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April 8th Meeting- Cancelled

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Coriolana Simon has won acclaim for her still life photography, which re-interprets 17th century Dutch still life paintings. Trained as an architect, but also a writer and musician, Coriolana Simon feels the influence of these disciplines in her photography. While she enjoys the magic of macro photography, which can open windows for her into a different visual universe, she remains primarily focused on still lifes. She has long admired the still life paintings by Dutch artists of the 17th century. Not only do they give a detailed view of Dutch culture but many were painted in a style as realistic as photographs. While never copying a painting, Simon re-interprets the original themes with her camera and applies classic composition and lighting techniques to arrangements of her historic objects. To give depth to the undertaking, Simon has studied hundreds of paintings and read extensively on Dutch cultural, political, economic, social, religious, and military history.

View some of Coriolana's outstanding still life work at her website, Time Points Photography.

March 11th Meeting - Critique of Work

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Our annual critique night is Wednesday, March 11. All members are encouraged to submit three photos for critique by member Howard Clark, who will view the images prior to the meeting in order to prepare his comments. We always learn so much from this review of work!

Start thinking about what photos you want to have reviewed. Some people like to show work that reflects a new technique they have tried (studio lighting, black & white, or infrared, for example). Others submit photos they want to learn how to improve. Some will be showing work for the first time and want to know what an independent reviewer thinks of it. The choice is yours. If you are considering submitting some work to our juried summer show, this critique is a good opportunity to show some pieces you might enter for the show.

Howard will discuss each photo so that the entire group will learn from his comments and suggestions. For this critique, prepare three photos for review.

You will be emailing the images as attachments to Cam, and she will place them in a secure folder on her website so that Howard has time to look at them before the meeting. You can send the images however you want, and Cam will size them appropriately for the review. Jpegs are preferred, as Tiffs will likely be too large for email.

Please email your images to cam.miller@comcast.net. Put Critique in the subject line. The deadline is Friday, March 6, in order to give Cam enough time to get all the photos sized and loaded onto the website and to give Howard enough time to review them.

Please number your photos in order of preference with LastName#1, i.e. Smith#1.jpg, Smith#2.jpg, etc. Or, in the body of the email message, describe which photo is your first preference, your second, and your third. If we receive more images than Howard can possibly review in a reasonable amount of time at the meeting, the review may be limited to your first and second choices

January Meeting - Mel McNamara, digital book making

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Besides making prints or posting our images on social media, there is a whole world of digital book making out there to explore! Mel McNamara will be sharing a number of resources and "how to's" for making a quality digital book using templates from various websites as well as using the book module built into Lightroom.

Mel is an avid photographer of places, people, and events. She started her photographic journey in college with her first film SLR camera and built a darkroom in her parent’s garage. She is accomplished in Photoshop, Lightroom and InDesign. Mel loves to travel and create books of her adventures, she also enjoys designing cookbooks for people using their loved one’s original recipe cards.

Mel graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. She has a Masters degree in Library Science from Catholic University and a Masters degree in Educational Media from Boston University. Mel is a retired Library/Media Specialist and Educational Technology Resource Teacher having worked for the Howard County Public Schools in Maryland.

Mel teaches the following class for Capital Photography Center: Creating Books with Lightroom's Book Module.

December Meeting - Holiday Party

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In lieu of a December meeting, there will be a holiday party for members only on Wednesday, December 11. It is our club tradition to have a holiday social event in our usual meeting room at the Delaplaine, which will be decorated for a party! This annual pot-luck supper is always a lot of fun. We will have a slideshow of member images, dinner and dessert, and then a fun photo swap.

For the dinner, please sign up at the link below for what to bring for the dinner. We will provide cold shrimp and cocktail sauce, water, ice, and all plates/cups and utensils. Please bring main dish items, side dishes, and desserts. Use this link to indicate how many will be in your party as well as what you will bring. RSVP by Monday, December 9. Signup Genius for Holiday Party

The Photo Swap: For the photo swap, if you are bringing a print, it should be matted and suitable for framing. New! If you prefer to bring a "photo gift," such as a mug, a calendar, a tote bag, an ornament, or a set of notecards featuring one of your photos, that's acceptable, too! Wrap your photo gift with no identifying info on the wrapping, but please do include your name inside, preferably by signing the mat if a print, or a note inside a photo gift. Place your wrapped photo gift on the gift table at the party, and we'll go over the rules for this fun swap at the party. Participation is voluntary; you do not have to bring a photo gift to come to the party, but the more we have, and more "thieves" we have during the swap, the more fun it is!

