February was a disappointing month for all who look forward to NVPS meetings. Three of the last four meetings had to be cancelled due to snowy weather conditions. As I am writing this, the weather forecast for the next NVPS meeting has the potential to cause a cancellation again!

NVPS’ snow policy is to follow the Fairfax County Public Schools and to cancel the meeting when schools are closed. This policy has served NVPS well. It can however be very disappointing when the weather conditions seem clear enough to go ahead with a meeting, but FCPS has cancelled school.

The last snow day caused a lot of discussion at the board level. FCPS announced they were closed in the morning, and a cancellation notice was posted immediately on our NVPS website and the NVPS Facebook page according to the NVPS snow policy. A blast email also went out. FCPS subsequently updated their website with an“Emergency Announcement” that they would decide at noon about any school activities after 4 p.m. No other media channels had this information. At noon, FCPSdecided to allow afternoon and evening activities to occur.

I consulted with my fellow board members and we were divided about whether we could communicate a change in status after we had already posted a cancellation notice. My assumption was that most people do not keep checking once a cancellation is posted. I know many were disappointed the meeting was not “reinstated”, and I take full responsibility for the final decision.

At the next Board meeting, I will ask the Board to discusschanges to tweak the Snow Policy. If you have new ideas or suggestions, please express them to me or a board member and we will do our best to adapt your suggestions to the needs of our club. Just come to a meeting and ask for me, Jamie Kiechlin.

During the month of March we can look forward to a program on architecture by E. David Luria. Education and Training has rescheduled the “Bring your camera” night for March 8th.  This month’s competition is a themed competition titled “Creativity” on March 15 with Matt Schmidt as our judge. A field trip is scheduled for March 19th to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Tom Brett will be showing images from his sixth trip to Africa for the Forum on March 22. Bill Corbett will display prints and Fred Siskind will present a digital slide show for the Members Gallery on March 22. And since March has five Tuesdays, we will have a Portfolio critique on March 29.

“A photographer is like a cod, which produces a million eggs in order that one may reach maturity.”
~ George Bernard Shaw

Jamie Kiechlin
NVPS President

Monthly Program

March 1st: Techniques of Architectural Photography with
                    E. David Luria

E. David Luria is a Washington, D.C.-based architectural photographer trained in Paris at the Parsons School of  Design by a protege of Henri Cartier Bresson. 
 
A founding member of the Association of Independent Architectural Photographers and member of the American Society of Media Photographers, David has had his images appear in over 100 publications,  including Time magazine, Travel and Leisure magazine, Prevention, Washingtonian, Washington Flyer,  Washington Spaces, Food and Wine, and Cuccina Italiana. Also in The Washington Post, the Hamburger Abendblatt, and the Tokyo Shinbum newspapers. He is also a contributing photographer to Where magazine and the Now Guide, and since 1997 he has done over 3,000 property shoots for The Washington Post’s Apartment Showcase magazine. He has also been a frequent speaker and competition judge at local camera clubs in the DC area, including the Photography Committee of the National Press Club. 
 
David is also a teacher of photography. A member of the Society of Photographic Education, he is founder and director of the Washington Photo Safari (www.WashingtonPhotoSafari.com), through  which he and his team of eleven professional photographers have trained over 32,000 clients on 4,700 photo safaris since 1999 in the techniques of travel and architectural photography. This program, annual winner of Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence, is now one of the country’s largest providers of photography training field excursions.
 
Prior to becoming a professional photographer, David had a long career in the U.S. and abroad as a senior executive with several international non-profit development aid and citizen exchange organizations, such as CARE, Partners of the Americas, Friendship Force, and Delphi International. An honors graduate of Amherst College and a U.S. Army veteran, David is fluent in Spanish, French, and German. David has also done work for most of the apartment management companies in the D.C. area, 
 
His work can be viewed at www.edavidluriaphotography.smugmug.com . He can be reached at 202-537-0937 and at  edavidluria@juno.com

As a prelude to the NVPS competition on architectural photography, David will provide tips on  techniques such as:

Examples of David's work:

Monthly programs for 2015-2016:

The VP for Programs for this year Willa Siegel.

Education & Training

March 8th: “Bring Your Camera Night – Revisited”

Well, thanks to the weather February didn't work out for our camera fun night, so we're going to give it another try.  March may be too late for images for the Joe Miller Abstract Exhibit (remember to get your submissions in by February 28th), but it isn't too late for the 'Creativity' themed competition on the 15th.  So, bring your camera, your tripod and your lenses for a night of special fun.  We will have stations around the room for photographing abstracts so consider bringing a macro if you have one.  We will also have several areas for photographing water drops and drips, and an area for black light photography.  Then, to round out the evening we will have a model for you.  The emphasis will be on catching the model in motion so this will be a fun challenge.  Plus, TBD, if it is warm enough to get it there we hope to have a motorcycle and a fog machine! 

