February 2012 - Reminder of Photographers’ Rights.

Willa and I found an abandoned motel in Newington. We went there a few weeks ago to photograph it. Too bad the demolition team beat us to it and were working rapidly. Across the road was a tank farm. The bright sun cast great shadows of the stairs, so we walked across the road. We were taking photos for about 10-15 minutes when a worker on the tank farm property stopped and asked us what we were doing. I told him we were taking photos of the shadows. He said we couldn’t. I pointed out that we were on public property and could take the photos. He said he was going to call the police. I said go ahead. We shot for a few more minutes. Clouds rolled in and so we walked back to the car. As we got into our car we saw a police car driving slowly by. I presume he was looking for us.

I didn't think it was necessary to greet the police officer and start a conversation. We got some nice photos and almost had an interesting adventure.

Following are some links. I printed the article from the ACLU and carry it in my camera bag:

http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers
http://content.photojojo.com/tips/legal-rights-of-photographers/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072502795.html?hpid=newswell

Nature Visions
Greg Daily, President of Nature Visions, will speak on February 28th about the history of Nature Visions, current status and the future. Nature Visions just finished its 10th year and he would like to solicit input from NVPS members regarding the future growth and direction of the Expo. Please come to the meeting.

Facebook
NVPS now has a Facebook page. A subset of information will be posted on Facebook that is posted on the NVPS Website. Like us on Facebook and get convenient reminders of upcoming meetings and events.

February 7th - Program Night: Joseph Rossbach

Impressions of Nature

NVPS welcomes back one of the area’s most accomplished nature photographers, Joseph Rossbach.  Joe has been photographing the landscape for over fifteen years. Joe’s photographs and articles have appeared in a number of books, calendars and magazines including Outdoor Photographer, The Nature Conservancy, Digital Photo, Photo Techniques, Popular Photography, Blue Ridge Country, Mountain Connections and many more. Joe is also a staff course instructor for Nature Photographers Magazine, and writes a regular blog column for Outdoor Photographer Magazine online edition. Joe is also a co-author and contributing photographer two print books, The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography (Mountain Trail Press) and 50 Amazing Things You Must See and Do in the Greater D.C. Area, The Ultimate Adventure Guide. 

Joe continues to travel extensively producing new and exciting images of the natural world as well as leading several photography workshops and photo tours each year.  Joe will be joining us for dinner at Chili’s at 5:45 prior to the Program, so if you’d like to attend the dinner, please rsvp to mary.m.o’neill@gsk.com.
Additional Professional Accomplishments:

• Author & Contributing photographer to The Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography (Mountain Trail Press, 2009)
• Author & Contributing photographer to 50 Amazing Things Washington: The Ultimate Adventure Guide  (Mountain Trail Press, 2009)
• Staff blogger for Outdoor Photographer Magazine
• 100's of images published in leading magazines such OP, Popular Photography, Digital Photo, Photo Techniques and many more
• Wilderness Warrior Profile in Outdoor Photographer Magazine, 2010
• Dozens of Instructional articles published in various magazines including OP, POP Photo and many more
• Joe has taught hundreds of students over his career leading workshops independently and through other organizations
• Website:  www.josephrossbach.com

February 14th - Workshop - Ed Funk

Composition and Creativity

This workshop is for beginners and advanced photographers alike. Ed will discuss and demonstrate the visual design principles used in his compositions and their role in the creative process. He will also discuss and demonstrate "creativity" from two broad perspectives; technique driven, and the more creative right brain thinking. Using Ed's guidance we can begin producing more "creative" images now and begin the process of developing and improving our creative vision over time. Ed's work has been strongly influenced by our own Joseph Miller and by Freeman Patterson among others.

Ed presented his creativity workshop at the University of Massachusetts for the New England Council of Camera Clubs, Kutztown University for the Berks Camera Club and at Georgetown University. He teaches photography courses at Northern Virginia Community College and also taught photography in England, Germany, Italy and Turkey. View a sample of Ed's work and his bio and artist statement at his web site http://edfunkphotography.com.

