Executive Board Chairman Rose Mary Cheek rosemarycheek@charter.net
President Ned Winn studiomail@nc.rr.com President-Elect Craig York CYork3@triad.rr.com
Vice President Danny Daniel useralex2493@aol.com
Treasurer Rex Truell CLATRUELL@aol.com
CAROLINA PHOTOGRAPHER MAGAZINE is a monthly online publication of the Professional Photographers of North Carolina, Inc. Editor Rose Mary Cheek rosemarycheek@charter.net 828-322-2862 Sales & Business Manager Rose Mary Cheek Articles & Sales Submissions First of the Month Publication 25th of the Month
Secretary Marie White Marie@turnerwhitephotography.com
Executive Director Loretta Byrd Loretta@ppofnc.com
PPNC 427 Greenleaf Road, Angier, NC 27501 919-796-4747 www.ppofnc.com
Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressed by Carolina Photographer or any of its authors does not necessarily reflect the positions of the Professional Photographers of North Carolina, Inc. Association financial information available upon request.
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Who Are We? The Professional Photographers of North Carolina (PPNC) is NC’s largest association for professional photographers. We are an affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America, led by an elected Board of working professional photographers. We are a non-profit, member owned association. We are a community in tune with each other’s challenges. Together, we help each other succeed. From a monthly digital magazine with numerous tips and techniques, to one of the state’s largest photographic conventions and trade show, competitions, seminars, and more, PPNC’s members are connected.
Contents From the Editor Page 4 From the President Page 5 Mentoring by Tom McCabe Page 6 The Power of Mentorship by Carolyn Temple Page 10 carolina Photo Expo Memories Page 16
On the Cover Sunrise at Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge by LIYUN YU
An affiliate of
Fans of Professional Photographers of North Carolina
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From the Editor September and October has been a difficult time, many are still trying to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Matthew. I pray that all of you who were affected are back to some sense of normal again. Sadly it affected our October Fall Seminar, Stephen Dey had worked so hard on the event, we still owe him a huge thanks for all of the efforts he put forth. This time of the year "Our Busy" season we put much or our attention into our businesses. Coming up after the first of the year is our Winter-Spring Seminar & District Competition, be sure to look at the ad in the magazines and mark your calendars. Check out Carolyn Temple's Mentoring article, as well as the Mentoring article by Chris Adamsczyk. Why is mentoring so important? There are many things you can learn on-line, but to have someone guide you through the pitfalls, hold your hand, encourage you, help build your confidence and truly be a Mentor you can look up to for years to come. That is what mentor ship is all about, it's like having a Guide lead the way. In PPNC we have many great Guides. Rose Mary Cheek, Editor
PPNC Directors Western
Chris Garner tpsportraits@gmail.com Cathy Anderson cathyyount@gmail.com Central
George Joel, III Woodberry Bowen Eastern
george@gpjoell3photography.com Bowen.woodberry236@gmail.com
Tim Hester tim@TimHesterPhotography.com Fuller Royal fullerroyal@mac.com
Seminar Chairmen
Jim Woltljen jwoltjen@suddenlink.net Tom McCabe tommccabe46@earthlink.net Stephen Dey photo@charlotteimage.com Christina Holcolmb cholcombphoto@me.com
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PPA National Councilmen and Directors Cassie Stone Janet Boschker Joy Batchelor-King Adian Henson
SEPPA Rep. Loretta Byrd
From the President The cooler temps, the color in the trees, the leaves on the ground, and the early sunsets announce that they’re coming, and coming soon. The holidays are just around the corner, with all their traditions and festivities. We know that’s a good thing, because everyone has reason to save memories. In November we take time to gather with friends and family to count our blessings. Sometimes those gatherings help us remember that we need to call a photographer. Now! So, I hope that this issue of Carolina Photographer finds you busy doing what you love, capturing memories of people, places and events that might only occur during this time of year. Whatever is on your schedule right now, I hope you’re enjoying new success in your endeavors. Learning about the achievements of others, is usually helpful to our own accomplishments. In this edition, Caroline Temple shares with us her journey and growth as a photographer and as an artist. Her story demonstrates how we can each improve by paying attention to the work, advice and methods of others, whether they are a lot like us, or very different. We have much to learn from our world, and the people we find in it. So this holiday season, I’m remembering kindly, three more things for which I’m thankful: my friends, my peers and the mentors that I learn from. I’m sure you’ve noticed that PPNC is richly blessed with all three. Your President, Ned Winn 5
Mentoring by Tom McCabe,M.PH, CPP, F.Ph. Webster’s defines a mentor as a trusted counselor or guide. A tutor. All that is true enough, but Webster doesn’t speak to the value of a mentor. Although a lot can be learned in a classroom environment or in a speaker’s presentation, studies have shown as little as 5% of the information is retained. I have learned a great deal sitting in presentations and classes throughout my membership with PPofNC, which began in 2005. However, my success and growth as a photographer came more from working one-on-one or in very small groups with a mentor. Mentorship can take on many forms. In most cases it starts with a portfolio review one-on-one with a Master Photographer. This interface is only a beginning. One of the great things about PPofNC is the willingness of those with more experience to offer guidance and tutelage to anyone who asks for it, from asking a judge for a critique to just randomly asking a member for information. If you connect with the right people you cannot help but learn.
