The Woodlands Photography Club
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - MAY 2021


Bob Boetticher
Thank you to Mac Rodgers for creating this slideshow of the April Mini-Contest.
TWPC Members!
We have had a fabulous April with Jeff Parker as our Guest Speaker, a field trip to Brazos Bend State Park, a fun FB Challenge topic, Water, Earth, Fire, and Air, and a Photo Walk shooting in B&W!
May is a month full of celebrations: Mother’s Day, May Day, Cinco de Mayo, National Teacher’s Day, Memorial Day, and Graduations! It is also known for the feeling of Spring when love is in the air! Families are beginning to gather, and it will be a great time to capture those moments!
If you are thinking about short travels to capture some great scenery and springtime birds, then make sure to be at our May 10th meeting for our guest speaker Paul Gregg. Keep shooting, sharing and having fun with your love for photography!
Joan and Tom
MONTHLY CLUB MEETING
May 10, 2021
7 pm Central Time
via Zoom
The Zoom session will begin at 6:45 pm and the meeting will kick-off at 7:00 pm.
Zoom details and link are in the TWPC Newsletter email. Just click on that link and you will be directed to the meeting. We will send you a reminder email with this information on the day of the meeting.
Guest Speaker
Paul Gregg will talk about birds in our backyard and what you might find in a 2–3-hour trip from home.
ANNUAL CONTEST
TWPC Annual Contest Exhibition of Winners
The exhibition of Winners will be held on June 14, 2021, 5:30 – 9:00 PM at The Glade Cultural Center. This will be a wine and cheese open house. You won’t want to miss this fun event. Bring your family and friends. All winning photos and curator’s choice photos will be on display for this one night only.
The 2021 Annual Contest rules can be found on the club website along with helpful inks for category photo examples.
CLUB CHALLENGES
You need some inspiration? New ideas of what to explore in your photography? The monthly Facebook Challenges offers a new opportunity to practice, get inspired, and inspire others by sharing your work.
All members can participate in posting up to 3 photos on TWPC Facebook page, according to the monthly subject, with the correspondent #tag. Every Challenge starts on the first day of the month and ends on the last day. The Showcase Presentation will be created with a minimum of 4 participants and will be published on Facebook the first week of the following month.

The following are a few of the entries from the April 2021 Challenge:
Water, Earth, Fire Air
Photographers From Left to Right: Alicia Kominek, Joan Tilton, Joan Tilton
Click on the link below to see Alicia Kominek's video work of the March Facebook Challenge Results
'Windows & Balconies: Color'
FIELD TRIPS
Aunique Ranch
Huntsville, TX
Saturday, May 1, 2021 (Canceled)
Please keep an eye on Facebook and our website for when the Aunique Ranch field trip will be rescheduled.
Fee: $30

The TWPC June 2021 field trip is still TBD. Please keep an eye on Facebook and our website for details as they unfold.
Claudia Smith
WORKSHOPS & LEARNING
Workshops
LIGHTING WORKSHOP WEEK
Part 1 - Thurs May 13 7-9pm
Part 2 - Sat May 15 9-11am
Part 3 - Tues May 18 7-9pm
Part 4 - Thurs May 20 7:30-8:30
Members: $65 / Non-Members: $80
We welcome Jaime Leigh Sonnier, a Houston based professional photographer who has been a featured speaker for Pictage, WPPI, Houston Center for Photography and TAEA VASE. The workshop is structured in a way that will span over an entire week. The more you get involved and participate the greater the benefit to you!
Part 1 will be a 2 hour ZOOM session instruction that will prepare us for our first photography assignment to reinforce what we just learned. This assignment can be done anywhere or in your own home. We will then have an opportunity to submit our work to a class website that Jaime will provide for feedback/photo critique. We will review these photos at the beginning of our Part 2 session and then do a hands on workshop outdoors to explore how to photograph with natural lighting. In Part 3 we will dive into more advanced lighting techniques that will prepare us for shooting low key and in a film noir style. And, finally, in the short Part 4 session a chance to review/photo critique our photos from the natural lighting and film noir shoots. The 1st and 4th session will be recorded on zoom.
Although the course will be focused toward an intermediate to advanced hobbyist level, all are welcome! EVERYTHING in photography revolves around lighting, so it is definitely a course you don’t want to miss! Limited to a maximum of 15 participants. The course is over half full already.
MATTING PHOTOS
Saturday, May 22nd
9am-noon
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
704 Old Montgomery Road, Conroe, TX 77301
Photo Walks
The next one will be in July!
Details coming soon.
Photo Critiques
Monday, June 21
via ZOOM 7-8:30pm
Ted Washington and Jeff Parker have agreed to join us again! Remember our goal with these critique sessions is for each of us to learn how to look at a photo with a critical eye using the “elements of a merit photo” as a base point. You may continue to submit photos here. If all your photos don’t get discussed at the first session, no worries we will use them for the following session!
Photo Deconstructions
Monday, May 24
Tom Flink
via Zoom
(see email or Facebook Event for Zoom Link & Details)
Tom Flink's Photo Deconstruction topic will be "Techniques for Photographing Water in Landscapes." He will discuss best practices, techniques, and equipment (filters) for photographing waterfalls, rivers, lakes, etc. To the right are two of the photos Tom will be discussing.
Challenge yourself to try it with one of your own photos! Then post your results on our Facebook page with #photodeconstruction.
Last month Richard Houghton shared with us his photo setup with mirrors! Those who attended...we hope you will give it a try and remember to post your results!