February 21st - Competition - Judge Peter Manzelli

Tom Burden and Melanie Marts, co-VP's of Competition, are pleased to host Peter Manzelli as competition judge.  There is no theme for this month.  Please upload your digital images by the deadline, as per the current instructions on the club website.  Prints should be signed in by 7:15, so our judge can preview them.  You must be a paid member to compete.  You are invited to join Peter for dinner at On The Border Restaurant, at 5:30 p.m., on the 21st.  The following is excerpted from his bio on the NVACC website:

Peter Manzelli has worked 33 years in the graphic arts field, and has been involved in computer graphics since 1985.  His career path also took him into the world of photography and photojournalism.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from GWU in Fine Art.  His photos have been exhibited at various local galleries.  His current passion is painting on top of his photos.  Other titles he holds include:  Chef, Musician, Wine Aficionado, and Beach Bum.

Peter states “I prefer to think of myself as an appraiser rather than judge or critic because of the negative connotations of the latter two.  The process of elimination that I will use to evaluate the images will be based on Joe Miller’s recommended criteria of the 4C’s (Composition, Creativity, Craftsmanship, and Communication).  I also believe that the presentation and matting should be included in the total score.”

“I think it is especially important for the novice to realize that an appraisal is ultimately an opinion, and odds are that any group of judges will not be in total agreement on what stays in and what goes out.  Having a reason is important to be classified as a good judge.  I will make every effort to have a meaningful reason for all my decisions.”

Submitted by Melanie Marts

January Competition Results

The full January competition results can be found at: http://nvps.org/main/meetings/competition/competition_results/january_17_2012_-_results_of_c/

Some of the winning images from January

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

Competition Images

The NVPS Website has a gallery of past winning images at http://nvps.org/gallery/v/competitions/. If your image placed first, second, third or received an honorable mention in a club competition, it is eligible for this gallery.  This is not done automatically; you must specifically provide consent for your image to be included in the gallery.

To have your winning image included in the gallery, email competitionwinners@nvps.org and provide the following information:

Your name
Image Category (digital, color print, monochrome print)
Image Class – for those categories with classes (Advanced or Novice)
Competition Date

Digital Winners: just provide consent for posting your image

Print Winners: send a digital version of your print, sized as if it were for digital competition (smaller is ok, but not too small).

The Fotofax newsletter is usually finalized during the weekend immediately following the monthly club competitions.  If your image is a first place winner and you send it in before the weekend after competition, your image will be forwarded to the editor for inclusion in Fotofax.  If you have not provided permission before that deadline, your image will NOT be included and another winning entry may be used for that category in Fotofax.

Rawlings Conservatory (Baltimore)

February 25th

February 28th - Kip Holdridge

“Evolving as a Photographer: Small Adaptations for Becoming a Better Photographer”

Learning is a process that never ends.  Even after mastering "the basics" of photography, we continue to learn new tricks and gain new experience while slowly but surely evolving as a photographer.  Geared for novice and intermediate photographers, but hopefully insightful for everyone, Kip’s presentation will examine relatively small tips, tricks, and practices that can make a huge difference in your photography and growth as a photographer.

Bio
Kip Holdridge learned "the basics" of photography at a young age.  At 6 years old, his mother taught him the mechanics of using an SLR camera and the rules of composition.  After a childhood behind the lens, Kip and photography slowly grew apart as after school activities took up more of his time.  After finishing college and starting a career, he found his way back to photography with a little nudging from his mother.  He purchased his first DSLR in early 2008 and joined NVPS in the spring of 2009.  Kip was the recipient of the NVPS “Photographer of the Year” and “Image of the Year” awards in the Novice Unrestricted Digitally Projected Images category for the 2010-2011 competition year and has since graduated to the advanced class.

28th February - Special Guest Speaker

Greg Daily - President, Nature Visions

At the February 28th meeting, Greg Daily, President of Nature Visions, will speak about the history, current status and future of Nature Visions. After completing their 10th year, Nature Visions is interested in soliciting input from NVPS members regarding future growth and direction of their Expo.

February 28th - Prints - Dan Ward

As a kid in a small town in East Texas, Dan Ward experimented with holding a magnifying glass in front of the family brownie for macro shots and holding an instamatic up to the eyepiece of a telescope for telephotos. He learned the hard way that baggies were not the same as waterproof housings, and got his first 35mm camera by swapping an old guitar for it at a flea market.