Who are the right people? Master Photographers, those who have earned the title and have proven themselves in Print Competition and through formal instruction, are an obvious choice. However, anyone who knows something that you don’t know is also a good choice. I have always believed that collectively the membership of PPofNC probably know about all there is to know about photography; however, no individual knows everything. We get better at our craft by sharing those things we know with others, at every level. Mentoring also builds a culture of communication which passes an appreciation for mentoring from one member 6
to another, and, thus, instills the value of mentoring into the organization. As less experienced photographers become better at their art and craft, they will in turn pass on their knowledge on to those coming up behind them. Thus, the cycle of shared knowledge and an active culture of mentoring continues. With the explosion of communication technology in the world today, mentoring doesn’t have to be face to face, though, as with any personal interaction, that is certainly the best venue. With e-mail, chat rooms, Facebook, Twitter and who knows what else, our ability to communicate with each other has never been easier. If you are a Master Photographer, reach out to the folks who are less experienced and offer your help. New members have a green ribbon on their name badges at the Carolina Photo Expo, making them easy to identify. Stop them, talk to them, find out their goals, and listen to their hopes. Find out what they would like to get out of the organization and their art. Make sure new members know about East Coast School, and if you have attended ECS classes, share that experience.
feeds your interests and share ideas. One of the best learning experiences available to new members is to sit in on the print judging during the Print Competition at the Expo. This is a kind of group mentoring and it is a perfect way to learn what works and what doesn’t in photographic competition. Listen to the judges and, once the judging is over, ask them questions on why they scored a print the way they did. Pick their brains and gather in all that information. Most judges are more than willing to share their thoughts and ideas, so don’t be afraid to ask for a critique of your images. You will learn. I promise. If you light a lamp for someone it will also brighten your own path. Buddhist Proverb
If you are a new member, approach any member and talk with them. I guarantee it will be well worth your while. Ask them what they photograph. See if it
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The Power of Mentorship by CAROLYN TEMPLE Recently, I was asked to contemplate creating an article for the Carolina Photographer in regards to mentorship and what it means to our lives and the journeys that we are currently on in our photographic professional development. In the process of outlining this article, I began to think back about the mentors who have blessed my life by guiding me on the photographic journey that I am an currently on. I came to realize that from early in our existence, we have mentors from all walks of life who leave a lasting impression on our development.They often take the form of parents, grandparents, neighbors, ministers, and teachers as well as other associates that are part of our lives. A true mentor is more than a teacher of facts because they freely give us guidance to help point out the way to success, the ways to avoid mistakes, and help to guide our development as individuals both personally and professionally.
He not only taught his students the basics of composition, perspective, line, and color harmony, but he also sparked the development of our love for art and how to express ourselves through our own personal work. He constantly made his students think about what was around us, to keep our eyes open, and to “look, feel, and see” before we then translated that observation into our personal art. But more importantly, his faith in me as an individual and his constant guidance and encouragement was the foundation for my desire to continue to learn and expand into the world of photography. He may not have known it at the time, but he gave me a passport to my future that changed my life.
