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.

No meetings during the summer

There will not be any meetings this summer, we will resume in September

Summer Picnic Cancelled

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

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

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

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.

April Meeting: Creating a Photographic Series

Member Rebecca Carpenter will be the featured speaker at the April 10 meeting. She will discuss creating a photographic series, including the steps she takes to initiate an idea, build a cohesive series around the theme, and incorporate multi-media with photography: collage, photographic transfers, sculpture, etc.

Currently, Becky is working on four series using both photography and mixed media, including METAMORPHIS, a simple look at the parallels of women's lives and butterflies. Another is a Fine Art Figure series in which women interact with form, light, and space. The third series is also a Fine Art Figure photographic series called DUALITY, in which she looks at the figure in intriguing spaces where the figure is in two distinctly different poses within the same space. The fourth series is a mixed media series of abandoned spaces, titled WHISPERS, in which she tells a visual story of life within an abandoned space.

More information about Becky and her work can be seen on her website: http://rcarpenterphotography.com/about/

March Meeting: A Critique by Patricia Stockman

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

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

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

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!

Member Show

The annual Member Show will be at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center for the month of December. All members in good standing are encouraged to submit one or two ready-to-hang photographs and offer them for sale. Information about the show has been emailed to all members. The reception for this show is Saturday, December 1, from 3-5 pm.

If you are going to submit some work for the show, please send Cam the title(s) of your photos, along with the price you would ask. The Delaplaine takes a commission on all sales: 20% for members of the Delaplaine, and 30% for non-members, so take that into consideration when pricing.

The Delaplaine wants all information by November 19 so that they may create a list of all the photos expected in the show. Therefore, I need all of your information by November 18. The photos to do not need to be ready by that date, however, just the information.

Sydney at the Delaplaine will create a list of all of the titles by photographer name. The list will be in the storage room where pieces for the next show are stored in numbered slots. She will also use the name, title, and price information that you send me to create the wall labels and the price lists for the show.

Prepare your ready-to-hang photo for delivery by attaching a card to the rear that includes your name, the title of the piece, the price, and your contact information (email, phone, website, etc.)

Between November 19 and 29, you may drop off your piece(s) at the Delaplaine, which is open most days from 9-5. Take your photos to the storage room, find the list of photographers, choose a slot number for your work, and then note on the clipboard which slots you chose. The slot numbers are written in black marker at the top of the slot. You may leave with work with or without packaging, depending on how it fits into the slots.

If you prefer, you may deliver your work the night that we hang the show, on November 29, beginning at 6:30. We will pull all work out of the storage room, lay it out along the walls, and decide which pieces hang well together. Once the order of the show is determined, the pieces are hung on the walls and the label information is applied. Help is always appreciated when hanging this show.

Images needed for the Frederick County Financial Report

Photographs of Frederick County are needed for the cover of the annual Frederick County Financial Report. Photographers will not receive payment, but will be credited for the cover photo(s), along with the club. Please send your photos as jpgs, no larger than 5mb, to cam.miller@comcast.net. Cam will place them on a secure website location for the county finance office to make their selections. Deadline is October 15.

Photos for Frederick Coffee Company

The Frederick Camera Clique will have photographs on display and for sale at the Frederick Coffee Company during the month of November. Please bring two matted photos, no larger than 16x20, to the October meeting for consideration, or email cam.miller@comcast.net if you wish to participate but cannot attend the meeting. The deadline for receiving prints is October 26.

October Meeting - Peter Foiles, Lofoton Islands, Norway

Member Peter Foiles will speak about his recent photo trip to Norway.

The Lofoton Islands: Next item for your photography bucket list.

The Lofoton islands are an archipelago off the coast of Norway north of the Arctic Circle. One of the oldest and largest cod fisheries in the world, it has also in recent years become a favorite for photographers. From quaint fishing villages and mountainous landscapes to one of the best spots to view the Northern Lights, there is much to photograph. I will be showing the results of my February trip to Lofoton and give some background on the area as well as some tips on how to photograph the Northern Lights.

