Category Archives: Program

October 2021

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

Our monthly meetings are getting off to an excellent “semi-post-covid” start.  The new location is working well, and Jerry Sargent has volunteered to be our Meeting Technology Coordinator.  That means we can start having “real” programs and member photo shares.  Thank you, Jerry!

Next meeting will be Thursday, October 21st, 7 pm, at First Lutheran Church of San Marcos, 130 West Holland Street in San Marcos.  (As of this date, the church requires masks.)

On the agenda:
Welcome
Member News Share/Discussion
Naturescapes, Curves & Circles, HCPC Fall Photography Discussion

PROGRAM:  Atypical Wildflowers:  a collection of color mutations and morphs of Edwards’ Plateau wildflowers, presented by Neil Decker

Photo Share:  You may send up to two images to share with the group.  The theme is “Fall” — or whatever else you want to share!)

For the Photo Share, send one or two images to photos@jerrysargent.com by the end of Monday, October 18th and put October Critique – Fall  in the Subject line.

To prepare your images, resize the long side to 2000 pixels, resolution of 72 ppi, color space sRGB, and name them 1FirstName_LastName.jpg and 2FirstName_LastName.jpg.  For example, 1Linda_Avitt.jpg.

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Charlie Kreitler is the administrator of this page – thank you Charlie!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

September 2021

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

This month brings some good news — we’re meeting in person at a fantastic location AND we have a new member exhibit to announce.

In August we had our first meeting at the First Lutheran Church of San Marcos.  Everyone agreed it was a great meeting with plenty of room to spread out.  We had a photo share, good discussion, and Wes Odell even brought cookies!

Next meeting will be Thursday, September 16th, 7 pm, at 130 West Holland Street in San Marcos.

On the agenda:  Name our upcoming November exhibit, general discussion:  What inspires/motivates you?

And that brings me to a timely request.  We need a Meeting Technology Coordinator.  That’s a fancy way of saying someone who organizes the member photo shares, will bring a laptop, club projector and screen to the meetings, and present the photo share and any other meeting slides.

Now for the new and exciting news.  The San Marcos Art League has invited the members of HCPC to put on a photo exhibit in November at the San Marcos Art Center.  This is an excellent opportunity to show our photos in a high-traffic area during Christmas-shopping season.

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Charlie Kreitler is the administrator of this page – thank you Charlie!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

May 2021

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

We hope you’ve had a chance to get out and enjoy our spring weather and all the spring photo opportunities!

As you know, the 17th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest and Exhibition is open for business!  Entries are currently being accepted, so it’s time to start going through your favorite nature photos from the past year.  Changes from last year include the new SMGA award and Barbra Riley will be the juror.

Our members-only companion exhibit to Naturescapes is receiving entries through July 15th. The subject is Curves, Circles, Spirals, or Spheres.  You’re free to put whatever interpretation you want on that, but the subject of the photo has to beCurves, Circles, Spirals, or Spheres.  Within this theme, be sure the image does not look like it could be a part of the Naturescapes Exhibit.  In other words, no nature or landscape photos.  No entry fee.  

As you know, we have two Facebook Pages — Public and Members Only.  Since we don’t currently meet in person, the Members Only page is the best way for our club to stay in touch, interact, and share photos,  It’s an active page, and you can post your photos and ask for advice, feedback, or a critique. (If you’re a new member, you’ll need to request access to the group.)   The Facebook photo theme for the month of May is “Flight”!  Planes, birds, insects, kites, etc.

If you have any news or stories you’d like to have included in the newsletter, please send them to hcphotoclub@gmail.com.
You may renew your 2021 membership at Paypal using this link.  Dues are still only $12, and this year we will likely have to pay for a meeting space.  A gentle reminder. . . you need to be a member to be part of the Facebook Members Only Page and take part in the Naturescapes companion exhibit.

