Vol 3 - April 2009
APRIL 13, 2009, MEETING AT GEORGE AND CYNTHIA WOODS MITCHELL LIBRARY 8125 Ashlane Way, The Woodlands, TX 77382
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT WELCOME all new members. CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners. We had a fantastic show and for those that were unable to attend, you surely missed a great event. I wish to thank Ted Washington for being our judge. We thoroughly enjoyed his comments about each winning photo. I am sure his critique was helpful to all that attended. I hope the members took advantage of talking with Mr. Washington and getting insight on how to get better photos. I must say that there was stiff competition. The originality, great vision, and artistry were the best I have seen from our club. As we have stronger competition, take advantage of our field trips and workshops. Working together can only help improve our art and that is what our club is about – helping others to get a better understanding of photography. I wish to thank all those folks that participated in getting our gallery of art hung and taken down and to the folks that met Mr. Washington and took care of him. We can only succeed when we have such great volunteers. Dot Mullinax
2009 SPRING CONTEST AWARDS
Best Of Show: Photo by Ron Bautsch	Members Choice: Food: 2nd Place Photo by Don Rueter	Food: 1st Place: Photo by Dot Mullinax

Painting with Light: 1st Place Photo by Pam Moore	Western: 1st Place Photo by Dot Mullinax	Water: 1st Place Photo by Vu Banh

	B&W 1st Place Photo by Jamie Werner

Best of Show: Ron Bautsch "Monterey Sunset"		Members Choice: Don Rueter "Sushie "
Western: 1st Dot Mullinax "Cowboy" 2nd Will Kennard "Misty Morn" 3rd Philip Shyrock "Long Horns	Food: 1st Dot Mulllinax "Yummie" 2nd Don Rueter "Sushi" 3rd Jamie Werner "Happy Birthday" HM Ron Bautsch "Habanero	Water: 1st Vu Banh "Lily Paradise" 2nd Ron Bautsch "Misty Sea" 3rd Vu Banh "Gazebo on the Lake”
B & W: 1st Jamie Werner "Dad's Arms" 2nd Pam Moore "Daily Job" 3rd Vu Banh "Bubble on the bus"	Paint/light: 1st Pam Moore "Cowboy gear" 2nd Autumn Teesdale "Electric Rain" 3rd Stephan Andreas "I Luv U"	Open: 1st Doug Wilson "Terlingua Camper" 2nd Ron Bautsch "Lighted Gear" 3rd Vu Banh "Surprising News" HM Vu Banh "View from the Center" HM Jamie Werner "Angel Mom"

