Will Haubert retired from his government job at 4 pm on September 2, 2008 and joined NVPS 3 hours later. His transition consisted of riding the Metro home and a quick dinner. He has not looked back and has never been happier!

In high school, Will was considered to have no artistic talent--he couldn't even draw stick figures. So he went to law school. Years later, he began taking pictures to document his vacations and major moments in the life of his family. One day, as he stepped onto the Nydeck Bridge over the River Aare in Switzerland. He noticed the lines, shapes, textures, and colors of the red-tiled rooflines spreading into a residential sector of Bern. It was a crystalline moment--a realization that photography could be art. His heart leaped. The teachers were wrong; Will had just been using the wrong medium!

Will began hanging photos in his office. Colleagues stopped by just to look at his "gallery" and in 2008, he was picked as an "Artist in Residence." Soon, Will began to resent the amount of time his job took from his photography. So he retired!

Will has been shooting in earnest for the past two years and credits his experience at NVPS with teaching him just about everything he knows about photography. His favorite subjects these days are his grandchildren and anything else that fits in his viewfinder. He traditionally shot landscapes ('cause that's where he most often found himself) and appreciates NVPS field trips as they provide a rich palette of new subjects to sample.

 

Last year, Will was NVPS' Photographer of the Year in three categories-- Versatile, Novice Monochrome, and Novice Color. Along the way, he won Print of the Year in both Color and Monochrome. In addition, he has had images juried into 

• the Wilmington International Exhibition of Photography (5 images and a DPS Honor Ribbon), 

• the Maryland Federation of Art 8th American Landscape Exhibition (image selected for Cover of Brochure), 

• the Meadowlark Nature Photo Expo,

• 2009 Arlington County Fair (Overall Reserve Grand Champion, Champion Monochrome), and

• Workhouse Center Inaugural Expo (2 images juried in).

• In 2009 Will also exhibited in "The Power of Yellow" in the Art & Soul Space of Scituate Massachusetts.

 

Bob and Jorja Feldman are nature photographers with a primary focus on creating avian images. Bob became interested in photography about 25 years ago. He took some classes at a community college and gravitated to medium and large format black and white photography. He then met and married Jorja, put the gear away, and took a long hiatus to attend to family and business affairs.

 

Four years ago Bob bought Jorja a digital camera and both have been passionate nature photographers ever since. To capture their images they mostly shoot with Canon Mark IIIs equipped with 500mm or 600mm lenses, although they also use an array of lenses down to and including macro lens.

  

They are active members of the Vienna Photographic Society and Northern Virginia Photographic Society (since 2006), as well as the North American Nature Photography Association. Their images have been on exhibit at various regional venues including the Fairfax County Government Center, Town of Vienna Photography Show, Vienna Arts Society, Huntley Meadows Park, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Gallery West, and Vis Arts.

 

They have been published nationally in Nature Photographer Magazine. Between them, they have received many photographic awards locally including Print of the Year and Photographer of the Year awarded by local photographic societies and Sponsor's Choice Awards at the Meadowlark Photographic Expo. Additionally, they have lent their support (by supplying images) to the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, The Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, and the Clearwater Free Clinic in Florida.