November 19 Program: Precision Camera & Video

Jacob Emery

Manager – The Woodlands

Precision Camera & Video

Join us for an exciting presentation from Precision Camera & Video in The Woodlands! Learn about the wide range of services they offer, including:

  • Camera & Equipment Rentals
  • Hands-On Gear Demos
  • PhotoLab Printing & Film Developing
  • Expert Repair Services
  • Educational Workshops and much more!

This is a great opportunity to discover how Precision Camera can support your photography needs, whether you’re a hobbyist or a seasoned pro. Plus, special discounts will be available for Kingwood Photo Club members!

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October 15 Program: So You Want to Shoot an NFL Super Bowl? with Dave Clements

Dave, who has had the opportunity to photograph four NFL Super Bowls will tell his story of his experiences as a ‘Super Bowl’ photographer, from ‘inside the ropes’.

David W. Clements, a freelance photographer, calls Montgomery, TX, and the shores of Lake Conroe his home.

Photography is in his genes.   His father has been a passionate, lifelong amateur photographer.  He was instrumental in inspiring Dave to start DWC Photography in 2001.

He has studied with the staff at the New York Institute of Photography and has more than 32 years experience in the business world in Human Resources and Marketing Management.

Dave’s work has been published across Texas, as well as nationally.  Dave’s clients include the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, NRG/ Reliant Energy, Exxon Mobil, The Greater Lake Conroe Visitors Bureau, The Houston Texans, the Meineke Bowl of Texas, East West Shrine Game, Gold Cup Soccer and many others.

He has been the photographer for both the President and Vice President of The United States and has an artist image on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Dave works closely with Country Music Singers Clint and Kevin Black raising awareness and funds for the International Rett Syndrome Foundation.  As Dave will be in-person, he will have a few of their books, Raising a Hand Volume One & Two, available for purchase @ $35 per book.  Volume Three for $40.  Payment options are cash, check or credit card. All proceeds go to Rett research.

Raising A Hand Volumes One, Two, and Three are hardback coffee table books comprised of beautiful black and white photographs of music artists from across the globe. Each photograph was captured over the past decade by photographers Dave Clements and Kevin Black, as well as invited guest photographers. Each image depicts the unique ways artists use their hands during their performances.

Click here for Raising a Hand website.

Raising a Hand for Rett is a 501(c)(3) whose mission is to raise awareness for Rett syndrome and help fund a cure.  Revenue from the sale of Raising A Hand Volume OneTwo &Three will go to RettSyndrome.org, to be earmarked for Rett research and Family Support.

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September 17 Program: Wildlife Photography

This presentation will be full of stories, anecdotes, and instruction by Russell Graves, our speaker, on how the pictures were made and how you can replicate the process.

Raised in rural Texas, Russell is the product of a modest, blue-collar upbringing, a stalwart work ethic, and a family who put no bounds on his imagination and creativity. When Russell was a junior in high school, he wrote a research paper for his end-of-year English project. The research paper (which he still has today), titled simply Wildlife Photography, earned him an “A” for the project. Still, more importantly, the mini tome served as a manifesto of sorts that would define his life’s work.

When he was 19, he had his first photographs and article published in a magazine. When he was 20, he earned his first magazine cover. By his own admission, the work now appears marginal and sophomoric. It was the spark, however, that ignited the fire to keep him going and perfect his creative craft.

After earning a degree in agriculture education from East Texas State University (now Texas A&M-Commerce), Russell went out to the sparsely populated Texas Panhandle, where he was hired to teach agriculture science for the Childress Independent School District. Upon earning his degree, Russell describes the experience as surreal.

He’s the first in his family to earn a college degree. Upon the conference of his baccalaureate honors, he witnessed his father cry for the first time in his life. It’s a moment of pride that has stuck with Russell and driven him to be the best he can be at whatever he chooses to do. As a result, in his 16-year teaching career, he was named Texas Agriscience Teacher of the Year on three occasions, a finalist for National Agriscience Teacher of the Year twice, and won just about every major award conferred on those in his former profession. He also built a solid reputation as a top Texas photographer and writer during that time.

Upon leaving teaching in 2009, Russell continued his life’s work by capturing the people and places outside of city limits in innovative and authentic ways. In the ensuing years, he continued to build on his experience and churn out content for clients through magazine pieces, advertising campaigns, television projects, and numerous books. In addition, he also worked with a small West Texas town to help them develop a marketing strategy and put together development deals that would bring jobs and prosperity to that little corner of rural Texas.

