February Meeting

Our next meeting is on Thursday, February 20th. Please mark your calendars!

7:00 - 7:15: Introduction of New Members/Guests, Announcements, Member News

7:15 - 8:15: Presentation - "Nik Software Tools" - Larry Alford

8:15 - 9:00: Image Reviews - Topic: Red.

The color red is closely linked to Valentine's Day and is also associated with fire, emotions and passion. This is your chance to be creative and explore the possibilities!

Don't forget to send your 2 review images (jpg 800 pixels wide) by Tuesday, February 18th via email to:hcphotoclub@gmail.com.

Reminder about our image review process:

When we display your image we'll ask you to select one of these reviews:

1. Critique - You have specific questions you'd like to ask about your image and you want feedback from the other photographers at the meeting. Come prepared with your questions.
2. Show and Tell - You'd simply like to share information about this image with us such as technique or location.

More about our image review process here:

http://hillcountryphotographyclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-image-review-process.html

Meeting Location: Horizon Bay (formerly Merrill Gardens) in San Marcos. Map and directions available on our club website. When you enter the building, stay on the first floor and walk to the back and turn left. We're in the first room on the right.

About our Program

Long-time club member, Larry Alford, will show us the Nik Software Tools.

Larry is a self-taught photographer who has been photographing nature and landscapes for over 40 years. Larry lives the in the beautiful hill country of Texas between Austin and San Antonio with his wife Rebecca. They love traveling the back roads of central Texas photographing the magnificent Hill Country scenes. Larry's creative eye has lead to his photographs being selected for calendars, greeting cards and he has won numerous local, state and international awards. In 2003, Larry began developing his skill as a digital artist, and has worked to increase the dynamic range of his photographed subjects, but retaining his ability to capture the spirit of the subject which is prevalent in his photographs.

Be sure to check out his site:  http://larryalford.net.

October Meeting

Please note - there's a change in our program. Andy Heatwole had a conflict come up with a client and cannot make our October meeting. We're planning to have him back in November.

Our next meeting is on Thursday, October 17th. Please mark your calendars!

7:00 - 7:15: Introduction of New Members/Guests, Announcements, Member News

7:15 - 8:15: Presentation - "Just Photoshop, no additional software needed." - Tom Delaney

8:15 - 9:00: Image Reviews - Topic: Recent Work.

Don't forget to send your 2 review images (jpg 800 pixels wide) by Tuesday, October 15th via email to:hcphotoclub@gmail.com.

Reminder about our image review process:

When we display your image we'll ask you to select one of these reviews:

1. Critique - You have specific questions you'd like to ask about your image and you want feedback from the other photographers at the meeting. Come prepared with your questions.
2. Show and Tell - You'd simply like to share information about this image with us such as technique or location.

More about our image review process here:

http://hillcountryphotographyclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-image-review-process.html

 

Meeting Location: Horizon Bay (formerly Merrill Gardens) in San Marcos. Map and directions available on our club website. When you enter the building, stay on the first floor and walk to the back and turn left. We're in the first room on the right.

About our Program

Tom Delaney, long-time club member and our Vice-President, will cover procedures, tips, and tricks to get the best out of Photoshop. If you're new or unfamiliar with Photoshop, this should provide a good overview of what you can do with the program. For those of you with more experience, you may pick up a trick or two!

October Meeting

Our next meeting is on Thursday, October 17th. Please mark your calendars!

7:00 - 7:15: Introduction of New Members/Guests, Announcements, Member News

7:15 - 8:15: Presentation - "Night Photography: Post-processing" - Andy Heatwole

8:15 - 9:00: Image Reviews - Topic: Recent Work.

Don't forget to send your 2 review images (jpg 800 pixels wide) by Tuesday, October 15th via email to:hcphotoclub@gmail.com.

Reminder about our image review process:

When we display your image we'll ask you to select one of these reviews:

1. Critique - You have specific questions you'd like to ask about your image and you want feedback from the other photographers at the meeting. Come prepared with your questions.
2. Show and Tell - You'd simply like to share information about this image with us such as technique or location.

More about our image review process here:

http://hillcountryphotographyclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-image-review-process.html

 

Meeting Location: Horizon Bay (formerly Merrill Gardens) in San Marcos. Map and directions available on our club website. When you enter the building, stay on the first floor and walk to the back and turn left. We're in the first room on the right.