This promises to be a lot of fun!  See you there.

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

Competition

March 15th: Judging by Matthew Schmidt

The theme for March Competition is Creativity. 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.

Please join us for our March competition with our judge, Matthew Schmidt.

Matthew G. Schmidt. Matthew is a photography enthusiast with a strong attraction to abstract two-dimensional art.  He has spent years developing techniques, both in camera and on the computer, that he uses to express his vision through photography.  In his professional life Matthew is a Systems Engineer, providing subject matter expertise to his customers on a variety of computer and communications-related subjects.

In his free time Matthew is involved in a variety of photography-related ventures as webmaster for NVACC and organizing the submissions and notifications for the Annual Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit.  He judges at camera clubs throughout the greater metropolitan area and speaks on subjects from software use to visual design.

Matthew's favorite techniques are macro, panning and multiple exposures and his favorite subject matters are cut glass, flowers, trees, architectural details and motor sports.  Regardless, he enjoys good photography in all forms.

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

Examples of Matthew's work:

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:

• 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.

February Competition Results

February's Competition Night was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

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

Critique on March 29, Fifth Tuesday

On March 29, the fifth Tuesday in March, we will have our initial informal critique.  Mike Whalen and I will go through each of the portfolios and we will try to answer your questions.   Some of the points we will  discuss are the following:
           • do your Artist's Statement and images fit together,
           • do all of the images work together,
           • how the images might be sequenced for the final presentation.,
            • what might be done to improve the portfolio.
 
Group participation will be encouraged. This will be an informal discussion and we will also answer relevant questions from people who are not submitting a portfolio.

We will only look at a maximum of 15 images per person. If you have more than that, you can still include them in your final presentation. I am planning  to spend the week of March 22-29 organizing the images  for the critique. so please  have your portfolio at a stopping point by March 22.

And if you have been planning to sign up for Portfolio Project, or even if you haven't,  it's still not too late.  If you have been working on a concept that you  would like to share, or have finally thought of a theme,  join the project! 

            Sign up instructions:

                        1.  Get registered as a gallery user by going to http://nvps.org/gallery/main.php and clicking on register (upper right hand corner). Follow the directions on the screen to get yourself a login and password. If you are already a registered user of the gallery then you start at step two.

                        2. Send your gallery user name (not your password) to portfolio-gallery@nvps.org  and request Portfolio Project participation.

                        3.  You will receive an email confirming creation of your album at which point you will be able to upload pictures as well as comment on other member's pictures.

Willa Friedman

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

Forum

March 22nd: “Africa- Beyond the Paved Roads”
            with Tom Brett 

Tom Brett’s “life's work” involved college graduation from The Citadel with a Regular Army commission as an Infantry officer. His 30½ Army years were extremely satisfying and involved plenty of travel, including seven overseas assignments [with three combat tours] and three years of teaching at West Point. His photography introduction came during his mid-20s, but was strictly at amateur level and only during Army off-duty time. 

After Army retirement, Tom earned both photography degrees from Northern Virginia Community College. He found NVPS 18 years ago and has been a Board member for most of those years, having held seven positions, including Secretary, Treasurer, VP for Competition, VP for Programs and president. He has been named Photographer of the Year four times, with three Images of the Year. He received the overall third place award several years ago from Nature Visions. Among his most important training has been to take almost all of Joseph Miller's workshops and Freeman Patterson's South Africa workshop. Tom has been awarded the NVPS Distinguished Service Award and NVPS's highest award, The Joe Atchison Award For Outstanding Service.

 His sixth trip to Africa was spent exploring parts of Namibia and Botswana. He was treated to dunes of red sand that are 1,000 feet high [with shadows that are black], an abandoned diamond mining village that has been reclaimed by the desert sand, wildlife of all descriptions [including a herd of 96 elephants, as counted by the group leader, which made a single-file river crossing, packs of lionesses on the hunt, very energetic, feisty and fast-moving baboons, a rocky beach with “100,000” seals [not counted by our group leader, Richard Bernabe], birds with food in their beaks or talons, other wild animals in search of food or water, and, hard-working, peaceful people.

Examples of Tom's work:

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

The Forum Coordinator for 2015-2016 is Beth Morris.

