Now that summer is winding down and we are coming up on the fall season, we should have plenty of reasons to “get out there” and capture the beauty around us. While the fall season will bring wonderful colors and provide great landscape opportunities, we should all be aware that this fall color season will most likely prove to be a short one, due in great part to the dry summer. So make it a priority to get out and capture the feelings of fall. It’s a great time for landscapes of all kinds, waterfalls, and other outdoor scenes. You may also want to bring some of that color indoors and work with your macro lens and either natural or artificial light. Explore, experiment, and then exhibit your findings! Also be aware that our October competition has a theme of “Love”. I encourage each of you to spend some quality time with your cameras working to capture scenes that shout out “Love!” This theme should give us all the opportunity to get out of our comfort zones and try something new. I love the challenges that our themed competitions present, and can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with for this competition. Thanks again for being a part of our group, and let’s make this the best year ever for NVPS! Kevin Egan October 4th: Digital Black and White Photography with
Mary Louise’s fine art photography is in private, university and corporate collections in over 40 states and is exhibited nationally through art shows, galleries and shops. Her images have been used in calendars, magazines, books and websites including various projects with National Geographic maps. Mary Louise is a regular speaker and competition judge for photography clubs in the Mid-Atlantic. She also enjoys teaching on a wide range of topics related to nature, travel and creative photography. She leads classes and field workshops ranging from one day seminars in the Mid-Atlantic region to multi-day workshops at a variety of locations across the U.S. and abroad. Locally her work is available for sale at the Arts in the Village Gallery in Leesburg, Va.The VP for Programs for 2016-2017 is Willa Siegel. October 11th: Matting 101 At this month’s Education and Training session, we will present a how-to/hands-on matting seminar to help members prepare their images for print competition or for personal use. We will set up several workstations around the room where presenters will demonstrate how they cut mat using their equipment. This is a hands-on session, so bring a photo, not larger then 8½ x11 to mat. We will have mat board, backing and other materials required to practice on. If you have a mat cutter, bring it to learn. The Education and Training Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Chuck Campbell. October 18th: Judging by Denise Silva This month's Competition has a theme. The theme is Love.
She finds every aspect of photography rewarding. From in-camera composition to post-processing, photography is meditative, creative, and challenging. Denise’s passion is to capture images, from landscapes to urban decay, and to share her experiences and knowledge with fellow photographers. To this end, she and Don Rosenberger started Road Runner Photography Tours. Through Road Runners, Denise and Don look forward to sharing their passion for photography with you, knowing that their tours will not only take you to great places, but also give you an opportunity to build your network of photography friends, all while enhancing your photography skills through experience and knowledge sharing in a supportive environment. Denise believes that there is no better place to learn and develop your skills than in the field! Denise’s Criteria for Judging the October competition: Love comes in all shapes and sizes. From Bill Millhouser, Co-VP, Competition: In many respects, this is an open theme. That said, here are some definitions of Love. (Oxford Dictionary)
Love is a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection (“I love my mother”) to pleasure (“I loved that meal”). It can refer to an emotion of a strong attraction and personal attachment. It can also be a virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection — “the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.” It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, one's self or animals. (Wikipedia) I am hoping folks will explore this theme beyond simply submitting an image of their significant other, child or pet. I think we witness Love expressed by others all the time... what does that random act of Love look like? P.S. Watch out for those pesky dust spots from your lens or sensor. Denise will find them if you haven’t! Competition Themes for 2016-2017 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 2017 are:
Competition Themes for 2017-2018 The themes for 2017-2018 are:
The full list of competition results is available on the NVPS web site at http://nvps.org Digital - Class 1 Digital – Class 2 Digital – Class 3 Monochrome Prints Color Prints – Class 1 Color Prints – Class 2 Color Prints – Class 3 First Place images from September: Additional winning images are available for viewing at http://nvps.org/gallery/v/competitions/2016-2017_Competition_Winners/
Competition Judges for 2016-2017
The Co-VPs Competition for 2016-2017 are Bill Millhouser and Judy Graham (competitions@nvps.org) Rules of Competition Change The Final 2016 Rules of Competition are now available on the NVPS website. The changes to the rules are summarized below:
The complete Rules of Competition are at http://nvps.org/home/?page_id=500. You can also download a PDF file of the rules at the top of the page (http://nvps.org/home/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RulesofComp_Sept-2016-final.pdf). The sections of rules that have been changed are: Section 1.B. Number of Competitions; Section 1.C Eligibility; and, Section 1.E Presentation of Prints. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Millhouser or Judy Graham, the Co- VPs of Competition at competitions@nvps.org. Details for preparing prints and digital images can be found at: While it’s not a new rule, in order to compete in the October competition, members must be current with their club dues.. Please make certain you have done so prior to the night of the meeting to avoid any confusion (Refer to the Membership section of FotoFax for further details on joining NVPS or renewing for another year). The revised rule regarding matting will be applied at the October competition. Competition Pages on NVPS Website We appreciate the constructive feedback we have been receiving on the competition pages of our website. We are in the process of working with the NVPS web team to make a number of changes so it is much easier to navigate, and find the requirements for competitions This change to Section B will be presented to the general membership at the September meeting for a vote.
