VBPF
Magazine
Issue 1 May 2015
First issue Ever!! Black and White Photography A Timeless Classic!! Antarctica Discovered 04
Why Black and White? 08
Photography 101: EXP. 20
One man’s photographic jour-
A photographers insight into
Are you new to photography?
what makes Black and White
Still trying to figure out your
so unique and why many peo-
settings well the Photography
ple love the artform.
101 series is for you.
ney to a destination many dream of going. Let his photos tell the story.
Cover by: Robert Haetinger RIP
CONTENTS Antarctica Discovered.................
04
Mega Pixels: The More the Better?.................
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Why Black and White?.................
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An Approach to Photo Editing Software.................
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Learning to See in Black and White...............
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Playing with Lights.................
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12 Things I wish I knew when I started.................
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Photography 101: Basic Foundations.................
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Photography 101: Exposure..............
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Links and Training Resources.................
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Photo Storage: To Share or Not to Share??.................
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Member Bios................
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Black and White Photo Gallery.................
35 41 43
Photo Descriptions.................. In Rememberance: A member lost....................
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Virginia Beach Photo Fanatics
This group was started to connect people through photography. Whether you love being behind the camera or in front of it this group allows you to network and learn. I wanted a fun way to meet new people but challenge my abilities as a photography. Photography is a passion that many people have and have no idea how to pursue. Whether you have a basic camera or a professional set up the foundations and principle are the same. I created this digital magazine as a trial to give us something to read and be able to showcase everyone’s talents. My hope is that more and more people will join and connect from near and far. * Jeanne Catalano
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Antarctica Discovered
Tim Heberling reached to the top of his bucket list and experienced a photographer’s dream...cruising with National Geographic scientists while visiting the Last Continent. See more on his web-page and experience a once in a lifetime adventure. http://www.chillypup.com/antarctica/ welcome.html
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“Megapixels: The More the Better?” By:Carol DeLuca
When Nokia released the 41 mega-pixel Lumia 1020 smart phone in September 2013, I immediately ran to the store and bought it. I didn’t need a new phone, though. I just wanted the camera! 41 mega-pixels…no other camera came close at the time, smart phone camera or DSLR. And most still don’t. As far as I know, only the brand new Canon EOS 5DS DLSR (at $3700) beats it now at 50 mega-pixels. There are those who argue that once you reach a certain amount of pixels, you just don’t need any more. Apple has not advanced their iPhone camera beyond 8 mega-pixels through multiple revisions over the past few years, and many Apple fans say “that’s plenty” unless you’re printing big enlargements. I’ve read other articles that pooh pooh high mega-pixels, especially in smart phones. But I say, that’s exactly where you need them most! “The best camera is the one you have with you” and the one most of us always have with us now is our smart phone camera. But smart phone cameras have very short focal lengths and do not have optical zooms. You often pull out your phone to “grab” a shot, but you’re too far away to get a good shot or someone is in your way, or you don’t have time to frame the shot properly.
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Here is another example. While walking out the door of a house in the Outer Banks, I encountered this bird on the branch. I only had a few seconds to grab the phone from my pocket before he noticed me and flew away. If I had to go get my DSLR and/or attach a telephoto lens, there would be no shot at all. And with a regular phone, it would be too far away
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I’m hoping that optical zooms will find their way to smart phones before too long. Google is currently working on a new design of smart phone, a “modular” smart phone. Google will be field testing a “phone shell” that they will build and then allow third parties to sell modules that will snap in and out of the phone. (For more information, Google “Project Ara”). There has been no mention of an optical zoom camera module (so far), but I’m hoping that a camera manufacturer will build one. Who cares if it sticks out of the camera when you can snap the whole module in and out as needed? But back to today. Until there are smart phone cameras with optical zooms, I discovered with the Lumia that lots of mega-pixels is the next best thing. The following pictures demonstrate this. The first picture was taken from the car on the highway while driving through New York. Off in the distance you might see the new Freedom Tower. If you look closely, it’s one of the little vertical bars in the back of the picture. The next photo is a crop made from the same picture and you can clearly identify the Freedom Tower. So a throwaway shot taken at 70 mph from the car can produce a usable photo if you have enough mega-pixels.
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Why Black and White?
Today photographers choosing to work in black and white or monochrome media have a broad choice methods and materials, as well as digital tools to control the final result. If that final result is to be a print, a number of factors need to be considered, if the highest quality is to be obtained.