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Charlie Kreitler is the administrator of this page – thank you Charlie!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

2020 Naturescapes Exhibition

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

Date posted: November 29, 2020

These are the 60 photographs chosen by the 2020 Naturescapes Photography Contest Juror, Herb Smith.

We hope you enjoy the beautiful images from Hays and surrounding counties.

Congratulations to all!

May 2020

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the May meeting has been cancelled. We will be monitoring the situation and let you know when the next meeting will be.

What you CAN do now: 

  1. Start working on making your selections, or taking photos, for our 16th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest. Entries are accepted beginning April 6. Check the details on the link on this page. It’s a great time to get an early start this year!
  2. We encourage members to post on our Members-Only Facebook page (HCPC Members) – share any photos on any topics, and you can request critiques, or simply show us what you’ve been working on. If you are a new member, you will have to request to join.
  3. You can also enter the Hill Country Alliance Photo Contest, for a chance to be included in their 2021 calendar. Here is the link for that: http://www.hillcountryalliance.org/PhotoContest

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Carolyn Whiteside is the administrator of this page – thank you Carolyn!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

April 2020

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, the April meeting has been cancelled. We will be monitoring the situation and let you know when the next meeting will be. San Marcos, like most other communities, is on “Shelter in Place” until April 30 at this time.

What you CAN do now: 

  1. Start working on making your selections, or taking photos, for our 16th Annual Naturescapes Photography Contest. Entries are accepted beginning April 6. Check the details on the link on this page. It’s a great time to get an early start this year!
  2. We encourage members to post on our Members-Only Facebook page (HCPC Members) – share any photos on any topics, and you can request critiques, or simply show us what you’ve been working on. If you are a new member, you will have to request to join.
  3. You can also enter the Hill Country Alliance Photo Contest, for a chance to be included in their 2021 calendar. Here is the link for that: http://www.hillcountryalliance.org/PhotoContest

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Carolyn Whiteside is the administrator of this page – thank you Carolyn!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

March 2020

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

The March meeting is cancelled!

Due to the on-going health emergency, and with confirmed cases in the Austin area and social distancing being recommended, and with much of our membership in the hazardous age group, and the fact that we would have a very sparse turnout anyway for our guest speaker, let’s all stay home and post our pictures on the Facebook site instead. 

Our next meeting is Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 pm.

Our program is “Landscape/Nature/Wildlife Photography in the Colorado Rockies” by Kevin Gourley.

Due to the health situation, Brookdale has canceled all outside group meetings for March and April.  As always, Carol Serur has been on the job and has found us a meeting place at Price Center for both months.  We will have to pay a very reasonable $25/hour.  

March and April meeting location:

Price Center
222 West San Antonio Street
San Marcos, TX 78666

Here is a map showing the location of Price Center

We hope to see you there!

Agenda

  • 7:00 – 7:10
    • Welcome and Introduction of New Members and Guests
  • 7:10 – 7:25
    • Member Share (if you have news to share and want to show an image with it, please submit by Tuesday before the meeting. Put SHARE in the subject heading, please.
  • 7:25 – 9:00
    • Program – Landscape/Nature/Wildlife Photography in the Colorado Rockies – Kevin Gourley

Program: Landscape/Nature/Wildlife Photography in the Colorado Rockies

In this presentation, Kevin Gourley will focus on photography in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, but he will provide practical tips and techniques you can use to create better landscape, nature, and wildlife shots in other similar locales.

Kevin is a full time professional photographer with a studio in NW Austin. Additionally, he has many years of experience teaching the art and science of photography to people at all skill levels from beginner to professional.  Kevin has led many workshops in the Austin and Central Texas area as well as destination workshops in Colorado and Oklahoma.  His Summer and Fall Rocky Mountain Photography Workshops are fabulous adventures for any photographer.

http://www.KevinGourley.com

http://www.KGPhotoWorkshops.com

http://www.RockyMountainPhotographyWorkshops.com

Special Discount offer for the Hill Country Photo Club members!

