FOCAL POINT FEB-11

Focal Point FEBRUARY 2011

1 Northern California Professional Photographers



Northern California Professional Photographers Officers

Committee Chairs and Coordinators

President Wayne Miller 925-330-8737 [email protected] 1st Vice President Programs Denny Weigand 925-336-7994 [email protected]

Membership Stacey Flurscheim 925-330-7130 [email protected] blog / Website Wayne Miller 925-330-8737 [email protected]

Send Newsletter information to: Tom O'Connor. [email protected] Deadline for submission of articles and ad copy is the 24th of each month. Information received after the deadline cannot be guaranteed publication

2nd Vice President Print Competition Tom O'Connor 925-586-2745 [email protected]

Newsletter - Focal Point Editor Tom OConnor 925-586-2745 [email protected] FP Copy Editor Denny Weigand 925-336-7994 [email protected] Hospitality Lisa Duncan 925-284-3878 [email protected]

3rd Vice President Membership Stacey Flurscheim 925-330-7130 [email protected] Treasurer Malcolm Slight 925-330-8737 [email protected] Secretary Kevallyn Paskos 925-766-3121 [email protected]

Apprentice Membership Ann Gordon 510-222-4115 [email protected]

Chairman of the Board Randy Cazinha 925-249-1999

Photographer Eduardo Cardona

Focal Point is published by Northern California Professional Photographers. Articles and comments are invited; publication is subject to space available and editorial approval. Note: Articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of NCPP. Ads and flyers may or may not have the endorsement of NCPP or its Board of Directors.

Advertising Costs: 11 Issues per year NCPP Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. 1/4 page for 3 months per

year - Free Additional / Larger Ads: 1/4 Page for 3 months -

$25 1/2 Page for 3 months -

$50 Full Page for 3 months -

$75 Change to ad -

$25 Note: Members can use the Yahoo Group email to advertise at no cost. Sustaining Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. Full Page per year - Free Non Members/Non Sustaining Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. Full Page per year - $500



Annual NCPP Membership Renewal 4 NCPP Spring Party and Awards Pot Luck 5 Presidents Message "Professional Photographers Share - Wayne Miller 6 - 7 2nd VP Message "An Invitation to Participate in Print Comp" - Tom O'Connor 8 Photographic Craftsman Degrees Awarded 9 February speaker - Laura Cottril "Behind the Scenes with Family Portraits" 10 February Image Competition: "PPA Style Print and Projected Comp" 11 Preparing an image for "Projected Image Comp" 12 - 13 Best of Show - November 2010 14 - 15 November Meeting Review and Images 16 - 21 "Beyond Sunset" - James Brandon 22 - 23 The "Mudpack" Treatment - Michael Kirwan" 24 - 32 Tips From The Pros 33 Coming on March 8, 2011 - Carol Andrews 34 Membership Information 35 Treasurer's Report 35 NCPP Member Awards & Member Degrees 36 - 37 PPA Certification, Merit & Degree Programs 38 NCPP Membership Classifications and Fees for 2011 39 NCPP Sustaining Members 30 - 45 Our Neighboring Affiliates 46 Calendar - Important Dates 47 Sunset Chart 48

NCPP MEETING THIS MONTH TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011 Doors open at 6pm, meeting starts at 7pm

Come early at 6pm to socialize!!

Table of Contents



Join, or Renew your NCPP Membership 2011 Dues are due for your NCPP membership by Jan. 30th.

We have rolled back the membership fees to $135 per year.

Please download and fill out the renewal form Membership application and include it with your renewal check or PayPal payment.

-Professional Active:

Annual Dues $135. A professional photographer is an individual who on a regular basis, takes and sells photographs or photographic services. Must satisfy federal, state (resale permit), & local license requirements. Professional Active members have full membership privileges (Free meetings, voting, use of NCPP logo for self promotional use, and image competition).

-Aspiring*: Annual Dues $135. An individual who does not work in the photographic field, or derive any income from photography but plans to enter the profession. Limited to one year. Membership privileges: meetings and entering image competition, but may not vote, hold office or use the NCPP logo. May not actively sell photography or advertise/promote themselves as a photographer for hire. Limited 20% enrolment.

-Student*: Annual Dues $50. Members preparing for a career in the photography and currently enrolled in a school as a full time student. Applicant must show evidence for enrollment. Membership privileges: meetings and entering image competition, but may not vote, hold office or use the NCPP logo. Limited 10% enrolment. Please e-mail your application to Membership Chairperson: Stacey Flurscheim. [email protected] Or mail it to: NCPP Membership 1973 Countrywood Ct. Walnut Creek, CA 94598 If you need an invoice for your accountant click here:

Date: 3/20/2010

NCPP Spring PARTY Pot Luck / Awards

SATURDAY February 12

th

2011 Time: 6pm till 11pm

Contact Wayne 925-330-8737 [email protected]

Who: ALL NCPP members and their significant others, guest or closest friend Where: Waynes place on Keller Ridge Drive in Clayton, CA

Theme: Spring equinox meet others and fellowship. Bring: BYOB (bring your own beverage) and last names: A-F appetizers' G-L Salad or vegetables' M-S Main dish T-Z Desert

