Have you wanted to photograph the night sky but don’t know where to start? Learn what it takes to capture luscious Milky Way landscapes (starscapes), constellations, glowing pink nebula, galaxies and more. This presentation will cover astrophotography using a range of gear – from a camera and tripod to star trackers to computerized telescopes with dedicated astro cameras. The night sky is an endlessly fascinating subject for photographers of all skill levels.
Milky Way over the Frio River
Our speaker, Rich Wilbourn, is a retired IT/Business Project Manager with a lifelong interest in both astronomy and photography. As a teenager, he started an astronomy club in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi, built his own telescopes and even ground his own telescope mirrors. While pursuing a degree in astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, he worked as a summer intern at McDonald Observatory in west Texas. Rich’s interest in photography go back to the days of film and include developing and printing black and white images. In recent years much of his photography includes wildlife and nature subjects – particularly the abundant birdlife found along the Texas coast. You can follow Rich on Instagram at @rwilbourn.
Our speaker, Earl Nottingham, is considered one of Texas’ preeminent photographers. He attended the Art Institute of Atlanta and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Photography from East Texas State University.
After operating as a freelance photographer for several years, he took over as chief photographer for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in 1996, where he then served for 25 years, retiring in 2021. His assignments for TPWD and its magazine took him to every corner of the state, documenting its landscape, people and historical treasures. Based in Temple, Texas, Earl continues shooting professional assignments and teaching workshops.
Earl will speak about the many ways that TPWD is involved in conservation efforts throughout Texas outdoors and the way photography is used to bring it to the public’s attention through engaging images.
Earl’s book, “Wild Focus” was published December 6, 2021 and is currently available from several online sites including Texas A&M University Press and Amazon.
Professional photographer, Kathy Adams Clark will share things she learned while playing/working during this time. Microphones, computer cameras, sound quality, audio quality, lighting for video conferences, plus macro photography, backyard photography, flower photography, and other things she has worked on during this time inside.
Kathy has been a professional nature photographer since 1995. She is the owner of a stock agency called KAC Productions that represents the work of fifteen outstanding nature photographers. Kathy’s work has been published in many well-known, well-respected newspapers and magazines. Her photos have also appeared in ad campaigns, guidebooks, textbooks, and brochures. In addition, her photos appear every week in the “Nature” column in the Houston Chronicle written by her husband, Gary, and have appeared in all of Gary’s books. In addition, Gary and Kathy have worked on seven book projects over the years. “Texas Wildlife Portfolio”, “Texas Gulf Coast Impressions”, “Portrait of Houston”, “Texas: A Photographic Journey”, “Backroads of the Texas Hill Country”, “Enjoying Big Bend National Park” and “Photographing Big Bend National Park”.
Kathy teaches photography through Leisure Learning in Houston and at local and national events. She leads photo tours in the United States and abroad for Strabo Tours. Kathy is Past-President of the North American Nature Photography Association.
While having paid his dues over the years documenting the usual weddings and real estate, at the end of the day, our speaker, Ken Fitzgerald would rather be remembered for his railroad photography. If there is one subject you are knowledgeable about, consider using your skills with a camera to be in the right place at the right time to record definitive images. Ken will share his favorite train-related photos and how he applied this thought to capture and record moments in history.
Ken began his lifelong passion for railroads in 1960 at the age of five while spending his summers in Sweetwater, Texas riding Trains at the Santa Fe yard. Taking a photography course at age 12 allowed him to start capturing the railroad’s people, operations, equipment and character for historical purposes.
Since that time his photography has appeared in many different railroad magazines, books and calendars. He also authored the books “Dallas Then and Now” in 2014 and “Train Stations Then and Now” in 2017 along with doing the principal photography for the Houston, San Antonio, Austin and “Texas Then and Now” books. He has also produced several other photo books of his work that were written as internal publications for different railroad companies.
