thus been greatly enriched.  Imparting that fascination to just a few other people, when they look at her photographs and feel their hearts gladden and their spirits uplifted, makes all the effort worthwhile.

Patricia’s presentation: “Nature’s Miracles,” represents a journey of learning over the past twenty years. Nature is the principal element, but she has included other subjects — architecture, abstracts, infrared, etc.  The prints on canvas are done commercially, but all the others were produced on her Epson 2880 printer and she mats and frames all her own images. Techniques include some multiple exposure and some use of artistic filters. She uses Photoshop to process her images and is still learning the vast array of possibilities provided by Nik and Topaz software.

Examples of Patricia’s work:

The Member's Gallery Coordinator for this 2016-2017 is Ron Taylor.

Field Trips

September 25, 2016: St. Michaels, Maryland

Photography on the Eastern Shore.

Wander the town of St. Michaels, photograph the Maritime Museum or attend the Antique Car Show “Concours D'Elegance.”

Saint Michaels, also known as St. Michaels, is in Talbot County, Md. The population was 1,029 at the 2010 census. Saint Michaels derives its name from the Episcopal Parish established there in 1677. The church attracted settlers who engaged in tobacco growing and ship building.

Details on the trip at our first meeting in September.
Please email me for questions and to let me know that you will be going: field-trips@nvps.org

Field Trips 2016-2017

The schedule is subject to change.

Field Trip Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Stan Bysshe

Board of Directors

A full list of all current NVPS Board members and their club contact information also can be found at: http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=23

NatureVisions

Nature Visions 2016

As of August 22, you are able to begin uploading your images that will be juried into the 2016 Nature Visions Photo Expo exhibition. There are a few things I want to bring to your attention before you begin the process:

Please review carefully the rules and regulations that govern the submission of images. The rules for the submission of images can be found at http://naturevisions.org/the-exhibits/expo-submissions/. There are some changes from last year’s rules and regs. In the Nature section, there must be no evidence of human elements whatsoever. In past, the use of human elements to give evidence of scale was permitted. This is no longer allowed. Second, rules on processing have been expanded. Read them carefully.

Abstract images shall be submitted to the Photo Arts competition only. They are not allowed in the Nature section, even though the original subject matter may be of nature.

The images may be submitted up until Sept. 24th. Note that images submitted up until Sept. 19 that are rejected in the pre-screening (done prior to the judging) can be adjusted and resubmitted, or another image submitted in its place. However, if you submit images after Sept. 19 and they are rejected, you will not be allowed to re-submit. It has been found in the past that too many images were submitted in that final week and there simply was not enough time to review re-submissions. The moral of this story is…DON’T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!

You will be notified around the third week of October if your image(s) have been accepted. If they are, please follow the rules on matting located in the submissions section of the NV website. I will discuss this in more detail at the NVPS meetings. You must have all prints to me no later than the NVPS meeting on Nov. 15. The earlier you submit the prints to me at a meeting, however, the better.

Finally, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, need clarification, etc.

Also, registration to attend Nature Visions is now open. Go to http://www.eventbrite.com/e/nature-visions-2016-photo-expo-tickets-23064629929?aff=eac2 to register.

From Tom Shevock
President, Nature Visions Photo Expo

It's not too soon to start thinking about Nature Visions Photo Expo 2016, which takes place on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, November 18-20, 2016, at the Hylton Center for the Performing Arts in Manassas, Virginia. Online registration at NatureVisions.org is required for FREE general admission and for passes to FREE and paid presentations.  Please share this message with friends who might want to know about the best value in photography education.  Online sales and registration are open now at NatureVisions.org.

Five things (and a few more) you need to know for NVPE 2016

First, Bob Krist is a freelance photographer whose work has taken him to over 140 countries on all seven continents and has won awards in the Pictures of the Year, Communication Arts, and World Press Photo competitions.  He is a contributing photographer and editor at National Geographic Traveler Magazine and was the travel columnist for Outdoor Photographer for over 10 years. Bob will be sharing his wealth of information gathered across his 35 year career in his full-day seminar, Mastering Travel Photography, on Friday, November 18.