Social hour 6-7, dinner at 8pm and slide shows, Awards start at 9pm



Professional Photographers Share. If the craft of Professional Photographer is to grow then we (NCPP) need to share the knowledge of our craft with the up and coming professional photographers. If we do not, then the craft and art of photography will become a commodity that lacks any special talent. Cameras and modern software makes any person with a camera a photographer, but it takes the experienced minds eye of a photographer to create art. Read our Mission Statement (bottom of next page). Our purpose is to share and mentor professionals in our craft, and help them grow. The best way to share is to come forward and offer to do something for NCPP: Be a speaker, do a Tips from the Pros seminar (1-1.5 hours before a regular meeting, do a workshop, write an article for the Focal Pointetc.) If everyone does a little not one person has to do it all. Here is your kick-start kit for sharing with other Professional Photographers: 1-Encourage other Pro-Photogs to attend a NCPP meeting or join NCPP. 2-Join NorCalProPhotogs Meet-up http://www.meetup.com/NCPP-Meet-up/ and ask others too. (just dont live in the background-RSVP for events, rate the meetings, leave content on the site for others to grow, host an event or field trip..get off your a&& and do something) 3-Visit the NCPP Blog http://ncpponline.org/ and check out the info and videos. There is a video on how to do a Screencast so you, yes you, can post and share some photography tidbit (it isnt that hard). You can also leave comments on the blog and link to the blog from your website or blog so we gain better internet ratings. 4-Write an article for the Focal Point and link to the FP from your blog, or even imbed it into your blog. 5-Broadcast about NCPP on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and spread the word. 6-Volunteer to help NCPP at a meeting, event, or serve on the Board. NCPP exists for its members, and if we lose members then we are not living up to our Mission Statement. Because of the economy, Meet-up groups, competition in the field, many are too busy for NCPP. If we do not maintain a minimum number of members then we will be forced to tighten the belt and unable to maintain the current speakers, benefits, and meeting location for NCPP. Maintaining membership is paramount so if you have not yet renewed please do so here:

Dues are due for your NCPP membership by Jan. 30th. We have rolled back the membership fees to $135 per year, and if you renew by midnight Jan 15th it is only $125 (you save another $10). Please download and fill out the renewal form Membership application and include it with your renewal check or PayPal payment. If you need an invoice for your accountant click here:

It takes a lot to run a great organization like NCPP. Without the volunteers that give their time and effort the organization would not be what it is today. Consider what effort goes into NCPP from the Executive Officers: Denny, who is the 1st VP (Programs-Education), and sets up speakers plus the

Presidents Message - Wayne Miller (aka Blogomeister / PdTG guy)



audio/visual equipment for each meeting, Tom, who is the 2nd VP (Image Competition) collects and displays images at our monthly competition, and hauls the lighting, stands, and monitor to view the images. Stacey, 3rd VP (Membership) Welcomes at the meeting and maintains the membership. Kevallyn, Secretary who takes the minutes and posts them from officer/board meetings. Malcom, Treasurer that keeps the books afloat and pays the bills. Randy, Chairman who keeps me honest and is a great resource of NCPP history. Tom, Focal Point Editor who puts together a world class monthly publication. Lisa, Hospitality person, who greets members. The webmaster who created and maintains our Blog/Website, and President that works into the wee hours of the morning to make NCPP the greatest.that would be me

Ok the bottom line is if we dont get members and volunteers NCPP will slim down on the benefits that we have all learned to love and perhaps taken for granted. So what are you waiting for? Step up!

Masters Night: Robert Pierce gave a magnificent presentation. His art work and the way he created it were very informative. Robert also touched on business and how he works with his clients in creating wall art. Thanks to all who came to the meeting.

Special thanks to Laura Cottril and Kevallyn Paskos for working so hard to pull together Master Photographers for Masters Night at NCPP, Bay Photo for providing the printed invitations, Tod Gomes for rounding up the gifts for the Masters, Denny Weigand for setting up the projection and sound equipment, and Tom OConnor for running images competition. Also thanks to new members Eduardo Cardona, photographer for the event, and Trina Tuel who helped set print comp, did the scoring, and stayed to the end helping our speaker pack-up.

Are you on the road less traveled (volunteers) or coasting down the freeway of life?

NCPP Mission Statement: The Northern California Professional Photographers is an organization dedicated to advancing the business of professional photography. Our purpose is to create an environment amongst professional photographers that will inspire each of us and to help one another grow as business professionals and artists.

Presidents Message - Wayne Miller (aka Blogomeister / PdTG guy)