Members Gallery

March 22nd: Digital Images by Fred Siskind and
                         Prints by Bill Corbett

Fred Siskind

Fred Siskind will present Dew Trek, a voyage through the dewy wilds of Northern Virginia. Fred has been a member of NVPS since 1982, serving as Vice President for Programs and President, and leading field trips to Huntley Meadows and other local parks.  He took up photography in the early 1970s following a frustrating around-the-U.S. trip with only an Instamatic.  He started with Pentax, moved to Olympus and since the late 70s has used Nikon equipment.  He took a couple of photo courses in the early 70s at the Smithsonian and Corcoran and quickly realized he wasn’t destined to be the next Ansel Adams. Leaving black and white film behind, he embraced slides and in 2004 moved to digital. He has given programs at many local camera clubs and several parks and schools.

Fred retired in 2009 following a 38-year career at the Department of Labor as an economist focusing on safety and health issues. He is married to Elena and has a son Vlad, neither of whom has taken up photography or his other favorite activity, table tennis.

Fred’s favorite subjects include birds, insects, and animals of all kinds.  He has published widely, including magazines (Audubon, Birder's World, Bird Watcher's Digest, Defenders, Life, National Geographic Kids, Natural History, Nature's Best, Outdoor Photographer, Smokies Life, Virginia Wildlife, Wildbird), books (American Birding Assn., B&B, Capstone, Carolrhoda, Impact Photo Graphics, Kidsbooks, National Geographic, Planet Crea, Western National Parks Association, WordSong), calendars (Audubon, Shearson, Teldon),  and brochures, exhibits and posters.

Examples of Fred's work:

Bill Corbett

Bill Corbett picked up the camera again about ten years ago to take advantage of the digital darkroom.  A generalist photographer in college, nowadays he enjoys action, nature and travel photography.  Birds and family are his most frequent subjects. 

Bill has been an NVPS member for about five years and before that was a member of the McLean Photo Club.

Bill uses Nikon equipment.  He is a former U.S. diplomat and trade negotiator, and has been active in organizing Nature Visions.

Examples of Bill’s work:

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

March 19th: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge,
                Cambridge, Md.

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, just 12 miles south of Cambridge in Dorchester County, and consists of over 27,000 acres of freshwater impoundments, brackish tidal wetlands, open fields, and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests. This field trip will focus on nature photography, primarily bald eagles and osprey that inhabit the Refuge.

The Refuge is host to many other flora and fauna, and offers interesting landscape opportunities. The heart of Blackwater Refuge can be accessed via the Wildlife Drive, which is a paved road — approximately 3½ miles in length (or a 6½ mile loop — which takes visitors along the Blackwater River and offers excellent views of the local wildlife.

The refuge features a Visitor Center on Key Wallace Drive where visitors will find wildlife exhibits, an authentic eagle's nest, Eagle Cam and Osprey Cam TV monitors, the Eagle's Nest Book and Gift Shop, a butterfly garden, restrooms, and maps and brochures that will help visitors make the most of their visit.

Blackwater NWR is recognized as a "Wetland of International Importance" by the Ramsar Convention and was named a priority wetland in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. In addition, Blackwater NWR has been designated as an Internationally Important Bird Area. The Refuge is currently home to the largest remaining natural population of endangered Delmarva peninsula fox squirrels and is also home to the largest breeding population of American bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida.

The refuge has been referred to as the "Everglades of the North," and has been called one of the "Last Great Places" by the Nature Conservancy.

If you have questions about the Wildlife Refuge, please see http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/faq.html

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

Membership

Half Price Membership Dues Now In Effect

If you’ve been putting off joining NVPS, now is a great time! Membership dues for the remainder of this club year are half price. Even at full price, the cost of membership is a great value when you consider the education, programs, competitions and field trips!

Remember, in order to participate in the monthly competitions and to attend NVPS organized field trips your membership dues must be current.

There are three forms of payment. Checks and cash are preferred by NVPS:

• Check: make out your check to NVPS. Complete and print out the Membership Application (http://nvps.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NVPS_application_2015-2016.pdf). Please either mail both to our Treasurer, Tom Brett, 4216WynnwoodDr, Annandale, VA 22003 or bring your membership application and check to a meeting.
• Cash:Complete and print out the Membership Application (http://nvps.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NVPS_application_2015-2016.pdf) with your current information and pay our Membership Coordinators (Judy Graham or Paula Neumann) or our Treasurer (Tom Brett) at any meeting.
• PayPal: use the link on our website: http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=114. Please note that NVPS must pay a fee for this method of payment!

