Just a quick note to Sandi Croan.  Thank you and a job well done.

Remember When?

Remember when you were in elementary school and your teacher asked you to write about what you did this summer.  Well, what did you do this summer? 

I will ask the website manager to create a photo gallery so you can share a photo from your summer vacation. 

Rules are simple.  Upload one photo, with your name and location where the photo was taken.  Image has to have been taken between June 22nd and September 5, 2011, summer vacation in Fairfax County, to the gallery.

Details will be sent out later this summer.

Bob Friedman
President, 2011-2012

As I write my final Message from the President I am reflecting on these past two years as your President. It has been an amazing journey for me personally. I have been continually amazed by the generosity and talent of our club members. I know I have said this many times, but one more…. THANK YOU! I have grown as a person because of this experience and I have been honored to serve NVPS.
My primary goal upon being elected in 2009 was to nurture a small community feeling within an increasingly large membership. Each week, I come early and smile as I see folks arriving and looking forward to seeing their friends, sharing their love of photography, and seeming happy to be there. NVPS is much more than just a photography club. It has become a haven for a diverse group of people to feel a connection.

Over the past two years we have accomplished a tremendous amount thanks to the hard work and willingness to embrace new ideas of so many people in our community. Fifteen to twenty different committees were formed to take seedling ideas and make them happen. Many folks, both board members and non-board members, took their expertise and time to help benefit the 274 members of NVPS.  Below, I will give a short synopsis of the different initiatives that came to fruition over the past two years.

There are so many people to thank and I could write five more pages just thanking people but then I would be afraid to leave someone out. So let me thank ALL the board members for the past two years and other members that have in any way given your time to benefit all of us. THANK YOU!

1. Member Support – Created guidance/policy on club’s actions to acknowledge member/member’s family in the event of illness or death.
2. Tech Team – Created Tech team to provide technical support for every meeting.  
3. EOY Awards – Developed criteria for adding named awards and defined current and new named awards (redefined Joe Atchison Award).  Added  Dave Carter Education Award and Distinguished Service Award  (beautiful lucite upright award); deleted outdated named awards; changed some named awards. 
4. Board of Directors restructuring
- Restructured the Board of Directors to reduce the size and to create reporting structures to improve efficiency.
- Changed board organization so that it is not a flat structure with all positions reporting to President.  Board members, now oversee other board and non-board positions
- Created and defined a new board position - VP Ops Position to be responsible for physical and technical logistics of weekly meeting and EOY Competition;
- Combined board positions (PSA and NVACC, database mgr with other positions);
- Eliminated board positions (Equip Mgr, Meadowlark Rep, PSA, NVACC, Database, Facilities, Digital Competition);
5. Edited and amended Constitution and By-Laws.
6. Procured on-site storage of equipment at Dunn Loring eliminating the need for equipment manager to haul everything back and forth each week!!!!!
7. Projection of prints - Increased membership experience for viewing prints by setting up video cam to project prints on the screen during competition and other club functions.
8.   PayPal - Created account and provided member access to use PayPal for membership and other fee collections.
9.   Welcoming Committee – Created policy and guidance for a team of volunteer members to welcome new and prospective members to NVPS.
10. Members Resource Program – Created Members Resource Program to provide photography support to members in a multitude of areas (camera, photoshop, etc.); on line (our website) resources for education and links for info and photographic services; articles on photography, etc.  Created non-board position of Members Resource Coordinator to put together and coordinate a team of member volunteers with expertise in various areas to support the initiatives of the program.
11. Judge and Speaker Gifts – Changed from mugs to flash drives.
12. Competition Rules –Retooled categories/classes to better support member needs as well as other minor changes in support of membership.
13. Members as Judges - Provided guidance for use of members as judges and added this to handbook.
14. Video Camera purchase.
15. Fotofax and Web - Established guidelines for consistent inclusion of workshop and other advertisement in Fotofax and Web. Many enhancements to both.

