The Portland Metro Photographic News

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This month's Portland Photographers' Forum photo outing takes place Saturday, December 12, at historic Fort Stevens State Park near Astoria on the Oregon Coast.

First built just before the Civil War, Fort Stevens was one of three fortifications guarding the mouth of the Columbia River until the end of World War II. The concrete bunkers and gun batteries serve as an eerie reminder of Oregon's past. The remains of the wreck of the Peter Iredale offer another photo opportunity just west of the park on the Clatsop Spit. The fort and wreck are easy-access sites.

"Fort Stevens is a great place to photograph," says PPF member Eric Brody, who has visited there several times. "Even in poor weather one can get into interesting places. If you take the road north from the turnoff to the Peter Iredale, you end up at Battery Russell, a smaller but interesting place where I like to start working. Close to the military museum are Battery Clark, the west batteries and the steam plant. There is no lack of photo opportunities."

The fastest route from Portland is to take Highway 26 to the Highway 101 junction and turn north toward Seaside and Astoria. Look for the Fort Stevens Highway and take Ridge Road toward Hammond about 6 miles north of Seaside. It is a solid two-hour drive from Portland. Pack your gear and a snack. We plan to meet at 9:a.m. in the parking lot nearest the museum. (You can download a map from this site.)

Please reserve a spot by contacting Ray Bidegain. There is no limit on the number of participants, we just want to know who to look for!

Please also note that PPF members Loren Nelson and Ray Bidegain, plus Portland photographers Bob Farr and Michael Van Buskirk have pictures hanging at Lightbox Gallery, 1045 Marine Drive, Astoria. Stop in and take a look!

 Don't Miss The Portland Photographers Forum Annual Group Show
 
Through December 31, 2009
 
Cedar Hills Recreation Center
11640 SW Park Way
Portland, OR
Monday-Friday, 5:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

(503) 629-6340

 (Photo at right: "Sauvie Island 2" © 2009, Eric Brody)

Featured are works by PPF members Steve Blair, Eric Brody, Peter Gomena, John Griffiths, Don Jacobson, Patrick Kolb, Loren Nelson, and Charlie Novy.
 
Portland Photographers' Forum is a nonprofit group dedicated to educating its members and the public about creative photography through meeting, critiques, workshops and exhibition of member work.

10 percent of proceeds from the show's sales support the Recreation Center.

November''s monthly meeting of the Portland Metropolitan Photographer's Association was filled with officer elections, education, picture judging and a considerable amount of fun.

 
Derrik Ollar's (above center) archival framing demonstration drew an appreciative audience

After electing officers for 2010, the 40 attendees were treated to a hands-on, step-by-step demonstration in the proper technique for archival framing by area framing expert and photographer Derrick Ollar.  This often overlooked aspect of photography is becoming a dying art.  In his personal desire to pass the art to the next generation of photographers, Derrick is eager to share his mastery of professional framing with all those who are willing to learn.

Award winners (L to R) Michael Jones - 3rd place, Tania Allen - 2nd place and Larry Ericksen - 1st place

The evening concluded with the judging of members' picture submissions.  The winning photographers were:

• Larry Ericksen - Mossbarger Photography - First Place
• Tania Allen - Paradise Photography Studio - Second Place
• Michael Jones - Michael Jones Photographer - Third Place

If you enjoy the company of other professional photographers, sharing your photography and the opportunity to learn from photographic experts considering attending the next Portland Metropolitan Photographer's Association's meeting.  And, by all means, visit their website.

Photo credit: Silent Nests © Vicki Topaz

This slide lecture features the work of photographers and book artists from around the world who are creating artists books to showcase their photographs. We'll look at purely visual books that allow the images to tell their own story, and books that marry image and text to form a compelling narrative. The artist books presented use everything from palladium prints to ink jet prints to cyanoprints. We'll explore structures from the simple stapled pamphlet to the traditional codex to sculptural books that challenge the viewer's definition of a book. Laura will also bring a few of her own books as well as books from gallery inventory to show off following the lecture.
 