Dan Franken
While many photographic films and printing papers have been discontinued, new improved versions continue to reach the market. The materials for almost any traditional photographic process are still available.
Many support websites and YouTube instructional videos are available as well as the classic Black and White Photography text books, like the Ansel Adams three volume set, and books on Zone System practice by Fred Picker, Minor White, and Phil Davis. Ilford has opened an exclusively black and white lab in Los Angeles which employs both conventional and digital technology to produce silver prints. http://www.ilfordlab-us.com/
Top Left: Antique Fire Engines
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Top Right: Matthew Flying Kick, Kung Fu instructor Matthew Lyford photographed with hand-held 4X5 press camera and strobe light.
Blackwater Farmhouse, copy of a black and white print from an 8X10 inch camera negative. 250mm lens
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Story and Photos: Neal Chaves
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lack and White does not have to mean “colorless”. Wet process photography and print-making can produce a variety of hues and tones and digital printing can come close to duplicating these effects today. You don’t need expensive Photoshop programs to do this kind of post-processing. Get the GIMP! It’s free. http://www.gimp.org
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o whether you choose to produce your “monochrome” images on film or with a digital device, you are sure to find the pursuit of black and white images challenging and rewarding.
AN APPROACH FOR LEARNING PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE
PHOTO AND STORY BY: DON HAGUE
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Software becomes more ‘feature rich’ (complicatome years back I picked up a pack ed) with each release. Very few, if any, photograof matches in a bar. Suddenly I started phers will use all the features of a given software laughing so hard I was crying. This package. So where does one begin? brought a lot of attention, a man crying I offer the following approach for your considerin a bar! I showed the match book to my ation. companion who immediately burst into laughter. What the? The match book Make a list of the tasks you want to learn and orwas advertising a training course “Learn der them from simple to complex meat cutting at home”. Learn the terms used in the editing software you purchased. Unfortunately there is no industry standard Learn the menu structure of the software package Once you have a working knowledge of the two steps above you will be able to use the help system. Use the internet, YouTube etc for instruction related to the tasks you listed. Not all on line trainers are equal so pick one that speaks to you. Some of them talk too much off point and others leave out steps so you come away more confused than you were when you started. When you decide who you are going to follow, subscribe to their feeds. Next practice, practice, practice. This will help you retain the subject matter
I could just imagine the first lesson where a truck would show up in your driveway and off load a cow painted with those dotted lines you see in meat markets. I have often wanted to meet someone that took this course discuss its merits with them. I have seen some ‘photo editing’ or photography courses that are no more useful than learning to cut meat at home. Ever buy a new photo editing software package then open the help menu and be totally confused?
Once you feel that you have mastered a given task, show someone else how to do it. This is another procedure that will reinforce your understanding and enhance retention of the task Now on to the next task. Each task you master will make learning the next task somewhat easier because you now have some knowledge about the software. This is a process of learning based on going from known to unknown.
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“Black and white photography can k ac create high-contrast graphic images l B n i e
e s o t g n i n r a e L e t i h W and
Idenda nient remif esand moody landscapes. AND used cium as eari tem fucorrectly even portraiture will tell a giani volupta tempori story.” tibust ellesto bearum quuntur, utece Idenda nient rem escium as eari tem fugiani
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xpliam, ommodic totam inusciis sit ut dolorerovit accuptatiant faciis vidigendit inis mo molorehentus que es se nesequat.Nempost alicto ommoluptur aute solore cullore, comnisiti officiliquis magnimus ut laccae escieniatest ut esto intia ipsum qui arior rerenimus asped quo oditamet am, ulpa culpa sitioss imenda simporem es sunI love black and white photography. Maybe tum repro it’s because it leaves much to interpretaesecese quaeceaquia cus accus vel il inulles tion by the viewer; maybe it’s the emotion asimusam dis et ilignis exereprat labo. Nam, I see and try to create in my own work. It ommod mint.Que eos esequis minullabo. Il works best in certain situations and not esequae si coreprem sit quam delest plabothers but it’s all in the eye of the beholder. orepta volupta tquundebis et ipis doloriWhile I can use it with portraiture, I find it berum fuga. Videmqu iasped quas maiondifficult. I like to see it in the “artsy-fartsy” sent am, images. autest lautatus ius, sit, offic tecero quiasi I have found that shooting in RAW ellesto essus dem rem. Ur?Sunt laborro et gives me more options in post-production. milibus earchil laborporro exeraep ellesThe same thing is true of shooting in color ci taecum re alit venihillam, consedi although some DSLR camerasaallow yougnimoste conse net vendae vento eatur and maxim the option to actually shoot in black quidercidis aliquiatquigives doluptat. quiasopcore white. Color shooting you more
