May 2024 Member Meeting
Due to Mother’s Day, meeting is one week early,
SPEAKER: KEVIN RAILSBACK
Kevin is an Emmy nominated filmmaker and photographer and has traveled as far as Africa to test HD cameras for Panasonic. His stunning nature and wildlife footage has appeared in productions on National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel as well as in commercials for such corporate giants as AT&T. The cool thing is Kevin lives in the CEDAR RAPIDS area and is a member of LAPC! Mark your calendar for May 5. His breathtaking work can also be found on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naturephotostudios/
Website: https://naturephotostudios.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NaturePhotoStudios
Instagram: naturephotostudios
Iowa State Fair
The 2024 Iowa State Fair opens on August 8 and runs through August 18. Linn Area Photo Club has supported the Photography Competition for many years.
Find more info here: https://www.iowastatefair.org/
This LAPC calendar event was created on February 21, 2024. At that time, the Fair website had not been updated for all 2024 events. Please be aware that that some of the dates are still for 2023 activities.
October 13 Member Meeting
SPEAKER: LISA BERGMANN SMITHEY
COMPOSITION
(Rescheduled from April due to a scheduling conflict) Composition is the cornerstone of any art form. Knowing how to combine elements in an image - what to put in, what to leave out, learning the basic rules of composition and when to use them, when to break them, when to ignore them, and photographing with intention are integral pieces of the compositional process. In this presentation, we’ll chat about the Previsualization/Compositional process, and ways to make your images more dynamic.
Lisa Bergmann-Smithey is a commercial and fine art photographer originally from New York and Los Angeles, now based in Iowa. She studied at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, with continuing studies at UC Santa Barbara and UCLA. A dedicated teacher, mentor and lifelong learner herself, she believes in the power of continuing education. She has been a professional photographer and instructor for more than 30 years, and has taught all ages and levels of photography.
Total Solar Eclipse
On April 8, 2024 a rare photographic opportunity will cross over sections of Mexico, the United States and Canada. Totality will last only a few minutes. You can view NASA’s 2024 Solar Eclipse Map here: https://youtu.be/fmtGqOxxmEU?si=ErVRuxEvUmdsmhIj
March 2024 Member Meeting
SPEAKERS: CARL BRACKEN & JIM BONSER
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY & ASTRONOMY
Two featured speakers, Carl Bracken and Jim Bonser, will be covering the general subjects at our March meeting. Both are members of the Cedar Amatuer Astronomers. We are quite delighted to learn more about astrophotography just prior to the upcoming Total Eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024.
February 2024 Member Meeting
SPEAKER: JOHN C. THOMAS
Website: catchlight.ws
“46 Years of Commercial Photography - A Retrospective”
Owner of Catchlight, a commercial photography studio established to craft distinctive digital photography.
Photographer John C. Thomas is equally at home photographing people, places and things in the studio and on location. John’s portfolio work includes people, products, food, architecture, aviation, aerial, panoramic landscape and corporate work for annual reports, brochures, catalogs, books, websites and many other applications.
PHOTOGRAPHER OF FOOD • INDUSTRIAL • PRODUCTS • PEOPLE
While on a family vacation at age 14, John had a once-in-a-lifetime experience assisting Julius Shulman, a Life Magazine architectural photographer, with a photo shoot of a resort. From the first click of the shutter, John knew he had found his calling. He grew to love aviation, a fascination he was able to pair with photography throughout his career. John is just as comfortable shooting a portrait for an annual report as he is taking photos in the wilderness, from the air or in fisheye’s kitchen studio.
“I consider it a privilege to be called upon to help some of the best marketing communications professionals to produce positive results through my images.”
More about John:
John Thomas and CATCHLIGHT STUDIOS...
Not many people can say they have worked their whole career in a field they absolutely love. Thanks to you I have enjoyed a long and wonderful career promoting your brands through the art of photography. I was asked what makes my job special? First, the relationships, second, the challenge! I never knew what the day might bring. From -15 degrees below zero knee deep in snow photographing timber harvesting to +110 degrees photographing
the cockpit of Arnold Palmer's jet to luscious food. Photographing nuclear rods in the moon pool of lowa's only nuclear reactor, the first robotic surgery in our area, Bo Diddley with the lowa Hawkeyes, and the President of the United States. I've hung out of helicopters, bucket trucks, and climbed the tallest grain bins. I have to give a shout out to Mitchell & Benson Photography, DLJ Studios, and the guys at fisheye for making room for me in 2002.