Laura Russell is the owner of 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland, which exhibits contemporary photography, artist books and other graphic arts. Laura is also a photographer and book artist who creates handmade artist books that incorporate her own urban landscape photographs. She has shown her work around the country and her artist books are collected by many museums and university libraries; including the University of California, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Collection in London.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
7-9pm
 
Portland Photographers Forum Meeting
The Watershed
6388 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, Oregon
Map
Portland Photographers Forum

Cedar Hills Recreation Center

Ready your pictures for Portland Photographers' Forum annual group show, which begins Saturday, October 24 at the Cedar Hills Recreation Center, 11640 SW Park Way, Portland.

PPF Members each will have room to hang about four or five 16x20" (or smaller) framed pictures. Pictures must be framed and must have wire hangers. No "sawtooth" hangers allowed. Wires should be tight and attached about 2-3 inches from the top of the frame for the pictures to display well. For the sake of uniformity, please download picture tags for your images here. You also may request an editable Microsoft Word version of the document by e-mail: Send me tags!

Members can hang pictures from 12-2:00 p.m. Saturday October 24th and 12-2:00 p.m. Saturday November 1. For more information, contact Loren Nelson.

Gordon Battaile and the entire staff of the Columbia Council of Camera Clubs (4Cs) received a well-deserved round of applause on Sunday as this year's Convention came to a close.  The 3-day event held at Mt. Hood Community College celebrated the 4C's 50th year of photo experiences, and gave attendees a remarkable opportunity to participate in a series of educational lectures, photo field trips and manufacturer/vendor demonstrations as well as find ample time to share their photographic passion.

The 4C's is comprised of 28 member camera clubs from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.  The annual convention provides the opportunity for members of all clubs to come together to share their photography, learn from each other and enjoy the presentations of guest lecturers.

Noted photographer Lewis Kemper (at right) who was sponsored by Canon as part of their Explorers of Light program kicked off the event on Friday evening with an inspiring Keynote Address.  On Saturday, Lewis shared his expertise, with lectures on Adobe's Lightroom and HDR processing.   Saturday included educational sessions with Michael Durham (on high speed insect/animal photography), Michael Henley (on flash photography), Ron Kaplan (on making timeless images), Don Lyon (on creative travel photography), George Ostertag (with an introduction to Oregon), Evelynn Smith (on FotoMagico), Carol Berget (on Birefringence workshop), Art Burkhalter (on Pro Show presentation software) and Terry Tallis (on finding your artistic eye).

Between educational sessions participants were able to visit with representatives from camera stores and manufacturers to see the latest in cameras and accessories as well as hands-on demonstrations.  Pro Photo Supply, Advance Camera, Hunt's Photo, Score27, Wacom and Trek-Tech were among the companies who shared their expertise with attendees and showcased their wares.

Each 4C's member club conducts monthly photo competitions for both monochrome and color images.  The year's best pictures from each member club are displayed and judged at the 4C's Annual Convention which culminates with awards to individual member photographers in 8 categories.

Six of this year's winning photographs are shown below.

2009 4C's Award Winners

 
"Brush In Time" by Richard Stanton of Infinity Photo Art Group

"Inside The Balloon" by Richard Stanton of Infinity Photo Art Group

"Sandstone Wave Rider" by Gordon Battaile of Forest Grove Camera Club

"Flamingo" by Doug Fisher of Film Pack Camera Club

"Lily Heart" by Irene Fields of Gorge Photography Club

"Burst of Yellow" by Dan Hottenroth of Forest Grove Camera Club

Not shown in the collection above are winning photographs by Bob O'Donnell of the Valley Viewfinders Camera Club, Geneva Winkel of the King City Camera Club and Dan Mitchell of the King City Camera Club.

Educational Opportunities Abounded

     Educational presentations filled Mt. Hood Community College's Visual Arts Theater and classrooms throughout the weekend.

 
The fascinating high speed animal/insect photography work of Michael Durham held his audience captive.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Trek-Tech's monopod and tripod line up impresses attendees. 
Trek-Tech is a local company that serves a worldwide photography clientele.

 
Pro Photo Supply experts were always close at hand.