There are several individuals that I would like to give special thanks to who are either moving on or they have been very inspirational to me during my time as President:

Fred Chitty – During my term, Fred has been my go-to person for getting things done, giving me history on the club, doing detailed statistical analysis on many issues, serving on multiple committees, and giving me honest advice, a shoulder to lean on and unconditional support. Fred was one of the first members that I met and has served as a mentor and cheerleader for me for both my photography and my personal leadership skills for more seven years. He has been a member since 1995 and has served on the board as Workshops Coordinator and Treasurer for 7 years. He has continually done workshops and forums for the club as well. Fred is moving to Hilton Head this summer and will be sorely missed!

Ed Funk – Long, long time member, Past President and every board position, website creator,  Ed Funk has been my other mentor and go-to person since my start in NVPS in 2004. Even though Ed hasn’t been on the board in awhile, he continues to serve NVPS by serving on committees, taking care of all the End of Year award plaques, giving workshops and forums and never saying “no” to anything asked of him. He has made me grow as a photographer and a person and I will be forever grateful of his kindness and support.

Mary O’Neill – Mary has served in the VP of Programs position for three years, and before that she was Forums Coordinator for two years and Membership Coordinator for one year. Despite her incredibly busy work travel schedule, she has provided NVPS with unique, inspiring, educational diverse and entertaining programs year after year. Many of the programs that Mary lined up are deeply imbedded in my memory. Mary will be taking a break this year so please thank her by sending her an email telling her which programs stood out for you and why.

Sam Schaen – Sam has served in almost every position on the board including President since 2004. For the past four years, he has been our newsletter editor and one of the folks working behind the scenes to sending those blast emails and communications to the members. Our newsletter – Fotofax, has received praise from many camera clubs. Sam is turning over the presses to Dan Ward next year and will be serving in the very essential VP Operations position next year. Sam has been a rock during my administration. He is calm, analytical, and a wealth of knowledge and experience that he generously shares with everyone. He has served on many committees, given many workshops and forums and willingly helps out whenever asked.

Scott Musson – Scott has held most positions in the club, including President, since 2005. He has been the Website Manager since 2008, and he will be continuing with that next year with the assistance of Mike Whalen. Those blast emails you’ve been getting have invisibly come from either the Website Managers or Newsletter Editors. They work together behind the scenes to keep you in the loop on all things NVPS. Scott has also been a wonderful source of advice for me over the years in addition to his many other contributions including multiple committees, Portfolio Project team member, presenter for workshops and forums, website support for all functions of the club including uploading images on the web for workshops, critiques, field trips, competitions, etc. He also prints the certificates for EOY Competition.  To me, two of Scott’s biggest and most lasting contributions to NVPS have been a comprehensive survey of members’ needs done several years ago and the creation of the Board Members Handbook that has been every board member’s and my bible.

Gayle Dennis – Gayle has been the face of NVPS for two years as the Membership Coordinator and responsible for creating the Member Support guidance and Welcoming Committee. She is the first person new and prospective members see when they walk in the door, and I believe she is responsible for our growing membership. Gayle will be stepping down from the Board next year to pursue higher education.

Brian Payne – Brian is a “behind the scenes” guy. Many of you probably have no idea of what Brian does because he does it so well and everything runs so smoothly. Brian has been equipment manager, VP Competition, projection operator and most recently the first VP of Operations. The VP of Operations was a new position that was created at the end of last year that is responsible for everything logistical and mechanical for the weekly meetings and EOY competition. He and his Tech Team of Jeff Hancock, Kip Holdridge, Jim Norman and Paul Uhler set all the equipment up each week make sure it all works smoothly and invisibly. He also coordinates with Andy Klein (Facilities Coordinator since before my time) on issues with our meeting space. I couldn’t be more pleased with how well everything went this year. Thank you guys! Brian is taking a well deserved break next year.

Special thanks also go to: Tom Brett, John Quigly, Willa and Bob Friedman, Georgette Grossman, Curtis Gibbens, Tom Burden, Melanie Marts, Tuan Pham, Andy Klein, Gerry Abbott, Matthew Schmidt, Marilyn Gaizband, Charlotte DeFuria, Yulan Guo, Jeff Namadan, Bill Prosser, and Paul Simmons for all their time and expertise in service of NVPS. I am sure we will continue to see most of you in service of NVPS for many years to come.

