Patricia Deege – Prints
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 1990’s 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 Epson2880 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.
Digital Images – 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.
