November has been a busy and exciting month for NVPS. 

NatureVisions was another huge success. With eight camera clubs participating, the turnout was very good. The exhibited images were spectacular. The speakers were interesting, informative and entertaining. The vendors offered special deals on equipment, tours, classes, etc. There were hands-on workshops available. And it was a good chance to socialize with other photographers and friends. I highly encourage you to mark your calendar for November 18-20, 2016 and reserve that weekend to attend next year's NatureVision's Expo.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s expo.

Some NVPS members did exceptionally well and won awards. Bill Millhouser won Best in Show and Best in Birds category for his image titled Teeter Totter. Congratulations, Bill! Here are the NVPS award winners:

Bill Millhouser — Bird Category and Best of Show
Bill Von Holle — Flora Category
Mark Chen —Water Category
Andrew Savino — First place in Student category

In addition, several of our members had images selected to participate in the People’s Choice awards:
Nature Exhibit: Bill Millhouser, Stan Bysshe (3) Bill Van Holle, Beth Morris, Eva Lanyi, Sandi Croan, Judy Gallagher, Willa Siegel, Mark Chen, Judy Graham, Sam Schaen.

Photo Art Exhibit: Benita Mayo, Beth Morris, Jim McDermott, Marilyn Gaizband, Sam Schaen, Wayne Guenther (2).
Congratulations to all of the award winners and participants. Well done!

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to work at NatureVisions.  Thank you, Roger Lancaster, for your hard work and efforts as the NVPS Club Rep.

While all of the NatureVision speakers were interesting and informative, I particularly enjoyed getting the chance to hear Joe McNally speak about his career. Joe describes himself as a "generalist" who will shoot anything. I consider myself a generalist and McNally is one of the photographers I follow.

For pure entertainment, I enjoyed Nikon Ambassador Ron McGill speak about his career as a wild-life expert and photographer. Anyone who fondly recalls Marlin Perkins as the host of the TV show Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom would have appreciated his talk. Ron spoke about his reason for becoming involved with photography. He is interested in educating people about wildlife. He wants to show that animals have emotions. He wants people to connect with the wildlife he photographs, and care about the preservation of habitat.

After listening to Ron's lofty mission for the preservation and study of wildlife, I came away wondering how I would answer the question, “Why do you photograph?” Put another way, “What is my motivation for taking a photograph?” The short answer is to preserve an unforgettable moment in time. It could be a wedding portrait, a beautiful landscape, a sunrise, a bird, or a birthday party. So what then is my motivation? I must admit I like it when others say I've made a great photograph. Is it adoration I seek? Maybe a little, though that's not my chief motivation. While there are many reasons for why I photograph, here are a few of them:

1. To get out and see things which the ordinary person never sees. I think of my camera as a passport, allowing me access to the places the average person never gets to see.
2. To learn more about the people, places or things I photograph.
3. Because it makes me feel good when I “lose myself” behind a camera.
4. I want to leave something behind that has a chance to last longer than my lifespan. When I take a portrait, I think to myself, I may be making a photograph for the subject's children or family to look at after the subject is gone. For a portrait to find a place on a mantel or wall, it must capture the essence or soul of the person, and be technically sound. The same applies to the other images I take. I seek to make a perfect image so it lives on, perhaps in someone's home.

When I first came to the camera club, I would have answered, “It’s a hobby.” But after rubbing elbows with serious artists, I must admit I feel compelled to become more than a hobbyist. Instead of “taking pictures,” I want to “make pictures.” So, now that I've shared my answer, I would challenge each of you to think about how you would answer the same question: "What is your motivation for taking a photograph?"

Jamie

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.” ~ Ansel Adams

Monthly Program

December 1st: Preparation for Travel with Your Camera
                with Brian Zwit

Brian Zwit is a nature and outdoor photographer based in northern Virginia and is obsessed with capturing the elegance and majesty of unique landscapes, wildlife, and flora throughout the United States. His images are in private residences and corporate offices and have been used in regional magazines and for corporate and international publications. Brian teaches workshops, field trips, and classes and speaks to camera clubs, schools, and other non-profit organizations on creativity and photographic techniques. He is well known for his ability to distill complex topics to their essence and explain them in simple, easy to understand ways. His favorite assistant is Dingo, his Parson Russell Terrier, who really is not very helpful but is always ready for a walk in the woods.