I also want to thank all the members that have educated and inspired us by sharing their images or expertise on Members Gallery, Forums, or Workshops, Education and Training nights as well as all the folks that volunteered their time on the Welcoming Committee and Members Resource Program.

Big thanks to Bob Friedman for accepting the nomination to become the next President of NVPS. I am sure you will be amazed by the support and generosity of our members.

My final thank you is to you ALL for a wonderful two years. I have thoroughly enjoyed your camaraderie, friendship and support.

Have a great summer and keep on shooting,
Sandi Croan,
Past President NVPS

September 6th, 2011 - Program Night: Tony Sweet

Please join us for an evening of inspiration as we kick off our 2011/2012 club year! Tony will present a gallery of his extraordinary images, including a discussion on compositional, creative, and software techniques
to use as tools in creating the "wow" factor in your final images. Tony can be found at: www.tonysweet.com http://www.tonysweet.com/ and http://web.me.com/tonysweetphoto/tonysweet_blog/Blog/Blog.html

Tony Sweet's bio:
After 20 years as a professional jazz artist, Tony changed careers and directed his creative juices towards nature photography. The improvisational, spontaneous, and abstract nature of jazz are also integral
elements of nature photography.

Tony's work is published on calendars, post cards, posters, annual reports, greeting cards, catalogs, and electronic mediums. His fine art prints are exhibited in private and corporate collections throughout the United States,
and he is represented by The Getty Picture Agency. His images are also used by Nikon, NikSoftware, Singh Ray, Microtek, and others for national ad campaigns.

Tony conducts Visual Artistry photography location workshops, and speaks to photography organizations and PPA schools throughout the continental United States and Canada. Tony's articles and images are featured in Shutterbug and
Rangefinder magazines, and is a contributor to Nikonnet.com. He is a staff writer for Nikon World magazine.

He has authored four books on the art of photography: Fine Art Nature Photography ('02), Fine Art Flower Photography ('05), and Fine Art Nature Photography: Water, Ice, Fog ('07), and Fine Art Digital Nature ('09).

Tony maintains an active speaking schedule, addressing professional photography organizations, universities, seminars, and teaching workshops, is an instructor on betterphoto.com.

Tony was honored as a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens http://http://press.nikonusa.com/2006/03/nikonnet_and_legends_behind_th_7.php in 2006, member of Team Nik (NikSoftware http://www.niksoftware.com/) in 2007, and a Lensbaby Guru http://www.lensbaby.com/gurus-sweet.php in 2008.

Message from Workshop Coordinators

Roger Lancaster and Dennis Govoni are overseeing the Workshop/Education effort for NVPS for the club year: 2011-2012. Based on the recent survey that was posted, we have already determined the first two workshops to be scheduled:

1. September 13, 2011: "Understanding your Camera Controls for Better Technical Images."
2. October 11, 2011: "Everything You Need to Know about Matting"

For the first workshop on Cameras we need volunteers who are experienced users of their camera controls. The plan is to work in small groups and help the less experienced members understand what the settings are and not only how to use them but in which shooting situations they can be used. The more experienced members can thusly lend their first-hand experiences on this.

Please send to Dennis Govoni (dngovoni@verizon.net) the following information if you wish to be the subject matter expert for a group (the more we have, the smaller the groups):

Name:
Camera you use:


We also are going to use internal resoures for the matting wotkshop in October, which will also be group-focused. So if you wish to be a group lead for this, please send your name to: Roger Lancaster roger@thelancasters.us. You will need to provide matting equipment to be used in the workshop. The intent is to allow those who have never done this or want more instruction to bring a picture and matting materials to be used. In addition, we would like to provide a list of recommended matting equipment (good to have multiple selections) with any pros/cons you more experienced "matters" have.

thanks, in advance, for any consideration.

