“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”
Imogen Cunningham

Welcome to our 2025–2026 club year! I am so very excited for us to embark on another year of learning and exploring photography together!

Your NVPS Board and volunteers have been busy planning a full and rich year of programs, education & training, competitions, member’s galleries and forums, portfolio projects, mentoring, field trips, and more! On those Tuesdays we meet at the firehall, you are invited to gather before the meeting for

dinner– usually at a local restaurant. Watch the upcoming eBlasts for details.

This is also a great time to reflect on the upcoming opportunities and experiences available this club year. Perhaps you would like to learn or expand a specific skill? Perhaps there are some types of photography you would like to explore, or new ways to share your photography?

I am taking a literary approach to this club year: each month I plan to read a book about photography or authored by a photographer. I would like to explore different perspectives and hope to be inspired by the words of others. I believe the creative, mindful component of photography is the driving energy and motivation behind making photos that we love.

This month I am reading Be Extraordinary: Philosophical Advice for Photographic (and Other) Artists, by Guy Tal. Guy writes about being an “experience first” or “photograph first” photographer. Experience first is where the experience of what we are doing is the driving force and photography comes second; in contrast, with photograph first, the focus is getting the photograph, and the experience associated with it is secondary. Guy writes, “Experience–first photographers are also more likely to feel at ease spending time experimenting, accepting the risk that their efforts may not

always be fruitful, knowing that these experiences are still rewarding and worthy for their own sake.”1

I believe our purpose at NVPS–to share knowledge and skills, to enhance creativity, and to build a community of enthusiastic photographers–supports us in developing as “experience first” photographers. NVPS provides the opportunity to experience time in community, learning together and trying new and different ways of making photos.

I would like to thank each of you for being a member of NVPS. Your membership support and engagement with the club enriches experiences for all of us. If you ever have any questions or suggestions, please reach out to me or any board member. See you online and at the firehall in September!

  Deb Rose
  President 2025-2026