Print/Projected print comp can be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. It can also be very nerve wracking. It can cause you to sweat and to feel self conscious or make you feel like everyone in the room is looking at you or wondering how in the world you could ever submit a print that looks that bad. Well, who cares what others think. You enter print comp for your own growth. Everyone, even today's top photographers had to start somewhere. Maybe you will be tomorrows top photographer and entering print comp is one of the tools that can help you get there. I call it a tool because you have the opportunity to hear your image critiqued and then put that information to use however you like. You will definitely learn what you are doing right and where you can improve. And remember, these comments by the judges about your image are subjective. You are hearing another person's opinion, not necessarily a certain fact. Some judges are more learned about what makes a good image than others. Within the same judging panel you may hear that one judge likes a certain aspect of your image while another does not. In the end you are the one to decide what advice you want to put into practice. But, this is how you learn. If I just made image after image to my liking without any input from my peers, I might be very happy with my work, but customers and the rest of the photographic community might not feel the same way. When I am working on an image either at the camera or on the computer I always have little ticklers running through my mind of comments I have heard during print comp, whether they were comments about an image of mine or someone else's. These comments, the ones I have decided to adopt, I believe help me make better images. If besides learning, you want to win at print comp, learn to present your image in a way that you know will help it do better. An example might be how to choose a background or stroke color to compliment your image. If it is a printed image, darken it by about 20% due to the hot lights that are trained on the image. Where is the brightest point in the image? This is the first place your eye will go when viewing it. If there are areas brighter than you subject, burn them down so they do not attract attention away from your subject. There are other comments that a judge may make with respect to how you staged your image. You may love the way you staged it or the family you took the image for may have loved it. These are comments you can disregard if you like yours better when it comes to doing an image for a customer, but keep these comments in mind if you are preparing your image for print comp. In other words, if you know judges like images that have a high gloss, don't present yours on matte paper. If the judges constantly comment on how backgrounds with patterns distract from the image, don't use a patterned background. The more you enter and watch other images being critiqued, the more you learn of these small nuances that can help you win. But, I really want to invite more people to participate in print/projected print comp. Very few of our members actually enter. We need more entries and competition between each other. We are now offering Projected Print Comp which will drastically reduce the cost of entering. We are charging $5.00 per image. That is your only cost. If you are entering printed images and have them done, you are talking about spending about $35.00 to $40.00 per image. Click here to see the Written Projected Rules, or to see the How To Videos on our website. The instructions are also in every issue of the Focal Point.

An Invitation to Participate in Print/Projected Comp - 2nd VP - Tom O'Connor



Denny Weigand and Wayne Miller of DigitalWhims and Wayne Miller Photography have earned the Photographic Craftsman degree from the Professional Photographers of America. The degree was presented at the association's annual convention, Imaging USA, held January 16-18, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas. Wayne Miller and Denny Weigand have met the standards of excellence set by the Professional Photographers of America. Denny and Wayne have been awarded the Photographic Craftsman Degree in recognition of their service to the photographic profession as orators, authors and mentors. PPA, a worldwide association, exists to assist its' more than 22,000 members in achieving their professional, artistic and fraternal goals; promote public awareness of the profession; and to advance the making of images in all of its' disciplines as an art, a science, and a visual recorder of history.

Congratulations to Denny and Wayne!!

Photographic Craftsman Degree Earned by NCPP Members



Learn Laura Cottril's secrets for creating memories that go beyond just a photograph. Laura will share her vision for the ideal client relationship that leads to raving referrals. This testimonial speaks for itself! "The whole experience was one of the most amazing things to happen to us as a family!" Great photographs are the other side of the scale to balance with the memory making. Laura will show the way she looks for light and texture to create stunning photographs. She'll go over her process of the portrait session and what she looks for when working with her clients.

Laura believes you need to put your own oxygen mask on first. The keys to success start with you! Laura will share her experience that revealed the path to overall success and clarity. Learn to re-frame your thinking for life balance with the tips that Laura will share. Fill Your Keychain with the three keys to success! - Rewarding client relationships - Memory making photographs - Life balance tools Award-winning, certified professional photographer Laura Cottril specializes in creating emotional images with natural light portrait photography Laura believes the portrait experience can bring families closer and create lifelong memories. Her specialties are maternity, children and family images. Laura has been profiled in Rangefinder, Professional Photographer and ProPhoto West magazines. You can see more of Laura's work at www.lauracphotography.com.

NCPP Proudly Presents Our Own - Laura Cottril "Behind the Scenes with Family Portraits"

6-7 PM: Socialize: Network with other photographers in meeting room. 7:00 PM: Meeting Starts NCPP members are free, Guest fee is $20 in advance or $30 at the door the day of the event. (Click here Early Bird $20.00 PayPal)



February 2011 has two different types of print competition: PPA Style Print and PPA Style Projected If you are interested in volunteering with image comp, please contact: Tom O'Connor at 925-586-2745 or Email Tom @ [email protected]. The next NCPP PPA Style Image Competition will be at the March 2011 meeting and we will have both "Print" and "Projected" image competition. More information on "Projected" on pages 12 and 13 of this Focal Point issue.

Image Competition for February 8, 2011



Preparing your image for "Projected" Image Comp This article will remain permanently in the Focal Point.



Here are the basics for creating your "Projected Image" file. We will be setting the file type, dimensions, color space, jpg quality, pixels per inch and file name that that will qualify for NCPP Projected Image Comp. These requirements are the same as the PPA requirements with the exceptions of the two items in NOTE 2 below.

1. Create a file that will become the background for your image that is 4,000px x 2,200px @ 200 pixels per inch. (20" x 22") This size fits our monitor and will be displayed at its optimal.

