Co – Vice Presidents of Competition Mike Kane and Mike Whalen are pleased to welcome judge Sam D’Amico for the club’s April 16, 2013 monthly club competition.

About Sam D’Amico:

Sam D’Amico recalls always being interested in photography. Some of his earliest memories are of his family gathering to view home movies, slide shows or albums filled with photographs held in place by photo corners. He can recall his family being connected through the memories and emotions that the images evoked.

When he was a young teen, after expressing an interest in photography, his parents gave him a 35mm SLR. “I wanted to photograph the people, places and things that I saw but I lacked the patience to teach myself the technical skills needed to work the camera. Sometimes my pictures would come out the way I imagined and sometimes they wouldn’t. I found photography difficult and frustrating and sold the equipment a few years later.”

In the mid-1980′s, approximately a decade after selling his camera, Sam was given a used 35mm SLR which was found while helping family members to move. According to Sam, “That gift reconnected me to my interest in photography and I’ve been examining that interest since.”
In 1986, after studying two photography courses at a community college, Sam left his job as a telephone operator and began working as a free-lance photojournalist.

From 1987 through 1991 he worked as a staff photographer for two newspapers. After being laid off from a staff photographer position in 1991, D’Amico continued to free-lance until 1997.

From 1992-1997 he photographed over 500 assignments for the New York Times as a free-lance Photojournalist.

In 2002 he moved to Washington, DC and began to work as an instructor at the Washington School of Photography in Bethesda, MD. Sam enjoyed working as a photography instructor and as a result, in 2003, he began developing curriculum for his own series of workshops. His first workshop was held at ‘Teaism Restaurant at Penn Quarter, a Tea House in Washington DC.

Currently Sam continues to free-lance with clients who “treat photographers fairly” and continues his work as a photography instructor in the Washington DC area. Please visit samdamico.com to learn more and to view Sam’s Photographs.


A message from Sam D’Amico about his judging: “When judging photography I am drawn to work that demonstrates the ability of the photographer to communicate their personal perception through the camera. Anyone can learn technical skills, but if those skills are not being used to communicate a personal perception then I feel that the photograph falls flat. I’m not interested in what you see, I’m interested in how you see.”

You are invited to join judge Sam D’Amico for dinner at Chili’s in Tyson’s Corner at 5:30 PM on Tuesday April 16, 2013. If you would like to join us please RSVP to Mike Kane (michaelaustinkanephoto@gmail.com) by 5:30 PM on Monday, April 15th (TAX DAY!)

April is a Themed Competition

The theme is: A Different Point of View

Look up, look down, look behind the subject Look at the subject from the top, the bottom, the back—in an untraditional way.

Some Competition Reminders:

Please upload your digital images by the deadline of 6:00 PM on Sunday April 14, 2013, as per the current instructions on the club website: NVPS Competition Upload.

If you are new to NVPS or new to entering photo competitions with NVPS and you are not sure of which class (Novice or Advanced) to enter please contact the Co – Vice Presidents of Competition Mike Kane or Mike Whalen to assist in selecting the correct class for competition. (Contact Info: Here)

All images (prints or digital) must have been captured within two years of the monthly competition date.

Only club members are permitted to enter monthly competitions.

Prints must be signed in by 7:15 PM on Tuesday, April 16th so our judge has time to adequately preview each print

For prints entries please be sure include the name of the maker, the title of the print and the Class/Category in which it is being entered on the back of the print or mount entered. Also, you must include an arrow indicating “this edge up”. Neither the name of the maker nor the title of the print may appear on the face of the print or mount.

Please be sure to secure each print’s overmat to the backing board so that the image will not fall out of its mount.

Please review the NVPS Rules of Competition that can be found here: NVPS Rules of Competition

Thank You!

Close Menu