Dan shot medium format and 35mm until he began the migration to digital in 2001. His first love is street photography, although he also enjoys nature photography. He is a confirmed Nikonoholic and uses a D7000 as his primary camera, although he occasionally uses a Holga “to keep from becoming too dependent on technology.”

Dan photography shows include the Ellipse Gallery’s Best Photos of the Last 75 Years, Claude Moore Nature Photo Expos, Nature’s Vision 2010 & 2011, several Meadowlark Nature Photo Expos (Kodak Sponsor’s Choice award 2006), On Your Own Time art shows in Dallas (People’s Choice Awards in 2004 and 2006) and various community art shows in Virginia, Texas, Connecticut and Arizona. His astrophotos have been published in Sky & Telescope and Astronomy magazines as well as in David Levy’s bestseller, The Sky.

For the past five years, Dan has been advocating the emerging art form of “phoetry” – a process of combining photos with poetry in a way that integrates the two mediums so that the end result is greater than the sum of the parts.  The key should be more than just an annotated photo or illustrated poem. In collaboration with the poet, Dr. Catherine Sweeney Burton, he created two phoetry collections published by Blurb books: Emerge and Plane of Life. The Atrium Gallery in McLean featured a show of Plane of Life in the fall of 2010. Samples of his work are available on line at:   http://danlward.imagekind.com/store/default.aspx

Dan’s presentation tonight is a collection of phoety prints, including images with traditional poetry and photohaiku prints. Photohaiku is a type of phoetry that uses the traditional haiku of poems with a 5 - 7 - 5 syllable pattern. Some of tonight’s images use Dan's photos with poetry created by Dr. Burton, while others use his poetry.

February 28th - Digital - Mike Whalen

Mike was exposed to art at a very young age by his father, an artist by trade as well as an amateur photographer. Mike also loves music and learned to play guitar in his mid teens. Surprisingly, he became interested in computers in college and chose this field for his career. Except for using a camera to capture screen shots in the 80’s his camera use was limited until more recently when digital cameras became popular.  He purchased his first DSLR, in 2006 and has enjoyed taking almost every kind of photo ever since.  

His main interests are in close-up, landscape, nature, people, still life, and certainly travel photos.  He is also fascinated with the flexibility and creativity made possible with today’s post-processing software. He feels that this part of the photographic process is equally as important as composing the shot and snapping the shutter in producing the final result. He has also become quite fond of the Lensbaby system that blurs the image edges.

Mike joined NVPS in 2009 which has had a significant positive impact on his picture taking ability. “Joining NVPS has given me access to a wealth of creative ideas and resources as well as meeting some very interesting and talented people.”   Last year he won NVPS’s “Versatile Photographer of the Year” award. For the last two years, he has also won Washington Gardener Magazine’s photo contest that included cover photos on their spring edition magazines. Also, a number of his photos placed in the juried “Nature Visions Expo” for the last 2 years. Mike has also assisted Scott Musson this past year with managing the club’s website.

This digital presentation will include European travel photos taken over the last 4 years. Countries will include Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Highlights will include Lake Como (IT), Cinque Terre (IT), Venice (IT), the Amalfi Coast (IT), Paris (FR), The Alsace (FR) Wine Route, Strasbourg (FR), Bruges (BE), and the windmills and tulip blooms in the Netherlands. Color, B&W as well as textured and painted-on images will be displayed.  A few examples are shown below. Please come and see some interesting views of European landscape, architecture, culture and people on the February 28, Member’s Gallery presentation.

NOTICE to Board Members. There will be a brief board meeting immediately following the Feb 7th club meeting.

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

Our board officers are:

Notice: Workshop and contest announcements of events not sponsored by or affiliated with NVPS are provided as a courtesy to Members. Individuals should review the detailed contest rules and conditions to determine what impact entering images has on rights and ownership of the submitted images. Review the descriptions of workshop to whether participation in a workshop would actually meet personal learning goals. NVPS attempts to screen events for legitimacy and quality, however NVPS does not recommend these events and cannot assume responsibility for their ultimate quality. We recommend due diligence and encourage you to share your experience with other club members.