Moon and Half Dome by Ansel Adams is one of his greatest images but it wasn’t accidental that the moon was in the right place for that image — he planned it that way. Too often, many of us leave the house looking for the perfect image depending on luck or repetition to get it. Brian will show you the resources that are available for planning your next shoot so that the sun or moon is exactly where you want it, the sky is clear, and you can find the perfect position to shoot from. He will discuss online and offline maps and mapping software and tools, sun and moon calculators, travel books, star maps and software, and weather as well as apps for your smartphone.

Examples of Brian's work:

Monthly programs for 2015-2016:

The VP for Programs for this year Willa Siegel.

Education & Training

December 8th: Anonymous Critique

Take this opportunity to get feedback on your images without needing to enter a competition.   Unbiased feedback is essential to our growth as photographers and artists.   Face it,  we all spend so much time working on our photographs that sometimes we need help separating the forest from the trees.  

Send in images you are thinking of entering into competition, send in images you are experimenting on with new software, or send in what you have questions about!   Remain anonymous, or enter into the discussion if you want, this is all about your growth as a photographer. 

Members are asked to submit up to three images.   Depending on the total number submitted we will alternate the images and will get to as many as time allows.  The image maker will not be identified unless that person chooses to add their comments or ask questions.  We will need your submissions by December 2nd in order to get everything organized.

Please submit your images to nvpsimagegallery@nvps.org, sized the same as for competition with a maximum of 1400 pixels wide and 1050 pixels high(vertical shots have the same 1050 pixel height requirement), sRGB color space, and 127 ppi resolution.

Ginger and Chris

The Education and Training Coordinator for this year is Ginger Werz-Petricka.

Competition

December 15th: Judging by Josh Taylor, Jr.

There is no theme for December's Competition.

Josh has presented photography workshops at the Smithsonian National Orchid Show, U.S. National Arboretum, U.S. Botanic Garden, Brookside Gardens, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, American Horticultural Society Garden School, Adkins Arboretum, and Longwood Gardens. In addition to being a Canon Camera instructor, Josh speaks at camera and garden clubs, judges photographic competitions, and exhibits his photographs in gallery shows. He is a member of Garden Writers Association, National Association of Photoshop Professionals, and member and past president of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society. Josh was voted best garden club speaker in 2005 and was a judge for the 2009 Garden Writers Association National Media Awards and the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Nature Photography Expo. Longwood Gardens selected Josh as its Instructor of the Month (October 2010) and was a selected photographer to assist the public in photographing Bruce Munro’s Light: Installations (2012). His web site is at Joshuataylorphotography.com

Josh’s passion for the craft of photography is the inspiration for his photographic images. His compelling images of architecture, garden and outdoor subjects convey his passion.  He hopes that his images will inspire, captivate, and teach others to experience his joy and love of photography. Through his insight and visual perception, common sights in the man-made and natural environment become more meaningful and take on greater significance. In other words, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary through Josh’s photographic vision and personal style. In his work, he wants the viewer to see that a “good” photograph doesn’t just happen; rather, it is made by the photographer.

The Co-VPs Competition for 2015-2016 are Tami Stieger and Kevin Egan (competitions@nvps.org)

Competition Themes for 2015-2016

Note: The Board reaffirmed that there will be three themed competitions per program year, but there will be no theme competitions in the months of December, January, and February.  

The themes for the remaining 2015 – 2016 season are:

• Creativity - March 15, 2016
  This theme is meant to push the boundaries of your creativity through use of in-camera and or computer processing techniques. Examples being, multiple exposures, zooming and camera manipulation, panning, layering with textures, lighting techniques, digital painting, anything goes! A time to show off your processing techniques.
• Architecture - May 17, 2016
  Images of man- made structures including bridges, buildings, alone or collectively; parts of buildings such as arches, columns, ceilings, cupolas, stairways etc. Architectural structures within a landscape environment also accepted, such as a pergola or gazebo.

Competition Themes for 2016-2017

The themes for 2016–2017 are:

• Love
  We turn our attention to one of the most valuable virtues; an international language and possibly the strongest of all feelings…Love! It is an invitation to explore the path of love as an emotion, an attraction, an attachment… in all its forms! Some sample images might include: a lovers’ embrace, a passion you love, an X drawn in vapor trails, a goodbye, a friendship, etc.
• Drag the shutter
  Show us your best shutter drag. Whether capturing motion in waves or panning cars zooming by, we want to see you get creative with this topic. Slow down your shutter speed to show a sense of motion or action.
• Colors
  Life is a stream of color. Red, blue, yellow, and a billion pigments in between… For this theme we ask you to show us color-inspired photographs. Scenes, details, narratives or moods. Subtle tones or Technicolor daydreams, color must be a primary component of your image.