Today Ken works as a full-time photographer in the railroad industry. In 2019 alone he documented several major railroad engineering projects; the startup of the DFW TEXRail commuter service; the operation of Union Pacific’s “Big Boy” steam locomotive across south Texas; the CSX Santa Train as celebrity Marty Stuart’s personal photographer; and BNSF’s Holiday Express across the Pacific Northwest. Ken is also a model railroader and locomotive horn collector.
Landscape photography and how to keep it simple and still produce some super work.
Our speaker is Mike Marvins. The program will cover Mike’s approach to landscape photography in either exotic places or in your own backyard – the principles are all the same. It’s really about seeing and vision.
He will also touch on some
easy post processing hints for the final touches. Equipment? Yes, he will go over that too.
But, it will not take long!
Mike has taught professional and amateur photographers for many years. After forty years of portrait photography at Kaye Marvins, Houston’s leading Studio started by his Dad over 70 years ago. Mike started working with landscape photography–mostly on backpack trips in Big Bend. This evolved into the best-selling book, “Texas’ Big Bend, A Photographic Adventure”, some associated major exhibits and sales of large prints for commercial spaces all over Texas. The book is still selling well and all book profits benefit The Big Bend Conservancy. After several more book projects for commercial companies, it was back to landscape work with “The Texas Hill Country, A Photographic Adventure” (Texas A&M University Press-2018 ). The introductory essay is by Native Texan and Houston Chronicle columnist, Joe Holley and the photography commentary is by Roy Flukinger, the longtime Photography Curator of the Harry Ransom Center-The University of Texas. This coffee table book benefits the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Mike will have a few of his books available for sale at the February meeting. If you would like to purchase a copy before the meeting and bring with you, they are available at Amazon (click here). The books for sale at the meeting will be for the same price as on Amazon. Mike will accept credit cards or personal checks.
Our speaker, Emily Murphy, has discovered that her backyard is a wonderful place to photograph, with many amazing miracles occurring right there! She has found two types of butterflies that lay eggs in her yard and has had a lot of fun following their growth. She recently documented, through photography and video, the life cycle of a butterfly in her backyard. She will discuss using some of the tools for macro photography and encouraging people to look in their own backyard to find amazing things. She will also share the container she uses to safely raise caterpillars away from predators.
Emily Murphy is a self-taught
photographer and her photographic abilities have been greatly enhanced by her
membership in the Kingwood Photo Club! Early on, she caught the photo
bug, and while living in Switzerland, used an Argus Cintar that her dad had
used in the 1930’s and 1940’s while he was a missionary in Barrow, Alaska. When
she married her husband Rob, she upgraded to his Pentax and now uses a Sony
mirrorless. She worked 45 years for Methodist Hospital and Baylor College
of Medicine as a registered EEG technologist and ENG (inner ear) tech.
During her career, she modified an infra-red camera used for ENG testing for
use in intra-operative facial nerve monitoring, placing the camera underneath
the surgical drapes and enhancing the outcome of the monitoring.
(Standard monitoring doesn’t work during electrocautery). She loves kayaking
and wildlife photography and frequently takes her camera(s) with her in a
waterproof bag so she can get closer to her subjects.
We live in a time where cameras are with us just about every minute in every day and because of the ease and convenience of digital cameras and the rise of Social Media we capture everyday events like never before and share them. Ask a group of people if they have ever taken a picture of a meal they were served in a restaurant and most hands will go up! Ask the same group if they have posted pictures of this type on Social Media or just shared with friends or family and the hands will go back up, perhaps a few less but still a majority will say yes. Yet most pictures of this type are static and often rather boring, the entree is served and the cameras goes up above the plate and does a documentary style picture with little feeling, often a poor exposure or using the dreaded on camera flash. The image captured might document what was on the plate but does not draw the viewer in to get a feel for the ambiance and setting or even the artful presentation that the kitchen staff put into how the food was served.