Editor's note: We like to share competition winning images on the website and include a representative winner from each category in the monthly newsletter, but we cannot do this unless the photographer specifically grants permission. When you win a ribbon in the competition, please remember to grant permission. See the note in the following section for details. 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. We are extremely pleased to announce that Corey Hilz is our Portfolio Project reviewer in 2016-17. Corey will review initial portfolios at our January 31 meeting and final portfolios on May 9. Well-known to NVPS members, Corey is an outstanding photographer and educator. More about Corey is here: http://www.coreyhilz.com/ Sign up now for the Portfolio Project by emailing PortfolioProject@NVPS.org. Need to know more about the Portfolio Project for 2016-17? The details are here: http://nvps.org/home/?p=8926 Need ideas for your project? Get started by taking a look at our three Past Portfolios of the Month, from the 2015-16 season. Willa Friedman: Reflections at 13th & I Ginger Werz-Petricka: Through the Seasons at Scotts Run Mike Whalen: Window Seat We hope these portfolios, and the many others on the NVPS website, inspire you to assign yourself a project and get started shooting right away! The Co-chairs for the Portfolio Project for 2016-2017 are Bill Corbett and Dennis Govoni. October 25th: Rice terraces – and the people – of
The camera also had manual controls, so she decided she should learn how to use them. After reading Photography for Dummies and taking a workshop with Arizona Highways magazine, she was hooked. Now in her retirement after a career in higher education, photography is her full-time passion. In this presentation, Kathryn will share some of her images from her May 2016 trip to Yunnan Province in China. Most people who visit this area in southwestern China go to Kunming, Dali, and Lijiang, all wonderful places. But for some years now she has been eager to photograph the extensive rice terraces of the Honghe region with the sky reflecting in the water of the rice paddies that extend down the mountainsides. On this photo tour in May with William Yu, she visited this UNESCO World Heritage site at planting time, so there were people working in the fields which added interest to the abstract patterns of the terraces themselves. Many of the people from the Yi and Hani minority groups still wear their traditional clothing, even when working. She also visited another terraced agricultural area called the Dongchuan Red Land. In this case the fields are dry farming of barley, buckwheat, and various oil-producing seed flowers. Less well known than the rice terraces, this area is also very photogenic with the contrasts of red soil, newly planted green shoots, and mature grain ready for harvest. Many of the people here still live in traditional villages so we experienced a way of life that is rapidly disappearing. Kathryn looks forward to sharing my images with the members of NVPS. Examples of Kathryn's work:
The Forum Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Kirk Johnson. Upcoming Forum Presentations:
October 25th: Digital Images by Kieulan Nguyen and Kieulan Nguyen
Kieulan has loved photography for many years. She bought her very first camera right after she finished college but only got serious about 10 years ago. Kieulan considers herself as a self-taught novice photographer and believes she only knows 10% about photography. Kieulan has been a member of NVPS since 2014 and is also a member of the Vietnamese Photography Society for a few years. Her fulltime job with the Department of Homeland Security does not give her much free time to travel and explore new aspects of photography or even participate in any competitions. Perhaps when she retires she hopes that she is still healthy enough to continue to pursue her love for photography. Her first love for photography has always been macro photography. Her love for photographing flowers starts from studying the works of Tony Sweet, Denise Ippolito, Sandra Bartocha just to name a few. Kieulan is also interested in abstract, architecture and landscape photography and hopes to spread her wings in these areas. Digital photography has given Kieulan new ways to see and capture things surrounding her and that comes with a lot of trial and error. Doing photography has taught her to be patient, persistent, and attentive to detail, appreciating what Mother Nature has been giving and grateful for how beautiful the world is. Taking photographs is her meditation when she is out with nature. Her passion for capturing surrounding things not only has grown stronger but making beautiful images is what she strives for. Kieulan has been a Canon shooter for the last 20 years. She upgraded from a Rebel T1i to a 5D Mark III two years ago and it was the best decision ever. For post processing, she uses Photoshop 2015 CC, Nik Collections and few Topaz plug-ins. Kieulan has kept her life busy with so many things. Besides photography, she loves to cook for family and friends, bake cookies, host parties with friends, go shopping and now she also takes Chinese brush painting. Kieulan’s presentation: “My Vision Through the Lens” represents a small sample of her work from the last five years. Digital photography has continued to evolve for the better, and, as a novice photographer, she knows she still has so much to learn to be able to create images that interpret a scene in an artistic and aesthetic way to evoke emotions rather than just documenting a scene. Examples of Kieulan’s work:
