Category: Monthly Programs

February 18 Program: Texas-Central and Way Out West

See the red highlighted area below on book prices. Amazon has discounted the books and the books that will be available at the meeting will be at retail price.

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). Amazon currently has both books discounted. You still have time to order on Amazon or Amazon Prime and receive in time for Tuesday nights meeting if you wish to have your book signed.

The books for sale at the meeting will be directly from the publishers at full retail price: “The Texas Hill Country, A Photographic Adventure” for $36 and “Texas’ Big Bend, A Photographic Adventure for $35. Mike will accept credit cards or personal checks.

Going to Fredericksburg with the Club, March 31 – April 2? Mike’s “The Texas Hill Country” book has a section “Schnitzel, Peaches, and One-Room Schools – Fredericksburg and Its Environs” that might be a great resource.

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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.

This will be a fun evening!

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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.

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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 7^th 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.

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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 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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Professional photographer, instructor, guide and consultant Ruth Hoyt presents her original program, “Photo Tips for the Nature Photography Enthusiast,” for the Kingwood Photo Club on Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

Ruth believes that part of what helps her students improve quickly is taking the time up-front to perfect their shots before releasing the shutter. This program reveals her favorite four basic aspects of a photograph, plus a bonus fifth, to achieve this. She also plans to share tips for the physical act of making a photograph.

According to Ruth, a person cannot analyze too many photographs or spend too much time in the field practicing the craft of photography. She thinks both rank higher than reading books, watching videos and “fixing photos in Photoshop.” Over-processing photographs is one of the biggest downfalls of aspiring photographers so she teaches people how to make their photos stand out with minimal processing.

Ruth Hoyt is not only a professional photographer and guide, but a photography teacher (nearly 30 years), Texas Master Naturalist (10+ years) and Certified Interpretive Guide (10 years). She writes for publication and serves on the board for the Outdoors Writers’ Association of America. 

Her work appears in books, magazines, calendars, catalogs and numerous other publications.  Ruth’s passion is sharing her love of nature and photography with everyone she meets, especially youth.

She has many years of experience as a professional photo contest director, youth photo workshop leader, professional coach for contest photographers and consultant for farm and ranch owners.

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