2. The color space can be sRGB or RGB1998. 3. The file type is a jpg with a Quality setting of 10. Total file size not to exceed 3.5mb. 4. You can apply a color or pattern to this layer just as you would do for a printed image that you

would have entered previously in print comp. 5. Next prepare the image that you are going to insert over the background. The color space, ppi

etc needs to be the same as your background layer. 6. Size the image as you wish in either a vertical or horizontal format. The image size must be at

least 80 square inches. An example is 8" x 10". The image may be placed anywhere you want to put it on the background layer. The positioning of the image on the background layer will be part of your "Presentation" score just like with Printed print comp.

7. Add a stroke or any other edge treatment to the edge of the image you want, or not. 8. All images will be shown only with the background in the "Horizontal Format". This is the same

way that PPA is handling it. The monitor will not be rotated for vertical images. They will be shown just like the example images on the previous page.

9. There is to be no photographer name or studio name on the image. 10. Name your file with the following convention:

Member's First Name_Last Name_Image_Title_ (Use _ for spaces). Example file name: Bill_Jones_Mount_Diablo_Sunset

11. More information for download or viewing at.

NOTE 1: If you plan to submit any of these images to PPA, I would initially save this file as a layered PSD or TIFF. When I was done and ready to submit to NCPP, I would then save it again as a jpg with all of the requirements listed above and submit the jpg. This way if you later decide to enter this same image with PPA, you can open your PSD/TIFF and increase your background and image size to fit the 4,000 x 4,000px requirement of PPA. NOTE 2: PPA Projected Submission Specifications match what is required for NCPP, except:

PPA requires your PPA# in place of your name in the file name. The background size is 4,000px x 4,000px. (Therefore, the image can also be larger).

ENTRY RULES AND DEADLINES:

Cost per each image is $5.00. Fee is to be paid via the NCPP PayPal link no later than the Saturday (at midnight) prior to the Tuesday meeting.

E-mail images to [email protected] no later than the Saturday (at midnight) prior to the Tuesday meeting.

Limit of 10 Projected images allowed per meeting. This is at the discretion of the Print Chair on a month by month basis.

Preparing your image for "Projected" Image Comp This article will remain permanently in the Focal Point.



CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

January Masters Winner

1st Place - Melinda Hughes "The Edge of the Earth"

2nd Place - Melinda Hughes "Stallions of the Gods"

January 2011 Masters Choice Winner of NCPP People's Choice

Wayne Miller "Red Rock Canyon"

January 2011 Masters Winners

Images by: Eduardo Cardona



The making s of 'The Edge of the Earth'... by Melinda Hughes Like every story this one starts with a friend, Kathy (The lady I traded my Bengal cats with). Kathy, who lives in the Sonora/Columbia area, asked me to create a lovely Giraffe scenic for her. Maybe we could trade for another Bengal cat...Well I already have four so I declined and opted to be paid--what a concept!? She went for it. I told Kathy I had never been to Africa and have no great images of these lovely creatures but I'd think on this idea. I knew I wanted this eventual image be a fantasy with depth with some dramatic points...definitely a fantasy like image. One day I was out horse shopping with/for a friend who happened to know the vet at Safari West. We stopped by to deliver a package to his vet friend along the way. The resident vet, Dr Glenn, told us he was busy watching over a new baby giraffe & to come on down the hill. My ears perked and I quickly mentioned that I happened to have my camera with me and would love to grab a shot of this 12 hr old baby giraffe. Well....When we entered the stall we spotted a tiny 6 foot tike (joke) who was wabling next to his over 15' + mother in a stall w/ a gigantic cathedral ceiling. Nervous about startling him, I had no choice but to use an on camera flash, as this is all I had at the time. After admiring this gorgeous little creation, I then went outside and grabbed several images of the rest of the family. Walla! I had the subjects recorded now The next month I took a trip to Tahoe w/ a friend and went up the tram to the top of Heavenly. At the guest stop there was a wonderful dramatic rock--just as I envisioned in my fantasy. I had to consider the light and the angle at which to shoot it. It was about 25 feet high (where in the final image it look to be a few hundred feet tall). One visit to Kathy's home on Sonora to get her back yard with the lovely fog in the distance (Slim Pickens old house by the way). The views were stunning and a great setting for the image. Now, I had the components and all I had to do was spend the next decade putting it together... :-P Actually, it went on for a month, a few hours here and there. Starting with my background, putting the scene together --one piece at a time--making sure the integrity of the light was as correct as possible, altering it when necessary. There were about 12 layers in this scene before it was ready to flattened. I cut and pasted the giraffe parts in using the mask to erase along with the polygonal lasso to stay close to the subjects, encircling the giraffe images closely and trimming off excess foreign background. I actually had to change one of the adult giraffe's head and neck so he fit into the scene better. From there blending all areas together so they were more believable, I added the fog to the large rock and to the foreground so it wasn't so distracting to the subjects--cloning the fog from another image. After flattening this image I deepened the edges and made sure the sky was not too distracting filled in blue sky with more clouds. Whew! It was done...Now I will go back and fix all the things I was told would make it better. Thanks again for the great critiques!