I have been blessed with many wonderful mentors over the past years. Other than family members, the first main mentor in my life was Mr. Bill King, my high school art teacher for two years. 10
In 2002, I retired from thirty year of teaching and coaching at the high school in Morehead City before a local semi-retired photographer from Winston-Salem, Larry Brown, became the first photographic mentor in my life when he realized that we had similar ways of “seeing” and taking photographs. I learned tremendous knowledge about posing, lighting, and digital manipulation from him during the last five years of his life. Larry was the person that kept pushing me to join PPNC. His father, Preston Brown, was a past president of our organization in the late 1960’s. I joined PPNC in 2006 and quickly realized that I was way behind in my photographic skills and that I had a lot of changing to do to catch up with the rapidly evolving world of digital photography. Up until that point, I was a film only photographer, so at the next convention, I bought my first digital camera and began the learning process through white balances, digital editing, and all of the information and programs that help me get to the final stages of my images. It was overwhelming, but Larry was my guide through the many trials and tribulations of making the change from film to digital. Finally, around four years ago, Larry started pushing me to get into competition, as he urged me to “get off of
the porch and run with the big dogs”. About that same time Adrian Henson and Mona Sadler invited me to join the Professional Imaging Group of Eastern North Carolina and that is when my photographic world really began to change. Their mentorship, friendship, guidance, and encouragement to many of us in eastern North Carolina has been the source of tremendous growth and development of skills in our professional lives. I owe both Mona and Adrian a great debt of gratitude for all time and effort they have so selflessly given to be a mentor to myself and the many others in our organization. They are very special people in so many ways! Several other PPNC members including Ned Winn, Ellen LeRoy, and John Stanton, have offered guidance and assistance and have had a hand in molding the photographer that I am becoming today. In the spring of 2014, I joined PPA and entered my first SEPPA and IPC competitions as well as my first PPNC competition. Let’s just say that this was the start of an educational and creative journey that has changed the way that I look at photography and my art. I strongly suggest that everyone should consider exploring the world of photographic competition if they are serious about improving the skills of their craft.
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I am forever thankful for those that have touched my life.
My mentors have had a tremendous influence in the quality of the work that was placed into my competition prints and I am forever grateful for their influence. The self discovery through competition has filtered down into all aspects of the products that I now produce.
Note to All New PPNC Members: DO NOT do what I did when I first started in PPNC! When I attended my first convention as a novice member who was film based and did not know much about digital photography, I was overwhelmed and quickly realized that I was way behind in my photographic skills and that I had a lot of changing to do in order to join the modern digital photography world. I thought to myself on that first day of the convention, “Oh, my God! What have I gotten myself into?”. I did not want everyone to know how far back I was on the learning curve, so I kept my mouth shut, attended the programs, took copious notes, and saw what I needed to learn to become knowledgeable enough to converse with all of the super talented photographers that were surrounding me. For several years, this was my mode of operation at the conventions, but I now realize that those were lost years. Had I asked for help, it would have been freely given, and I would have saved an extreme amount of time during the learning phase in switching to digital capture and editing.
I have found that the power of mentorship does not really have much to do with just teaching, but has more to do with making decisions in life and business skills. A great mentor does not tell you what to do. They are more like a guidepost or signpost suggesting which way you should go and they point out the pitfalls along the way. We all need guidance and encouragement and I believe that those of us that have received the true gift of mentorship from other more experienced photographers need to step up and offer whatever skill knowledge we have to other newer photographers that are journeying along the same pathway that we were on in the not too distant past. As the saying goes, we need to “pay it forward”. There is power in mentorship, both to those receiving and to those giving. YOU can change the world for someone else. Make a difference………become a mentor!
If you need or want help, do not be afraid to ask for a fellow member to 12
mentor you. If you are a more experienced photographer, please speak to the new members that you see wandering around in the hallways and meeting rooms of the convention and regional seminars to make them feel at home and welcome to talk with you. Also, please offer to counsel or mentor another photographer to help them in their photographic journey in this complex world. You may just change a life in the process. I am forever thankful for Larry Brown, Mona Sadler, Adrian Henson, Ellen Leroy,
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Carolina Photo Expo Memories
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2 017 Wo r k s h o p s Ju n e 11-14 holiday inn doW ntoW n r aleigh
Celebrating
60 years of
exCellenCe nikki
al
1957-2017
randy
Christine
steve
5 Great C l ass e s To Cho o s e From Nikki HarrisoN - Surreal Beauty Portraits - Stand Out From The Crowd Maternity, Newborns & Children - CHristiNe kliNe al audlemaN - CPP Prep and Exam From Light Painting to Architectural Photography Lighting Up Architecture and Art! - raNdy VaN duiNeN steVe kozak - The Secrets To Success In Professional Photography The East Coast School Photographic Workshops For Professional Photographers June 11-14, 2017 Holiday Inn Downtown Raleigh North Carolina For Additional Information Visit www.EastCoastSchool.com
www.EastCoastSchool.com Rex C. Truell - Director 336-476-4838 EastCoastSchool@aol.com
www.carolinaphotoexpo.com