Second,  Tom Till is one of America’s most published landscape and nature photographers. Till received the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) award for landscape photography in 1994, was named Photographer of the Year byArizona Highways Magazine in 1996, and has been designated one of the ten greatest landscape photographers by Nature’s Best Magazine. Most recently, Till received the Utah Governor’s Mansion Art Award, the only landscape photographer ever to do so.  He will provide the Keynote address, Photographing the American Southwest, on Saturday, November 19

Third, Adobe Systems' Julianne Kost will be joining us once again with her inspirational and informative presentations for Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC.  As a highly sought-after speaker for the industry-standard Digital Imaging franchise, she devises and presents motivating and educational training sessions, sharing original techniques and tutorials worldwide — via live events, Adobe.com, her own website (jkost.com) and blog (blogs.adobe.com/jkost).  Julianne will give the Featured Speaker presentation, Photoshop CC: Extending Your Creativity, on Saturday, November 19.  And don't miss her two FREE Sunday Featured Presentations on Lightroom:  Lightroom CC:  The Complete Workflow from Import to Outputand Lightroom CC: Take It, Then Make It.  Online registration is required to attend.

Fourth, we've added two new workshop rooms to offer more Hands On Workshops.  Mike Moats will be returning with more of his popular Macro Photography Workshops.  Denise Ippolito will provide four Bird Photography Workshops which will feature owls.  And Lisa and Tom Cuchara will join us to present several Frog Photography Workshops and Macro Flower Photography Workshops.

Fifth, a three-day Merchant Hall Theater pass covers admission for the three featured presentations (Krist seminar, Till keynote address and Kost) and seven more for $160 (a $65 discount); and a Saturday/Sunday Merchant Hall Theater pass (i.e., it omits the Friday seminar) is $90 (a $45 discount).  To learn more about what you can learn at NVPE and what it costs, take a look at the NVPE schedule page.  NVPE 2016 offers 35 different educational presentations, at varying prices, including hands-on workshops and FREE beginner classes.

Online registration to attend Julianne Kost's two Sunday presentations is FREE, and includes FREE ENTRY to the NVPE Nature and Photo Art exhibits, and to view the finalist images in NVPE's high school student photography contest, co-sponsored by Road Runner Photography Tours. 

All attendees also have free access to the Vendor Hall, which will feature more than two dozen local and national vendors of photography goods, workshops and more.  In October we'll announce the schedule for FREE vendor demos and VENDOR SPECIAL DISCOUNTS for all attendees. 

Last but not least, BRING YOUR CAMERA to NVPE 2016 – perhaps to purchase a sensor cleaning or to have your lenses micro-adjusted to your camera body.  Not happy with your present gear?  Bring it and sell it to one of our used equipment buyers!

Announcements

Notice: The information about workshops and events not sponsored by or affiliated with NVPS are provided as an informational courtesy to Members. Individuals should review the detailed rules and conditions for contests and gallery shows to determine what impact entering an image has on the photographer's rights and ownership of the submitted images. Review the descriptions of workshops to see whether participation in a particular workshop would actually meet your 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.

Members' News:

Judy Guenther

NVPS member Judy Guenther has had two of her photos take honors.  Her photo “Flying” will be on display in the Multiple Exposures Gallery from October 18 through November 27. This was a nationally juried fine art photography show judged by National Geographic photographer Sam Abell.  Her photo “King Penguins South Georgia” was selected as a finalist and will be published in the book Best of Photography 2016. There will be a further judging round to award 1st through 4th place and 100 honorable mentions. There were over 11,400 submissions from 66 countries submitted to the Photographer’s Forum’s 36th Annual Spring Photography Contest.

Flying	King Penguins South Georgia

Wayne Wolfersberger

Wayne had an image selected by Nature’s Best for their Yellowstone Forever Competition. It was one of 100 selected out of over 11,000 entries.

Also, three images of Yellowstone were selected for the Yellowstone Association’s 2017 wall calendar. They are the main images for March (grizzly and cub in snow), August (bison herd), and October (a foggy sunrise).

An image of a ruby-throated hummingbird appeared in the most recent (July/August) Virginia Wildlife Magazine.
Wayne presented a program in June on Shooting Sunrises and Sunsets to the OLLIE organization at GMU Campus.

In the fall, Wayne will be teaching a class on Nature Photography (four classes and two field trips) and a workshop on photographing waterfalls with the Fairfax County Parks: see Partakes Online.

NVPS Members' Images Juried In

Five members of NVPS had their images juried into the May 2016 open exhibition at the Art League Gallery, 105 North Union St., Alexandria.  Those with images juried in were Bob Friedman’s Blue Poppy, Georgette Grossman’s My Babcia, Judy Guenther’s Patagonia Clouds 2, Willa Siegal’s Color Play, and Willa Friedman’s Rainbow House. The show was juried by Lisa Golightly, an artist living in Portland, Oregon.