Roger & Dennis

May Competition Results

Complete competition results can be found at: http://nvps.org/main/meetings/competition/competition_results/may_17_2011_-_results_of_compe/.

Unrestricted Advanced Digital 1st Place Sam Schaen Plover Making Waves

Monochrome Print 2nd Place Dan Ward Saying Goodbye

End-of-Year Competition

Winning competition images from throughout the past year were eligible for inclusion in the end-of-year competition. The winners were announced during the banquet on Friday, June 10th. A list of all winners can be viewed on the NVPS website at:

http://nvps.org/main/meetings/competition/2010_-_2011_end_of_year_compet/

Print of the Year Images for End of Year Competition

Restricted Color Prints Jim Carlson Ginkgo Trees Advanced Unrestricted Color Prints Maricruz Fugon Young Dancer

Advanced Unrestricted Digital Sam Schaen Seltzer Martini

Clicking on any of the images above will display a larger version of the image.

Willa and Bob Friedman
Co-VPs Competition 2010-11
willa-f "at" cox.net
bob-f "at" cox.net

Shenandoah National Park – Big Meadows
June 18-19

This is an overnight trip at Big Meadows, located between mile 51 and 52 on Skyline Drive. It is a great time of the year to capture images of the fawns with the longest lens you have available. They are not hard to find in Big Meadows, across from the Byrd Visitor Center.

There will be a tentative agenda of scheduled times of meeting at the Byrd Visitor Center throughout the weekend that I will send to people who sign the "Big Meadows Field Trip" sheet and to those who email me with the title: Big Meadows Info. The first scheduled meeting time is 6:00 AM, Saturday morning. Please know that you do not have to stick to the agenda. You are welcome to explore the places you want within this big park.

Because there is a cancellation fee, people need to make their own reservations with the address provided below. Please remember that Big Meadows also provides a camp ground.

Information line: (540) 999-3500

Park web site: www.nps.gov/shen/index.htm
Park lodging: www.visitshenandoah.com/accommodations.aspx

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
July 9, 2011

Every year, NVPA schedules a field trip to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. It is a National Park Service site located in the northeastern corner of Washington D.C.

Plan to meet in the parking lot at 6:45. Parking might be limited, so come early.

Address:

1550 Anacostia Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20019

www.nps.gov/keaq/index.htm

Directions:

• Take I-395 until it ends and take right exit on Pennsylvania Ave. SE.
• After crossing the Anacostia River, turn left onto the DC-295N (Anacostia Fwy).
• Take the exit for Deane Avenue. NE and turn left
• Bear right on Lee Street NE
• Lee Street will turn into 40th Street, then 40th Street will turn into Anacostia Avenue
• Parking lot for Kenilworth Gardens will be on the left.

Places to Photograph

George McLennan has provided an excellent list of places to take photos in the Washington DC area, particularly for Nature Photography. Thanks to Denise Silva the original author for allowing us to post this with George's updates.

http://nvps.org/main/docs/WDCAreaPhotoDestinations.pdf

End-of-Year Banquet

Friday, June 10

The annual NVPS banquet was held on Friday, June 10th at the Best Western/Westpark Hotel in McLean. Over 100 members and guests attended. The following were awarded Photographer of the Year based on their total points earned in their respective categories:

Additional details with all the individual winners within each category are on the NVPS website at:

http://nvps.org/main/meetings/competition/2010_-_2011_end_of_year_compet/

Congratulations to all winners.

Congratulations of the winners of the May 3rd officer elections. Our new board members are:

A list of all current Board members and their contact information can be found at nvps.org/main/about/board-members.

Exhibition Opportunities

Solo Photo Book Month (SoFoBoMo)
July 1 - August 31

The Solo Photo Book Month (SoFoBoMo) has announced that the SoFoBoMo 2011 signup is currently open. For official information visit the SoFoBoMo website at: http://www.sofobomo.org/

The SoFoBoMo for 2011 runs from 1 July to 31 August. Entrants choose any contiguous 30 day period in those two months to start a book from scratch, making photographs, writing any text, getting the book into a layout tool (possibly even Word) and publishing a PDF book.

