Join us for a nearby field trip to Mentryville on Sunday, April 24, 2016.  Breakfast at Roxy’s (405 W Palmdale Blvd, Palmdale, CA 93551) in Palmdale about 7:15.  Then we will travel to Mentryville (27201 Pico Canyon Road, Newhall) to arrive at 9 am. Pico Canyon was the site of the first commercially successful oil well in the western United States.  Mentryville was the 1880’s oil boomtown built around the Pico 4 Oil well. There is no entrance fee but there is a $5.00 parking charge. The terrain is California chaparral.  There are both old structures and old machinery to photograph.  

Directions: From the Golden State Freeway (I-5) in Valencia, exit on Lyons Road/ Pico Canyon Road. Head west on Pico Canyon Road. Nears its end, bear left at a Y and continue to the end of the road. A large parking lot is opposite historic Mentryville.

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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, April 15th - 17th

Hosted by Eugene Duley

http://parks.nv.gov/parks/valley-of-fire-state-park/

Meeting time at Destination: The Park Visitors Center we are meeting at 8:30 AM to 9 AM Saturday and Sunday.  Friday is an option if there are enough people there to justify a meet up.

I spent two days at this park mid March of this year. The weather was perfect and I was fascinated with the red rock formations, and combinations of colors.  There is way to much to see in a day or two so I want to give it another try and hike some of the longer trails.  

There are several short hikes, less than a mile, to points of interest or Vistas points in the park.  I found a lot of Kodak moments along every trail I took.  Especially Mouse’s tank, Fire Wave, and White Domes loop.  Yes this park has its own version of the famous “Wave”.

One of the most scenic and popular trails is the Prospect Trail, which starts at White Domes  and finishes due south near Petrified Logs West and the road into the campgrounds.  This is about a 4.6 mile hike almost all down hill.  The trail is part old road, sand wash, and rock scrambling and foot path.  The best time to take this hike is in the afternoon because the trail is on the West side of the rock formations.  In planning for this hike, since it is not a loop then it would be very helpful to plan on a shuttle at the end.  So as part of this field trip I want to plan this hike and shuttle service for those that want to take the adventure.

I will also make up a list of the different sights and the best time of day to photograph them.  That will be available to anyone that is interested at a later date.

Of the people that are going, is there anyone that is not a serious photographer?  Meaning they are happy to shoot with their cell phones.  My friend Alison is working on a lesson plan to help teach people how to take better photos and videos with their cell phones.  She will be very happy to answer questions and do some coaching for those interested.

Campgrounds:  There are two campgrounds with a combined total of 72 units. Campsites are equipped with shaded tables, grills, water, and restrooms. A dump station and showers are available.  All campsites are first-come, first-serve.

For the Motel group: The closest is in the Moapa Valley.  The city of Overton has two motels, one is new and about $110.00 a night. The other is a much older one and costs $55.00 a night. There are no major food chains in this town. There are a couple of Mom & Pop restaurants, and I can not vouch for any of them. There are several gas stations with the usual grab and go stuff.

Las Vegas is about an hours drive south.

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[image2_left] In Search of the Elusive Landscape with Dan Holmes

Join us Tuesday,  March 22nd, at 6:00 P.M. at the AVSC for a special evening with Dan Holmes. What makes a powerful landscape or nature photography? How do we find it and what gives a photograph “staying power”? Dan takes us on the journey from selecting a scene and choosing the right equipment, to finding and creating the photo which becomes a “lifetime image”.

Dan Holmes travels the world exploring, discovering, and telling stories with light. He is in the top tier of landscape and nature photographers, with national and international awards. Known for his emotional and evocative imagery, he takes great pleasure in teaching about photographing in the natural world. His photography workshops include trips to Alaska, Nepal, Namibia, the western U.S., Bolivia and Chili. [image1]

Macro Photography Filed Trip in Agua Dulce

[image5_left] Field Trip April 2nd. Wildflower season is upon us and this field trip and workshop will provide our members the opportunity to practice and sharpen their macro skills on cacti. The Cables, Bruce and Diane, have 4 cactus areas at their home that you can shoot. This field trip will focus specifically on cacti, but the technique can be used on any flowers. This also a good opportunity to get ready for the LPA flower competition coming up in May.

Bruce Cable describes the location as, “We have a 2-1/2 acre property in Agua Dulce and I have four cactus plantings. Two in front, one in back and also along the front porch. One of the front plantings will be the best as that one has the oldest plants - some as much as 25 years old.” Other places to visit in or near Agua Dulce are Vasquez Rocks and downtown Agua Dulce.

Bring your tripod and macro lens if you have one or use the macro setting on your camera.  Other members will be there to help get the best shots.