ST. ANDREWS CHURCH: CLUB PHOTOGRAPHS HELP THE CONGREGATION The Woodlands Photo Club had an opportunity last year to take photographs of the St. Andrews church in historic Bryan. The church was recently vandalized, but because our members had sent them photos, they were able to use them to restore the broken windows to how they originally looked. It is such a shame that anyone would do such a horrible thing to a church. They believe that they have caught one of the vandals. We are very grateful that our photos have given such a positive outcome, and we thank all the members who participated in this wonderful event.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION AND WELCOME My name is Susan Long, and I am available at all meetings to answer any club questions or take suggestions. Our club operates because of a wonderful group of volunteers. Our Board members work hard to keep the momentum going, but we cannot do it without the help of all of you. Some of the areas that we ALWAYS need volunteers to help with are refreshments, mentoring, heading up a presentation or workshop to our members, meeting setup and cleanup, contest tasks, and more. On a separate note, in January, our club members had a brief demonstration and explanation of the Texas Photo Forum site (TPF) and how we can use it to our benefit. If you are not already registered on TPF, it is very easy to do ….. go to www.texasphotoforum.com . If you have any questions about the process, feel free to email me at www.wpc@susanlong.net . Our wonderful club has a separate section at TPF where we can go to ask questions of each other, and share photo experiences, and talk about upcoming field trips. The benefits do not stop there. You have access to communicating with photographers of all skill levels all over the great state of Texas and beyond, on a huge selection of equipment and technique topics. So PLEASE do some poking around on the site, start participating and watch your club friendships grow………….. I want to finally say again, WELCOME to all new and returning members. Susan Long Hospitality Chairperson 2009
NEW MEMBERS Jennifer Mosquedo Ken & Lana Miller Kyle & Chelsey Jackson
Mixed Media Workshop  The Mixed Media workshop took place Saturday, March 21, at the library. Members enjoyed learning techniques including photocopy transfers and imprinting in gesso to create textured backgrounds for prints. It was a fun-filled two hours of creativity!
WPC Strobist Workshop Information and fun were found at the WPC Strobist workshop. "Thank you so much for this workshop. I would absolutely be interested in an advanced workshop - heck I'd probably go to the "101" again, just cuz I enjoyed it so much.” -Kyle Jackson The good news for the club is Vu Banh has developed a great resource of the techniques he presented at the workshop which will soon be available on the club's resource page.
FIELD TRIPS
Attwater's Prairie Chicken Preserve Sunday, April 5 5:30-11:00 am Price: $45 To join photographers on a field trip to see the attwater chickens please visit http://galvestonfeatherfest.com to sign up. Contact Dot Mullinax if you are interested in carpooling to this event. Departures: All trips (including those aboard Seagull II boat) will depart at the front of the Old Galveston Square Building, 2221 The Strand, in downtown Galveston. Field Experts: Gordon Nunn, Gay York Travel by van to the Nature Conservancy’s Preserve at Texas City for a chance to see the Attwater’s Prairie-chicken, one of the rarest birds in North America. We emphasize “chance” since the population is small. This Preserve is one of just two dedicated to trying to keep this species alive in the wild. For many birder visitors to the Upper Texas Coast this will be a must-see life bird. Watching the prairie chickens perform their mating ritual is a sight to behold. The males emerge into an open area referred to as a “lek”, extend their tail feathers, stomp their feet, make a noise called “booming” and chase off competing males to defend their area and attract the attention of the females. Regardless of success with seeing the Prairie–chicken, this tour will still be a good one with additional interesting bird watching, both on the Preserve and locally. For 2009, the “blind” that permitted visitors to approach fairly close to the lek, will not be available due to Hurricane Ike, but this does permit the tour to start a little later than in past years.
Mercer Arboretum Sunday, April 19, 10:00am-12:00pm 22306 Aldine Westfield Road Humble, Texas 77338-1071 Phone: (281) 443-8731 A few members expressed in meeting at Mercer on a weekend, so we're going again. We will meet at and shoot what suits our fancy. Please read the photography guidelines before you arrive. We will need to sign an agreement in the main office before we begin shooting. Please check out the recent thread on the Texas Photo Forum for some recent pics members took on the last field trip.
Brenham/Independance Texas Saturday, April 25 Carpoolers meet at the library at 8:30a.m. Map We will meet at the Antique Rose Emporium at approximately 10:00 a.m. to photograph in their luscious gardens, then head up the highway to Old Baylor Park. For lunch, weather permitting, feel free to "brown bag it" for a picnic at the park. The Antique Rose Emporium 10,000 FM 50, Brenham, TX 77833 979-836-5548 Located on an early settler's homestead, this nationally renowned 8-acre retail garden features romantic antique roses, native plants, old-fashioned perennials, herbs and wildflowers. Gift shop, events, seasonal demonstrations and farmer's markets. FREE admission. Old Baylor Park Located around the original site of Baylor University where the ruins of Old Baylor still stand, this peaceful park is renowned as one of the best places in the state to see bluebonnets in the spring. Adjacent to the J.P. Coles pioneer homes, the park features picnic tables and a playground area. If you like, you may take a one-mile walking (or driving) tour through several historic sites, including a cotton gin, an adobe house, a general store and Mrs. Sam Houston's house. Additional area attractions to visit on your own: Blue Bell Creamery Pleasant Hill Winery More! And More!
WORKSHOPS
Manual 101 Photography Sunday, April 19th, from 2:00-4:00 PM, Pam Moore’s house, 16 Timber Wood Lane, Conroe, TX 77384. Limit 12 members. This is a Beginner's class for using your camera on manual settings. Bring, camera, manual, notepad and pens to take notes. Lens size on camera is not important for this session. Bring a light weight lens. Get familiar with your manual for your camera. After our instructions, we will go outside to practice what we learned. Contact Caryn Rock to sign up
EVENTS
North America Nature Photographer Association (NANPA) Regional Event April 16-19, 2009 Fredricksburg, Texas NANPA's Regional Event is coming to Fredricksburg, Texas, a historic German community surrounded by stunning photographic opportunities. Come explore the region during four days of field trips, instruction and social events. Online registration is open! http://nanpa.org
ASSIGNMENT April Retro Vintage There is a limit of 2 pictures per person. The photos need to be resized to 1024x768 and submitted to Jim Kelly jbkelly2006@gmail.com by the first Monday of each month.	SNACK PROVIDERS APRIL: Ice NEED VOLUNTEER Drinks Doug Wilson Salty Mary Kennedy/Ninamay Fink Sweet Cindy DuPaul/Wendy Don MAY: Ice Drinks Dot Mullinax Salty Sweet To volunteer for snacks please contact Susan Long	BOARD MEMBERS President Dot Mullinax Vice President Lenora Stein Treasurer Bea-Ann Kelly Advisor / Hospitality Susan Long Workshops Vu Banh Field Trips Caryn Rock Historian Barry Dolton Webmaster Mike Guidry Publicity / Promotion Melinda Culpon Photographer Pam Moore Presentation Jim Kelly All members are welcomed to attend the board meetings held the last Wednesday of the month 6:30-8:00pm at Cafe Express in The Woodlands.