About our Program

We were fortunate to have Andy Heatwole conduct a hands-on Night Photography workshop in downtown San Marcos for our March meeting. He is returning for our October program to demonstrate his workflow and techniques for post-processing of Night Photography images.

Andy has offered to work on our images, taken at the March workshop, during the program! Here are his guidelines:

For the images, I prefer to work with the original RAW files but I will consider JPG/TIFF images and those that have already been edited. For each image submitted, I would like a description of what the photographer wants to see in terms of enhancement or correction. Depending on how many are submitted and the time limit for the presentation, I may have to select only a few to demonstrate.

 

Members can submit their images to me through my dropbox at https://dropbox.hightail.com/heatwole.

Andy Heatwole is a professional architectural photographer and works with clients throughout the US. He was inspired to take up photography over a decade ago when he discovered the possibilities of night photography on the Internet. What started as a hobby became a passionate pursuit and eventually a career. When he's not shooting commercially, he enjoys photographing the landscapes and natural beauty of the Central TX area. For samples of his work, please visit www.bluehourphoto.com.

 

His night photography workshops blend his love for night photography with his enjoyment of teaching it. These workshops serve as an introduction into an area of photography that offers virtually unlimited opportunities for creativity. By demystifying the process, participants gain an understanding of the photographic techniques required for capturing great photos at night. His goal is for each participant to come away some great photos and the skills to continue exploring night photography on their own. All skill levels are welcomed and participants receive personal instruction to meet their specific needs.

Naturescapes 2013 Awards Reception

We held the 9th Annual Naturescapes Awards Reception last Saturday night at the San Marcos Activity Center. The reception opens the Exhibition at the Walkers’ Gallery and also gives an opportunity to recognize the award winners.

About 100 exhibitors, family, and friends attended. We were treated to snacks, drinks and music by the ensemble, Wimberley Friends of Music. Many thanks Linda Kelsey-Jones, the Walker’s Gallery curator, for organizing the reception.

I was pleased to serve as the Master of Ceremonies and was helped by Hays County Master Naturalist Past-President Larry Calvert.

Naturescapes is the only juried exhibition at the Walkers’ Gallery and this year we were pleased to have Chase Fountain as the contest juror.  Chase is a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department staff photographer. His photography has been featured in many publications including National Geographic Explorer Traveler, Men’s Journal, Tide, Prime, Texas Highways and Texas Monthly as well as the Associated Press. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Applied arts and Sciences degree specializing in photojournalism and fine art photography.

This year the contest received 186 entries from 34 photographers. Chase selected 60 images from 23 photographers. Three of photographers are youth. Images from all the eligible counties: Blanco, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, Travis, are in the exhibition.

Here’s the complete list of the Naturescapes 2013 Award Winners.

Awards of Merit

Awards of Merit are awarded completely at the discretion of the juror. He decides whether to have any and how many. This year, Chase added a special category of Best Black & White, to give special recognition to two of the images.

• Best Black & White - Cypress Lane – Larry Alford
• Best Black & White - Moonflower – Rose Epps
• Fox – Winifred Simon

Awards of Excellence

The contest has four Awards of Excellence and each wins a $50 prize.

• Hummingbirds – Janet Sanders
  
• Resting Hummer – Michael Zarella
• Wild Lilies – Rose Epps
• Sparring Finches – Carolyn Whiteside

Best Youth

The Best Youth Award is sponsored by the Hill Country Photography Club and wins a $75 prize.

• Nutria – Hannah McGee

Best Natural Waterscape

The Best Natural Waterscape Award is sponsored by the Hays County Master Naturalists and wins a $75 prize. This Award was presented by Larry Calvert.

• Cypress Creek Waterfall II – Michael Penn Smith

Best in Show

The Best in Show Award is presented to the Exhibition’s top image and wins a $100 prize.

• Longhorn Sunset – Michael Penn Smith

Congratulations to all the Exhibitors and especially to our Award Winners. The contest just gets better and better!

There are 60 beautiful images on display. The Naturescapes Exhibition will be in the Walkers’ Gallery until November 8th. Be sure to go see it!

August Meeting

Our next meeting is on Thursday, August 15th. Please mark your calendars!

7:00 - 7:15: Introduction of New Members/Guests, Announcements, Member News

7:15 - 8:15: Presentation - "Close-up and Macro Photography" - David Winchester

8:15 - 9:00: Image Reviews - Topic: Before & After.

This is your chance to show images as they appear out of camera and then after processing. Don't forget to send your 2 pairs of review images (jpg 800 pixels wide) by Tuesday, August 13th via email to: hcphotoclub@gmail.com.