tions in post-production. However, that being said some camera actually record in color while allowing you to see black and white images on the LCD but you still must be in RAW. 12
nonsed maxim hitas alique dolo optat quis quunt latenti quid escius est, num imendam res non cuptas provid quature etur, sunt eaquassitas et eum etur?Luptati nimusandici quis aut lanihit iuntem ape nus.Litint. Mi, odi dolest, audanis accab ipiet ese nonsequ identium eaque simil il ipsant.Se la dolorpo restrundam deliquiandis doloribus el Shoot at the lowest ISO possible to avoid ipictem que volum, sam sit, quissim endiam noise. Black and white photography tends to eaturep enhance the grain but you can add this later edist, a dolupta sollate et, quibeat quundin post-production if that’s what you are unt il molum quiatector sum dolupidis going for. As always, it’s easier to add than modignimint de nonse volupta turepere nitake out. Also pay attention to white balance tis moloriatate net accum rem fugiae digenibecause color casts can throw your black hil incimus et adi corat eati ullabor porestio and white images out of whack. estibus estiate dellore explitia vel eos autas I like the contrast I get shooting outsi omnim aspeliquatem hitiass untiatio el ipside when it’s cloudy or the storm clouds are sandit, etum beginning to roll in. These low contrast situaeos aditas doluptatio mo dolupta laboretions are perfect for black and white photogrumque consequassit velesti than blaute poraphy. There is nothing worse a comruntion flat, proallconsed moluptatet experfere pletely gray, one-third of the image, maiorem voluptatur adia pror si sed molo sky. The next time color shooters complain
they can’t shoot because of “poor light” go out and give it a go. Look for a main subject then subtleties in the framing. Play with tone and texture for that awe-inspiring image.
Remember that when composing black and white images you can’t use color to lead someone’s eye. Nor can you get a great image when you need color for contrast such as a field of sunflowers with a surrounding green field and gorgeous blue sky with big white puffy clouds. Start looking for those textures, multiple tones, and shapes as points of interest. Highlight and low lights, or shadows, play an important roll in black and white photography.
Article & photography by Shelley Deneau
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Playing with Lights
Photos & Article by Sarai Neff
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reativity and lighting always seem to go hand in hand. Plus who would have thought that sparklers are for days other than the Fourth of July? This technique can create amazing patterns of light and color against the essence of night. Using manual settings to have slow shutter speed, an ISO able to capture the sparklers, and a large F Stop, your creativity is limitless.
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ripods are a dire necessity for camera stability in order to successfully be able to write with sparklers. The best kind to use
are the neon glow and were found at the amazing South of the Border location. To prevent from burning your fingers you need a long lighter.
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wo or more people are necessary to draw the letters and operate the camera unless you have a remote trigger and are coordi-
nated to do this by yourself. The shutter needs to be very slow pretty much like a long exposure
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n order to create a word you absolutely could have multiple people to create the word or you have one person write the word slowly backwards and use a long exposure to capture it all. I was able to capture these photos with myself writing them and my husband, also a photographer, manning the camera. ractice makes perfect and when you do not succeed the first time. Keep trying until you do. It is a fun and amazing way to safely use fireworks.
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to be able to capture the essence of the lighted words. You will have to listen to the sound of the shutter to be able capture the letter or pattern. When writing you must write backwards because of the way the camera will capture the movement.
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Things I wish I knew when I started
I asked all levels of photographers to share their best piece of advice and you will be surprised with the answers! Sarai : speed.”
“More natural lighting not shooting on auto or p mode, practice on f stops and shutter
Erin: “Auto is not your friend.” Tina: “The more often you edit the easier it becomes. And also that every eye is different for
editing two different people could have two different ideas of edits for the same picture neither is wrong or right it’s all personal preference.”
Del: “Learning Manuel mode, sooner.” Pete: “Do your metadata from square one ... it sucks... it’s a bear... but just do it.” Dana: “That often it’s more beneficial to buy good glass than a new camera body. Don’t waste
money on cheap lenses, learn what each lens does and why it fits YOUR specific subject matter (ie what focal length is most flattering for portraits) I’ve wasted so much money on crap lenses that now sit and collect dust. A good lens will hold its value.”