 

 
Gary Farber and Hunt's Photo, once again, brings an assortment of cameras and accessories to the 4C's convention to afford participants the opportunity to get the "feel" for the latest new photographic products.

 
Saturday evening featured a banquet, silent auction and the presentation of photographic awards.

This month's meeting of the Portland Metropolitan Photographers Association (PMPA) will provide members and visitors the opportunity to hear from one of Portland's premier portrait and wedding photographers, Bruce Berg.  If you're looking to hone your professional skills or are looking for tips to enhance your business, be at the Smile Center on October 8th at 7 p.m.

The evening will also feature PMPA's fourth print competition of 2009.  The details for entering the competition can be found on PMPA's website.

by Tom Hubbard

I had the pleasure of attending The Portland/Vancouver Photography Meetup Group's monthly meeting last night at Izzy's Resturant in Portland.  Everyone involved is to be congratulated on an excellent program and an evening of fellowship among photographers.

photo by Gregg Kerber

The night's feature program was Rick Zotz's presentation on "How to Clean Your Camera's Sensor" -- a touchy topic for many.  Rick's presentation was in-depth and covered most DSLR camera types.  Using the video capabilities of his DSLR and an Epson video projector, Rick also performed a live demo of the steps necessary to successfully clean a camera's sensor (shown above).  For those in attendance who had been hesitant to touch their sensor's sensitive surface, Rick's explanation and reassurance took away much of that "first time" fear.

About 30 attendees representing most age groups and photographic interests were in attendance to create a sharing and educational atmosphere.  The Group, led by organizer Eugene Wong, provides an unusually high number of shooting excursions every month for its members.   They also provide a member-only discussion board to keep in-touch and share their knowledge as well as their images throughout the year.

If this sounds like a photographic community that offers the opportunities you've been seeking, more information about the Group can be found on-line at: http://www.meetup.com/Portland-Vancouver-Photography-Group/

PPF's Sunday School of Photography -- ON SATURDAY!

 Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 26, as we return to the Columbia River Gorge for another day of photography in the great outdoors.

PPF member Eric Brody is graciously opening his family's vacation home to our group for the day.

The site is on the Washington side of the Columbia, not far from PPF's last outing to Catherine Creek.

"There are 40 acres of Columbia Gorge savanna with tremendous views, oak trees, and lots of open space," Eric says. The gravel entrance road is accessible by any passenger car.

PPF wants to add to the fun by declaring a potluck lunch. PPF will supply grilled sausages, buns and condiments. You bring chips, drinks, Jello salad, etc. We will have access to the house and its refrigerator for storing lunch items and cold drinks. Eric asks that no alcoholic beverages be brought along -- it's a curvy drive back to the highway.

We will meet at the Lewis & Clark State Park parking lot at 8 a.m. to form car pools. The park is just past Troutdale, first exit after the Sandy River bridge. The parking lot is on the right as you reach the first stop sign. Drive time from the parking lot is about 90 minutes.

The 4Cs convention is approaching fast, October 9th through October 11th

The deadline for early registration is September 15th (as long as it's postmarked by then you're fine) so if you know you're going and want to save $10 that's an easy way to do it. Early registrations will also help us with planning for the field trips.

You'll find all the current convention information-- registration form, schedule, speaker and presentation info, and field trip descriptions-- on the 4Cs website (http://www.columbiacameraclubs.org/). 

Here is the jam-packed, weekend agenda:

• HDR techniques -- Lewis Kemper
• Intro to Adobe Lightroom -- Lewis Kemper
• Getting The Most Out of Your Digital Camera -- Lewis Kemper
• Introduction to Oregon -- George Ostertag
• High Speed Insect and Animal Photography -- Michael Durham
• Printing From Lightroom and Photoshop -- Jon Canfield
• Photodex Presentation Software (PC centric) -- Jon Canfield
• Fotomagico Presentation Software (Mac centric) -- Evelyn Smith
• Finding Your Artistic Eye -- Terry Tallis
• Flash:  When and How -- Michael Henley
• Creative Travel Photography -- Don Lyon

• Birefringence workshop -- Carol Berget
• Making Timeless Images -- Ron Kaplan
• Challenges and Rewards of Extreme Lighting -- Sean Bagshaw (Our closing keynote program;  Sean has been featured in Outdoor Photographer and does terrific work.)