Georgette’s My Babcia was awarded an Honorable Mention.  

The Art League Gallery holds monthly juried exhibits and special exhibits including solo artists, student shows, and the Patrons' Show. Exhibits are free and open to the public. All artists can become members and submit work to our monthly exhibits, juried by noted fine art professionals from throughout the Washington area and beyond.

Bob Friedman - Blue Poppy	Judy Guenther -  Patagonia Clouds 2
	Georgette Grossman -  My Babcia
Willa Siegal - Color Play
Willa Friedman - Rainbow House

In Other News:

Meadowlark Gardens Opens early for Photographers

Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna, part of the Northern Virginia Parks, will open their gates to all interested photographers and others at 6 a.m. on Sunday, September 11, and on Saturday, October 15. Cost is $2.50 to $5.00, depending on age.

Normally the grounds do not open until 10 a.m. which is a little late for photographers. Link below. You can then open up events: https://www.novaparks.com/parks/meadowlark-botanical-gardens

Photographers and the Crime Scene in Fairfax County

The Fairfax County Police Department is clarifying what someone can and cannot do with a camera at or near a crime scene with a new policy.

In a policy titled FCPD General Order 603.1 the department said it issued June 1, anyone has the right to record police activity, whether that’s a passerby or someone directly interacting with police.

Officers will not be allowed to tell that observer that they can’t film a crime scene nor otherwise obstruct that filming.
However, according to the Fairfax  County Police Department news website, filming cannot interfere with officers doing their job, jeopardize anyone’s safety, violate the law or “incite others to violate the law.”

If an officer feels this activity is interfering with their work or is a safety risk, they are allowed to ask that person to move to a safer location while still respecting their right to film on public property.

An observer can face criminal charges if they are obstructing an investigation or disregard a police perimeter, which is generally identified with crime scene tape.

Most importantly, if the person filming police activity also captures evidence of a crime being committed, a Fairfax County police officer will likely request that person to voluntarily provide a copy of the video. That officer may also temporarily take the phone for evidentiary use.

The police may also seize the recording device without the owner’s permission, but the department notes that it is to be a rare exception.

Expositions/Competitions

Call for Entries

The Friends of Claude Moore Park (FCMP) invite you to participate in the 9th Annual FCMP Photography Expo “Natural Spaces and Old Places” to be held on September 24, 2015.

Photographers of all levels and ages are encouraged to enter their favorite photos into the juried competition in six categories: Roots and Buds
Wild Creatures
A Bug's Life (new)
Winged Wonders
Natural Landscapes, and
History and Heritage.

The Paul Glascock Memorial People’s Choice Award ($100 prize) will be voted by the Photo Expo visitors. Ribbons and cash awards (another $100 for Best in Show!) will be presented to winners in the various categories. We have also added another special ribbon for Friends' Choice award.  This winner is the featured photo on the next year's postcard! 

Time flies so make sure that you submit your entries by 5 p.m., September 16, 2015. For 2016 rules and entry form, visit www.loudoun.gov/claudemoorepark (go to “Quick Links”) or see attached (Quick guide, Rules and Application in PDF).
Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/FofCMP.  

Workshops and Exhibition Opportunities

Announcements of workshops, exhibitions or contests are provided for information purposes only. There is no actual or implied endorsement by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society.

Picture Williamsburg

PICTURE WILLIAMSBURG is a four-day workshop (20-23 October 2016) that will explore Virginia’s beautiful Colonial Triangle with visits to Colonial Williamsburg, Historic Jamestowne, and Yorktown Battlefield.  The schedule is designed to allow for ample subject matter, lighting situations, and activity while out photographing, yet giving time to the invaluable classroom lecture and critique sessions. In addition to focusing on how to tell the story of a place through imagery, this workshop will also emphasize how to photograph people. They will discuss portrait techniques using costumed interpreters in colonial environments as a warm-up to learning how to photograph strangers in everyday situations in the greater Williamsburg area, where the past meets the present. Landscape photography will be the focus while visiting the scenic Yorktown Battlefield. For more information, see the web site at http://www.jdavidsonphotography.com/PICTURE-WILLIAMSBURG-2016/1/

A Day of (Digital SLR) Photography in the Garden

Join renowned local professional photographers Saturday, September 24, for a day all about maximizing your skills.  There are demonstration opportunities, lectures, and displays about area photography clubs and services. Instructors include Gerry Bishop, Ken Conger, Bill and Linda Lane, Anthony Rumley, Bob Schamerhorn and Tom Veazey. Sessions for beginners and intermediate level photographers address proper exposure, solving common challenges, flower photography, proper use of light, macro and close up photography, and introductions to using Lightroom. This year, limited-enrollment sessions addresses photographing live, tethered raptors from Eagle Pines Falconry and Raptor Rescue, for an additional fee.

