Members Gallery on April 28th will include Prints by Tom Mangan & Digital Projection by David Biehler. Join us for their presentations immediately followed by April's Forum presentation. The following are the biographies of the members presenting on April 28th:

David has been photographing seriously for about seven years. He is very active in the photographic community in Virginia having served as the president of the Vienna Virginia camera club and received the Photographer of the Year award.

 

He has had his prints on display at Alexandria Virginia Torpedo Factory Art League where his work was juried in numerous times.  He has also had his prints displayed with the Reston League of Artists and at shows on the Eastern Shore and in Pennsylvania. His work is on display in both of these locations.

 

He has attended workshops at the Maine Photographic Workshops, the Freeman Patterson course in New Brunswick Canada, and the Great Smoky Mountains with Tony Sweet. He has attended photography and digital courses at NOVA.

 

His images have been published in Natures Best and selected for the Meadowlark Exhibit for several years. 

 

David's favorite subject is nature photography, especially landscapes and flower macros. He also is very interested in abstracts. He finds landscapes the most challenging because is very hard to find unique subjects and ways of presenting them that have not been done many times before.

 

One of his favorite pastimes is just to drive back roads and small towns searching for good shots.  Last year he had the opportunity to drive the coast of Nova Scotia and catch Peggy's Cove lighthouse at sunset. He is also very fond of northern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Shore.

He mentors beginning photographers in composition, techniques and the use of their equipment. He has instructed courses in macro photography and Adobe Photoshop.

Although his primary profession is the design and creation of fine jewelry, Tom Mangan's avocation is photography. As an artist, he has worked in several media, including sculpture, wood carving, painting and drawings. His photography interests are eclectic, and his has shot everything from weddings and events to macros and landscapes.

Tom's interest in photography began as a child, when he was given a simple Kodak Brownie film camera and soon became the official family historian. He then graduated to "moving pictures" when he borrowed his parents' Super Eight movie camera. His early films consisted of animated toys, his pet snake, and his younger sister who would magically vanish and reappear on screen.

Tom later studied darkroom technology and film making in college, where he learned to create black and white prints and dabbled in video production. Until recently, Tom only used film, mostly doing technical photography in conjunction with his work as an appraiser and jewelry designer. He also shot images of his jewelry designs with models posing for advertising layouts. He currently owns and operates Mangan Jewelers in McLean, VA.

Photography was given a back seat to family and career until 2005, when he made the move to digital. The ease of the new format, along with the ability to use a computer as a digital darkroom, rekindled his love of the printed image. He took several classes, joined a couple of clubs, and started shooting everything he could find. "The challenge," he stated, "is to everyday, find a new way of seeing the ordinary world around us in an extraordinary way." He is most passionate about nature photography and simply enjoys being immersed in the natural world.

Also on April 28th is Forum