One of the single most effective ways to improve your photographic skills, enlarge your depth of experience, broaden your knowledge of both the basics and more advanced imaging techniques, and rub elbows with others who have been bitten by the photography bug, is to join a camera club. As camera clubs go, NVPS is – hands down – the best value around. We are a club dedicated to our members, and without them, we wouldn’t exist! We thank all of you who have joined us this year and it has already proven to be a worthwhile investment! We have had two great competitions, the latest of which was judged by local photographer Denise Silva, who gave us all some great constructive advice as she chose the winners from our seven different competition categories. This last competition was one of our 3 themed competitions and the theme was “Love”. We saw some wonderful images from many of our members and it was an enjoyable experience for us all. We’ve had some great meetings including Programs from Denise Silva and Mary Louise Ravese, a Forum with Ginger Werz-Petricka, an excellent Member’s Gallery with Patricia Deege and Michael Aarons, some great field trips, an Education and Training night where we learned some before and after processing tips, and another where we learned the ins and outs of matting. All this during only our first 7 meetings, and we have many more great meetings planned for the rest of our season! The benefits of joining NVPS are many: the ability to network with other photographers, share common interests, learn skills from others while sharing your own, find inspiration, get out of your “comfort zone”, create new friendships, gain exposure to many different types of photography, experience new places and events, and the list could go on. Our board members strive to provide these and other benefits in all they do for us as NVPS members. This time of year, as the temperatures begin to dip a bit, is a great time to capture the color and the change of the seasons, and early morning fog can present great photographic opportunities. So make sure you get out there and practice your passion! Coming up on November 18th through the 20th is the annual Nature Visions Photo Expo. This event presents many excellent opportunities for learning, hands-on instruction, photographic exhibition, and spending time with other local photographers. I highly recommend spending some quality time at this event! We would like to remind everyone that we will be having our regular meeting on November 8th, so get out and place your votes early in the day! We want to see everyone at our meeting that evening! Also, we will not be having a meeting on December 27th – the Tuesday in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Here’s to another great month of “chasing the light”! Kevin Egan November 1st: The Wild Side of Nature Photography with Photographing wildlife offers many challenges and unique opportunities. Nikhil Bahl will use examples to show you his approach and share a variety of his experiences while sharing tips that will help you elevate your work and create evocative and compelling images of wildlife. This presentation will cover some of the basic techniques for beginners but will also delve into creative choices and some advanced techniques as well. A few examples of Nikhil's work: The VP for Programs for 2016-2017 is Willa Siegel. November 8th:Travel Photography Happy November. At this month’s Education and Training session, we are going to have a comprehensive discussion on Travel Photography. Well-traveled NVPS members will provide their best travel photography tips that will help you take better travel images. Topics include equipment, how and where to research and scout great locations, understanding the environment, in the field composition, lighting, and safety tips. The Education and Training Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Chuck Campbell. November 15th: Judging by Corey Hilz Corey Hilz is a professional photographer specializing in nature and travel photography. He finds the diversity in nature and cultures around the world offer boundless opportunities for new images. Corey approaches his subjects with an artistic eye, looking for a fresh perspective. He goes beyond the documentary image to show a unique perspective using color, shape and line. He strives to share the beauty of a destination you’ve never seen and provide a new perspective on a familiar subject. While Corey has collected diverse images from extensive travel, he also find some of the most interesting subjects close to home. Corey is a published author and his work is seen in magazines, books, calendars and catalogs. His photographs are also seen in exhibits and his prints are found in private collections. Corey has written six books, including two books on digital workflow and the first book dedicated to Lensbaby. Corey has a passion for sharing his knowledge. He helps others improve their photography through group and private instruction. Corey's instruction enables photographers to improve their photographs technically and artistically. He leads workshops to locations in the United States and abroad, plus offers photography classes and software training. Find out more on Corey's website: coreyhilz.com 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 2017 are:
Competition Themes for 2017-2018 The themes for 2017-2018 are:
The full list of competition results is available on the NVPS web site at http://nvps.org Digital - Class 1 Digital – Class 2 Digital – Class 3 Color Prints – Class 1 Color Prints – Class 2 Color Prints – Class 3 Monochrome Prints First Place images from October: Additional winning images are available for viewing at http://nvps.org/gallery/v/competitions/2016-2017_Competition_Winners/
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 The Final 2016 Rules of Competition are now available on the NVPS website. The changes to the rules are summarized below:
The complete Rules of Competition are at http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=500. You can also download a PDF file of the rules at the top of the page (http://nvps.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RulesofComp_Sept-2016-final.pdf). The sections of rules that have been changed are: Section 1.B. Number of Competitions; Section 1.C Eligibility; and, Section 1.E Presentation of Prints. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Millhouser or Judy Graham, the Co- VPs of Competition at competitions@nvps.org. Details for preparing prints and digital images can be found at: While it’s not a new rule, in order to compete in the October competition, members must be current with their club dues.. Please make certain you have done so prior to the night of the meeting to avoid any confusion (Refer to the Membership section of FotoFax for further details on joining NVPS or renewing for another year). The revised rule regarding matting will be applied at the October competition. Competition Pages on NVPS Website We appreciate the constructive feedback we have been receiving on the competition pages of our website. We are in the process of working with the NVPS web team to make a number of changes so it is much easier to navigate, and find the requirements for competitions 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. 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. Thinking about doing a Portfolio Project, but looking for an idea? Get started by taking a look at our three Past Portfolios of the Month, from the 2015-16 season.