Melissa: 16
“Buy value first when you start out in photography so your not later replacing your items again. Do a lot of research before buying photo items so your not wasting your money. Don’t be scared to ask you photo friends questions. Always play around with F-stops on your camera and ISO. Watch a lot of creative Live videos online.”
Adam: “Maybe I should have read my instruction manual before I was a know it all”
Meagan:
“Remember it is the photographer that takes the pictures not a camera”
Jeanne: “Always have a back up memory card and battery DUH!” Marissa: “Learn to pose. People are not the friendliest if you shoot them and it isnt flattering”
Drew: “More confidence in myself. Second guessing cost me a few shots”
“ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow. – Imogen Cunningham
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ever be fully satisfied with what you’ve done.
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ever stop photographing. It is very likely that your best photograph has not yet been captured
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Photo by : Shelley Deneau 18
Photography 101: Basic foundations series one
Photography 101: You have to be able to
start somewhere. You have realized you want to take pictures. Starting with understanding the basics will point you in the right direction. Basic Equipment You Will Need: While you can do photography with any type of camera including some amazing cell phones, this is about learning how to use a camera that you can control and adjust ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Got your camera???
Automatic may seem like a great option. The picture on the left is automatic and the one on the right same sunset is creative (manual mode). (Images from Improve Photography)
Exposure: A basic element of photography Exposure is the darkness or brightness of a photo. You may think auto means you will
“Vision without technique is blind. No matter how beautiful the conception, a good image will not manifest without good technique.� - Dewitt Jones, National Geographic and commercial photographer
get perfect exposure all the time but the point of photography is to control your own camera and therefore exposure can be quite tricky to understand. Manual mode in the picture examples allowed the true nature of the sunset to be captured. Manual mode is about realizing your intent of the photo. Are you ready to become more creative?????? 19
Photography 101 : Exposure
Series 2
Sometimes beginning in photography can seem very intimidating but it’s important to learn all you can in the beginning so you will be well on your way to creating better photos. Photography is ever changing so learning is always continuous. Series two will focus on the three basic tools you have to be able to control exposure. Thesetoolsareaperture,ISO,andshutterspeed.Iwillexplainwhateachoneisandwhyit is critical to understand all three in order to leverage your ability to have good exposure. APERTURE Aperture is the small blades in the lens that control how much light will enter in the camera. A wide open aperture means lots of light is coming through while a very small aperture means the blades are almost closed down and very little light will come through. Let’s say you take a picture that is very bright and looks washed out. Choose a smaller aperture which is more commonly known as F-stop. A high F stop like 22 means the aperture hole is very small where as a F- Stop of 2.8 means lots of light coming through. On the other hand if you take a picture at F-stop 5.6 and it is too dark you would then change your F-stop to perhaps 3.5 and this will increase the brightness of your picture. The aperture also controls depth of field. Depth of field means how sharp parts of the pictures are and how blurry parts of the pictures are. Many people wonder how you have a beautiful picture of a person and the background is in a hazy blur. Well, that is created by a shallow depth of field. This means you want to have a larger F-stop. Many people will buy prime lens in order to have F-stops as low as 1.8 or 2. For the shallow depth of field or bokah effect. On the other hand let’s say you are shooting a beautiful desert mountain landscape you will want to have a small aperture (high F-stop like 22) to be able to have sharp clear details.
