The LPA will be hosting a field trip to the Vans US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. Sarah Osenga is the trip leader and coordinator.

The field trip will be held on Friday, August 3rd, 2018. We will meet at the front of the pier at 9:00AM.

Participants should bring water, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat and other necessities. You may also want to bring a beach chair or towel to sit on. There are plenty of restaurants and a Starbucks nearby.

Preferred lenses for Surfing are the 100-400 but any long lens will work. If using a larger lens (70-200, 300, 100-400), a monopod might be helpful. Preferred lenses for BMX Bikes and Skateboarding 24-70 or 70-200, as you are pretty close to the action.

For surfing you can shoot from the top of the Pier or the sand.

Address: 315 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Parking: There are several parking garages located near the pier, costs is somewhere around $15-$20.

Please sign up below.

On April 24, 2018, you will have the opportunity to show us five of your favorite (or needing improvement) images and have them critiqued by some of LPA’s Master Photographers. This is a great chance to find out what you can do to improve your images and get them ready for competition, either at the Antelope Valley Fair or in PSA or S4C competitions.

It is very easy to overlook minor details on an image that you really like, so this is a chance to get an impartial viewpoint on everything from exposure and composition to minor details such as sharpening and vignette. You should come away with some great ideas to fix images you have already taken, as well as ways to improve your future photographs.

Our photo club is here to help you grow in your photography skills and this is one of the ways that you can grow. The goal of the critiques will be to suggest ways you can make the image better. It will help you learn how to critique your own images and what to look for when you are choosing images for competition.

So, sign in on the LPA website and upload your five images for free.

It should be a great time of learning for everyone! I know I am always trying to improve and I’m sure you are, as well!

[image1_left]On April 17th, we will spend the evening discussing Astrophotography techniques. Topics include: Equipment, camera settings, planning your shoot, software, various methods for shooting a standard Milky Way, shooting a panoramic Milky Way, shooting Star Trails and even a brief touch on making Time Lapse movies as a by-product of shooting Star Trails. We’ll also discuss the challenging topic of Noise Reduction techniques, with demos (time permitting).

[image2_right]I have worked as an Engineer at the AF base testing Aircraft, Missiles and Bombs 30+ years. I think the fact that I come from a technical background is one of the main reasons that I enjoy Astrophotography as much as I do. Astrophotography tends to be more challenging and technical that other styles. I shot my first Milky Way picture three years ago while on a camping trip in the mountains while bored sitting in the camp site. I never processed the photos but still, when I saw the raw result, I was hooked. The next day I went looking for a location to shoot a “real” photo and processed it this time. Next came endless hours reading articles and watching YouTube videos to learn more techniques. I continue to learn, attempt and practice new techniques.

So join us on April 17th at 6:00 at the Antelope Valley Senior Center for a great learning experience!

On March 27, 2018 at 6:00 p.m., Lancaster Photography Association will be having a competition with two categories: Structures and Birds. Lin Craft will be our judge for this competition.

All members are encouraged to enter up to 3 images. They may be divided between the two categories or may be all in one category. The cost for entry is $5.00, payable via Paypal at the time of entry, or in cash at the competition. You may enter 1-3 images for the same fee. Any nonpaid entries will not be judged.

The definitions for each category are as follows:

• STRUCTURES - Man-made objects such as buildings, bridges, lighthouses, statues, etc. EXCLUDES VEHICLES.
• BIRDS – Any bird, domesticated (i.e. Parrot)  or wild (i.e. Pelican).

These are both pictorial categories, so alterations are permitted.

We know you have some great images, and we are looking forward to seeing them in the competition!

The deadline for entering the competition is March 20 at 11:59 p.m. You may enter here.

The LPA is hosting a field trip to the Association of Volleyball Professionals Hermosa Beach Open beach volleyball tournament.

This trip will be held on Friday, July 27th at 8:30 am. Carpooling is encouraged. We will meet in front of Good Stuff Restaurant (on the beach just north of the pier). Participants should bring water, sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and other necessities. You may also want to bring a beach chair or towel to sit on. There are plenty of restaurants nearby.

[image1_left]On March 20th, at 6:00 our LPA general meeting will host Rusty Nelson as our speaker. The program will be about his passion and method for storm and weather photography. The meeting will be held at the Antelope Valley Senior Center, 777 W. Jackman Street, Lancaster, CA

Rusty Nelson is an Adobe Lightroom Certified Expert and was recently awarded Photographer of the Year with the Professional Photographers of Los Angeles. He is also an extreme storm chasing photographer and guide in Tornado Alley with Silver Lining Tours and spends most of his summer “chasing” in the Midwest with his camera.

[image1_left]When: Thursday, March 22nd from 6:00 to 8:00.
Where: Quartz Hill Community Church, 43543 51st Street West, Quartz Hill, CA 93536 (corner of Avenue K and 51st Street West).

Coming up Thursday March 22nd, just in time for the LA County Air Show, we will have a great guest speaker, Rich Cooper. Rich will be giving a presentation on his recent work and how he got into this field of photography. He will discuss in depth taking the shots of airplanes and also let us have Q&A.

[image1_left]Jonathan Charles Willner is a 40 year old photographer currently residing in Granada Hills , Ca. He specializes in macro photography. He got his first Canon DSLR camera in December 2006, and by January 2007, photography was a full blown passion of his. He has been a photographer ever since. He has shot everything from headshots to weddings, modeling to family photos, live band shoots to promotional band shoots and now his main focus is nature, primarily macro photography . You can find a lot of his work online by searching out his full name and also look up ArtofJCW.

During the workshop, Mr. Willner will be showing printed images and talking about the techniques and gear used to capture each one. This will be a great way to learn about macro photography gear, setups, lighting, how to overcome common challenges, creative ideas to get better shots, as well as answering individual questions that anyone may have. There will also be a raffle drawing and some giveaways for people that attend.