Masters Best of Show Jan 2011 - "The Edge of the Earth" by Melinda Hughes



We had our Sustaining Members and Sponsors in attendance with all of their photographic products for us to drool over. They contributed many great prizes for our raffle. Thank you to all of the vendors for their generosity!! Be sure to frequent their business's, they are all very reputable companies with great products. Many past members attended as it was Alumni Night. (this was MVA's idea). It was great to see everyone who has not attended in a while and I hear we even had some past members say they are planning to become active members again. NCPP is a ton of fun as well as a great opportunity to learn and share information with each other. The next several pages have some of the fantastic images from MVA's camera setup. Most taken by MVA but other photographers participated. They are fantastic and can be seen in a slide show and stills produced by MVA. Slide Show link: http://albums.phanfare.com/slideshow.aspx?i=1&db=1&pw=Linxbyze&a_id=4950456 Stills link: http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/Linxbyze/1/4950456 Check out all of the meeting photos this month and see if you can find yourself. One of our newest members, Trina Tuel, has been very helpful at the meetings and this month she took most of the photos documenting the meeting. There were so many candid shots of people visiting and having fun, that there are 10 plus pages of photos this month.

January Meeting Images - Meet the Masters



January Meeting Images



Beyond Sunset: The Different Phases of Twilight: by James Brandon Photographer James Brandon explores the magical world of twilight that begins after the sun has disappeared beneath the horizon.

Sunsets are one of the most common and widely photographed events in nature. They are stunning and inspiring to watch and never seem to last quite long enough before everything is over. Ive been on quite a few photo walks with groups of photographers during sunset, and I always notice the same thing: Once the sun dips below the horizon, the majority of people pack up their gear and head home. They see a setting sun as the end of a wonderful night of shooting, but they are missing so much!

I see the same thing with portrait photographers. I cant tell you how many times Ive been out shooting a lifestyle or engagement session at a popular location during sunset and watched all the photographers scramble to get their shots in. Sure enough, as soon as the sun sets the place clears out, which is fine by me! What most photographers dont understand is that once the sun has disappeared, a new window of opportunity begins, there is still plenty of useable light left! Twilight is the period of time in between day and night, and is caused by refraction and the sun's rays scattering from the atmosphere. What most people dont know is that there are three different phases of twilight, each with very distinct and unique features that open up different worlds of opportunities for your images. My goal for this article is to shed some light (pun definitely intended) on what happens after the sun goes down, and to let photographers know that the setting sun is just the beginning! The period of time leading up to sunset or directly after sunset are the most popular times for photographers. The light is beautiful and perfect for portraits and landscapes. The sunlight is diffused and less harsh, and beautiful warm tones are cast across the horizon. Sunsets and sunrises are also popular photographic opportunities because the sun acts as another interesting element in a photograph because of its low relative position to the horizon, which cant be done during the day time in most cases. I think there is also something very spiritual about these times of day, they have a way of making people stop and take everything in. Its both calming and invigorating. But all across the world, at all the sunset watching parties and photo walks, as soon as the sun hits the horizon people begin to pack up and head home. Little do they know that twilight is upon them and the many photo ops of the evening have just begun. Civil twilight is the brightest phase of twilight and occurs from the moment the sun dips below the horizon and lasts until the center of the sun is geometrically 6 degrees below the horizon (or from the time the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon until it hits the horizon in the morning). This period of time lasts about 30 minutes on average but can be longer or shorter depending on the time of year and your position on the globe. During civil twilight, you may also be able to see the brightest stars in the sky, as well as some planets like Venus. The horizon is clearly visible and taking handheld pictures is relatively easy to do. Objects are clearly defined and no additional light is needed in most cases. The light cast during this phase can be anywhere from warm golden tones to cool pink tones. During civil twilight, the colors of the sky are going to be changing quickly. The sunset colors are going to go away and an entire new set of colors are going to splay out across the sky. These colors are going to become cooler in temperature as time goes on and its important to be able to adapt to the quickly changing conditions. As the next phase of twilight approaches, the gradation from the sunset point to the other end of the sky is going to become very smooth and pleasant, and the dynamic range of light in your images is going to decrease drastically.

