Lots of good stuff to read in this weeks magazine. A few LPA members mentioned and awarded in their photo contest.



When a group of photography enthusiasts got together to form the Lancaster Photography Association in 1966, no one was quite sure how the group would develop.

Members back then probably didn't imagine that film cameras would be replaced by digital cameras, that darkrooms would be left in the dark, and that the LPA would grow to more than 150 members.

"We're a very friendly club," said Sue Craft, LPA vice president. "We have members with a wide range of ages and abilities, from young to old, from novices to professionals.

"And that wide range of people is one of the club's strengths. The more experienced members have more to share with the novices who are wanting to learn."

Craft said photographic interests are as varied as the members and include portraiture, nature, travel, landscape, photojournalism, creative effects, digital imaging, and macro.

LPA's regular monthly meetings are held at 6 PM on the third Tuesday of the month at the Antelope Valley Senior Center, 777 West Jackman St. in Lancaster.

"We usually get a pretty good crowd for those meetings," said Craft. "We usually have a program, either a guest speaker or a competition."



The in-house competitions are important because members can move up to novice, amateur, advanced amateur, master—if they win two blue ribbons at their present levels.

The competition themes vary and include human interest, panoramic, nature, people and wildflowers.
"Most of the people who join the club want to progress as photographers," Craft said.
"I've been a member for 20-plus years," said Darlene Sprunger. "I was a casual photographer when I joined. I took a new camera on vacation and came away with good pictures. That's what got me started.

"I gave up my painting classes and started shooting. I joined the club because 1 wanted to be a better photographer. And there are so many wonderful people here who are willing to share what they know."
LPA also holds workshops and organizes field trips for its members.

"We try to do a field trip each month," Craft said. "We go to locations like Yosemite, Bodie, Mono Lake, Red Rock Canyon, but also local ones like shooting horses in Acton, or trips just 'over the hill' to perhaps Descanso Gardens or the gardens at The Huntington.

"More people go on the one-day field trips than do the extended trips. But they're all fun and educational."
Dan Bennett, one of LPA's founders, said LPA's workshops are for both advanced and beginning photographers.
"People wouldn't want to join if they think everything is going to be over their heads," Bennett said. "I'd say that among our members, about 20% are real active (in photography), about 50% dabble with photography, and for the rest, it's social."

Craft said LPA's biggest project each year is coordinating the photo competition and entries for the annual Antelope Valley Fair.

"It consumes a lot of time, but we get plenty of participation from the members in order to pull it off," Craft said, noting that fair.photo-entries averaged about 2,000 in 2008 and 2009. "That's both print and digital entries. Not every entry gets hung up on a wall.

"We usually hold a workshop sometime in June and invite the public to learn how to enter their photos in the fair and how to mount them correctly. Working the fair entries can be a challenge because we have to make sure everyone knows the rules and follows them. We also answer a lot of questions because the entry process can be very involved."

Being at the fair also allows the LPA to connect with potential new members.
For more information about LPA, call president Dave Anderson at 661/265-7188 or go to <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.lpaphotography.org">http://www.lpaphotography.org</a><;!-- m -->.