I have wanted to attend the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, and this year’s PSA conference provided the perfect excuse.  The conference itself was held from September 27 through October 3.  There were photo tours before the conference as well as the Balloon Fiesta after.

The conference started off with the opening ceremony to welcome all the attendees and give out awards and recognition. Nan Carder, EPSA, was recognized for earning the EPSA distinction.  It takes 700 acceptances at PSA recognized exhibitions (documented by division stars) to earn the EPSA distinction.

Here is a list of all the awards for Lancaster Photography Association (LPA) and LPA members given at the conference:

The AV Senior Center was busting at the seams, with a full house of party attendees on Valentine’s Day!  There were decorations, balloons, people dressed up in their holiday attire, hot dogs, root beer floats, and a live band.  It was loud, it was festive, and the dance floor was full.  The Happy Singers performed, as well as the Boogie Woogie Mamas.

The event was organized by volunteers at the senior center.  The LPA’s contribution to the big party was to photograph the event.  Chris Wilkins, Nan Carder, Norma Boggs, and Sue Craft photographed and provided discs full of images to the senior center.

It was easy, it was fun!  It was a great place to practice event photography.  It was low key, low stress, and seniors are greatly appreciative of photos, and very happy to pose.  It’s not every day one has the opportunity to “dress up” and have photos taken with friends.

The LPA would like to continue supporting event photography for the senior center.  Please consider volunteering your time at a future event.  Photos are provided to the senior center, which they share with attendees.  It’s a great opportunity to practice something new, and to give back to the senior center.

View more images in the gallery.

Betsy Batish’s photograph entitled “Unhitched” was given the Dean Webb Memorial Award on Thursday at the opening reception at MOAH.  David Wilkins, President of the LPA, presented the award.  LPA member Nan Carder organized a committee of David Wilkins, Pat Ware and Helen Henry who made the selection for the $100 award.

LPA Members Rock Myers, Sue Liberto, Sue Craft, Tina Crowe and Norma Boggs volunteered to take photos for the Annual Senior Prom.

It was a “Red Carpet” event, where the “Paparazzi “photographed entrants as they made their way to the ballroom (aka the senior center dining room).  The room was transformed, with room for a dance floor, covered tables and festive balloons.  Guests arrived in semi-formal attire, and immediately fell into a party atmosphere, as the live band, “Saggy Bottom Boys” made the stage and dance floor come alive. Some of those seniors sure know how to dance!!!  Seniors rocked the floor!

Again this year the Tour of California started a stage in our backyard in Palmdale.  It was a great day to get a few autographs, see the riders and equipment up close and watch the start of the race.  After the start we went out and waited for the riders on the final climb of the day on Bouquet Canyon.   Cycling has it’s own set of groupies. We met the man who runs along side the riders wearing a rack of horns or antlers mounted on a football helmet.  He is from Seattle and his name is Dore Holte and he follows the tour every year.  There was also a wide cast of superheroes, think Sponge Bob and Star Trek, on hand to cheer on the riders.

Marilyn Lincecum’s photograph entitled “WTF” was given the Dean Webb Memorial Award on Thursday at the opening reception at MOAH.  David Wilkins, President of the LPA, presented the award.  LPA member Lyle Trusty organized a committee of Nan Carder, Dale Ware and Tina Crowe who made the selection for the $100 award.

Next year the exhibit will move back to the traditional January time period.

This was the LPA’s 9th year of participating in the California Poppy Festival, held at Lancaster City Park.  Our booth was located in the Fine Arts area.

Our Purpose…

• To provide information to the public about our club and educational opportunities:  programs, workshops, field trips and activities and to provide wildflower photography tips
• To spark inspiration and interest within the community about photography
• To provide members an opportunity to learn how to display and sell their work

Due to a lack of rain this year, Mother Nature could not provide her famous display of fields of Poppies out to the west.  If one wanted to see Poppies this year, they were best seen at the Poppy Festival, in photographs.

Member participation was good, with over 13 volunteers, and 10 members selling photographic items including framed photos, matted photos, and greeting cards.  While not a record breaking year for sales, roughly $750 was made in sales, and 20% of all sales were donated to the LPA.  We also gained 3 new members.  New this year, we processed credit card payments for both sales and memberships.

Volunteers kept busy answering people’s questions about photography, promoting the LPA, and enjoyed working together on a club project and making new friends.

Thank you to all the volunteers and sellers who made this LPA event a big success!

Sue Craft & Scott Shackelford
LPA Poppy Festival Chairs 

On Saturday afternoon, the 25th of March, LPA member Sue Craft was the guest speaker at the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve in Lancaster. Her topic was “Wildflower Photography” and she was assisted by LPA member Tylene Trout. Using the large overhead flat screen tv that the LPA had donated to the PDWP last year, Sue showed a great variety of photos that enhanced her message. Some of the sub-topics covered included specific flowers and plants that grow at the PDWP (during years we have more rain than this year), where those flowers are located, other locations where blossoms are often found in the AV, camera lens suggestions, specific photo taking techniques, as well as book and web sites that may be of help.