Beyond Sunset - by James Brandon



Nautical twilight occurs right after civil twilight in the evening, and right before civil twilight in the morning. This phase occurs when the center of the sun is between 6 and 12 degrees below the horizon in the evening. This period also usually lasts around 30 minutes and the primary color cast across the atmosphere is usually a deep blue tone with still noticeable orange and yellow hues left over from the fading sun. The horizon is still visible during this time but hand held shots are going to be somewhat difficult by now. The light has started to dissipate quickly and silhouettes are going to be more prevalent in your shots. Details will be harder to make out during this time but there is still some remaining light on the horizon from the sun. This is a great time to start looking for artificial light for your images. During nautical twilight, the artificial lights in buildings and structures will really begin to take over the scene, and there are endless opportunities for compelling images. Be sure to use a tripod during this time as hand held images will be extremely difficult. Pay attention to the way the remaining light and manmade light in your scene interacts with the subjects in your image. Use the directional light from the horizon to add hints of definition to objects and be ready to take multiple images as the light conditions will change rapidly. The last phase of twilight is known as astronomical twilight, or astro for short. This period of twilight occurs when the center of the sun is between 12 and 18 degrees below the horizon and slowly degrades over a period of 30 minutes before night time officially begins. Getting hand held images during this time is pretty much impossible, and a tripod is strongly suggested. During this phase of twilight, there is still some useable light to make for very interesting pictures but night will be approaching quickly. Cityscapes really comes to life during this time and the smallest light becomes a powerful tool of illumination. There is still a faint cast of dark blue across the horizon at first, and this slowly turns to black as night time begins. Away from the city, stars will be very visible and can be incorporated into some shots. Details will be somewhat difficult to make out without the help of some sort of artificial help. This phase of twilight is certainly the most difficult for creating images, but it can still be very rewarding. Conclusion: I hope this article will inspire you to stick it out after the sun dips beneath the horizon. Whenever I schedule a client shoot 30 minutes before sunset, they often have a freak out moment because they are afraid 30 minutes wont be near enough time for a photo shoot. I then explain to them what Ive explained in this article; that sunset is just the beginning and there is still plenty of time afterwards for amazing light and amazing images. Getting shots during twilight completely depends on your commitment to getting the shot. Are you prepared to stick around when everyone else has left? Are you willing to go out and take pictures while everyone else is eating dinner or still in bed? Are you ready to carry that tripod with you even though its bulky and inconvenient? If the answer is yes, I guarantee you will walk away from your experience with dramatically different images than anyone else. If you have an iPhone, I strongly recommend purchasing an app called SoLuna. It finds your location and tells you the exact time of day for sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, as well as exact times for each phase of twilight. Its great for planning when to go out and when to have your tripod and camera set up by.

Beyond Sunset - by James Brandon



There are many techniques for retouching portraits; this is one of many, and maybe useful for your toolbox. We will start using an image I obtained from an online Retouching Forum, it is your standard head and shoulders portrait, but could use some help. There are a number of blemishes that need to be removed, pretty standard stuff. So we cleaned up the blemishes, removed the tiny red veins in the eyes, and brightened the teeth. Looking much better, but the overall complexion and skin tone could really use some help.

The Mudpack Treatment by Michael Kirwan



Enlarged view of original image




This is an ideal image for using the Mudpack technique to give the image the look it needs. First we will create three layers from our duplicated background layer we used for retouching (we did duplicate the layer right?):

1. Duplicate the Retouch layer and name it Mask 2. Make another copy of the Retouch Layer and name it Highpass 3. Make a 3rd copy of the Retouch Layer and name it Median 4. With the Median layer active add a Levels Adjustment Layer.

Your Layers Panel should look like this:


Image after basic retouching



Now select the Highpass Layer and set the blend mode to Overlay Now go to Filters, Other and select Highpass and set the Radius to 5 pixels and hit OK. Now select the Median layer and go to Filters, Noise, Median and set the Radius to 30 pixels and hit OK. This filter can take some time to run, so be patient. Now go to the Levels Adjustment and move the mid-tone slider (middle) to the far right so it almost touches the highlight slider. Now go to the mask layer and add a mask. Set your default foreground and background colors to black & while (D) select the paintbrush, ensure you have black selected, set the opacity and flow to 100% and carefully paint over the skin, make sure you dont paint over the eyes, lips or eyelashes. You should end up with an image that looks like this.




Looks pretty awful, like you covered the model in mud! Now we apply the magic touch. This is done by changing the opacity of the Highpass and Median Layers. A good starting point is 30% for the Highpass layer and 70% for the Median Layer. Now go to the Levels layer and move the mid-tone slider to somewhere between 0.9 and 1.2, you need to experiment here. Also experiment with the Highpass and Median opacity until you are happy with the result.





The result from applying the mudpack



Close up of the final result For this image I made the following adjustments: Levels Mid-Tone Slider 1.00 Highpass Layer Opacity 30% Median Layer Opacity 71% Then tweak the image with a Curves Layer to add a tad of contrast, then maybe a vignette to finish the image and save your hard work. Beware; this method does increase your file size. The original image size was 67 MB, by the time I had finished the file size had increase to 430 MB.




Before and After Images The mud-pack treatment has given the results I was hoping for. This method is cheaper and less time consuming alternative spending hours in an upscale spa for a mud-pack and beauty makeover. Dont forget to apply sharpen the image before printing. Best if you apply the re-sharpening filter once the image has been resized for printing. I have become a fan of Smart Sharpen filter using the remove lens blur option and always view the effect at 100%. For a 16x20 from my camera, workflow and printer (Epson 7880) I find that setting Smart Sharpen to 105% gives me the best results.

The original image Image after the mudpack, with a vibrance mask applied to the lips and eyes and a gentle vignette to balance the image




This technique works well converting the image to black & white, here I applied a high key mask and a slight sepia tone to give a look from times past. Conclusion There are many methods to retouch a portrait, like using the Red Channel, with the mode set to Luminosity and applying Gaussian Blur, or using Monte Zucker Soft Focus effect used by Eddie Tapp. They all work to one degree or another. But lighting, subjects skin tone, complexion will have different results. So experimenting and understanding the results is the key to a great portrait. While this method is a little time consuming at first I think the results are well worth the effort; and another handy tool for the toolbox.




NorCalProPhotogs

http://www.meetup.com/NCPP-Meet-up/

This group is especially designed for professional, semi-professional and aspiring photographers. We are having special sessions where one can, once joined, learn, free of charge, different aspects of photography from professionals in the field. We call it "Tips From The Pros".