Members' Resources:

Do you need help with a photography problem, but don’t know who to ask? The Members’ Resource Program is here for you. Have you ever been asked “How do you do that?” If so, then consider sharing your knowledge with other club members.

The Members’ Resource area of the club web site http://nvps.org/main/members_resource/ contains a growing set of presentations and ‘how to’ documents created by club members. For example, it includes Jay Heisel's excellent Forum presentation from the January meeting on Social Photography, with his detailed explanations. It also contains the Members’ Resource List, which provides the names and email addresses of club members who have volunteered to help club members looking for help on specific technology and technique topics.

If you have a photography question, check the Resource List for the name of a club member who can help you with it. If nobody has indicated they have expertise in the topic, then contact me and we’ll find somebody. If you have some expertise that you’d like to share, let me know what topics you are able to address.

If you’d like to share your knowledge through a presentation, club website document or Fotofax article, and just need some help getting it off the ground, let me know and I can help with writing, editing, or graphics. Jay Heiser, Members’ Resource Program Coordinator, jay “at” heiserhollow.net .

Members News:

Our members routinely receive photo awards and recognition and have images in shows. As FotoFax only comes out monthly, the best place to look for current events is on the website at :

http://nvps.org/main/member_news/

Exhibition Opportunities

Second Annual Joseph Miller Abstracts Exhibit

First Call for entries for the Second Annual Joseph Miller Abstracts Exhibit to be held at the Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts, 4811 Catharpin Road, Gainesville, VA 20155.

Tentative Timetable:

-- Abstracts entries due at JM Center not later than Wednesday, February 29, 2012. Data on how to send entries (CD and/or email) is listed on the website, via the link below.

-- Notification of acceptances by last week of March 2012.

-- Drop off / delivery of accepted, matted and framed prints Saturday, April 28, Sunday, April 29, Monday, April 30, 2012.
-- Abstracts Exhibit opens Friday May 4, 2012.
-- Reception and Awards Sunday May 6, 2012.
-- Abstracts Exhibit closes Monday May 28, 2012.
-- Pick up accepted prints at JM Center Friday June 1, Saturday June 2, and Sunday June 3, 2012.

Further details regarding entry requirements, official entry form, gallery hours, etc., are posted on line at the NVACC Website: http://www.nvacc.org/Abstract_Exhibit.html .

Maryland Federation of Art - Call For Artists

MFA invites all artists residing in the United State, Puerto Rico and Canada to enter its open-juried photography exhibition. Any original work created in any form of photography, following exhibition guidelines, will be considered by the juror. The selected works will be on exhibit in the MFA’s Circle Gallery. Only original works of art created in any form of photography will be considered by the juror.

Exhibition Dates: May 25 - June 17, 2012
Submission Deadline: March 14, 2012
Notification Deadline: Accepted artists and artwork will be posted on the MFA website and artists notified via email by April 12, 2012
Juror: Margaret Adams, assistant professor at Corcoran College of Art + Design and Maryland Institute College of Art
Download printable prospectus (pdf)

Events

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Charles and Pat Bress have a collection of jazz photos in the Smithsonian's permanent collection. Chuck was recently notified that some of their photos were installed for viewing through February 29, 2012, as part of a new exhibit at the Archives Center entrance of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Congratulations!

Mirror To The World Documentary

The Photoworks Gallery is at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD.
Artists Join curator Frank Van Riper and a group of talented, not-yet-famous documentary photographers at an exhibition of their work.

Exhibit Dates January 27 - February 27, 2012 at the Photoworks Gallery
Hours: Saturdays 1-4 PM and Sundays 1-8 PM http://www.glenechophotoworks.org/

This is Photoworks Gallery's 4th Annual Mirror to the World exhibition of documentary photography. Curated by nationally recognized documentary photographer and author, Frank Van Riper, (the Dec 2010 NVPS Competition judge), this show offers both intimate and wide-ranging glimpses of daily life. This year's work spans the globe, with picture stories from Indonesia, Italy, China, the Pacific Northwest -- and Washington, DC.

