PMPA After Hours

June 13 at 7PM, SMILE Station, 8210 SE 13th, Portland, OR

This meeting is a "Special Membership Meeting" That means we will take about 5 minutes and you'll have the opportunity to vote on some important changes to our by-laws. A copy of the By-Law changes may be found here.  After his brief VOTE will begin. After Hours gatherings are open to PMPA members and non-members alike. 

This month, Sherrlyn Borkgren, an independent photojournalist and portrait photographer, will talk about her experiences of being on the front lines in places like Iraq, Mexican Prisons, and her coverage of Rape in the Congo and Latin America. Her photos have appeared in international magazines and newspapers.

She will also introduce her Work Shop "CAPTURING THE HEARTBEAT WORKSHOP; Street Photography" that will be held on Sunday July 14, 2013.  The focus of the workshop will be to teach street shooting skills and create images that tell a story. 

"We will make your images powerful and moving through inspirational tips" says Borkgren.  Learn from the experiences of a practitioner who has spent her life on the streets of the world.  Acquire tips on how to photograph people and never feel like an nuisance or as if you are “taking their soul”.

To see recent work visit https://www.facebook.com/borkgren

PMPA Photographic Competition and After Hours

July 11 at 7PM, SMILE Station, 8210 SE 13th, Portland, OR

The quarterly PMPA Print Competition will be held at 7 p.m Thursday, July 11, at a location TBD. This year's competitions feature some big changes, most notably the fact PMPA has gone digital. Open to PMPA members, the competitions will be run by PPA standards, with entries set at $10 per image or $25 for a maximum of three per photographer. 

Competitors submit images in advance, which are then displayed on a high-resolution screen and judged by PPA standards by trained judges. 

In addition, Larry Erickson will give a preview of the photography business development seminar scheduled for Aug. 9 the he will co-host with Kate Singh of Aevum Images.

CAPTURING THE HEARTBEAT WORKSHOP; Street Photography

July 14 at 11 am - 7 pm, TBD Portland, OR

PMPA After Hours

August 8 at 7PM, SMILE Station, 8210 SE 13th, Portland, OR

The monthly PMPA After Hours will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8, at the SMILE Station in Sellwood At that time, Lara Blair will give a preview of the September pet photography seminar she will be hosting.   

Announcing PMPA’s new degree medals

PMPA members shine at PPA Western Competition

PMPA members Cindy Kassab, Darrell Davis, PMPA board member Tom Reiman and PMPA President Mark Fitzgerald each earned Professional Photgraphers of America (PPA) merits at the recent PPA Western District Photographic Competition.

Held in Los Angeles from Feb. 22-24, 2013, the district competition was open to photographers from across the western states, including Oregon, Washington, California and others. 

Judged on a 1-100 scale, images receiving a score of 80 or above each receive a PPA ‘Seal of Approval.’ Those images are often referred to like a “merit image,” but it requires that the photographer enter that sealed image in the next PPA international competition before receiving a merit. 

Once that takes, place, the entrant is automatically accepted into the international competition’s General Collection. 

“This is a big deal,” said PMPA Membership Director Mike Anderson, who also took part in the competition. “Because images falling into this category are guaranteed international awards of some sort.” 

At the Western District Competition, Kassab saw three of the four images she entered receive merits. Her photograph “Attitude” received a score of 81, “Luminous Landscape” an 87 and “Visitor from the North” a score of 81.

Davis also saw three of his four images receive merits. He received an 80 for “Remember When,” an 80 for “Stairway to the Clouds” and an 81 for “Waiting for the Fog to Lift.”

Fitzgerald, meanwhile, received merits for two of his four entries. He received a score of 81 for “Forgotten Hero,” and an 81 for “Sixty Fourth Floor Sunrise.” 

Finally, Reiman also earned merits for two of his four images. He earned an 80 for “Hangin’ On” and an 82 for “Last Legs.”

Web: PPA Competitions. 

Competition Tips

Tips for Entering the PMPA Digital Photographic Competition

Preparing your Files

=  Calibration: We’re using a high quality 30” monitor that’s calibrated to 6500k, 2.2 gamma, 110 lumens. If you have a device like a Spyder or ColorMunki, use it to calibrate your display to these settings. Then you’ll have the most accurate preview on your own monitor.

=  Color Profile: Submit files with either the sRGB or AdobeRGB1998 color profile embedded. The monitor we’re using can display almost all of the AdobeRGB1998 color space. (The monitor we’re using has its own calibration device, which is used to calibrate the monitor independently of the computer being used with it. Because of that it isn’t necessary for you to have a specific profile for the computer being used for the competition.)

=  File Specs: Save files as JPEG with the longest dimension measuring 4000 pixels.

= Presentation is one of the12 Elements of a Merit Image. Present your final images just as you would when printing them.

Entering the Competition

=  Membership: You must be a current PMPA member in order to participate. Being a member of PMPA’s Facebook, LinkedIn, or Meetup groups does not constitute membership in our association.Click here to join PMPA.

=  Register: Go to the Online Registration and purchase your entry ticket. The cost is $10/ image or $25 for 3 images. Registration generally opens a month before the competition and closes midnight the Saturday before the competition. You can purchase your registration at any time during that period. Because entry is limited, it’s recommended that you register early to reserve your spot in the competition.

=  Submit Images: Email your completed images toprintcomp@pmpa.net before midnight the Saturday before the competition. Be sure to attach your registration ticket.

=  Come to the Competition: Remember that you must be present during the competition. If you aren’t your images will receive no official score.

= Be Prepared to Learn: This is one of the most important aspects of participating in our photographic competition. You’ll learn a lot from the critiques, whether they’re for you image or someone else’s. If you’re new to competition, be prepared to disengage from your ego. The people judging your images are quite experienced and have lots of good advice to offer. If you pay attention to what they have to say, you’ll learn to make even better images – which is the point of the whole process.

Print Scoring

=  Judges: Competition images are evaluated by a panel of judges who are trained within in the Professional Photographers of America system. They use a numeric scoring system to evaluate an image based on how well it meets the12 Elements of a Merit Image. (Images are presented anonymously so neither the judges or the audience will be able to identify an image’s maker.)

=  Earning Merits: A score of at least 80 is needed for an image to earn a merit. This qualifies the image for year-end awards, such as Photographer of the Year, and guarantees it will make it into the PMPA Merit Image book that’s published at the end of the year. Competition merits are also necessary for earning theFellow of Photography andAssociate Fellow of Photography degrees from PMPA.

FOR SALE, Professional Stuido Equipment

FOR SALE:  Are you still looking for some used photographic equipment?  Gloria Auker, founding member of PMPA, is selling some of Jerry's professional gear collected from over 35 years as a professional.  Lighting, backgrounds, studio 'stuff'.....   Call Gloria for details: 503-233-3084 (note: you may get a recording about rental property).  She lives in Sellwood, near the SMILE Station.