The event is free and there is an enormous pool of resources available to help get you motivated, or assist with development of your book. This is not a competition and no one will win an award for creating their book, so the pressure is lower. If you have always wanted to create a book and just didn't know how to get started, sign up for this annual event and put out a photo book in a month.

Kodachrome Show at Photoworks
Entries Due June 24, 2011

The KODACHROME Summer Exhibition from July 23-September 18, 2011.

The exhibition will be juried by Cris McCarthy, a photographer and an account manager at Dodge/Chrome where she has with been in touch with Kodachrome slides daily for over more than two decades.

Rules of entry:
1. Submit up to five images, they may be 35mm slides, on a cd/dvd, JPEG
or Giff files no larger than 4MB.
OR: entries may be submitted to: photoworks.gallery@gmail.com,
enrtry fee paid via paypal.
- Images must have been shot using Kodachrome film
- Each slide/file should include a number, your name and the title.
2. $30 for up to 5 entries payable to: Photoworks, Inc.
3. Enclose a separate document to include:
--Your name, address, phone number, email address
--Numbered list of entries with title, date.
--Image size and intended frame size (h” x w”)
--Medium: (cibachrome, type c prints, dye transfer, ink jet print etc.)

Deadline for entries: June 24, 2011. Notification of acceptance June 29.

Submissions can be mailed or hand delivered to:
PHOTOWORKS,
7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD. 20812 (1st floor Arcade Bldg.)
Please send a SASE for return of your work.

Chosen images should be delivered to Photoworks framed and ready to hang by July 19/20, 2011

Blue Ridge Mountain Photographers National Juried Show
Entries Due July 15, 2011

The juried show is open to all photographers, both amateur and professional, and all original photographic media, including film and digital images. Entries must be designated as Nature or Fine Art on the entry form. The judge for this year's show will be professional nature, wildlife and portrait photographer Todd Sparger of Marietta, Georgia.

Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association
(706) 632‐2144
brmphotographers.net/exhibit2011

Gallery West is pleased to announce a call for entries for its 3rd Annual Power of Color juried show. The show will be juried from artwork delivered to Gallery West, 1213 King Street, Old Town, Alexandria, VA, Sunday July 31, 2011 and is open to all Washington DC metropolitan artists over 18. Artists' Reception, Saturday, August 13, 5-8pm. Entry details are available on the website:
http://www.gallery-west.com

2nd China International Digital Photographic Art Exhibition (CIDPAE)
Entries Due August 25, 2011

The purpose of the exhibition is to present the achievement on photography in these years around the world, and bring in forth the talents of photographers on photography in different themes, styles and schools, in order to promote the exchange of photographic art among the countries in the world. There are two categories: Color and Monochrome. Only digital files are accepted. The entry fee is $15 - $20 depending on the number of categories, with up to 4 submissions per category. See the website for details.

english.lsphoto.org

Events

America in Color [1939-1943]

A collection of photos in the Library of Congress collection, taken by the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. Good composition and beautiful examples of early color. Life was simpler then. blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/07/26/captured-america-in-color-from-1939-1943/

Submitted by Chuck Cecil

Workshop Offerings

Photoworks

Photoworks in Glen Echo Park offers a variety of summer photography classes & workshops for adults and children, taught by many familiar names, including former speakers at NVPS. For schedule details, check their website class listings at: http://www.glenechophotoworks.org/

Creative Vision

On Saturday, September 17, 2011, Steve Gottlieb, of Horizon Photography Workshops, is offering a course entitled "Creative Vision" to NVPS members. This workshop was rescheduled from an earlier date. You may rememberSteve as our guess speaker in March.

The $99 class will explore ways to broaden your vision in order to create images in a new and different way. This is a one-day course given at: Horizon Photography Workshops in Chesapeake City, MD.