Tami Steiger
Years later, Tami’s passion was reignited when her husband gave her the best present ever. Dave surprised her with a Canon T2i, which opened up the new world of digital photography. Dave continues his support and encouragement by taking weekend trips, being a chauffeur, carrying her gear and providing feedback. Tami has been a member of NVPS since September of 2012. Since joining NVPS, she has served on the board as the Membership Coordinator, Co-VP of Programs and Co-VP of Competition. Tami received NVPS Versatile Photographer of the year awards in both 2012 and 2013. The friendships and knowledge Tami has gained means more to her than anything. Through the lens Tami has made wonderful friendships and has created works of art. She enjoys volunteering and photographing veterans with the Honor Flight and Heroes on the Water organizations. When Tami isn’t photographing veterans, you can find her wandering around our national treasures or enjoying a weekend of fishing with her husband. She enjoys sharing her passion and love of photography with the hope for you to feel as though you are standing by her side while she captures these moments in time. In our busy world we tend not to see the beauty in everyday situations and in the simplest of objects. Examples of Tami’s work:
The Member's Gallery Coordinator for this 2016-2017 is Ron Taylor. October 8th: Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Photography of marsh flowers and birds.
The trip is timed to present the opportunity to photograph marsh flowers, Virginia rails, ducks, and, maybe, eagles. The boat trip will run from 3:30 p.m. to sunset. It will be open to the first ten people to sign up. (Stan will keep a waiting list.) The charge is $10 per person if we get ten people. This is a 30-person boat but more than ten people makes photography difficult. You can arrive earlier and drive down the road to the park (see http://www.jugbay.org/) but please be at The Center no later Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Stan Bysshe, Field Trips Coordinator 2016-2017, field-trips@nvps.org Field Trips 2016-2017 The schedule is subject to change.
Field Trip Coordinator for 2016-2017 is Stan Bysshe
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 Nature Visions 2016 The Nature Visions Photo Expo 2016 takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 18-20, 2016, at the Hylton Center for the Performing Arts in Manassas. Online registration at NatureVisions.org is required for FREE general admission and for passes to FREE and paid presentations. Please share this message with friends who might want to know about the best value in photography education. Online sales and registration are open now at NatureVisions.org. 2016-2017 Membership Dues In order to participate in the monthly competitions your membership dues must be current. The grace period for competition and paying dues ends October 18, 2016. Membership dues for the 2016-2017 year are as follows:
There are three forms of payment. Checks and cash are preferred by NVPS:
Questions, please email membership at membership@nvps.org. 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! Patricia J. Healy 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. Dennis Govoni Dennis Govoni's image, Skimmers at Work, won the Wildlife category at the 2016 Nature Conservancy Photo Contest which is run annually. It was captured at the Viera Wetlands, Viera, Fla., on February 29, 2016, near sunset in one of the quiet pools of water that make up the Wetlands. The Viera Wetlands, a water reclamation site run by Brevard County, has become a popular birding site in the “Space Coast Area” of Florida with a diversity of birds and other wildlife. The camera used was a Canon 1DX with a 500mm ƒ4 using a 1.4x teleconverter. Image captured at F7.1, 1/1600s, ISO 3200. ![]() David Crooks The “Lion Yawning”, which won best in class at the End-of-Year Banquet was published in the Autumn 2016 issue of Zoogoer magazine. It is a magazine that is part of the FONZ membership. ![]() Bob and Willa Friedman Bob Friedman, Willa Friedman and their friend Meryl Silver will have a show from October 8 to November 13 at the Stone Tower Gallery at Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md. Since Meryl, Bob and Willa are all originally from New York City, they've called the show From the Big Apple to the Capital. There will be about thirty images, approximately half from New York and half taken in Washington, D.C. The gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm. NVPS Members' Images Juried In Three members of NVPS had their images juried into the September 2016 All Media exhibit at the Art League Gallery, 105 North Union St., Alexandria. Those with juried images were Willa Friedman, Wayne Guenther and Judy Guenther. The images were selected by juror Amy Klainer, studio artist, designer, and art jeweler based in Towson, Md.