There will also be 7 field trips:

• Eagle Creek and Punchbowl Falls (Friday starting at 10am)
• The Brooklyn Roundhouse -- a maintenance building for classic locomotives-- in southeast Portland (Friday starting at 1pm)
• Portland Memorial Mausoleum in Sellwood (Friday starting at 1:30 pm)
• Rocky Butte (Saturday dawn)
• Willamette east-side esplanade (Sunday dawn)
• Bonneville Dam Powerhouse (Washington side) and Panther Creek Falls (Sunday starting at 1pm)
• Urban Perspectives in downtown Portland (Sunday starting at 1pm)

It should be a great convention, and we'll be looking for you.

 Creative Freedom Through Simplicity

Michael Van Buskirk explores all still photographic media, but pinhole, subminiature, and other eclectic cameras hold particular fascination for him. The limitations of these cameras free his mind to explore the most direct relationship between the eye and the subject. Van Buskirk contact prints his images from large digital negatives onto a platinum/palladium coating that is hand-applied to heavyweight watercolor paper.

The image above, "Woman in Central Park," took Best In Show honors at the Minox Historical Society 2008-2009 show. Van Buskirk has pursued photography for more than 50 years, full time for the past five years from his studio and gallery in Portland.

See samples of his work at Gallery Obscura.

PPF's new temporary meeting space is in The Watershed, 6388 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, just blocks from our old space at Wilson High School. (See Map) Look for PPF signs and a couple of familiar member-volunteers to help you spot the building.

Our next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, September 16, 7:00-9:00p.m.

Parking is a bit tricky. The large shopping center just east of the building has large "parking for customers only" signs clearly displayed. If you want to park in that lot, you are advised to park beyond Food Front, closer to Wilson High.

It is best to park in the unmarked dirt lot just west of the building on Capitol Highway across from Capitol Coffee. It is only a block or so away. More parking is available in an unmarked, paved lot at the intersection of Bertha Boulevard and Vermont Street.

If your photographic passion leads you to seek out opportunities to get out and shoot on a regular basis, you will want to check out the Portland/Vancouver Photo Meetup Group.  Eugene W. Wong is the organizer of this Group and takes great pride in providing a constant stream of photo-taking excursions for his members.  Currently there are about 130 members in this growing photo Group.  There is a membership fee.  But for $10 for the remainder of 2009, it's a hard deal to beat.

Here's sampling of the organization's upcoming events:

• September 12 - Crepes & Grapes Country Tour, McMinnville to Newberg
• September 16 -  September Group meeting at Izzy's Pizza in Portland
• September 19 - Southridge Girls' Soccer Photo Shoot II
• September 19 - Trillium Lake sunset
• September 19 - Mini-Challenge, "Doors" - Entry Deadline
• October 2 - Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum

Check out the Portland/Vancouver Photo Meetup Group, it could be just the local organization you've been looking for.

 Portland Metropolitan Photographers Association

Invites you to a night devoted to Graphic Design for Photographers

September 10 at 7PM

at the SMILE Center

Kate Singh of Aevum Images presents a program of Graphic Design for Photographers.

Visit her site and see the design examples for seniors and families.

Annual BBQ and Ron LeBlanc's seminar on Event Photography make for a busy August at PMPA

PMPA Summer BBQ

August 13th, 5:30PM, Tania Allen's, The tradition of our annual summer bbq continues this year at a new location:
Tania Allen
17672 SE Paradise Dr
Milwaukie, OR.

The price is just $10 and you can sign-up and pay today online or mail your check payable to PMPA at:

Cindy Pederson, 1392 NE 51st Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97124

Ron LeBlanc Presents: Event Photography Seminar

August 28 at 1PM - 5PM, SMILE Center, 

Ron LeBlanc presents a seminar on event photography which includes:

1. Different event types
2. Green screen technology
3. Event workflow, start to finish
4. Getting business, making money, keeping everyone happy

Registration will be online soon.