November Competition Results

The full list of competition results is available on the NVPS web site at http://nvps.org

Digital - Class 1
1st – Nicol Hockett – Lucy in Bubbles
2nd – Ron Taylor – Gentle Hands
3rd – Bill Millhouser – What Are You Lookin’ At?
HM — Bill Millhouser – Old Bedford Character
HM — Kathryn Mohrman – Pilgrims at Lalibela, Ethiopia
HM — Kieulan Nguyen – The Hallway
HM — Len Johnson – Pink Flamingo Resting
HM — Melannie Egan – Inside the Color Wheel
HM — Tom Bickerton – Budding Anemone
HM — Willa Siegel – Busy Bee 

Digital – Class 2
1st – Judith Guenther - Flying
2nd – Anna Wrobel – Fire in the Sky
3rd – Claudia Copeland – Shells and More Shells
HM — Jim McDermott – Bedford Blacksmith Shop

Digital – Class 3
1st – Kevin Egan - SS
2nd – Disqualified
3rd – Kieu-Hanh Vu – Dahlia Reflection
HM — Emi Wallace – Lily Montage
HM — Fran Bastress – Japanese Garden Tree
HM — Scott Musson – Cheers to the Happy Couple

Monochrome Prints
1st – Stan Bysshe – Tetons
2nd – Georgette Grossman – Quiet Lunch
3rd – Ed Ruggiero – Happy Rider
HM — Alan Goldstein – Artist at Work
HM — Jamie Kiechlin – Great Egret
HM — Roger Lancaster – A Window in TIme

Color Prints – Class 1
1st – Kathryn Mohrman – Tulips and Shell
2nd – Ron Petricka – Brothers
3rd – Andrew Savino – Stairway
HM — Melannie Egan - Herbert

Color Prints – Class 2
1st – George (Butch) Karamarkovich — Morning by the Bay
2nd– Granger Benson – Lincoln at Night

Color Prints – Class 3
1st – Bill Corbett – Summer Hummer 2015
2nd – Stan Bysshe - Gotcha
3rd – Kevin Egan – Fractured Reflections
HM — Ginger Werz-Petricka – Horseshoe Bend

First Place images from November:

Additional winning images are available for viewing at http://nvps.org/gallery/v/competitions/2015-2016_Competition_Winners/

Class 1 Digital - 1st Place Nicol Hockett Lucy In Bubbles	Class 2 Digital - 1st Place Judith Guenther Flying
Class 3 Digital - 1st Place Kevin Egan SS	Class 1 Prints - 1st Place Kathryn Mohrman Tulips and Shell
Class 2 Prints - 1st Place George (Butch) Karamarkovich Morning By the Bay	Class 3 Prints - 1st Place Bill Corbett Summer Hummer 2015
Monochrome Prints - 1st Place Stan Bysshe Tetons

Competition Image Use

The NVPS Website has a gallery of past Competition 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.  Images are not posted 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" at "nvps.org and provide the following information:

Your name
Image Category (digital, color print, monochrome print)
Image Class (1, 2, or 3)
Competition Date

Digital Winners: When you upload your image for the competition, you can check the box to grant permission for it to be posted if it wins.  

Print Winners: send a digital version of your print, sized as if it were for digital competition.

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 Friday following competition, your image will be forwarded to the editor for inclusion in FotoFax.  If you have not provided permission before that deadline, another winning entry may be used.

Portfolio Project

By now you have heard that the portfolio project is a year long project to develop a cohesive body of  work. If you haven't signed up yet--the sign up sheet is available at every meeting or email portfolioproject @nvps– you still have plenty of time.

The first step is to come up with a theme.  You don't have to try to think of something exotic; just something you enjoy photographing.  Then,  tell us why in your artist's statement. You will find information on artist's statements on the NVPS website or google "artist's statements".  There is enough information out there to thoroughly confuse!  Some of it is even useful. There is tons of information on the portfolio project on the web site at http://nvps.org/home/?cat=14,

The Portfolio Project folder is ready for you on the NVPS website.  Here are Scott Musson's instructions on how to register as a gallery user:

Willa Friedman 

Co-chairs for the Portfolio Project for 2015-2016 are Willa Friedman and Ceasar Sharper.