More information is available on the Horizon Photography Workshops website at: http://www.horizonworkshops.com/index.html

Frank Van Riper

Frank Van Riper, along with his wife, Judy Goodman offer workshops in Lubec Maine and Umbria Italy. The internationally acclaimed husband and wife team will share their image-making techniques with a small group of participants. Opportunities for landscape, portrait, and documentary photography will be available. For further information see http://www.summerkeys.com/workshop.htmlfor information about Lubec and http://www.experienceumbria.com/ for information about Umbria. Frank presented a program to NVPS in December 2009 and judged the December 2010 competition.

Wayne Wolfersburger

Wayne Wolfersberger (NVPS member and past President) will be teaching many classes for his thirteenth year with Fairfax County’s Adult and Community Education - ACE. Anyone can sign up (Fairfax residency not required). Courses are designed for beginners, intermediate and advanced skills in photography which includes Outdoor (Nature) classes, flower and garden classes, as well as well as classroom table top shooting for composition and creativity. Several classes include weekend field trips. See www.fcps.edu/aceclasses and then go to Art – studio art for details or http://www.waynewolfersberger.com/

Roy Sewall

One-on-one Coaching: This coaching is intended for novice and intermediate photographers. Coaching sessions are tailored to an individual's specific needs, and the scope is flexible. Representative topics are: how to operate a digital SLR, equipment selection, photo critique in a private setting, on-computer demonstration of photo improvements, and field technique. Roy judged an NVPS competition in October 2009 and presented a program in November 2010.

(301) 530-6720
roy "at" sewallinc.com
http://www.roysewallphotography.com/

Nikhil Bahl Photography Workshops

Nikhil Bahl is a professional nature photographer, educator, author, lecturer and workshop instructor. Nikhil leads several nature photography workshops and tours, primarily along the East coast of the United States. He also teaches photography locally at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia and through Digital Photo Academy. His instruction is focused on in-camera interpretation and developing personal vision, rather than simply following the traditional rules of photography. Nik gave an NVPS forum program in April 2011.

http://www.nikhilbahl.com/
http://www.nikhilbahl.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/nikhil.bahl.photography
240-246-6654
nikhil "at" nikhilbahl.com

Josh Taylor, Jr.

Fall workshops, classes, and lectures are posted at archiphotoworkshops.com. Please take a look and hopefully, you will find something of interest, including Canon camera classes. Josh is an NVPS member and most recently presented a workshop in March 2010.

jtaylorj "at" verizon.net
archiphotoworkshops.com

Awake the Light Photo Tours and Workshops
Mollie Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem

Join two well-known professional photographers on their exciting and educational photo tours. For 2011 they are offering trips to Alaska's Denali National Park and Katmai National Park, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley in Arizona, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Acadia National Park in Maine. All tours include extensive photographic opportunities in the field, as well as personal one-on-one assistance and classroom instruction. Mollie and Mary gave NVPS Programs in October 2009 and October 2010.

Mollie Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem
http://www.awakethelight.com/
757-773-0194  
awakethelight "at" cox.net 
         

Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs (NVACC)

The Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs (NVACC) is an informal entity started in 1997 by Joseph Miller with the assistance of Dave Carter and Ed Funk. It purpose is to promote communication and cooperation among area camera clubs. NVACC is made up of Member Clubs and Associated Member Clubs.

NVACC publishes a monthly Calendar of Virginia Member Club Events that can be found at www.nvacc.org/Calendar.html.

.NVACC has published a Field Trips Guide Book for Photographers, which provides information about nearby areas that camera clubs might wish to visit (www.nvacc.org/Field%20trips%20Guidebook/NVACCPublications.html).

This is my first issue as editor. I have inherited the role from Sam Schaen, who did an outstanding job as our editor over the past four years. Sam has accepted a new role as our VP of Operations. If you haven't already done so, please let Sam know how much you appreciated his hard work in making FotoFax the best of all photo club newsletters. My personal hanks to Sam for all his help during the transition.

Please bear with me as I learn this role and master some new software. Your constructive criticism is needed and will be appreciated!

This edition has fewer photos in it as I am still learning that not everyone volunteers their images for inclusion in FotoFax and I will need to be like Sam and get a little more aggressive in asking permission.

Editor, Danny Ward
editor "at" nvps.org