Ron and Kate Le Blanc are both award winning, professional photographers. As a husband and wife team, they began their career almost twenty years ago studying under professional photographer Tom Samuel. Like many other photographers, their early assignments consisted of photographing weddings and family portraits. In 2003, Ron and Kate took a new path with their photography. They set aside all their film based  equipment and converted to a digital only studio. Using professional digital equipment, they produce professional results for their clients, with a much faster turn around.

 Social Media is all the rage on the Internet these days. What does it mean? How can it help my photography business?  Daniel Payne of Tualatin Web will present a program on Social Media for photographers: blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS, and email newsletters. Daniel has designed computer chips for Intel, marketed high-tech software for Mentor Graphics and earned a BS in Electrical Engineering. He started creating web content in 1995 and has been programming since 1978. The PMPA web site was created by Daniel.

Our third print competition of the year is also Thursday night, so bring your mounted 16x20 prints.

July 9th, 7 p.m. at the SMILE Center

Breaking tradition, the Portland Potographers' Forum will be holding meetings at various locations this summer.  This month's meeting will be held at the Ladybug Organic Coffee Company (located across the street from Blue Moon Camera & Machine in Portland) on Wednesday, June 17th.

The featured speaker this month is Zeb Andrews. Zeb is a native Northwesterner who uses a variety of cameras to make strong, vivid landscapes and cityscapes.

"I have lived my entire life in the Pacific Northwest, so it is therefore of little surprise that I became interested in photographing its many natural splendors," he writes in his Web biography. "Bitten by the photography bug a little over six years ago while hiking in the Columbia River Gorge, I try to combine my love for the outdoors with my passion for photography."

"In the pursuit of my images, I am always mindful that even familiar locations can hold fascinatingly new perspectives. I often travel with a small assortment of cameras to help photograph places in creative and new ways, be it with a plastic Holga, a wooden pinhole or my Pentax 6×7 loaded with Ortho or Infrared film. Despite this small armament of equipment, I firmly believe that the most important things happen behind the camera, not in it."

"The entirety of my work week is also spent immersed in photography, working at Blue Moon Camera and Machine in North Portland. Much of my inspiration has come from the photographers and photography I see circulate through on a daily basis, and I in turn enjoy passing as much of that along with my own photography as I can."

You can see Zeb's work on his website and on his Flickr stream.  The address for Ladybug Organic Coffee Company is 8438 N. Lombard in Portland.

As always, the members of PPF want to see your work! The first part of the meeting is dedicated to seeing what you've been up to and how the pictures turned out. So, bring what you have, new, old, really old, or really, really old. Don't be bashful, they don't bite. 

by Tom Hubbard, PMPN, May 14,2009

Portland Metropolitan Photographers' Association

Thursday night's meeting of the Portland Metropolitan Photographers' Association included all the elements essential to a vibrant and relevant organization for the working photographer.

Kate Singh of Aevum Images in Vancouver (above left) is responsible for the After Hours programs at each monthly meeting.  This month's featured speaker was Dwon Güvenir, the owner of Oregon Photo Safaris (above right).  Dwon presented the history of Oregon Photo Safaris, his photo/video marketing strategies, photo education style, the importance of "being green" in today's marketplace and the critical nature of social internet networking in business.

"Break time" demonstrated the true value of professional photography organizations like PMPA.    Sharing experiences and "lessons learned" with other photographers -- even competitors -- makes for a stronger and more cooperative professional community.

The mix of "old pros" and those just entering the profession brought a nurturing environment that blended experience with fresh enthusiasm for the art and business of photography.

The evening ended with a print viewing and judging session that showcased the group's artistic gifts and provided constructive reviews designed to help each photographer improve his/her craft.

All in all, Thursday night's PMPA meeting held something for everyone.  That's what makes professional organizations necessary.  On tap for next month's meeting, June 11th, is a photo equipment "swap" meet.  Check out PMPA's website for details and join the fun.

It is time to register, if you haven't already, for PPF's Saturday, May 16 trip to Sauvie Island.
 
Ray Bidegain volunteered to accompany members on the outing. Ray said to cross over the bridge and meet at the parking lot just north of the store at 8 a.m. If you do not have an Oregon recreation area parking permit, you can purchase one at the store.
 