Questions, please email membership at membership@nvps.org.
We look forward to seeing you at upcoming club meetings and events!

Stay Connected with NVPS

Email: If you are not already receiving NVPS emails, there are two ways you can sign up to join the list. Click on the following link and sign up by entering your name and email address. Click on join the list. http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=31. Or you may stop by the Membership desk at the next meeting and they will be happy to assist you.It's important to note, you will receive an "opt-in" email from nvps.org. If you do not receive it, check your spam folder. Please respond to this email within 72 hours or the verification link will expire.

Facebook: If you are on Facebook, please join the NVPS private group. Search on Northern Virginia Photographic Society Social Group and request to join. Members post everything from their photos to interesting articles on photography to requests for recommendations. You will find the group informative and fun!

Judy Graham
Membership Coordinator

Member Contribution

Fences We Call Circles

Here is a story to warm your heart on this cold winter day.

I have a neighbor two doors away whom I have known for a very long time. We have always been courteous but never really visited. Last year, however, I took the liberty to ask their son, a new college graduate waiting for job interviews, to give me a ride to the airport. Instead of paying a taxi or Uber driver, my young neighbor can use some cash for gas, I thought.

Alex took me to the airport and we talked about his dream of becoming a writer. When I returned from California, Alex gave me back $70 in a white envelope.

Months went by. When my Photography as Zen Art class began; I offered to Alex to attend free of charge, thinking he might be able to apply to his writing some of the Zen creativity techniques I teach. I also lent him my camera, lenses and a tripod. Alex enjoyed the lessons and everyone else in class appreciated his fresh perspective, known as “beginner’s mind.”

Alex has since found a job out of town but we keep in touch via occasional emails.

Last week, before the historic snow blizzard of 2016 hit the area, I moved to live with my grandchildren in another city for a week. When I came home after the storm, my parking places and the walkway to my door were clear of snow. Right away I thought I knew who did it, and I was right. Alex’s mother teased that twenty eight plus inches of snow might be a bit challenging for a person my age, so the family took care of it.

The above image is about yearning to break free from the fences we call “circles”— intimate circle, personal circle, family circle, professional circle, social circle, etc.— which not only keep people from coming in, but also keep us from getting out of the cocoon to experience the goodness and beauty life has in store, like a monarch in the sky.

Tuan Pham

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.

North Bethesda Camera Club 2016 Photo Essay Show

The North Bethesda Camera Club is presenting its 30th annual Photo Essay Show,  Sunday, March 13th, at 3 to 5 p.m., in the large auditorium at Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Md.

As always,  members of NVPS are invited to attend the event.

Briefly, the show consists of approximately 20 juried photo essays.  Each essay is approximately 4 to 5 minutes long, and consists of photos, video clips, and appropriate music.  We always seek to have a wide variety of essays, in terms of themes and styles.  Some joint members of NVPS and NBCC have essays in this year's show -- e.g., Tom (Sully) Sullivan.

Information about the production of the show is on their website at  http://nbccmd.org/photoessay.htm

Members' News:

Sandi Jacobs Croan

Sandi Jacobs Croan's photo Kolmanskop 317 won First Place February 20 at the Art Space Herndon 2016 FIne Art Photography Exhibit. The juror was Rahshia Sawyer. The competition was open to fine art photographers aged 18 or older working in any medium (digital or analog, color or monochrome), and using any printing technique.  The exhibit will be up until March 13th. If you get a chance, go check out the amazing photography of all the finalists. And, the juror bought this photograph!

Benita Mayo and Willa Friedman were also finalists in the Fine Art Exhibit.

Ken Barnett: Photo Safari in South Africa

Ken Barnett, in addition to being a member of NVPS, is also a member of the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia (SONOVA). Bid on a photo safari for two at SONOVA’s annual Gala and silent auction.  NVPS’s own Ginger and Ron Werz-Petricka went last year.

The package includes six days and nights accommodation, all meals, with gourmet breakfasts and buffet dinners, and two game viewing activities per day in open Land Rovers. The package is valued at $5,950 and bidding starts at $2,000. There are two packages offered, each package for two people.

The fundraiser for SONOVA is April 2nd at the George Masonic Memorial Masonic Temple in Alexandria. (http://sonovamusic.org/upcoming-concert/). Please feel free to contact Ken at ken.barnett@gmail.com with any questions.

The photo safari offered by Zulu Nyala ( http://www.zulunyalagroup.com/Hluhluwe/Safari-Game-Lodge/)

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/