In order to see what I am talking about a good exercise would be to take an inanimate object and shoot it at every F Stop and then compare. You will be able to really see what depth of field means. 20
SHUTTER SPEED Have you ever wondered why you would take a picture and see a motion blur? Perhaps you wanted to get your dog’s tail wagging and well blur, or you wanted to get your child waving goodbye and the fingers look like a blob of blur. Well I will tell you how to fix that. Theshutteristhesmall“curtain”inthecamerathatcovers theimagesensor.Sometimeswhenshootingifyouhave a low shutter speed you can hear it click. The longer the shutter stays open to allow light to shine in the brighter the picture will be because of the extra light gathered. Darkpicturesareproducedwhentheshuttermovesvery quickly and light is allowed to touch the image sensor for a fraction of a second. This concept is called shutter speed and is measure in fractions of a second. So when youlookatyourcameraandputyourshutterspeedto20 that means 1/20 of a second and it will allow more light to touch the sensor and will produce a brighter picture than 1/200 of a second (200). If a picture is too dark you could use a lower shutter speed to bring in more light. Just like aperture, the shutter speed effects more than just the lighting. It also effects the amount of blur in a picture. Look at these images courtesy of Improve Photography and you will see the hand example. Taken at just 1/30 of asecond(30)youseecompleteblur.Takenat1/320(320) the hand is still moving but the camera takes the picture so fast you cannot even tell or notice the movement. Photo Courtesy of Improve Photography
“Leaving the shutter speed selection to the camera via an auto mode doesn’t mean the shutter speed doesn’t matter, it just means the camera user has surrendered this choice to the camera” UNKNOWN 21
ISO Now this is not pronounced I so like many think but simply ISO say the letters. The ISO controls the exposure by using internal software in the camera to make it extra sensitive to light. High ISO like 1600 will produce a much brighter picture than 100 which is the standard ISO range perhaps to 200 for outdoors sunny environments. The problem is the higher ISO you use the more noise which is digital graininess (the little dots) you could get. You will need to look at your camera model to see what your noise level is or test it out. It also depends what the max size you may print because if you are only going to a 5x7 or 8x10 the noise is not really evident if you use a higher ISO. Many cameras now can easily go to 2000 without having the noise which is essentially the fact that the camera is trying to compensate for the dark scene you are shooting.
Now let’s put all three together. You will need to have your camera set in M to be able to control all three tools. Many people think you do not have to use all three tools well in fact many times you do. I was very inexperienced at shooting manual. My first test shots were of course shooting one of the hardest things and that is in darkness. During a black light event I used my lens that is a prime with an F Stop of 2.8. I also had my 3.5-5.4 lens. In order to get the most light in I stuck with my 2.8 lens. However, I did not know much about ISO and shutter speed and this is what happened. The second event I did I was able to master the ISO I knew what range to go into which for my camera was 1600 to 3200 minimum I used depending on how close to the black light I was. I used the same lens. I adjusted my shutter speed back and forth depending on how much she was moving and thus created a much better shot
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My first shots ever doing dark and manual and as you can see this is before post processing. I was all over the place no sense of dirextion. My shots below are when I had lots more control over these tools and this is prior to processing.
Photos By Renee Barger
Using all three tools is like a game of Yahtzee. Until you know these tools and feel comfortable different settings are like a game you have to keep adjusting until you find the perfect combination. When you take a picture there maybe some tools you just can’t compromise maybe you really want that shallow depth of field which means you cannot compromise your F-stop but the photo is too dark. Then know you can try shutter and ISO. Keep practicing with each one independently and 23 together it will help you create the exposure you are intending.
Links and Training Resources: from Photographers for Photographers
by: Don Hague
This section of the magazine is a place to list and describe links that our members have found to be of value. Members are encouraged to submit their favorite links to share with others. As discussed in the ‘How to Learn Editing Software’, terminology is key to finding information on the WWW. Simply put if you don’t know what it is called how are you going to “Google” it? Learning the terminology of editing will make it much easier to find useful information
Links UglyHedgehog. This is a site that provides a wide range of resources for digital photographers. There are thousands of world wide, very helpful members from novices to high end professional photographers. It is a free site and you will not be spammed. Members can search existing threads, send PMs to other members and start new threads and there is also a buy / sell section. Click this link to visit UglyHedgehog.
Training Resources There are lots of “YouTube Gurus” most of them are rank amateurs looking for their 15 seconds of fame. Some of them are so confusing that you wind up knowing less at the end than when you started. Here are a few very knowledgeable trainers that you may find helpful. Serge Ramelli, a French photographer that is truly a master of Lightroom. If you have an artistic bent or you are a Lightroom user he is your man. Click right here to link to Serge. Mike Brown. Mike is a very straight forward trainer. His videos are very well thought out and easy to follow. Click here to link to his video on depth of field. Anthony Marganti. Another clear straight forward trainer on youtube. Click here to see his page. He is somewhat more technical in his approach to Lightroom, than is Serge so look at both and pick the one that talks to you. Anthony does Photoshop Elements training.
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This is the best one I have ever seen on converting an image to black and white. It is based on Photoshop Elements but is probably the same in Photoshop. Click here
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GOOGLE? Smugmug..........