Registration is requested so we know how many people to expect. We try to limit participation to about 12-15 persons, and PPF members get top priority. To register, contact Ray at: Sauvie Island Trip

The Columbia Council of Camera Clubs has released preliminary information for this year's Annual 4Cs Convention.  The planning committee is determined to minimize the cost of the event to save attendees as much money as possible during these challenging economic times.  To this end, Mount Hood Community College has again donated the use of their facility for this event. And the usual banquet has been scaled back to a "Pizza Bash" with another choice for non-pizza lovers.  So here's the latest information to begin your planning:

• Dates: Friday, October 9 to Sunday October 11, 2009
• Place: Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, OR
• Hotels: Gresham Holiday Inn ($99.99) - 503-907-1777, Days Inn at Gresham ($69.99) - 503-465-1515
• Agenda:
• Friday night: 7:00 p.m. Keynote Speaker - Lewis Kemper
• Saturday:  Early morning field trip. Choice of 10 "breakout" sessions, on-site lunch, evening Happy Hour, Dinner and Banquet Program (breakout speakers include: Jon Canfield, Lewis Kemper, Michael Henley, Gordon Battaile, Lyon, Kaplan and others)
• Sunday: Early morning field trip, morning breakout sessions, Keynote Speaker - Sean Bagshaw, raffle and Convention wrap up.
• Tentative Costs: Registration fee $25-$30 includes Saturday's box lunch

Mark your calendars and set aside October 9 through 11 for a weekend of fun, friends and photographic exploration.  As more details become available and the event draws nearer, the Portland Metro Photographic News will provide the finalized information.

Former and long time Columbian photojournalist, Dave Olson, will make a presentation at the Film Pack Camera Club's May 19th meeting.  Dave's presentation will cover his photographic experiences as well as his coverage of the Mt. St. Helen's eruption in 1980.  Members and non-members are welcome to attend this special event.

• When: May 19, 2009
• Where:  Marshall Center, 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd., Vancouver, WA, The Elm Room
• Time: 7:30 p.m to 9 p.m.
• Directions:  Click HERE for Google map directions.

 If you have any questions, contact Carl Winston.

 by Tom Hubbard, April 18, 2009

Want to immerse yourself in some exceptional local photography and share in their experiences and accumulated expertise?  Then you'll want to put the Portland Photographers' Forum on your list.  I was fortunate to be able to attend this week's meeting and thoroughly enjoy an evening of photo exhibits, discussion and photographic history.

About a dozen members displayed their photographic art and shared their techniques as well as the details of their shooting experiences.

Photography ranged from traditional film to digital.  And printing techniques included everything from alternate processes, like Platinum printing, to digital pigment ink jet.  It was truly an opportunity to see the best in fine art printing in a comparative and instructional environment.

 The evening was punctuated by a presentation on the history of photography through 1940 by John Griffith.  Besides providing historical context for the development of photography, John brought classic cameras for the attendees to experience first hand.

 John, shown here on left demonstrating a small folding glass-plate camera, concluded his presentation with the showing of a collection of glass slides -- including timeless scenes of Portland and Columbia Gorge landmarks.  (The vintage lantern slide projector can be seen in the foreground of this picture.)

"The Portland Photographers' Forum, pursues the art and science of photography, offering opportunities at all ability levels to enhance, refine and just enjoy photography.

PPF offers instruction, information sharing, and image competition opportunities for film and digital photographers. Our members come from Portland, Salem, Vancouver and surrounding areas."

A Photographer's Excursion to Cape Meares

When: Sunday, April 5, 2009

Fee: Free to members of the Portland Photographers' Forum. Non-members are welcome and asked to pay $30 for one year's membership.

The Film Pack Camera Club meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month at 7:30 pm, September through May. Visitors are always welcome. There are also year-round field trips as interests arise.

March 3rd - Prints & Projected Images
March 17th - Program - Africa by N. Chappelle

Meetings are held at the Marshall Center in Vancouver.

Marshall Center
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd
Vancouver, WA 98663
Elm Room

All photographers are welcome!