The exhibition includes images of ice climbers on the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska, floating Indonesian fishing platforms, a selection of photos from some of China's quieter and more peripheral places, and a moving account of a homeless woman's struggle for survival in Washington, DC -- within sight of offices housing big ticket lawyers and lobbyists.

For more information, contact Frank Van Riper: fvanriper "at" gvrphoto.com or see the glen echo photo works web link above.

On-Line Learning Resources

Our club offers incredible resources via our meetings, workshops and member resource links. If you are a real learning junkie, there are a variety of free on-line learning resources offered by others.

Adorama has a learning center with tutorials and demos at: http://www.adorama.com/alc/ .

B&H Photo offers similar resources at: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/ .

Adobe offers tutorials and demos on most of their products at: http://tv.adobe.com/

YouTube has reviews and demos of many products and/or techniques, but the quality varies: http://www.youtube.com/

There are many free podcasts available with tutorials or lectures. Within iTunes, go to the iTunes store, select the Podcast tab, then search on your preferred topic. Several universities and high schools offer great lectures on the history of photography, great photographers and specific techniques such as lighting.

Workshop Offerings Photoworks Photoworks in Glen Echo Park offers a variety of 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/ Wayne Wolfersberger 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 http://www.fcps.edu/is/ace/index.shtml and then go to Art – studio art for details or http://www.waynewolfersberger.com/ Roy Sewall Roy was the November 2011 judge and presented a program in November 2010. He offers one-on-one coaching for novice and intermediate photographers, tailored to an individual's specific needs. 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. See his recently updated website for more details and information about upcoming workshops or to sign up for his newsletter: http://www.roysewallphotography.com/iWeb/Home.html Nikhil Bahl Photography Workshops Responding to a request for proposals, Nikhil Bahl has offered three workshops to NVPS members at a reduced rate. Nikhil gave an NVPS Forum program in April 2011. The first of the three workshops is: MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA Dates and Schedule: April 21-22, 2012 The workshop will start with a presentation at 12pm on Saturday, April 21, followed by a critique session. We will go into the gardens for an evening field session. On Sunday, April 22 Nikhil will start with a field session at sunrise.  In the afternoon, Nikhil will provide post-processing techniques and tips followed by an evening field session. Tuition: $190 -- Regular fee would be $225. A $35 discount will be offered to all NVPS members. Participants are responsible for travel, hotel, food and other incidentals are not included as part of the workshop fee. The details on the other two discounted workshops are listed on the NVPS website at: http://nvps.org/main/featured/nikhil_bahl_to_offer_3_worksho/ If you are interested in any of his offerings, please contact Nikhil at: www.NikhilBahl.com www.facebook.com/nikhil.bahl.photography 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 2012 they are offering trips to Alaska's Denali National Park and Katmai National Park, Yellowstone 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 a NVPS Programs in October 2010. See their website for more information on their workshops and tours. Mollie Isaacs and Mary Lindhjem http://www.awakethelight.com/ 757-773-0194 awakethelight "at" cox.net 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 and was our September 2011 Competition judge. jtaylorj "at" verizon.net archiphotoworkshops.com Mike Moats Mike was our November Program Speaker on the topic of Macro Photography. He is conducting a Macro Boot Camp in our area on May 18th, 19th, 20th, 2012. The cost is $149. It will be held at the Hampton Inn & Suites, at 22700 Holiday Park Drive in Sterling (Near Dulles/Washington Airport.) For more details, check the events listing on Mike's website: www.tinylandscapes.com Bill & Linda Lane Responding to a NVPS request for proposals, Bill and Linda Lane are holding a workshop near Marlinton, West Virginia from June 20-23 and are offering a $100 discount to NVPS members. They plan to shoot along the Greenbrier River Trail, the scenic highway, the glades, waterfalls, barns, all around town and surrounding towns. Indeed, they will take advantage of every 'photo op' they can find! http://www.lanephotoworkshops.com/workshops_2012/12summerwv.htm Their base price of $775 (NVPS discounted price $675) includes most meals but not lodging; they have reserved a block of rooms for attendees. Bill and Linda will give NVPS members until April 1st to sign up before they allow non-members to register. For more information, see the workshop link above or contact: Bill and Linda Lane Nature's Image Photography Field