Tips From The Pros We are having our first Meet-Up for 2011 on February 8th with a special speaker who will give you new tips and techniques on Lightroom 3. Don't miss this first meeting, which will be a trial run for future Meet-Ups. We will have other Tips From The Pros as the year progresses. This Meet-Up will be Free to Meet-Up Members from 4:00-5:30 PM, in the Sacramento Room of the Marriott Hotel in Walnut Creek, and you are encouraged to attend the regular meeting of the Northern California Professional Photographers from 7:00-10:00 that same evening. Our resident Pro is Denny Weigand, who teaches workshops and seminars statewide on Lightroom, Photoshop and Painter. Denny is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) in Photoshop Lightroom, a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP), and was recently awarded the Photographic Craftsman Degree by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). If you have questions regarding Lightroom Denny can answer them! Users of Lightroom, new or old, pro or not, will find this session exciting and informative.

NCPP Northern California Professional Photographers General Meeting Meet in the Marriott Hotel Sacramento Room 2355 North Main Street Walnut Creek, CA 6-7 PM: Socialize: Network with other photographers in meeting room. 7:00 PM: Meeting Starts NCPP members are free Guest fee is $25 (Click here Early Bird $20.00 PayPal) $30 at the door the day of the event. Questions contact Denny Weigand

There's a New Meet-Up Group called NorCalProPhotogs



Master Craftsman photographer, Carol Andrews Jensen, loves to create the magic of a photograph. Over the last 20 years, her awardwinning photographs have included exhibitions at Photokina in Cologne, Germany; Disneys EPCOT theme park and the International Masters Loan Collection of the Professional Photographers of America. Her work has been acquired by the Sherman Hines Museum in Nova Scotia, Canada. She was inducted into Cameracraftsmen of America, an international photographic society of which there are only 40 members, and was only the fourth woman in the societys 95-year history to be admitted. She teaches and judges photography and art internationally and has taught as a creative-uses consultant for Polaroid. Currently on the board of directors of the Professional Photographers of America, Carol is also a small business consultant, and teaches business and inspirational programs throughout the United States. I enjoy expressing beauty and my love for life through a camera and sharing the images and stories with others. I show people what love looks like, Carol says.

Carol Andrews, www.carolandrewsfineart.com

NCPP Proudly Presents on Tuesday, March 8th: - Carol Andrews



Contact Stacey Flurscheim with / for any Membership Information Stacey Flurscheim @ 925-330-7130

APPRENTICE NEWS Contact: Ann Gordon @ 510-222-4115

Available to any NCPP member is a copy of the Treasurer's Report for 2010. If you would like a copy, contact Malcolm at [email protected] and he will email you a copy. NCPP has a new web presence with a Meetup group. Join NorCalProPhotogs now for free. NCPP-Meet-Up

If you have comments or information regarding new applicants, please send them to: Stacey Flursheim, NCPP Membership Chair: [email protected]

Membership Information

Treasurer's Report

NorCalProPhotogs - Meetup



This is a permanent addition to the Focal Point, listing all of the NCPP member awards. I have tried to find out all of the photographers names who have received these awards but still need some help with Photographer of the Year and Member of the Year for 2001. If you should be included, or if you know the names of the vacant spots, please email me at [email protected] so I can include them. At some point, this message will be removed from the FP. Thanks, Tom

NCPP Past Presidents

1998 Michael Van Auken 1999 Judy Host 2000 Jim Fidelibus 2001 Linda Johnson 2002 Walter Guasch 2003 Kimberly Peterson 2004 Jim Fidelibus

2005 Michael Gan 2006 Michael Gan 2006-2007 Laura Cottril 2007-2008 Leslie Artis-Gan 2008-2009 Brent Walton 2009-2010 Randy Cazinha 2010-2011 Wayne Miller

NCPP Member of the Year 1998 Peg Jackson 1999 Michael Van Auken 2000 Jim Fidelibus 2001 2002 Kay Simon 2003 Shelly Najera 2004 Linda Johnson

2005 Heather M. Whiting 2006 Michael Gan 2007 Laura Cottril 2008 Tom O'Connor 2009 Brent Walton 2010

Photographer of the Year 1998 1999 2000 Richard Stahlberg 2001 2002 Richard Stahlberg 2003 2004

2005 Richard Stahlberg 2006 2007 Michael Van Auken - Tie 2007 Richard Stahlberg - Tie 2008 Richard Stahlberg 2009 Wayne Miller 2010

NCPP Member Awards



This is a permanent addition to the Focal Point, listing all of the NCPP member degrees. I have tried to find out all of the photographers names who have received these awards but I am not sure if I have them all. If you should be included, or if you know the names of anyone else who should be shown here, please email me at [email protected] so I can include them. At some point, this message will be removed from the FP. Thanks, Tom

PPA Master Photographers Jim Fidelibus Linda Johnson

Deidre Ligenfelter Peg Jackson

PPA Craftsman Photographers Denny WeigandWayne Miller PPA Master Craftsman Photographers Lisa Evans Peg Jackson

Michael Gan Judy Host

PPA Certified Professional Photographers Leslie Artis-Gan Laura Cottril Lisa Duncan Michael Gan Jill Hager Judy Host Greta Heintz Tammy Hughes Linda Johnson Scott Kouns

Dana Smith Richard Stahlberg Arleen Thomas Darleen Tom Denny Weigand Wayne Miller Brent Walton Pam Biasotti Jennifer Chesterman

Jennifer Fink Stacey Flurscheim Nicole Gee Tod Gomes Ann Gordon Malcolm Slight Terry Riggins

NCPP Member Degrees



If you are interested in becoming a Certified Professional Photographer, Master of Photography, Master of Electronic Imaging or a Photographic Craftsman, click here. This link will take you to the PPA website and you will see the page shown below. The image below is just a screen shot of the website, the links are not hot on this screen shot.