Capturing food in an artistic way has been around for centuries. Many a great master painter made studies of food as still life artistic renderings. But now anyone can pick up their phone or camera and capture an image. The goal of this presentation is to inspire the audience to make art out of their food photography, take images that could easily appear in a cook book or food magazine or even hang as a print on wall in your home.
Our speaker, Chris Summers, a member of Kingwood Photo Club, became interested in photography as a teenager in the early 1970’s and began using his dad’s old Argus 35mm camera and soon started a photography club at his high school. After graduation Chris attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California and received a Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Photography. At that time Brooks was the leading private college specializing in the educational field of photography.
After getting married in Santa Barbara in 1979, he & his new bride moved to Houston for his first job working in a large studio and lab and within a few years left to open Chris Summers Photography. The studio was a one man shop and over a 30 year period produced a variety of work for many local and national clients including, fashion, real estate, corporate advertising, catalogs, brochures and food photography.
Chris retired in 2010, putting his time and attention on caring for his aging parents. After they were gone, he decided to just focus on what he wanted to take pictures of and do photography of an artistic nature instead of a commercial one. Since then he has been able to travel extensively with his wife, Sarah, who’s job includes working with clients in many different parts of the world.
Sarah and Chris have been married since 1998, have 8 children, 20 grandchildren and have lived in Kingwood for 22 years.
Tom Dendy will provide a technical overview of shooting action sports, using examples from his 30+ years’ experience in photo journalism. Topics covered will include: equipment selection, basic camera settings, focus and exposure control, composition and shooting styles. We will also discuss strategies for marketing and selling your images.
Tom first started shooting action sports as a 7th grade journalist in 1978. He later received formal specialized surveillance photography and darkroom training as a submarine photography officer in the early 90s. Tom has been shooting strictly digital since 2004 and currently has two freelance photography companies; Wrestling Texas, LLC and Phlox Photography LLC. Tom is also a member of the MaxPreps professional photographers’ network and has done freelance sport journalism work for a number of media outlets nationwide. Tom shoots a variety of sports including football, basketball, volleyball, swimming and wrestling.
Tom works out of his home studio, where he also dabbles in portrait and artistic work. He has trained and mentored a number of photographers over the last decade, and currently has over a dozen freelance photographers publishing work under one of his brands.
Join Joe Smith as he shares photos of his recent trip to Costa Rica. He traveled to three different eco-systems – Sarapiqui on the lower Caribbean, Turrialba which is higher and cooler, and the high mountain country of Savegre Valley at 7,000 feet. Each area, located about two hours from San Jose, features its own unique species and habitat.
Images will include various flowers and a wonderful variety of birds, poison frogs, mammals and butterflies! Tips on photo equipment will be included, but emphasis will be on the beauty of what the camera captured.
Joe Smith; Green-and-black Poison Dart Frog; Dendrobates auratus; Costa Rica; Sarapiqui
Joe Smith began his photography career when he was 13 with 35mm and twin lens reflex cameras and a photo class at Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. He is self-taught in nature photography primarily by participatingin wildlife photo contests in Texas. He has been a winning photographer in the2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 Coastal Bend Wildlife Photo Contests. In 2002, he finished in the top 25% of all photographers in the 2002 Valley Land Fund Photo Contest with three prize winning class pictures.
Joe is a member of the Houston Photochrome Club, the Houston Center for Photography and the Photographic Society of America. He was President of the Houston Photochrome Club in 2004-2005 and 2009-2010. He judged the annual competition of the Chinese Photographic Society in 2004. Joe has taught introductory photography seminars and classes for seventh and eighth graders at various schools in Houston, TX. He organized photographers to contribute images for Houston Wilderness’ Atlas of Biodiversity. He has had his images published in Houston Wilderness’ Atlas of Biodiversity, Progressive Farmer and Thomson Safari Catalogue, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. He is on the Board of Advisors of the Houston Audubon Society where he served as a director at large from 2012-2018.
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