Photo Credit: Richard Houghton
WORKSHOP & LEARNING COORDINATORS: ALICIA KOMINEK & ZORAYA STERN workshopstwpc@gmail.com
MINI CONTEST - SHARE & LEARN
May Contest Theme
FIVE
Deadline: Friday, May 7, 11:59pm
VOTING will be the same as our last virtual meeting. About 24 hours before the meeting (Sunday evening), we will send out a MailChimp meeting reminder. This reminder will contain two Mini-Contest links: one that will lead you to the online gallery where you can view the entries and decide your favorite; and another link that will lead you to an online ballot where you can vote for your favorite. Balloting will remain open until 6:45 pm Monday. The winner will be announced during the virtual meeting.
Submission of entries for our MAY VIRTUAL MEETING will be EXACTLY THE SAME as for our live meetings: Remember to remove your "watermarks" from all submitted photos. You upload high-resolution jpeg images (up to 2 per member) with the word “Mini” in the file name, by clicking on this link and following instructions:
May Share & Learn
Deadline: Friday, May 7, 11:59pm
Max Photos: 4
Submission of entries for the MAY SHARE & LEARN will be similar to previous meetings: you can upload high-resolution jpeg images with the word “Slide” and a sequence number (Slide-1, Slide-2, etc) in the file name, by clicking on this link and following instructions:
As usual, we will present a slide show near the end of the virtual meeting, and you will have the opportunity to tell us about your images. Here is last month's Share and Learn slide show.
For questions this month contact Zoraya Stern at WorkshopsTWPC@gmail.com
MEMBERSHIP
JOIN THE WOODLANDS PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB!
TWPC members look forward to sharing and growing our photography with current and new members in 2021. New members, with new ideas and a love for photography are always welcome. If you or someone you know would like to become a member, please click on the Membership Application link below, complete the online registration, and choose your desired payment method.
2020/2021 Dues:
Single Membership: $25/year
Family Membership: $35/year
Student Membership: $15/year
Note: Membership is required for participation in the monthly Challenges, Mini-Contests, Workshops, Slideshows, the Annual Photo Contest, and our active Facebook page.
All membership applications must be filled out online
You will have the option of mailing a check, Paypal, or a credit card. We encourage everyone to pay online if possible as it makes the administration of membership payments much easier.
Feel free to forward the membership link to your friends!
Our Club Thrives Off The Efforts of Our Volunteers!
TWPC Leadership Team 2021
President: Joan Tilton
Vice President: Tom Flink
Annual Photo Contest VP: Ellen Taylor
Treasurer: Amy Butler
Membership Coordinator: John Small
Secretary/Historian: Glenn Siegert
TWPC Newsletter: Janet Bartsch
Field Trip Coordinator: Claudia Smith
Field Trip Coordinator Alternate: Open
Webmaster: Glenn Siegert
Zoommaster and MailChimp: Tom Flink
Publicity (External: media, calendars): Kathy Craven
FB Challenge Coordinator: Alicia Kominek
Hospitality Coordinator (Refreshments): Open
Slide Show/Mini-Contest: Mac Rodgers
Workshops and Learning: Zoraya Stern and Alicia Kominek