Forum

No Forum in December

Presenters for the remainder of the 2015-2016 Society year are:

The Forum Coordinator for 2015-2016 is Beth Morris.

Members Gallery

No Members Gallery in December

Presenters for the remainder of the 2015-2016 Society year are:

The Member's Gallery Coordinator for this 2015-2016 is Ron Taylor.

Field Trips

This will be great opportunity to work on your creative night photography at Meadowlark Gardens annual winter light show. see http://winterwalkoflights.com.  Tickets for specific entry times ($13 for adults) must be purchased on line at the above site. Due to inclement weather on our origially scheduled date of 17 December, we have moved the field trip to Monday, 21 December.

Note: To facilitate sign-ups, please download this fillable .PDF to your desktop, fill it out on your computer, save it using your name as the file name, and attach it to an e-mail and send it to field-trips@nvps.org

Field trips planned for the remainder of the program year (subject to change):

Field Trip Coordinators for 2015-2016 are Bill Millhouser and Alan Goldstein

Board of Directors

A full list of all current NVPS Board members and their club contact information also can be found at: http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=23

NatureVisions

Nature Visions 2015

NVPS member Bill Millhouser took away top honors at Nature Visions 2015, held November 13 through 15 at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle in Manassas. Bill captured Best in the Birds Category and the top award, Best in Show.

Member Bill Von Holle took the top prize in the Flora Category, Mark Chen garnered the top image in theWater Category, and Andrew Savino took first place in Student category.

In addition, several of our members had images selected to participate in the People’s Choice awards:

Nature Exhibit: Stan Bysshe (3), Beth Morris, Eva Lanyi, Sandi Croan, Judy Gallagher, Willa Siegel, Judy Graham, and Sam Schaen.

Photo Art Exhibit: Benita Mayo, Beth Morris, Jim McDermott, Marilyn Gaizband, Sam Schaen, Wayne Guenther (2).

The Nature exhibit consisted of 331 images juried in from 981 submissions. The Photo Art Exhibit included 150 images selected from 240 submissions. These images are from the participating camera club members. Forty-six members of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society had images juried into Nature Visions 2015.  There were 107 images submitted for nature and 56 for were submitted in photo arts … a great showing! 

Winning images:

Flora Category Bill Von Holle — Multiple Flowers	Water Category Mark Chen — Storm's Rage
Bird Category and Best in Show Bill Millhouser — Teeter Totter

Roger Lancaster
NVPS Rep to Nature Visions - naturevisions@nvps.org.

Member Contribution

A week in the woods with Freeman Patterson
by David Heagy

 “Pick a number between 10 and 35” he shouted. This is the number of steps you take in a direction he picks to get to the spot where you’ll stand for 45 minutes.  This was one of the exercises Freeman Patterson gave us during the workshop he and André Gallant conduct.

Twelve photographers with experience using cameras and processing software converged on a little group of cabins surrounded by autumn woodland colors in New Brunswick, Canada. It’s a quiet, soothing setting.  The meeting room and sleeping buildings are rustic log cabin style heated with a wood stove.  Meals are provided by an experienced and creative local chef. And, the instructors –  Freeman Patterson and Andre’ Gallant—are patient and superb.

 The class focused on the building blocks of composition, and also teaches creative techniques for taking and editing your photographs.  This was the first photography class on composition for me and two other class members. However, the class is also well suited for more experienced photographers.  Some of the class members have taken this class four to six times. You can see much of the class content in the books Freeman Patterson’s  "Photography and the Art of Seeing"   and “Innovation” by Andre’ Gallant.

The gear. Among the 12 photographers in my workshop they brought cameras ranging from basic DSLR cameras (Freeman prefers the older Canon Rebel T3), to high end ones, plus some mirror-less cameras. A tripod is required to influence how you position yourself and to get maximum depth of field with slow shutter speeds. Another class member, also a first timer, and I used a basic four-pound tripod that fits in a carry-on suitcase. The others used serious tripods suitable for supporting a pair of sumo wrestlers taking pictures with the Hubble telescope camera. The tripod I used, a meFoto, has a hook for hanging a camera bag, giving it more stability when it is windy.