Corey Hilz is our Portfolio Project reviewer in 2016-17. Corey will review initial portfolios at our January 31 meeting and final portfolios on May 9. Well-known to NVPS members, Corey is an outstanding photographer and educator. Corey's web site is at http://www.coreyhilz.com/ Sign up now for the Portfolio Project by emailing PortfolioProject@NVPS.org. More information about the Portfolio Project for 2016-17 is available on the Society's web site at http://nvps.org/home/?p=8926 Get shooting! The Co-chairs for the Portfolio Project for 2016-2017 are Bill Corbett and Dennis Govoni. November 22nd: The Mountains, Fjords and Magic of Southern Norway with Mike Whalen “Norway has been on my radar for a number of years. Finally, in June 2016, my wife, Cindy, and I, along with two of our long-time friends, spent 17 days touring the south and central western fjord region. We stayed in 10 different locations and traveled over 1000 miles, mostly by car. We experienced snow-covered mountains, crystal-clear fjords, icy lakes, thunderous waterfalls and the two largest cities, Oslo and Bergen. We hiked numerous trails, saw beautiful vistas and several glaciers; we rode ferries and other boats and even met a few trolls along the way! In this slideshow you will see examples of all these places and things. The areas in Norway we visited were beautiful and exciting with many unique photo opportunities. I hope you enjoy the presentation and consider it as a destination in your future travels.” Mike Whalen is a former software engineer who took up digital photography to fill his spare time created by retirement. He purchased his first serious camera in 2006 – an entry level Canon DSLR. Ten years later he is still trying to answer the same basic question: “What makes a good photo?” He believes that being inspired by others, much practice and some luck are the major contributors to successful photography. Mike has been an active member of NVPS since 2009. He has served as Co-Coordinator of Field-Trips, Co-VP of Competitions, Assistant Webmaster and President. He has received NVPS’s “Photographer-of-the-Year” awards in all “advanced” categories, as well as “Color Print of the Year” and the “Ollie-Fife Award” for “Image of the Year”. Mike loves to photograph all kinds of subjects in both color and black and white, and enjoys the entire photographic process from composing the image (in-camera) to rendering the final print. He embraces digital post-processing tools like Lightroom and Photoshop and feels their use can expand one’s creative ability in ways that were unthinkable during the film era. Examples of Mike's work: The Forum Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Kirk Johnson. Upcoming Forum Presentations:
November 22nd: Digital Images by Polly Terriberry and Polly Terriberry When Polly Terriberry quit work in 2000, she decided she wanted to pursue photography as a retirement hobby. She found NVPS and dragged her husband, Tim, along for moral support. Both Polly and Tim have been members ever since although Tim does not take photos! He is still lending lots of support though! Polly had taken snap shots for a long time, but she wanted to go beyond snap shots and learn more about photography. What better way to reach that goal than to join a camera club? Although Polly considers herself an amateur photographer, she does sell her images on Shutterstock.com. She calls herself a “paid” hobbyist. Polly takes photos for the sheer enjoyment of it but one day while staring at the rows of photo albums on their bookshelves, she realized that taking photos to be stuffed in a photo album rarely to be looked at later, seemed like a waste. That's when she became a Shutterstock photographer. At least some people might find some uses for her photos. Polly's has many favorite subjects such as lighthouses, cats, macro, landscapes, and flowers to name a few but her favorite subjects are lighthouses and cats. Perhaps she enjoys lighthouses because her father was a lighthouse keeper for a short while. She has dreams of trips who's sole purpose is photographing lighthouses. Tim and Polly made one such trip in California and even spent the night at Montara Lighthouse. Cats became a favorite subject by accident when a little pregnant long haired black cat found her way to their cabin in the mountains of North Carolina one summer. One thing led to another and they became cat fosters for the SPCA here in Virginia. Cats have been in their lives ever since. Polly started out with Nikon equipment in 2000, switched to Minolta equipment then switched back to Nikon, and recently treated herself to a Panasonic GH4. She finds the older she gets the heavier the equipment seems to be. Like a lot of retirees, she decided to “downsize”. Polly's photographic goals are what they have always been, to see the world through the lens and enjoy the view. Her show will present a collection of a few of her favorite subjects: barns, flowers, heart-shaped objects, infrared, landscapes, lighthouses, pets and wildlife. Examples of Polly’s work: Mark Chen Mark Chen got his first DSLR in 2014. Without knowing how to use this Canon Rebel T3i, he sat stubbornly in Auto mode until 2015, when he decided he needed to take the time and learn how to use the camera correctly. Once he picked up the basics of ISO, shutter speed and aperture, he was off to the races. Mark works as a software engineer and also went to school for electrical engineering, so photography has become a great outlet for his creative side. Still being relatively new to photography, Mark doesn’t believe in specializing, and continues to explore all genres of photography and produce