To Share or Not to Share? That is the question In order to figure out what p;hoto storage option is right for you, you must determine what your intent is. If you are simply looking to have a place to share photos many people automatically think Facebook. Yes that is a quick and easy way to connect with a large variety of customer base through social media. However, the quality of your image is distorted and re sized. This may not be the best if you are looking to showcase your work. FLICKR is the new sensation that allows you to upload high resolution images and allows for a comment and album feature. This is also completely free up to a certain limit but hey 50,000 photos is a pretty good number. Dropbox is a great way to save photos and documents and can be accessed from multiple mediums. This is great cloud based storage but after a certain limit it needs to be paid for. If you are also trying to showcase photography to a client this doesn’t allow you to really set up attractive galleries for show. Google Photos links to most android based devices for easy and automatic upload. This again has large amounts of free storage however you have to go into each album you create and rearrange it for a pleasing look. This is best to showcase things for friends and families. Zenfolio and SmugMug are on the top rated sites for photographers who want to be able to professionally display their work in online galleries as well as allow ordering from the site. This creates a once an done stop for all clients you shoot for. There is a cost and many of these sites offer trial periods. Sarah Mitroff with CNET just updated an online article to compare all of the technical aspects as well as the features of the top photo sharing sites. Check it out here.
Photos by Neal Chaves
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I was a film hold out until about 7 years ago. My husband pushed me into the digital age and I have never looked back. I still find myself “shooting to keep� but I love that I see the image right away and not after the film is developed. 26
I have taken classes in digital photography at TCC, attended workshops all over the world and I love shooting anything that pays. I have a studio in my home and a business I love. My next goal is to teach something in photography. One of these days --- Shelley Deneau www.shelleydeneauphoto.com
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Hello! My name is Sarai, I originally from Bronx New York but grew up in the Poconos, Pa and I currently live in Haines City Fl. I first started my photography passion when I was 12 years old, I wasthewrestlingmanagerfrommyfreshmanyear untilIgraduatedclassof1998andmypassionwas to become a sports photographer so Itooka lotof actionshotsformyhighschoolwrestlingteam,at that age it was only a hobby. to take photos with my camera. After high school I turned that hobby and made it my major graduating Dec 2001 but still after all these years I feel photography is something you will always keep learning . In 2006, I got my first digital camera at my job and I started out with Nikon d70 then over the years we moved up to Nikon d7100 . I am a canon girl so right now I currently own Canon rebel t2i and for 2 years now I am still learning from changing settings to shoot more with natural light M mode and not auto or use the body flash on the camera. I currently have a photography page if you all would like to view it at www.facebook.com/saraineff. I think my weakest type of photography is studio due to using studios lights, but I am willing to learn how to get better at studios. I feel like being part of this group even though I am in Fl. I think it’s very interesting Jeanne put this together and we all learn from each other. I recently started playing with my camera and taught myself how to write with sparkles and I hope that will be our assignment one day its fun and pretty cool. I also like to use you tube videos on how to do certain things, play around, ask questions and I enjoy helping as 28
By: Sarai Neff
PHOTOS BY RENEE BARBER
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Michael Link 2 years ago, I decided to upgrade from a simple point and shoot camera. The 350 dollars I spent got me a Fuji film SR-50, a bridge camera with a fixed telephoto lens (24-1000mm) and sophisticated digital processor. Being ignorant of the basic functions of my complex camera, I signed up for basic courses in digital photography at VB’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). While I still consider myself a novice, others might say that I’m creeping towards low-intermediate in my skill level. I know I still have a lot to learn. Background. Veteran - 22.5 years – USAF Came to VB in 2012 for a job with the Navy. 2 years later that organization was defunded and decommissioned. Currently enjoying the unemployed life and contemplating using my GI Bill to study photography at Art Institute of VB. I love sports, outdoors, my wife, natural sciences, languages and learning...... not necessarily in that order. see my work here
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Photo by: Michael Link
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“Anyone can take a photo of what someone looks like. A good photographer takes an image of what someone is like.” Tom McElvy, made his first world appearance in Jacksonville Florida on April 29, 1954. His family moved to the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (Norfolk-Virginia Beach) in 1957, and he has been there ever since. Tom attended private school during his elementary years, and began public schooling in Norfolk in the seventh grade. During high school, Tom discovered an interest in photography, thanks in part to two high school friends, Jackie Beamon and Glen Forbes. He soon purchased a Mamiya/Sekor 1000DTL 35mm manual camera, with a 50mm lens, and added a Tamron 70-210 lens. Tom quickly became the “staff photographer” for the chorus department, where many of his photos still hang. After high school, another friend, Jerome Rubin, helped Tom become involved in concert photography, attending many local concerts at the Norfolk Scope, Hampton Roads Coliseum and other venues. They did much work for AGL Productions, as well as some sports shooting for the Virginia Red Wings hockey team, and various other events. Additionally, he served as a staff photographer for several years with the then trendy Ghent Press, an area alternative (sometimes referred to as “underground”) monthly newspaper. Other work has appeared in the Virginian-Pilot and Richmond Times-Dispatch newspapers, as well as on local news media websites. Marriage (and the skyrocketing cost of photographic film, paper and chemicals), caused Tom to leave photography for a number of years. In 1998, with the emergence of high quality (for the period) digital cameras, Tom renewed his interest in photography; however, it was more of a snapshot interest, as opposed to a fine art medium. It was after the development of higher quality digital cameras that he re-discovered his love of fine-art photography.