Workshops 15325 Mountain Road Montpelier, Virginia 23192 (804) 883 7740 or check their website: lanephotoworkshops.com Joseph Rossbach Joseph Rossbach Photography is offering a discounted price on his Springtime in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Photography Workshop. Register before February 20th and get $300.00 off the normal cost of admission! Dates: April 14-18, 2012 Where: Great Smoky Mountains National Park Price: $1150.00, now $850.00 through 2/20/2012 Deposit: $200.00 Instructor: Joseph Rossbach Limit: 10 For registration details, follow this link: http://greatsmokymountainsphototour.eventbrite.com/ Want Ads For Sale Okay, I bit off more than I can chew. A friend was clearing out his extensive woodworking workshop. I imagined I might make some great photoframes and I bought his older professional model table saw with lots of accessories. Way over my skill level! If you are looking for a 10" table saw in great shape within dozens of blades and way too many accessories to mention, including dado moldings and large clamps, let's talk. $150 and you haul it. Contact danlward "at" aol.com for the details. Donation Solicitation The Tartan is a McLean HS student-run media organization that brings literature and the arts to the McLean community. The "arts" include photography, graphic arts, drawings, and copies of paintings. Their budget is almost entirely reliant on generous donations and contributions so that they have the ability to put out a wonderful literary magazine by the end of the school year. The Tartan offers three patronage levels as well as a subscription and they will send you your own copy when the magazine comes out. If interested, please contact Kenneth George via Kenneth.George "at" fcps.edu Submitted by Bill Prosser. Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs (NVACC) The NVACC website has recently been updated and it is AWESOME! 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. Its 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 http://www.nvacc.org/Calendars.html. NVACC has published a Field Trips Guide Book for Photographers, which provides information about nearby areas that camera clubs might wish to visit http://www.nvacc.org/Booklets.html . Editor's Note For 15 years, NVACC has been a tremendous resource to all the photography enthusiasts in Northern Virginia. Sadly, Steve Passman, the NVACC webmaster, passed away in late November. There is a nice tribute to Steve on the website and all of us who have used those resources owe Steve a debt of gratitude. The new NVACC webmaster, Matthew G. Schmidt, redesigned the website and has given it a new look and feel, with easier access to some of the resources. Be sure to check it out - especially some of the great free booklets available for downloading. See the section above for the weblinks. On a different topic - the club constantly receives requests to publicize workshops, commercial tours, charitable contribution requests, etc. We say NO to almost all of these requests. NVPS has a pretty simple philosophy. Our club goals state “The Northern Virginia Photographic Society promotes the enjoyment, mastery, and furtherance of photography through cooperation, effort, and good fellowship. The Society is not operated for profit.” The key being, we are not-for-profit and do not support other people’s profitable and commercial ventures. People join our club to learn about and to share their interest in photography/imaging. Most people did not sign up to get more unsolicited emails, junk mail, etc. Our posted policy is available at: http://nvps.org/main/misc/guidelines_for_workshop_fieldt/ We do NOT share our membership list with other organizations. We do NOT forward other organization's mass mailings to our membership. We do NOT promote generic workshops and travel events. The club does NOT pay speakers and judges. The club DOES provide information about speaker's and judger's events for two years following their service to the club. We DO run notices about member's events and also brief member announcements within our want ads. This year, the board decided to do a trial and solicited request for proposals for workshops that would be offered to our members at a discounted rate. We have posted information about those discounted workshops. The format of those notices is at the discretion of the newsletter editor or the website managers. Sorry - that gorgeous eight page promotional brochure in NOT going to be repeated in all its glory in our newsletter or on our website, but we may have a brief summary with a link. Comments, requests and submissions should be sent to editor@nvps.org . Newsletter Editor, Dan Ward Copyright 2012 by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society and its Contributors. The contents of this FotoFax are copyrighted. No material herein may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the Editor or the material’s specific contributor. All photographs are copyrighted by the photographers who have granted permission for NVPS to use their image in FotoFax and/or on the NVPS website, but otherwise retain all rights to their image.