Meadowlark Gardens Opens early for Photographers
Normally the grounds do not open until 10 a.m. which is a little late for photographers. Link below. You can then open up events: https://www.novaparks.com/parks/meadowlark-botanical-gardens Exhibitions/Competitions Seventh Annual Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibition The Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts takes great pride in announcing its Seventh 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 Seventh Annual Exhibit on Saturday, December 24, 2016. The deadline for submissions will be Friday, February 17, 2017. A detailed prospectus containing all relevant information regarding the exhibit will be posted on the Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs website at www.NVACC.org Call for Entries The Northern Virginia Review (TNVR) has proudly published the work of NVPS members, most recently Georgette Grossman and Bob and Willa Friedman (Willa was our 2015 visual arts award winner). We are presently accepting submissions for Volume 31 through October 17. TNVR accepts literary and visual arts submissions from writers and artists throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Detailed submission guidelines are on their website at http://blogs.nvcc.edu/tnvr/submissions/ Contact: Events at the Vienna Photographic Society Photographic Portrait Composition Speaker On Wednesday, October 5 at 7:30 p.m., the Vienna Photographic Society is hosting a speaker about family portrait techniques. Photographers and artists are invited to learn about composition and lighting. Free and open to everyone. A Q&A session about the club starts at 6:45 p.m. at the Oakton Elementary School Auditorium, Room 123, 3000 Chain Bridge Road, Oakton, Va. 22124 Irene Abdou, who has 15 years of experience in the developing world from Asia to Africa. Before joining the Peace Corps in 1995 after college, she had visions of playing the hand drums and walking barefoot in African soil, while helping those in need. During her 3½ years living in a mud hut without electricity, what she learned instead was that the ground was too hot to walk barefoot on and that Africa is a big, diverse place. She also realized that she had gained more from her Peace Corps service than she had given. Most importantly, she learned that people all over the world share the same hope ... the hope for a better tomorrow. She saw a common spirit of humanity. After the Peace Corps, Irene worked in international development and humanitarian aid, designing and managing public health and food security programs in Asia and Africa for a number of NGOs. For two years, Irene lived in a tent in Southern Sudan, where she managed malaria prevention programs for Population Services International (PSI). Most recently in her NGO career, Irene served as PSI's Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa. In 2007, Irene began a three-year transition into a second career as a professional photographer, leaving PSI to focus full-time on photography in 2010. Today, Irene Abdou Photography, LLC, helps NGOs and other organizations around the globe to make a difference by telling visual stories of extraordinary people in extraordinary places, who are simply hoping for a better tomorrow. Please see http://www.ireneabdouphotography.com/ Photographic Composition Speaker for animals in zoos On Wednesday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m., the Vienna Photographic Society is hosting a speaker about photographing animals in zoos. Photographers and artists are invited to learn about composition techniques. Free and open to everyone. A Q&A session about the club starts at 6:45 p.m. at the Oakton Elementary School Auditorium, Room 123, 3000 Chain Bridge Road, Oakton, Va. 22124 Don Johnson is a highly experienced photographer who has had his photographs displayed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Popular Photography magazine, and Nature’s Best magazine. You can see his portfolios at http://www.sunspotimages.com/-/sunspotimages/ Workshops and Exhibition Opportunities Announcements of workshops, exhibitions or contests are provided for information purposes only. There is no actual or implied endorsement by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society. Exhibit and Sell Your Photos at the Waterford Fair (October 7-9, 2016) The annual Waterford Fair — one of the mid-Atlantic region's best events — will be held October 7-9. This year, the Waterford Fair Photography Exhibit has a significantly-expanded focus and presence and offers you a great opportunity to exhibit and sell your photos. The Waterford Photography Exhibit is a judged exhibit of framed photographs, with nine categories, each with a cash prize for best photo (up to $500 for the Best Loudoun Photo). You can enter two photos into the exhibit for $30, or three photos — one of which must be in the Best Loudoun Photograph category — for $35. If you exhibit a photo, you may also provide additional photos to be offered for sale during the Fair (there is a 25% commission on all sales). If you just want to sell some of your images, without competing in the Exhibit, you can do so for a fee of $30. See the link below for full information. Categories — Important Dates — 2016 Judges — Alan DeFelice has won numerous regional and international awards. His pictures have been published in Serenity Magazine and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s monthly publication. He has photographed album covers for local recording artist Michael Joanes. Alan has also been a speaker at the Mid-Atlantic Nature Vision Photography Expo and conducted the Raptor Photography workshop. How to Participate — Full information is available at — 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/
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