Best Five Images: During the holiday party, we will show your best or favorite images of 2019 and show them off in the annual holiday party slideshow! Send your images to Gundars Osvalds, who will create the slideshow to be show at the party. If you want to size them, choose 2400 pixels on the long side, 72 dpi, and sRGB colorspace. If you would prefer just to send them to Gundars, make sure they are no larger than 3 mb each. Gundars will take care of any resizing needed. Rename your files with your name, please, so that Gundars can keep them together. Ex - CMiller-1.jpg, CMiller-2.jpg, etc. Deadline for sending images is Tuesday, December 10. gundars.osvalds@gmail.com

November Meeting - Harold Ross

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November 13th

hroldross.jpg

The November speaker will be Harold Ross, a master "sculptor of light." Check out his website and put November 13 on your calendar.

Join photographer Harold Ross for an information-packed presentation on Sculpting with Light, a technique that he has been perfecting for almost 30 years. Harold will show you how his vision and his method of light painting can transform the ordinary subject into something extraordinary. His lighting technique reveals remarkable detail, shape and dimension in his subjects. This lighting cannot normally be “seen," as it involves a building up of light over time and over multiple captures. The photographing of one image can take minutes or even hours to record.

Butterfly walk in the Audrey Carroll Audubon Sanctuary Aug. 24th 9 am

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Cam Miller will lead a butterfly walk in the Audrey Carroll Audubon Sanctuary on Saturday, August 24, from 9-11 am. Bring water. Wear long pants and shoes that might get a bit grassy and mucky. Your longest lens is advised, although many of the butterflies will be up close. Please RSVP to Cam: cam.miller@comcast.net. Directions will be sent out a few days before the walk to all who RSVP. You can also RSVP for this trip via the Meetup Group.

Sept. Meeting - Ink and Silver: Medicine, Photography, and the Printed Book, 1845-1890

September 11th, 7:00pm

Stephen J. Greenberg, MSLS, PhD, AHIP History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine

Medical photography has long attracted the interest of historians and archivists, with the result that there are many significant collections of photographic material both in public and private hands. However, too often, individual images have been made to stand alone, far removed from their original context, and therefore mysterious to the viewer. Why were these pictures taken? Who saw them? Were they meant for private study or professional publication? How did they reflect the techniques and aesthetics of the rest of contemporary photography, in particular the status of photography as the recorder of un-manipulated “truth”? And how, in a purely technical sense, did one produce and publish medical photographs in the 19th century?

This presentation will be illustrated with materials from the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Division, as well as from other institutions such as the Royal College of Physicians.

Stephen Greenberg received his doctorate in Early Modern History from Fordham University in 1983 with a dissertation on early printing and publishing. After teaching for several years, he returned to school and earned his library degree from Columbia University in 1991, specializing in Rare Books and Archival Management. Since 1992, he has worked in the History of Medicine Division at the US National Library of Medicine (one of the constituents of the National Institutes of Health), where he is currently Head of the Rare Books and Early Manuscripts Section.

Dr. Greenberg is also an adjunct professor at both the Catholic University of America and the College of Library and Information Studies at the University of Maryland (College Park) where he lectures on the History of the Book.

Summer Picnic Cancelled

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Mark your calendar on Sunday, August 18, for our summer picnic, to be held at Surreybrooke, a beautiful nursery and garden center in Middletown. It will be from 11 am - 2 pm at the pavilion. More info to follow, but this is a great time to bring family, enjoy the gardens, do some macro and flower photography, and share your favorite picnic foods.

August Field Trip -- Monocacy National Battlefield

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The new date is August 4th.

Geoff Grant has arranged for a guided battlefield tour from 5:15-7:30 pm on Sunday, July 21. We will be lead by Ranger Georgia Etter, and, tentatively, we will tour three sites, the Best, Thomas, and Worthington farms with time for a short discussion and photography of each site. The tour ends at 7:30, which will allow an hour for photography of the battlefield at sunset (8:30 on 7/21). Members will need to be in a position to exit the park at 8:30, which is when it closes.

Family members are welcome to come with you on this field trip.

Please contact Geoff directly if you are interested in going. It is a chance to get some "insider information" apart from what we read on the historical markers at the sites. Geoff can answer any questions you have and will be in contact again with more information. Geoff's email is geoffgrant2010@gmail.com.

May Field Trip

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May Field Trip

Cam Miller has offered to lead a field trip to Antietam on Monday, May 27, which is Memorial Day. The graves at the National Cemetery will be decorated with American flags. We will catch the early morning light there, and after photographing in the graveyard, do a photo walk in the town of Sharpsburg. We'll have a late breakfast at Bonnie's Red Byrd Restaurant afterwards.