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Educationally, Tom has graduated from the New York Institute of Photography, with a certificates in both Professional Photography, and Professional Digital Photography. He is also taking courses from Photoshop Academy in Knoxville, TN, and graduated from the London Art College, in London, England, with a diploma in Art History. He has also studied under Monte Zucker and
Tom is currently a also member of the Photographic Society of America, the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, and the WPPI. His work has been exhibited in the Richmond (VA) Main Library 2nd Floor Gallery and at the Virginia Beach Central Library Gallery, and The TCC Art Gallery in Portsmouth. Some of Tom’s favorite master photographers include Erwin Blumenfeld, Man Ray, Jill Posener and Helmut Newton. He has received numerous accolades and awards for his work, most notably the 2010 Award for Photography in the Annual Tidewater Community Student Art Show; the highest photographic award in the event. He has also won third place in the PSA Regionals 2007 Competition. He has also won numerous competitions in the Virginia Beach Photography Club. He was named “Photographer of the Year” by the Club in 2012. He has also served as Vice-President and President of the Virginia Beach Photography Club from 2004-2010, and has also served as Host for the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk for two years. Tom lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, with his wife, Renee Barger, two Pomeranians, Missi and Roxie. He has two sons, Charlie and Rickey, and ten (!) grandchildren; seven girls and three boys. see more images click here.
Photos and Bio by Tom McElvy 33
I came to the Hampton Roads area way back in 1958, and except for one year living in Staunton, VA, it has been my home. Since retiring from architecture two years ago, I have begun to pursue and enjoy my long held passion for photography. My journey in photography began in my early 20’s when a fellow architect introduced me to 35mm cameras. I learned manual photography techniques using a “Mercury II” 35mm viewfinder camera that belonged to my father. I still have that camera. It contained no automatic features, nor built-in light meter. I had to learn how to use a hand-held light 34
meter, and set the f-stop and shutter speed for each shot. I limped along for many years using the completely manual Mercury II camera until I bought a Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR. Wow, what a change!!! Most of my photography was of people, buildings and miscellaneous subjects. Now that I have the time to “concentrate” on photography,
I am trying to determine what type of images I want to capture and produce. As an architect, I am drawn to buildings and building elements, but from a personal standpoint, I want to make pictures that include people in everyday life. Street photography is becoming a pursuit, and I am absorbing as much information as I can by studying other photographer’s work and techniques. By: Michael Schmitt View my website here See the Flickr page here
Photos by: David Isaac White
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Photos by: David Issac White
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Beautiful wife Tiffany
Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine
Skate Park
Boats in Phuket, Thailand
Nissan Car
Horse
drawn
carriage
Zhitomir, Ukraine Photos on this page by : Travis Rogers 38
in
Iceland Photo by: Gene Ho
Photo: Tom McElvy
Photo: Travis Rogers
Photo: Shelley Deneau
Iceland Photo by: Gene Ho
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Both photos by Tom McElvy
Photo by: Pete Federico
Photo by: Shelley Deneau
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Photo Descriptions Blackwater Farmhouse, copy of a black and white print from an 8X10 inch camera
negative. 250mm lens (slightly wide for 8X10). Pg 9 Photo by Neal Chaves