In 2018, Russell started leading photographic workshops and sharing his knowledge and love of the outdoors and photography. Since then, Russell has led hundreds of guests on adventures worldwide.

Russell says he feels like he’s come full circle by combining his love of photography with his teaching ability.

In the media, Russell’s been called a rural renaissance man, recognized as one of the top photographers in Texas, and praised by editors, art directors, and audiences alike for his ability to connect people and places through his written, spoken, and photographic stories. He’s had nearly a million words published, authored six books, has had thousands of images grace the pages of magazines and advertisements all over the world (including hundreds of magazine covers), is an in-demand speaker, has photographed some of the most prominent people in our country, and is the owner of two businesses. Still, he insists that his most significant accomplishments fall under the heading of father, husband, brother, son, and friend.

When he’s not in the field teaching or doing projects for one of his clients, Russell is found on his beloved Hackberry Farm driving his tractor and doing tasks that benefit the land and her denizens therein. He now lives a mile from the small stock farm on which he was raised. Black dirt and creek water is a powerful poultice.

His parents are still proud of him.

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Sharing Your Digital Photos – What We Learned

Pam Walton

Last week’s meeting program was Sharing Your Digital Photos presented by Pam Walton with many members of the club participating, providing items and/or presenting their items, including Theresa Crutchfield, Chuck Dugand, John Gray, Ronda Meuwissen, Margaret Molloy, Kathy Muhle, Anne Mullins, Emily Murphy, Bill Patterson, Chris Summers and Mark Walton. Members that were in attendance, shared their items and a brief overview of where the photo or photos were taken and the story of their project(s).

Don Rutledge arranged to have Theresa Durringer with Kingwood Area Quilt Guild share a quilt she was commissioned to make for a mother of four sons that included photos and articles of each son’s participation and success in State Swimming competitions.

If you have any questions or just want to more, the Club Members have shared the vendor(s) they selected to complete their projects:

Theresa Crutchfield – Shutterfly+

Chuck Dugand – Blurb Nations Lab, Mpix, Bay Photo, CVS, Walmart, SmugMug

John Gray – Bay Photo

Rhonda Meuwissen – Blurb, MeM (Making Everlasting Memories)

Margaret Molloy – Apple

Emily Murphy – Easy Canvas, VistaPrint, Print Pelican, ArtPix 3D

Bill Patterson – Windows Movie Maker, Real Player Video App, Real Player Convertor App

Chris Summers – SmugMug, Etsy, Shutterfly, Precious Creations

Kathy Muhle – Shutterfly

Anne Mullins – Mixbook

Pam Walton – Shutterfly, Mixbook, SmartShow3D

Photo

Display Photos by Chris Summers

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August 20 Program: Sharing Your Digital Photos

Join us for a fun evening with Pam Walton sharing many different ways you can use your digital photos for personal items or gifts. Pam has gathered information from several members and will share the items and vendor or vendors they have used or that she has personal experience with. Maybe you will be inspired to do more with your digital photos!

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July 16 Program: Photography as Poetry by Ian McVea

We might know how to compose elements in an image and how to produce the colors and tones we want, but how do we raise our photography above simply producing well-exposed, well-edited, well-arranged, 2-dimensional visual sentences? When does the photograph go from descriptive to lyrical? How do we express the reason we took the photo? How do we help the viewer feel what we felt and thought when we decided to press the shutter at that moment?

Our speaker, Ian McVea’s, time with us is designed to discuss concepts we can bring to any of the dozens of the photo disciplines (landscape, portraits, abandoned buildings/cars, birds, architectural, bugs on flowers, etc.) that can elevate our photos and communicate our vision. To write poems with light.

Ian McVea is a Irish-born, Texas-based photojournalist and photography educator.  Growing up in Ireland, India, South Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Ethiopia, and Algeria, he developed a love for photographing the world around him. He joined the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper in 1989 as a staff photographer, later becoming a photo editor and then Director of Photography.

During that time, he photographed six Cowboys head coaches, five U.S. presidents, four Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions, three governors of Texas, two supermodels, one queen of England, and countless Friday night football games, ribbon-cuttings, and restaurant reviews. He covered the Oklahoma City bombing, the Shuttle Columbia disaster, and hurricanes Katrina and Rita for international wire services.

While on staff at the Star-Telegram, Ian taught photojournalism classes as an adjunct professor at TCU’s Schieffer School of Journalism, and, on leaving the paper in 2012, he began a full-time career teaching Commercial Photography in the Arlington ISD.

