Flowers

 

I’m not sure how this happened.  It certainly wasn’t planned, but with the exception of going to Longwood to photograph the Blue Poppies earlier this year, a whole season went by without spending any time doing flower photography. I will have to make sure I don’t repeat this mistake next year!  

Expo Wrap Up

I hope most people who read my last Blog post decided to checkout the Nature Visions Expo. I think this was possibly our best year ever. Certainly the staff at the Hylton Center went above and beyond. I spent most of the weekend in the Theatre, but did manage to slip out a few times to visit with friends and buy a couple new toys. The lectures were great and all the speakers did a fantastic job. I really appreciate the complements I received from everyone.

In case you missed the Event, Molly and Mary from Awake the Light kicked the day off on Saturday, they were followed by Tony Sweet.  Tony wowed the crowd as always. After lunch John Barclay treated the crowd to his Dream, Believe, Create lecture, and finishing up the first day was Charles Glatzer who in my humble opinion is easily one of the best wildlife photographers out there. We had a nice reception on Saturday evening and then Bob Krist delivered an outstanding Keynote Lecture on Saturday evening.

On Sunday Morning Karen Messick came to my rescue as a last minute replacement for Charles Needle. Charles was under the weather and unable to travel. He was missed for sure, but Karen did a great job stepping in at the last minute. Ian Plant treated the crowd to some of his latest images, including a few from Patagonia. As always Ian wowed the crowd. Local favorite Josh Taylor followed Ian, Josh gave a lecture on Garden Photography. Saving one of the best for last, Corey Hilz closed out the event on Sunday.

We also had 4 workshops during the weekend. I did not get a chance to drop in on the workshops, but I'm told they were a success. It was really nice to hear many of the professional photographers complement our fellow club members on the quality of their work. We had over 300 juried images on display during the weekend. I was fortunate enough to have 3 of mine juried into the event.

The feedback from our vendors was tremendous. They loved the people and the venue. The Expo was over a year in planning, but the change in venue was a success. It was an honor to be part of the team of people who put it all together.

The Hylton Center is a beautiful location. Every chance I got I was shooting the place with my Droid. In hindsight I wish I had brought a tripod and DSLR. At John Barclay's suggestion I converted the Blog image to Black and White. I like it in color and black and white. Fell free to let me know which one you prefer.

Nature Visions

For the past year I have been a board member for the Mid-Atlantic Nature Photography Expo. This event was formerly known as the Meadowlark Photo Expo. The Expo is a non-profit volunteer organization and it takes a considerable amount of planning and preparation to make it happen every year. Having outgrown Meadowlark Gardens, we are moving the event this year to the Hylton Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of the George Mason University in Manassas, VA. We have lined up a great group of inspirational speakers: Bob Krist will be delivering the Keynote Address on Saturday night. For the first time ever, we will be holding workshops and factory reps will be on hand to answer your questions and demo the latest gear.


Full details are available on the Expo’s web site. This year’s event should be our best ever!! Please make plans to attend and tell your friends!!