Plan on meeting at 6:15 am at the Costco parking lot close to the gas pumps, where we can car pool. If you would prefer to meet at the cemetery, meet us at the parking lot across the road from the cemetery at 7:15 am.

There will be wet grass, so bring a change of shoes or wear boots, and perhaps something to kneel on for those low-angled shots. A wide-angle lens in addition to your regular lens might be helpful. Tripods are recommended. The gnats can be fierce in the morning, so a sweatshirt with a hood and drawstring or a bug net hat might be a lifesaver!

To RSVP for this trip, please email Geoff Grant on or before May 24 with your name, cell number, where you will be meeting the group, and if you are willing to drive. geoffgrant2010@gmail.com

June Meeting- When mathematics meets photography: An exploration of spherical panoramas Thomas Germer

Our June 12 meeting will feature Thomas Germer, a photographer and scientist from National Institute of Science and Technology. He will share his amazing geometric 3-D displays with us and give us insight on how he photographs and contructs his shapes.

Artist Statement: I have always been interested in photography and optics. As a career physicist, I specialize in studying how light interacts with materials and how one can learn about a material by the way it reflects or transmits light as a function of wavelength, direction, or polarization. As a photographic artist, I like to explore how lighting, color, and perspective affect how we perceive objects. I view the world with a unique sense of humor and, using my experience in physics and optics, try to put what I see in an interesting perspective. Viewing an object from a different vantage often transforms it into something different than what we normally think of it as. Mixing two dissimilar and contrasting subjects in one image is a means to express drama, humor, and/or irony, and I like to explore this aspect of photography. In my most recent work, I explore spherical panoramas, where the entire scene is captured from a single vantage point. Always working to extend the photographic medium, I began experimenting with constructing sculptures with the images, first by mapping the panorama onto a cube, moving to other polyhedra, then to more organic solids.

Description of talk: In this presentation, I will start by describing spherical panoramic photography: the methods used and the basic workflow. After that, I will explore some of my work, emphasizing that for any single panorama, one can obtain many very different ways of viewing the same scene, using that scene as a palette for structure and form.

May Meeting - Nikhil Bahl, Techniques For Creating Dynamic Images

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Nikhil Bahl will be the speaker at the May 8 meeting, presenting Techniques For Creating Dynamic Images. While a great light display can lead to attractive images a good photographer does not rely on great light to create compelling images. From capturing energy and motion to the serene and surreal, Nikhil will talk about techniques and ideas that you can use to create dynamic images. Nikhil will also give you insights into how and when these techniques are best applied.

BIO

Nikhil Bahl is a full time professional photographer, author, educator and and environmentalist residing in the Washington D.C. area. Drawing continuous inspiration from nature, Nikhil adopts novel approaches and seeks meaningful interpretations: to create photographs that transcend the commonplace, reflect deeper insights, and convey an enchantment of the subject’s beauty.

An offshoot of Nikhil's fine art photography and love of nature is his documentation of wildlife behaviors and habitats. As a volunteer with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, his goal is to portray environmental stories with an artistic appeal, so his photographs educate and motivate about the imperative of conservation.

Each year Nikhil leads numerous photography tours and instructional workshops in the United States and abroad. His teaching encourages participants to advance beyond ordinary photos and develop their own style and vision. Nikhil is a popular speaker at photography clubs, expos and industry events. He authored the acclaimed ebook, Creative Interpretations and writes articles on the creative and technical aspects of photography. His work can be viewed at www.nikhilbahl.com.

March Meeting: A Critique by Patricia Stockman

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The March 13 meeting will be a critique of member photos by local fine art photographer and instructor Patricia Stockman.

In the past, members have brought photos to the meeting, and we never were sure how many we would get. One meeting we had less than 20; last year we had more than 50.

This year, we are changing things up a bit. Each member may submit up to three photos for Patricia to review in advance of the meeting. The images should be sent as digital files to me, and I will place them on a website in a secure folder. Patricia will have access to the folder so that she can review the images, prepare some remarks, and be ready with comments for the meeting.

Critiques are not a competition. They are a learning experience. Patricia may suggest ways to improve the composition. She will study the exposure and focus. She may suggest a new crop or turning the image to black and white. You may want to submit images that you are just not sure about. Sometimes you feel that "something is there," but are not sure how to make your intention for taking the photo clear. Others may submit work that is new to them: compositing images, black and white, infrared, portraits of people, etc. Still others may be considering entering their images in a photo competition and want feedback on how to make them the best they can be.