Special savings on our Summer (July) or Fall (September) Rocky Mountain Photography Workshop

Club members can receive a $150 discount on top of the $200 Early Registration Discount (which ends soon) for the 4 Day option.  For the 9 Day option, members can receive a $300 discount on top of the $400 Early Registration Discounts. So they could save up to $700 if they take advantage of this offer and register by April 1st.
Inquire at kevin@kgphotoworkshops.com to obtain the discount.  Warning, spaces are filling up. Some options are already sold out or are almost full!

Critiques or Show & Tell: Solitary

This month the theme is solitary. Simply solitary.  (If you don’t have anything that fits this topic, feel free to share any image(s) on any subject.)  You may ask for a critique on your images or do a show-and-tell.  You can send up to two images.

Beginning this month, you’ll send your photos to a new email address, submissions@hcphotoclub.org! 

Send your two images to submissions@hcphotoclub.org by Tuesday, March 17th, at 6 pm, and put “March Critique — Solitary” in the Subject line.

To prepare your images, resize the long side to 2000 pixels, resolution of 72 ppi, and rename them 1FirstName_LastName.jpg, 2FirstName_LastName.jpg.

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Carolyn Whiteside is the administrator of this page – thank you Carolyn!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

February 2020

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

Our next meeting is Thursday, February 20th at 7:00 pm.

Our program is “Capturing the Image, Black and White” by Charlie Kreitler. We’ll also review the results of the member survey and hear a report from the Program Committee.

We hope to see you there!

Agenda

  • 7:00 – 7:10
    • Welcome and Introduction of New Members and Guests
  • 7:10 – 7:25
    • Member Share (if you have news to share and want to show an image with it, please submit by Tuesday before the meeting. Put SHARE in the subject heading, please.
    • Calls for Entry
    • Discuss the results of the member survey. Share your ideas about how we can make our club work for you.
    • Program Committee report. (They’re already working hard in 2020!)
  • 7:25 – 9:00
    • Program – Capturing the Image, Black and White – Charlie Kreitler

Program: Capturing the Image, Black and White

Charlie Kreitler is our February speaker. His talk will focus on “Capturing the Image, Black and White”.

Last summer he started reading about the history of photography and realized the immensity of the topic. One could divide it into: 1) the development of the camera, body and lenses; 2) the development of “film”, both B&W and color, and 3) the evolution of the various photo genres, such as portrait, nature/landscape, war, journalism, fashion, human condition, science, etc. Understanding “Genre”, however, depends on how our cameras work and how we create permanent images.

Charlie rolled the dice and decided his first effort in understanding our photographic history would be the evolution of the black and white image from the camera obscura and the heliogravure to rolls of Kodak film, essentially from 1800 to 1900.

Charlie’s talk will focus on the critical inventions through the 1800’s that get us to where we are today. These will include the heliogravure, the daguerreotype (see example below), the calotype, the wet plate, the dry plate and ultimately the advent of rolls of film. He will spice up his talk with interesting photos and historical anecdotes to keep you awake. Enjoy!

Charlie made a critical decision in 1969 when he decided not to pursue a career in photography, but came to Texas for graduate school in geology. It was a wise decision. At that time, he was fascinated by color photography, but the cost and complexity of printing in color were beyond his understanding and pocket book. It wasn’t until the early 1990’s with the development of Photoshop, that he was able to work in color “out of his house”. He now treats photography as a primary hobby in his retirement.

Critiques or Show & Tell: Repeat

Real or abstract, color, monotone, or black and white — it doesn’t matter. Just make sure there is repetition. (If you don’t have anything that fits this topic, feel free to share any image(s) on any subject.) You may ask for a critique on your images or simply do a show-and-tell. You can send up to two images.

Send your two images to hcphotoclub@gmail.com by Tuesday, February 18th, at 6 pm, and put February Critique — Repeat in the Subject line.

To prepare your images, resize the long side to 2000 pixels, resolution of 72 ppi, and rename them 1FirstName_LastName.jpg, 2FirstName_LastName.jpg.