Reminder about our image review process:

When we display your image we'll ask you to select one of these reviews:

1. Critique - You have specific questions you'd like to ask about your image and you want feedback from the other photographers at the meeting. Come prepared with your questions.
2. Show and Tell - You'd simply like to share information about this image with us such as technique or location.

More about our image review process here:

http://hillcountryphotographyclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-image-review-process.html

 

Meeting Location: Horizon Bay (formerly Merrill Gardens) in San Marcos. Map and directions available on our club website. When you enter the building, stay on the first floor and walk to the back and turn left. We're in the first room on the right.

About our Program

Club member David Winchester has been wowing us with his macro photography during our critique sessions. I asked him to give a program on his work and how he does it, and he agreed! You don't want to miss it!

Dave has had photography as a hobby for around 40 years. He is strictly an amateur and does it because he enjoys it. He started out carrying an Instamatic in the service and bought an underwater camera (Nikonos) in Japan. He got introduced to close-ups through the underwater photography. He then bought a used Nikon F and 5 lenses from a pro getting out of the business. One of the lenses was a 105 micro and it quickly became his favorite.

He's always just shot pictures as he had time or a place. When he retired about 18 months ago, he started shooting more. He found pixoto, tried it, and now shoots almost daily in his yard.

Art Arizpe
President
Hill Country Photography Club

July Meeting

Our next meeting is on Thursday, July 18th. Please mark your calendars!

7:00 - 7:15: Introduction of New Members/Guests, Announcements, Member News

7:15 - 8:15: Presentation - "Howto - A Smilebox Slideshow" - Carol Serur

8:15 - 9:00: Image Reviews - Topic: Recent Work.

Don't forget to send your 2 review images (jpg 800 pixels wide) by Tuesday, July 16th via email to: hcphotoclub@gmail.com.

Reminder about our image review process:

When we display your image we'll ask you to select one of these reviews:

1. Critique - You have specific questions you'd like to ask about your image and you want feedback from the other photographers at the meeting. Come prepared with your questions.
2. Show and Tell - You'd simply like to share information about this image with us such as technique or location.

More about our image review process here:

http://hillcountryphotographyclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-image-review-process.html

Meeting Location: Horizon Bay (formerly Merrill Gardens) in San Marcos. Map and directions available on our club website. When you enter the building, stay on the first floor and walk to the back and turn left. We're in the first room on the right.

About our Program

We're glad to have Carol's program back! If you remember, earlier this year, she was bumped for us to do the Night Photography field trip with Andy Heatwole.

Are you the family or club photographer for special events? Do you like to document your vacations? How do you share the images with others after taking all of these photos?

Carol Serur will demonstrate a quick and EASY method to share your photos in a way people will want to see them again and again, and even share them with others who they just know would want to see them.

How easy? Come to the March 21st meeting and see how simple it is to prepare a fun and interesting slideshow of your recent special moments.

Carol has been a member of Hill Country Photography Club for about 6 years, after searching for a club that might help her learn more about photography. She has found the photo club programs, and the sharing of information among the members, to have been invaluable in helping her learn photography in the retirement stage of her life. She also served as club co-Vice President for 2011-2012.

Carol has shown her work at Watson Studio Gallery, A. Smith Gallery, PhotoPlace Gallery, Dark Room Gallery, Blue Lab Gallery, the Bob Bullock Museum, and Starbucks, and currently serves as a board member of the Texas Photographic Society.

June Meeting

Our next meeting is on Thursday, June 20th. Please mark your calendars!

7:00 - 9:00: Field Trip - "Tour of the Wittliff Collections" - Carla Ellard

Carla Ellard, the Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection Photography Gallery Curator at the Wittliff Collections, has graciously agreed to give us a guided, after-hours tour.

We will skip the regular portions of our meeting, including the critique session.

Meeting Location: The seventh floor of the Albert B. Alkek Library on the campus of Texas State University-San Marcos. Here are directions to the gallery, and the 3 parking lots...however, only the first one, LBJSC (LBJ Student Center) parking lot  will be available for us to park that night. If you're on IH-35, you will take exit 206 and head west. I strongly suggest you carpool because there is a charge and parking is always tricky on campus.

Some of us are going to meet at our regular location at Horizon Bay in San Marcos and then carpool. We should plan on leaving Horizon Bay at 6:45. Map and directions available on our club website.