View full session schedule, including breakout session topics, instructors and session expertise levels,view this year’s full program, explore speaker bios.  (Programs subject to change)

For further information/registration, please see:
http://www.lewisginter.org/event/a-day-of-digital-slr-photography-in-the-garden/

Exhibit and Sell Your Photos at the Waterford Fair (October 7-9, 2016)

The annual Waterford Fair — one of the mid-Atlantic region's best events — will be held October 7-9. This year, the Waterford Fair Photography Exhibit has a significantly-expanded focus and presence and offers you a great opportunity to exhibit and sell your photos. The Waterford Photography Exhibit is a judged exhibit of framed photographs, with nine categories, each with a cash prize for best photo (up to $500 for the Best Loudoun Photo). You can enter two photos into the exhibit for $30, or three photos — one of which must be in the Best Loudoun Photograph category — for $35. If you exhibit a photo, you may also provide additional photos to be offered for sale during the Fair (there is a 25% commission on all sales). If you just want to sell some of your images, without competing in the Exhibit, you can do so for a fee of $30. See the link below for full information.

Categories — 
* Abstract
* Architecture
* Best Loudoun Photograph
* Landscape
* Nature Studies / Animals
* Photojournalism
* Portrait
* Still Life
* Waterford Fair / Waterford Scene

Important Dates — 
* Drop off: Friday, September 30, or Saturday, October 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Directions are in the Prospectus.
* Preview all works the evening of Thursday, October 6 at the Waterford Fair Preview Party!
* Volunteer opportunities available. See the Prospectus for details and sign up when you drop off your photos.
* Pick up: Photographs must be removed from the Barn on Sunday, October 9 between 5 and 6 pm or, on Monday, October 10 between 9 and 10 a.m.

2016 Judges —
Jack Nevitt is a professional photographer with more than 25 years of experience. His work ranges from nature and wildlife to landscapes, travel, macro and portraiture. His photo of a Cormorant Wing was on the cover of the National Wildlife Magazine in December 2012. He has also been published in Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, Time Life Magazine, Loudoun Magazine and other publications.

Alan DeFelice has won numerous regional and international awards. His pictures have been published in Serenity Magazine and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s monthly publication. He has photographed album covers for local recording artist Michael Joanes. Alan has also been a speaker at the Mid-Atlantic Nature Vision Photography Expo and conducted the Raptor Photography workshop.

How to Participate — Full information is available at —
http://www.waterfordfoundation.org/fair/2016-applications/photography-exhibit/

“Never Forget”
A Photography Exhibit Featuring Works by Alan Sislen

The exhibition will be held at the Multiple Exposure Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center #312, 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, from September 6 until October 16. There will be am opening reception on Sunday, September 11, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The photographs in this exhibit follow Sislen’s 15-year photographic journey beginning before 9/11, and continuing until today. The photographs made after September 11 show destruction, mourning and remembrance that took place nearby and throughout New York City. This exhibit documents an area transformed into new structures and memorials and importantly, record an added vibrancy and hope for New York City and beyond.

What started out as a few casual photographs recording the tragedy grew into a 15-year photographic journey. Sislen’s personal connection to the World Trade Center and neighboring financial district were the catalyst for this journey. As we commemorate the 15th anniversary of 9/11, he hopes this exhibit will help us Never Forget the morning of 9/11/01 that affected so many, and the sorrow, the hope and the transformation that followed.

The Gallery is open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thursdays when it is open from 2 to 9 p.m.

Photo: Still Smouldering by Alan Sislen ©2001 All Rights Reserved

Washington School of Photography (WSP)

Located within WSP, the Washington Gallery of Photography hosts monthly gallery shows, open to the public, and consisting of work from mid-Atlantic Photographers. They hold regular gallery receptions, hosted on the first Friday of each month. See details on their calendar at: http://www.washingtonschoolofphotography.com/