A typical day starts with waking at 5:30 a.m. Atlantic time (4:30 a.m. Eastern time). The class eats together at 6:30 a.m., and splits into two six-person groups. Half go with Freeman and the others spend the morning with Andre. The next day you are with the other instructor.  After photographing for a morning assignment, we had a class at 11 a.m., lunch, and another lecture.  Then you have until 3:00 p.m. to select and edit three of your morning’s photo to be critiqued at 4:00 p.m.

The class topics cover the building blocks of composition, imaging techniques like panning, and editing methods like montage and dreamscapes.  Sprinkled in between are lectures on creativity and life lessons.

Thursday afternoon we got a project to use new images. The goal is to pick a theme, organize 15-20 images, and present a slide show Saturday. And, we had to submit our 10 favorite images for another slide show and the class’s photo book. It was a busy two days. Some of the class members felt stressed by having to come up with a theme, travel someplace to take photos, edit them, organize a slide show, and pick their favorites between Thursday evening and Saturday morning. Also on Saturday morning, at Freeman’s urging, some of us went to the local farmer’s market. By Saturday evening, with our presentations behind us, the class relaxed during dinner, finished the wine we bought, laughed and chatted with other students and the instructor.

I strongly urge you to take this class.  October may be the best time for Canada. It is cool, not cold, and the days are comfortable in a light jacket. Freeman is open to having the workshop in other locations that provide onsite lodging, a class room, and scenery to photograph.

Announcements

Notice: The information about workshops and events not sponsored by or affiliated with NVPS are provided as an informational courtesy to Members. Individuals should review the detailed rules and conditions for contests and gallery shows to determine what impact entering an image has on the photographer's rights and ownership of the submitted images. Review the descriptions of workshops to see whether participation in a particular workshop would actually meet your 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.

Sixth Annual Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit
May 7 through May 30, 2016

The Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts takes great pride in announcing its Sixth Annual juried abstract exhibit. All interested photographers are invited to submit entries for this much anticipated spring event.

Submissions to the First Annual JM Abstract Exhibit were limited to local NVACC-related clubs; however, over the years, because of the influence these exhibits have had in encouraging and promoting abstract photography and due to their reputation, recent JM Abstract Exhibits have been attracting entries from national as well as international photographic artists.

The Joseph Miller Center will begin accepting entries for the upcoming Sixth Annual Exhibit on Saturday, December 26, 2015. The deadline for submissions will be Friday, February 26, 2016.

A detailed prospectus containing all relevant information regarding the exhibit can be found on the Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs website at www.NVACC.org.

Members' News:

Judy Guenther

Judy Guenther's Bridge in Fog received an Honorable Mention in the November Art League  juried show entitled “Mini-Max.”

Mike Whalen

Mike Whalen will be the featured speaker at the Vienna Photographic Society on Wednesday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. at the Oakton Elementary School Auditorium, Room 123. The school is located at 3000 Chain Bridge Road in Oakton. Mike will talk about 10 techniques  for making compelling  images, his tips and tricks.

Mike is an award-winning photographer and former NVPS president. He will describe his favorite in-camera and post-processing techniques for producing compelling images. He will describe simple techniques such as making sharp images to more advanced subjects (such as capturing perfect fireworks or making more creative images). Mike will provide many photo examples and include explanations of how the results were obtained. The final examples will include some of Mike’s favorite subjects:  people from various countries and cultures doing what they do best - being themselves. His presentation will include the following topics:

• How to Take Tack-Sharp Images
• Creative Uses of Intentional Image Blur
• Using “Color” as a Compositional Element
• Night Photography fundamentals + How to Photograph Fireworks
• Unique Opportunities Created by Weather
• Various Post-Processing Effects – Before and After Examples, incl. Aged and HDR images
• Timing, People and Street Photography – Being Ready to Capture the Moment

 Additional details, newsletter, and calendar are at www.vpsva.org/

Exhibition Opportunities

Announcements of exhibitions or contests are provided for information purposes only. There is no actual or implied endorsement by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society.

Washington School of Photography (WSP)

Located within WSP, the Washington Gallery of Photography hosts monthly gallery shows, open to the public, and consisting of work from mid-Atlantic Photographers. They hold regular gallery receptions, hosted on the first Friday of each month. See details on their calendar at: http://www.washingtonschoolofphotography.com/