Dan Franken and BMW Motorcycle, scan of an 8X10 inch black and white negative, which was printed for the MOCA New Waves 2015 show. Available light plus strobe. pg 8 photo by Neal Chaves Antique Fire Engines, 1980s 8X10 inch negative 250mm lens, recently reprinted for decor at Stan’s American Bistro, Virginia Beach pg 8 Photo by Neal Chaves Matthew Flying Kick, Kung Fu instructor Matthew Lyford photographed with handheld 4X5 press camera and strobe light. Scan of negative, complete with scan line from my old scanner. Pg. 8 photo by Neal Chaves Rocks and Surf, a copy of a black and white print made from an 8X10 negative. I flopped the negative right to left before printing for a more pleasing composition. 360mm lens, slightly longer than normal. pg 10 photo by Neal Chaves Sawyer Mill Waterfall, digital copy of a black and white print made from a 4X5 negative. This waterfall was right outside the widows of a studio I had in a converted mill building in New Hampshire. Yes, it is picturesque, but when it poured over heavily like this in the Fall and the Spring, it vibrated the building and I could not make prints in my lab or time exposures in my studio. pg 10 photo by Neal Chaves Snowy River Maine, a scan of a 6X7CM Ilford XP2 negative, a very high quality black and white film that is processed in C41 color chemicals. The semi-circular area was burned clear in a lightning strike. Cessna 172 aircraft and Rapid Omega 6X7 camera with 90mm (normal) lens. pg 10 photo by Neal Chaves Wedding PopUp Studio, Softbox main light with one additional light from behind. Norman strobe pack with 800Ws to each head. Fuji Super Zoom camera ISO 100 at f11. pg 25 photo by Neal Chaves Amanda and Star, a jpeg made with a Fuji Super Zoom Camera. Compensating for shutter lag with digital cameras is required for successful show jumping photos. pg 25 photo by Neal Chaves
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Isabel’s Ocean: I shot this image the evening before Hurricane Isabel hit Hampton Roads in 2003 at the VB Oceanfront pg 40 photo by Tom McElvy Mother & Daughter: 3rd Place Winner- Digital/Slides Open Competition, PSA Mid-Atlantic Competition, February 2007 pg 32 photo by Tom McElvy September Sunrise: Shot at Mt. Trashmore on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 pg 32 photo by Tom McElvy Solitude: Very old film scan, shot in the old Union Station Richmond VA 1973 pg 40 photo by Tom McElvy Victoria: this image won me the “Anonymous Award in Photography”, the highest photography-specific award in the TCC 39th Annual Student Art Show, 2010 pg 39 photo by Tom McElvy Virginia Gothic: This image of my third wife, is one of my favorites. Completely unrehearsed, unposed. It was a “don’t move, don’t breathe” moments during a lingerie photo shoot. 2003 pg 33 photo by Tom McElvy
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A Dream Never Finished..... In remembrance of Robert Haetinger By: Jeanne Catalano
Never did I think I would have to put these thoughts into words. I met Robert like most of us at our February meet up. He was quiet but participated and finally loosened up. Something that is expected when new people come out for the first time. We laughed and talked about how he was going to be retiring from the Navy in just three weeks and his bucket list was to drive to Alaska. I thought he was crazy. He wanted to photograph his experience and share it with everyone on social media and his photo blog. He had everything prepared and was about to triumph on a photographers dream. Robert and I got to know each other briefly but sometimes one person can still make an impact. He was passionate about photography and passionate about life. He had a daughter and a son who he loved more than his own life. He also was an amazing photographer who loved to capture life and its moments. I will never forget how much he thanked me for dragging him out to a meet up and for starting a local group. I followed him and loved his pictures and I wanted to share them with you. People cross your path in lives no matter how long or short for a reason. If I hadn’t started this group I probably never would have met him or any of you for that matter. My only regret was I was so busy with work I didn’t get to shoot star trails with him and then he was off on his big adventure. I told him when he came back I was going to make him share his adventures with all of our group. Part of being a photographer is to capture life and always remember the moments that may someday slip our minds. Robert was an amazing man who allowed new friends into his life. His vision and passion for everything he did makes this sadder that it had to end the way it did. You see, Robert never made it past Montana. Glacier Lake, the cover image, was his last view before he passed away. You never know the struggles someone faces. Sometimes while we may think there are more important things in life many things don’t always replace friendship or a simple kind gesture. I have to thank him for teaching me what he did and giving me advice when I needed it. What is amazing is that he 43 left behind these amazing photos that I wanted to share since he cannot. To the stars.......
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I hope you found your peace. RIP Robert Haetinger 3/24/2015
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