During the meeting, all images will be displayed one by one on the projector, as Patricia comments on them for all to hear. Even if you do not submit any images yourself, you can learn a lot by her comments on work she sees from others. However, I hope you do...

Please send me up to three images before March 10, no larger than 5 mb each. If you want to prep the images at 2000 pixels on the long edge, 72dpi, and sRGB colorspace, jpg format, that's great. If you have no idea what all that means, just send me three images no larger than 5 mb each, and I will take care of the rest. There will be no need to bring the digital images to the meeting, too.

If you would prefer to bring prints to the meeting instead of submitting digital files, please email me with that information. Patricia can do a review of prints at the end of the meeting, with lights on, for all to see.

Send your digital images as attachments to cam.miller@comcast.net. I will take care of adding them to a secure location for Patricia

About Patricia

Local photographer and instructor Patricia Stockman will offer a critique of member images at the March 13 meeting at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center. Members should have received an email instructing them how and where to send their digital images for review. Check the forum for a review of the information.

Patricia has been a photographer for over 20 years, and currently resides in Frederick, MD. Formal education as a traditional photographer has taken her through B&W film processing and printing; while her work experience has taken her through color film processing & printing, photojournalism, and studio portraiture work. Most recently, Patricia’s teaching career has widened her view of subject matter and digital techniques in her own art.

For the past 12 years, Patricia has been teaching high school Digital Photography and Computer Graphics classes with Frederick County Public Schools. She is also adjunct faculty at Mount St. Mary’s University, teaching Digital Photography.

Involved with the arts community, Patricia is now a member and Vice-President of TAG/The Artists Gallery. She served on the Board for Artomatic@Frederick for all three events, and strives to involve her students in the arts community. Additionally, Patricia shows her photographic works throughout the region and into NYC. Recently, Patricia was honored with receiving “Best in Show” at the 2018 Cumberland Valley Photographers Juried Exhibition, as well as other awards.

Of her own work, Patricia writes, “I combine my traditional background with the technology of Photoshop to create images grounded in the fundamentals of art with a contemporary, surreal twist. I place a strong emphasis on the use of texture, color and the interaction of various subjects in one scene. Elements, such as the division of space, suspended pathways, and the repetition of symbolic objects are recurring themes in my work that suggest the past, present and future within a narrative construct.”

February Meeting Moved to February 27th

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The February Meeting has been moved to February 27th

Don't forget that our February meeting will be on the THIRD Wednesday of the month, February 20, and it will be at 7 pm at Frederick Community College. Member Gundars Osvalds will be presenting the story behind the images he captured as a 16-year-old aspiring photojournalist in the now gone Vinegar Hill neighborhood of Charlottesville, VA. These historic photos are some of the only images of people at work and at play in the African American community. His photos will be on exhibit at FCC during the month of February.

The presentation will be in the theater at the Visual Arts Performing Center, the same building where we have our summer exhibit. ASL interpretation will be provided. Because this event is free and open to the public, we could use some volunteers to help with staffing the refreshment table, to sell exhibit catalogs, and to give some technology assistance. Please let Cam know if you are willing to help.

Here is a link to a PDF flyer about the meeting/event. Please share this with other people and organizations you know would be interested in both the history and the photography that Gundars will share.

Vinegar Hill

January Meeting - Interior and Exterior Architectural Photography

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After seeing this presentation, you will never look at a photo of an interior office space built of steel, concrete, and glass in the same way again. Your brain will be spinning with the effort it took to manage glare, reflections, space, shadows, and lighting.

We will be shown samples from a variety of the Chris's assignments over many decades of working as an architectural photographer. This will include a discussion of various approaches and techniques related to architectural photography and how to deal with creative challenges including composition and lighting.

Chris has been a commercial photographer for over 30 years with a special concentration in architectural photography. His work includes a particular emphasis on composition, location lighting, and accurate rendering of color. He also brings to each assignment an extensive knowledge of post-production editing techniques to enhance the captured image.

Chris’s expertise both with camera techniques and digital editing allows him to combine the client's desires, the subject matter, and his creativity to produce the finished photograph. His work had been the recipient of numerous industry awards in the field of architecture.

www.spielmannstudio.com

Holiday Party

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The annual holiday party is on December 12 at 7 pm at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center. Members have been sent an invitation and are encouraged to RSVP by the deadline. Please plan on attending this fun event where we socialize, view favorite photos from the year, have a great meal, and engage in a fun photo swap!