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1st each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Carolyn Whiteside is the administrator of this page – thank you Carolyn!

You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

January 2020

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

Our next meeting is Thursday, January 16th at 7:00 pm.

Our program this month is a combination of Member Share and Before & After.

We hope to see you there!

Agenda

  • 7:00 – 7:10
    • Welcome and Introduction of New Members and Guests
  • 7:10 – 7:25
    • Member Share (if you have news to share and want to show an image with it, please submit by Tuesday before the meeting. Put SHARE in the subject heading, please.
    • Calls for Entry
    • Discuss ideas, suggestions, and goals for our club.  Please fill out the member survey which was emailed and bring it to the meeting or send it back through email.  We’ll tabulate the responses and present them at the February meeting.
  • 7:25 – 9:00
    • Program – Member Share and Before & After – Meeting Attendees

Member Share and Before & After

  • Member Share: tips and hints.

The member share is always fun, and you’re sure to learn something new. Do you have camera gear, lighting equipment, computer program, website, or a framing or printing trick that has made your photography life better? We all want to know!

Bring that piece of equipment for show-and-tell or bring in a USB stick with screen captures. You can also show us on your own laptop, but please let us know via the club gmail account in advance.

  • Before and After

We all have experiences to share about how we process/develop our images. This is your opportunity to share that experience! You can send 2 sets of “before-and-afters.”

Send the “before” and “after” version of your image and explain specifically what you did to process it. What did you try? What didn’t work? What did work? You are also invited to ask for a critique of your images.

Send your 2 sets of files for up to 2 images to hcphotoclub@gmail.com by Tuesday, January 14th, at 6 pm, and put January Before and After in the Subject line.

To prepare your images, resize the long side to 2000 pixels, resolution of 72 ppi, and rename them 1FirstName_LastName.jpg, 2FirstName_LastName.jpg.

    • You can talk us through your editing steps.
    • Or send a pdf or slideshow/powerpoint of screen shots showing us specifically what you did and how it did or didn’t work on up to 2 images. Bring the file on a memory stick or USB drive. Or send your pdf to hcphotoclub@gmail.com by Tuesday, January 14th, at 6 pm, and put August Before and After in the Subject line.
      Please let us know via the club gmail account if you plan to bring files to share. or
    • Or demo what you do on up to 2 images using your processing software. The demo should take no more than 5 minutes for each image. You will need to bring your own computer and software.
      Please let us know via the club gmail account if you plan to bring files to share.

Membership Dues

Annual membership dues are $12.00. Dues for new members are reduced to $6.00 after July 1 each year.

You may pay by check at the next meeting, pay with Paypal here, or mail to our treasurer, Winifred Simon, at 600 Red Hawk Road, Wimberley, TX 78676, or pay using PayPal.

Paid membership is required for participation in exhibitions, fieldtrips and most workshops, as well as listings in Member News and Member Links on hcphotoclub.org. If you are on our email list, you will continue to receive our emails and be welcome at meetings whether or not you have paid dues.

Reminders

  • If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Carolyn Whiteside is the administrator of this page – thank you Carolyn!

  • You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.

December 2019

Hill Country Photography Club Posted on by

There will be no regular club meeting in December.

We want to  wish everyone a happy and safe holiday season, and hope to see you at our next regular meeting on January 19th!  Please check back in early January to see what the program will be.

Reminders

  • If you have a Facebook account, you may join our club’s Closed Group page and keep up with current member news as well as postings of Calls for Entry that you may wish to enter, or share other important or interesting information with our group. Go to HCPC Members. You must be a paid member to post and use this account. It is the easiest and best way to keep current on photo opps and member news. Carolyn Whiteside is the administrator of this page – thank you Carolyn!
  • You may also send a write-up of Accomplishments and Awards information that you would like to share on our website by submitting your information in a concise manner, and email to Art Arizpe at webmaster@hcphotoclub.org.