His images have been part of recent exhibits at a number of Texas galleries and art museums, and have received honors from the Dallas Press Club, National Headliners, Houston Press Club, The Texas APME, and the Texas Photographic Society.

He is an accredited member of the Royal Photographic Society, the NPPA, ASMP, and the Association of Texas Photography Instructors.

Ian has two married daughters who share his passion for analogue photography.



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June 18 Program: David Valdez, The President’s Photographer, photos, stories and my part in USA History

Our speaker, David Valdez, was the Chief White House Photographer to George H. W. Bush 1989-1993. He will share his photos, stories and his part in USA History.

David Valdez was born in Alice, Texas. After graduating from high school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Valdez enlisted in the U. S. Air Force, where he was trained as a photographer. He served with the 836th Combat Support Group for four years, and then earned a BA in journalism from the University of Maryland in College Park. While he was a student there, Valdez was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a photographer. He left the federal government to become Chief Photographer for the United States Chamber of Commerce. In 1983, he became personal photographer to Vice President George H. W. Bush. In 1988, President Bush appointed Valdez Director of the White House Photo Office and his Personal Photographer. During this administration, Valdez traveled to 75 countries and all 50 states with the President. In 1997, Valdez published George Herbert Walker Bush: A Photographic Profile. David Valdez has had many photos published in Life, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Report, National Geographic Traveler, People, Sports Illustrated, Paris Match, New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post and countless other books and publications around the world.

Hope you see you!

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May 21 Program: Composition for Landscape Photography

Speaker: Bryan Hansel

www.bryanhansel.com

Bryan Hansel is an award-winning professional landscape photographer and outdoor educator. He has over 30 years of photography experience with 100s of publication credits from publications such as National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Lake Superior Magazine, Ocean Paddler, Canoe and Kayak Magazine, Backpacker Magazine and many more. In 2018, he received Lake Times Magazine’s Best Photographer in Minnesota award. An outdoor educator and guide at heart, Bryan decided to share his passion for outdoor photography and started a photography workshop program in 2006. His programs take students to the best and often unknown locations in the northland and across the nation to many National Parks. He lives in Grand Marais, Minnesota.



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Let’s Get Ready for the August 20 Program

What to do with your digital photos?

  • Print them on paper, canvas, or other materials
  • Create photo books, slide shows, or videos
  • Turn them into gifts, such as puzzles, jewelry, cases, wrapping paper
  • Make them into art, such as wall-size prints
  • Design party t-shirts with your photos
  • And so many more ideas!

TONS OF FANTASTIC IDEAS – – WHAT HAVE YOU DONE

Our August 20th meeting program will be presented by Pam Walton. She would love to hear from any member that has used their photos in projects such as books, mugs, and/or other media. Pam is seeking your assistance to prepare a special program to include club members personal projects, experiences, and vendors. To share your project/projects information, please email, or call, Pam Walton 281-358-6449, pj1976@embarqmail.com.


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April 16 Program: The Infrared Zone

Do you think you’re photographing in the right dimension? Well, consider this if you dare…

Infrared photography is a journey into a wondrous land of photography where what you see is transformed into another dimension with your camera.

Infrared, or IR photography, offers photographers the opportunity to explore the world of the unseen. Infrared photography creates unique images capable of portraying things not normally visible to the human eye.

Learn how infrared photography can give another dimension to your vision of the world.


Silvana Della, our April speaker, is a software engineer by trade. She began her fascination with photography as a very small child. The early fascination turned into a lifelong obsession. Decades later her passion never faltered, but her view of the world evolved. Photographing what the eye can’t perceive is what she loves best to capture.

Past President of the Stony Brook Camera Club in Franklin, Massachusetts, she is the recipient of many photography awards. Her images have appeared in Lighthouse Digest, Yankee Magazine, and the Boston Globe, and were featured in Nikon’s 100th birthday celebration. She has presented and judged at camera club councils, camera clubs, and art associations throughout the US.

Silvana helps others expand their own photographic vision through her photography workshops, photo walks, photo tours, private instruction, and club presentations on various photography topics including infrared, Milky Way, black & white, nightscapes, deep space photography, and time-lapse. She challenges photographers to consider that there is much more in a scene than what is visible to the human eye and to tap into the power of their cameras to discover it.

To her, life is best summarized by the quote “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death.” – from the 1958 film “Auntie Mame”.


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