Sign up here and you will receive the address and further information.

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Step Into The Past March 2016 Competition

By Bonnie J Matthews-Franke

 

[image1_left] The deadline to enter is March 8^th at 11:59pm. Please remember, even if only entering prints you need to upload digital images of the print entries so they can be displayed for everyone to see during the judging.

Our judge will Paul Speaker and we will have a no host dinner at the Greenhouse Cafe at 4:30pm on Tuesday, March 15th, 2016. Please contact Bonnie Matthews-Franke at competition@lpaphotography.org if you have any questions

Paul Speaker has been interested in photography since childhood. He began with roll film and a box Brownie. After active duty in the USNavy, he attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree with a double major in Industrial Photography and Color Technology. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by General Dynamics Corp, where he worked as an industrial photographer and color printer for 10 years. When their facility was sold and moved, he switched to Lifetouch, a school photography company, where, for 10 years he photographed classroom groups from 6 to 600 students, dances, seniors, and sports. Paul had his first Photoshop class in January, 2000, and, by April had hired on as a full-time retoucher for a full-service portrait studio. Currently, he is semi-retired, accepting assignments if they interest him, but mostly doing Photoshop work for other photographers.

Paul is an active member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), currently serving on the PPA Council. Through PPA, he has qualified as a Certified Professional Photographer. Paul  also earned the PPA Master of Photography Degree, the Craftsman Degree, and the Master Artist Degree. At the state level, he has earned the Fellowship Award with three bars representing more than 75 prints. He has been accepted into the Professional Photographers of California (PPC) State Print Competitions since 2002. Paul has been the recipient of two People’s Choice Awards, a Fuji Masterpiece Award, two PPA Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) Competition Awards, and two Kodak Gallery Awards at the state level.  He is the past president of the Inland Empire Professional Photographers and Videographers, based in Riverside, CA, the local affiliate of PPC. Paul is also the immediate Past President of the International Association of Panoramic Photographers (IAPP). One of Paul’s panoramic images earned a Silver Award in the 2013 Epson International Pano Awards competition. During 2015 Paul had images accepted in international competitions in Greece, Serbia, Ireland, Bavaria, Queensland (Australia), Argentina, and the United States.

Besides membership in Photographic Society of America (PSA), Paul is a member of Photochromers, based in Sierra Madre, CA, affiliated with the Southern California Council of Camera Clubs (S4C). As a Board Member of S4C, Paul is responsible for screening images submitted in the monthly competitions for the Pictorial-Individual Color section. Paul is also being called on to judge at other camera clubs within the S4C community, and has participated in several International judging’s. He also belong to the Rancho Cucamonga Photo Club, and the Riverside Art Museum’s Photo Artist Network (PAN), neither of which are members of PSA (yet). Paul was also honored to place First in Photography in the Associated Artists of the Inland Empire 50^th Annual Juried Fine

Art Show last year.

STEP INTO THE PAST - Historic sites, buildings, antiques and relics of the past. This can include images of people in period costume.

Third Annual Los Angeles County Air Show

Fox Field

[image1_left] The third annual Los Angeles County Airshow with the Blue Angels at Fox Field will be held March 19-20 at Fox Field in Lancaster. General admission tickets for the Saturday and Sunday performances as well as Photo tour/passes for Friday, March 18 (practice day), Saturday and Sunday are available on the LA County Air Show website. Photo tour tickets are detailed under the  Event Information drop down menu. 

Ice Cream, Good people and Great Photographs…
Doesn't get any better than that !!!

[image1_left] Join us on Tuesday, February 23rd at 6 pPM at the senior center for an fun evening sharing your favorite images and enjoying  ice cream. It’s all free to our LPA members and their guests. 

Here’s how it works:
Upload your 10 favorite JPEG images (PG13 please) to the LPA website. The deadline for the upload to the website is February 19th. If you miss the deadline, bring a flash drive 20 minutes before 6 PM so we can load them into the laptop.

When your images are presented, you can comment on them talking about where they were taken or how they were shot. If you don’t want to comment, that’s OK. We’ll just show the images for everyone to enjoy. 

We all look forward to seeing and hearing about your images. Don’t be bashful; even if you’re a novice, we’d love to see what you created. It’s not intended to be a critique event…just a fun evening amongst us photogs.

[image1_left] Ever consider traveling to exotic places to capture those images that you see in National Geographic? If  the task sounds daunting, we have a workshop for you. 

Two of our LPA members are world travelers and exceptional photographers as well. David and Christine Wilkins will present some of their images from their travels and offer logistical tips for how to make the  experience more pleasurable. Having heard some of their colorful interactions with the indigenous people they encountered, I’m sure you’ll find the evening enjoyable.