PPA Certification, Merit & Degree Programs



Professional Active:

Annual Dues $135. A professional photographer is an individual who on a regular basis, takes and sells photographs or photographic services. Must satisfy federal, state (resale permit), & local license requirements. Professional Active members have full membership privileges (Free meetings, voting, use of NCPP logo for self promotional use, and image competition).

Aspiring*: Annual Dues $135. An individual who does not work in the photographic field, or derive any income from photography but plans to enter the profession. Limited to one year. Membership privileges: meetings and entering image competition, but may not vote, hold office or use the NCPP logo. May not actively sell photography or advertise/promote themselves as a photographer for hire. Limited 20% enrolment. Student*: Annual Dues $50. Members preparing for a career in the photography and currently enrolled in a school as a full time student. Applicant must show evidence for enrollment. Membership privileges: meetings and entering image competition, but may not vote, hold office or use the NCPP logo. Limited 10% enrolment. Sustaining: Annual Dues $150. Membership issued to the business name of the organization, which is a supplier, vendor, or manufacturer of photographic materials, supplies or photographic services. One representative of the organization shall have meeting privileges only, additional pay guest fees. * Aspiring & Student Classifications must assist/help six events per year to maintain classification or move to Professional Active.

NCPP Membership Classifications and Fees for 2011



Sustaining Members are companies that manufacture or distribute photographic equipment, laboratories, publishers or firms providing services to photographers. These Sustaining Members also contribute to the welfare of NCPP, with monetary and technical support. Sustaining Members may participate in all NCPP events, however they may not vote or hold office. We encourage our NCPP members to support our Sustaining Members. If you are interested in becoming a Sustaining Member, contact Denny Weigand. 925-336-7994 or E-mail @ [email protected] -Listed Alphabetically- THE ART OF PICTURE FRAMING APF is a full-service wholesale custom framing facility. We work closely with Fine Art and Framing Galleries, Interior Designers, Professional Photographers, Art Consultants, Retailers and others in need of custom framing at wholesale prices. APF specializes in creating custom programs or packages to your individual business or market needs. We offer superior quality with flexible pricing to fit your individual needs. Contact: Mike Moretti 1084 Shary Circle, #B Concord, CA 94518 (Located behind Costco) E-mail: [email protected] 925-689-5177 web: http://stores.apfwholesale.com/StoreFront.bok

NCPP Sustaining Members



BAY PHOTO LAB Contact: Debbie Thomas E-mail: [email protected] 510-585-7049 web: http://www.bayphoto.com/ 2161 Delaware Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 800-435-6686 fax: 931-475-5257




PPC Professional Photographers of California Affiliates

Company Name City Phone Web Site

All Valley Professional Photographers - AVPP La Canada Flintridge

(818) 262-7903

Associated Image Makers - AIM Fairfield 1-888-442-6606

Central Valley Professional Photographers - CVPP Fresno 559 266-0305

Channel Islands Professional Photographers Association - CIPPA Camarillo (805) 573-7637

Gold Coast Professional Photographers Association - GCPPA Pismo Beach 805 733-5197

Inland Empire Professional Photographers & Videographers - IEPPV Riverside 951-737-7310

Northern California Professional Photographers - NCPP Walnut Creek 925 330-8737

Professional Photographers of California Escondido

Professional Photographers of Los Angeles County - PPLAC Culver city (818) 344-0671

Professional Photographers of North Valley - PPNV Redding 530-241-2191

Professional Photographers of Orange County - PPOC Mission Viejo 949.916.2471

Professional Photographers of Sacramento Valley - PPSV Sacramento 530 363-0138

Professional Photographers of San Diego County - PPSDC San Diego (858) 695-9563

Professional Photographers of Santa Barbara County - PPSBC Santa Barbara (805) 403-6556

Professional Photographers of Santa Clara Valley - PPSCV San Jose 408 244-2293

Professional Photographers of the Greater Bay Area - PPGBA So. San Francisco

530 574-6033

Professional Photographers of the Redwood Empire - PPRE Santa Rosa 707 548-1181

Stanislaus Professional Photographers - SPP Modesto 209 847-0540

Our Neighboring Affiliates



I

This information is for Walnut Creek. You can obtain sunset times for other locations at http://www.sunrisesunset.com/

Sunset Table

Join, or Renew your NCPP Membership 2011

FOCAL POINT FEB-11

Documents

year ncpp members

membership information

endorsement of ncpp

position of ncpp

print comp tom oconnor

ncpp spring party

camera ready art work

projected image comp