all styles of work. One thing you will notice in his work is that there is quite a bit of variety as it pertains to the subject and style in his photography. Some genres that interest Mark that he has yet to try includes wildlife photography, storm photography and wave photography. Within less than a year of learning the basics of a DSLR, and switching/upgrading to a Nikon D750, Mark entered and was juried into his very first exhibit at Nature Visions 2015, where he was also named a Category Winner. Since then, he has gone on and been juried into over twenty exhibits across the country, as well as winning numerous awards and honors, including garnering multiple category winner nominations in the Fine Art Photography Awards, having multiple photos named as finalists in the Siena International Photo Awards, awarded 3rd place in the Moscow International Foto Awards and last but not least, named Photographer of the Year and Most Versatile Photographer at the annual NVPS banquet last season. Mark’s gallery, aptly named “Prologue” is simply a look into his still young portfolio. Performing a cardinal sin of showing a portfolio, there is no all-encompassing theme or arc to the photos. You will see photos from various genres and styles as there are still many genres and styles that Mark is looking to explore, and he has thus far decided not to try to stick with any single option. Examples of Mark’s work:
The Member's Gallery Coordinator for this 2016-2017 is Ron Taylor. November 5th: Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, Md. The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, Inc. manages Glen Echo Park, one of the most lively visual and performing arts sites in the Washington area. Each year, more than 400,000 people come to the Park to renew their creative spirit through arts classes, festivals, exhibitions, dances, children’s theater, music performances, nature programs, and more. Established by Montgomery County in 2002, the Partnership is a nonprofit organization charged with managing Glen Echo Park’s arts programs and facilities, including its historic buildings. The Partnership's mission is to present vibrant artistic, cultural, and educational offerings at the Park and to promote the Park as a unique destination for the region’s diverse population. The field trip will begin at 10 a.m. and continue, officially, until after lunch. Members can photograph the park, glass blowing and pottery demos. You can photograph Lock 10 on the C&O in the morning. We'll have lunch at the Irish Inn at Glen Echo. Stan Bysshe, Field Trips Coordinator 2016-2017, field-trips@nvps.org Field Trips 2016-2017 The schedule is subject to change.
Field Trip Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Stan Bysshe
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 Nature Visions 2016 The Nature Visions Photo Expo 2016 takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 18-20, 2016, at the Hylton Center for the Performing Arts in Manassas. 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. 2016-2017 Membership Dues In order to participate in the monthly competitions your membership dues must be current. The grace period for competition and paying dues ends October 18, 2016. Membership dues for the 2016-2017 year are as follows:
There are three forms of payment. Checks and cash are preferred by NVPS:
Questions, please email membership at membership@nvps.org. Stay Connected with NVPS EMAIL: If you are not already receiving NVPS emails, there are two ways you can sign up to join the list. Click on the following link and sign up by entering your name and email address. Click on join the list. http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=31. Or you may stop by the Membership desk at the next meeting and they will be happy to assist you. It's important to note, you will receive an "opt-in" email from nvps.org. If you do not receive it, check your spam folder. Please respond to this email within 72 hours or the verification link will expire. FACEBOOK: If you are on Facebook, please join the NVPS private group. Search on Northern Virginia Photographic Society Social Group and request to join. Members post everything from their photos to interesting articles on photography to requests for recommendations. You will find the group informative and fun! Patricia J. Healy 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. Kathryn Mohrman NVPS member Kathryn Mohman was featured in an article in the “Travel” section of The Washington Post on Sunday, 16 October. She wrote how, when she retired last year, she realized that while she no longer had an employer to pay for her tickets to travel abroad, she had much more discretionary time. She learned about house-sitting websites and explored opportunities to travel by trading services for accommodations. Last December and January, she arranged to be a pet-sitter for a French family in Versailles. The parents had planned a family trip to the Caribbean for their three adult daughters (and their significant others) just after Christmas, so they needed someone to take care of their pets. The Post also published one of her photos from Paris. Fran Bastress Fran Bastress will have an exhibit at the Reston Community Center - Hunters Woods the entire month of December. After being granted the use of considerable wall space in this large facility, Fran decided to make her exhibit a retrospective covering her digital endeavors from 2007 to the present. The roughly 70 photographs include North American landscapes from nine national parks, as well as farmland, wildlife, reflections, old cars, and more. For further information about the exhibit and venue, go to http://www.restoncommunitycenter.com/attend-shows-events-exhibits/event-detail/2016/12/02/default-calendar/december-2016-exhibit-a-fine-arts-retrospective The reception will be Sunday, December 4, 2 to 4:30 p.m. for her friends and family, as well as NVPS members and their guests, at the Reston Community Center (behind Ledo Pizza), Hunters Woods Plaza, 2310 Colts Neck Road in Reston. (If you believe you might attend, let Fran know. Her e-mail is fbastress@gmail.com) Some examples of Fran's work:
Bob and Willa Friedman Bob Friedman, Willa Friedman and their friend Meryl Silver will continue their show to November 13 at the Stone Tower Gallery at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md. Since Meryl, Bob and Willa are all originally from New York City, they've called the show From the Big Apple to the Capital. There will be about thirty images, approximately half from New York and half taken in Washington, D.C. The gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 noon to 6:00 p.m. NVPS Members' Displayed in Waterford Five NVPS photographers had images hung at the Waterford Fair October 7-9 in Waterford, Va. Roger Lancaster won the top prize in the "Best Loudoun Photograph" category with his photograph of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Bluemont, Va. This prize carried a cash award of $500 presented by Loudoun Now. In addition Roger won a yellow ribbon third place award in the Still Life category. Judy Guenther received a blue ribbon and cash award for first place in the "Architecture" category as well as a yellow ribbon for third place. Willa Friedman was awarded a red ribbon for second place and a white ribbon for an honorable mention. Bob Friedman and Wayne Guenther also had images in the exhibit.
Members Juried in at the Art League Gallery Four members of NVPS had their images chosen for the October “Op Ed” show at the Art League Gallery, juried by Dave Bellard. They are Kathryn Mohrman (Border Fence at Nogales), Bob Friedman (Caring), Wayne Guenther (The Accountant’s Helpers) and Judy Guenther (Little Soldier). Each photo in the gallery is displayed with a narrative further explaining the background surrounding the image. 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.
Kirk Johnson Featured Designer for VIDA & Company Recently Kirk Johnson was approached by the Head of Artist Relations and the Design Team for VIDA & Company to submit some of his photographs to be placed onto women's apparel. They had seen some of Kirk's photographs on the internet and were looking to collaborate with him. VIDA is a San Francisco-based company which uses top artists from around the world access to be discovered by consumers who are looking for artful apparel and accessories. Many VIDA artists have landed features on national television, on HSN, as well as press mentions in major publications like The Wall Street Journal and Fashion Times. VIDA is backed by Google Ventures, and is 100% committed to socially responsible manufacturing (manufacturers located in Delhi, India, and Karachi, Pakistan). VIDA donates a portion of all revenues to fund literacy of those factory workers. VIDA believes in "empowering artists to change the world, by bringing art to life, elevating the products we interact with on a daily basis." Jean-Pierre Plé In November 2015, Jean-Pierre Plé received the Audience Choice Award as part of DC FotoWeek’s Photo Slam. His winning image will be part of an upcoming exhibit at Glen Echo’s Photoworks Gallery. The exhibit runs November 11- December 11, 2016, and there is a reception Friday November 11, 6 to 8 p.m. The gallery is at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, Md. Exhibitions/Competitions Seventh Annual Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibition The Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts takes great pride in announcing its Seventh Annual juried abstract exhibit. All interested photographers are invited to submit entries for this much anticipated spring event. Submissions to the First Annual JM Abstract Exhibit were limited to local NVACC-related clubs; however, over the years, because of the influence these exhibits have had in encouraging and promoting abstract photography and due to their reputation, recent JM Abstract Exhibits have been attracting entries from national as well as international photographic artists. The Joseph Miller Center will begin accepting entries for the upcoming Seventh Annual Exhibit on Saturday, December 24, 2016. The deadline for submissions will be Friday, February 17, 2017. A detailed prospectus containing all relevant information regarding the exhibit will be posted on the Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs website at www.NVACC.org Events at the Vienna Photographic Society Photographic Composition Speaker for animals in zoos On Wednesday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m., the Vienna Photographic Society is hosting Don C. Johnson who will speak about photographing animals in zoos. Photographers and artists are invited to learn about composition techniques. Free and open to everyone. A Q&A session about the club starts at 6:45 p.m. at the Oakton Elementary School Auditorium, Room 123, 3000 Chain Bridge Road, Oakton, Va. 22124 Don Johnson is a highly experienced photographer who has had his photographs displayed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Popular Photography magazine, and Nature’s Best magazine. You can see his portfolios at http://www.sunspotimages.com/-/sunspotimages/ 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.
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