The Merrimack Valley Camera Club is pleased to invite the Lancaster Photography Association to participate in the 32nd George W. Glennie Nature Salon photographic competition.  The salon is open to camera clubs and photographic associations worldwide.  Last year, almost 100 clubs submitted images for competition.

This is a premier, international all-nature club competition of digital images known for its diversity of subjects which range from animals to botany to landscapes.  In the animal categories, birds and mammals are usually well represented, but each year about a third of the entries are invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians or marine & freshwater life.

We are trying something new: Entries will be on line in the Lancaster Photography website competition upload area. All LPA members who enter this competition will vote which images will be selected. The end for submissions for this competition is by February 21.  Judging will be February 21 to February 29. All images to be selected by March 1, 2011. Each person may enter one image, no larger than 1024x768 and 1 MB. Entries are due to the Merrimack Valley Camera Club by March 8, 2011

Friday, Feb. 10 - Sunday, Feb 12, 2012

Death Valley National Park is a desert wonderland of immense scale, beauty and power. Its 3.3 million acres, the vast majority of which are roadless wilderness, encompass a staggering array of landscapes, unique geologic formations and colorful vistas. The largest National Park in the contiguous United States, Death Valley is both beautiful to behold and rich in history, mood and mystique. Its towering sand dunes, seasonally snow-capped mountains, warm springs and vast empty valleys offer endless opportunity for exploration and ample subject matter for the creative artist. There’s no place on earth quite like it.

Presented by David Jesse McChesney, February 21, 2012 at 6 PM

Our February program will feature David Jesse McChesney, author and photographer, talking about his new book “The Mojave Desert: Miles of Wonder”.  His new book is creating a lot of excitement among desert lovers everywhere.  This will be a very special program so plan on attending.

Portrait Workshop, by Bonnie Matthews February 28th, 6 pm to 8 pm (doors open to set up at 5pm).

Bring your cameras and tripod/monopods. Light setups and models will be provided. This is a hands on and learning experience workshop. We will have various types of studio lighting, giving each person a chance to try out each set up. Studio lights can be flash, fluorescent, and tungsten. We will show you various ways to work with the models to get the results they want and you want. Model releases will be provided to members. Please bring your camera manuals and know how to set your "white balance" in your camera (if you don't know how, ask us).

The second competition of 2012 will be held on March 20, the third Tuesday of the month.   The theme is Portraits and all entries must be Print following the LPA print rules which follow.

• Prints must have one dimension (length or width) of at least 9”.
• Maximum mount board size in Novice, Amateur, and Advanced categories is 16” x 20” and 17” x 24” in the Master category. Panoramic prints may be up to 320 square inches in area in Novice, Amateur, and Advanced categories and up to 408 square inches in the Master category.
• Prints must be mounted. Foam core is recommended, but mount board will be accepted. Borders on mount boards are acceptable.
• Mats and frames are NOT accepted.
• The back of each print will have the photographer's name and the title of the picture. Each slide will be identified by title and photographer's name on the mount, no stickers. Slides must have a dot on the lower left corner of the mount when viewed properly.

Larry Cowles is the judge for this competition.

The Southern California Photography Conference will be held in Lancaster on June 16, 2012. This event is being sponsored by the Lancaster Photography Association. Our key note speaker will be Canon Explorer of Light, George Lepp. We are in the planning stages but have many guest speakers lined up to for a fabulous day of photography lectures and demonstrations including "Entering and Preparing Photos for the AV Fair" beginning at 6:00 pm. The conference is being held at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds in the Harley Davidson Building. This will be a fantastic opportunity for all of us to learn something new and meet other photographers.

If you are interested in helping please sign up below, I will contact you with more information.

Thanks in advance for your help.