September Meeting - Jan Exler, My Photo Passion & Odyssey

Jan Exler will be the featured presenter at the September 12 meeting. His talk, “My Photo Passion & Odyssey” will feature 100 of his all-time favorite and award-winning photos. He’ll also speak about "Competitive Freelance Photography," online sites, and contests where he posts his photographs, as well as his favorite venues to capture award-winning images in the Baltimore and Delmarva areas.

Jan is a competitive, freelance photographer who was a high school educator for 35 years in Baltimore City. He has served on the Maryland State Board of Acupuncture for the past eight years.

Jan picked up a camera for the first time in 2012 to document his Wounded Warrior son's recovery in the Richmond VA hospital. His photography has been published in National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Maryland Public TV's “Capture Outdoor Maryland's” coffee table book, GURU Shots International, Chesapeake Bay Foundation's 2019 calendar and the Baltimore Sun papers.

Thanks to social media, his photography has been “followed,” “liked,” and commented on by folks in 132 different countries around the world!

Jan Exler's current galleries include: http://yourshot.nationalgeographic.com/profile/763559/ and

https://gurushots.com/janexler/photos

August Meeting: There is no regular meetingI

In lieu of a meeting this month we will be having our summer picnic.

Sunday, August 12, 2018

11 am to 2 pm

The FCC Annual Summer Picnic

Sunday, August 12, 2018

11 am to 2 pm

Surreybrooke

8610 Baltimore National Pike

Middletown, MD 21769

You and your family are invited to join us for a day of flower photography, exploring beautiful gardens and greenhouses, and a meal with friends and club members. On Sunday, August 12, the garden center at Surreybrooke will open at 10:30 for our annual picnic. Feel free to bring tripods and cameras to capture the beauty at Surreybrooke. The Lark Pavilion is ours from 11 am to 2 pm. We will eat around noon.

The club will provide cups, ice, utensils, plates, and napkins. You should bring a dish to share. Please indicate on the RSVP what you will bring, so that others may see and avoid duplication.

Please RSVP by August 9.(Through the Evite) This event will happen rain or shine.

If you are unsure how to get to Surreybrooke, the entrance is located on Rt. 40 going west toward Hagerstown. The most accurate information is found on the Surreybrooke website; GPS directions are not reliable and you will end up at the wrong place. http://www.surreybrooke.com/contact.html.

July Meeting Photowalk Assignment

Photo walks are popular, and small towns offer many familiar things to photograph, such as window displays and patterns in brick sidewalks, but also some things that are unique to each town: a monument, a fountain, a cannon, and more.

At the July meeting, Cam Miller will share some highlights from her 18 months of photo walking, followed by photos from members.

Between now and the July meeting, your assignment is to take a walk in your town -- or a town you are visiting -- or one that is near you -- and do a photo walk: Hagerstown, Gettysburg, Frederick, New Market, Sharpsburg, Martinsburg, Gaithersburg, Sykesville -- you get the idea.

Take a walk, photograph details (ivy on the side of a building, reflections, wall murals, oddities, texture, fountains, people sitting outside, fire stations, benches, doors, fences, flowers, etc.) and edit them down to five or six photos that you will show at the meeting. Don't tell us where you walked -- include things that might be unique to that town, but that don't name the town. Let us guess where you were! This is a great opportunity to experiment with black and white, street photography, macro shots, and more. Many of us will walk in the same towns, and it will be fun to see how different photographers find different things to photograph in the same locations.

Bring 5-7 edited photos to the meeting on a flash drive. Save them as JPGS with a resolution of 72. If you are unsure how to save at this resolution, just save them as they are and bring them to the meeting. We'll take care of making any needed conversions.

So grab your camera, get out there, and take a walk in a town. We look forward to figuring out where you were!