Tonight’s topic:  Critique the masters

Please bring a few images from a photographer you admire (famous or not famous). We will critique these images the same way as our own work. We might ask:

• What makes the image work?

• Where is it weak?

• Does the cropping work?

• Presented with the same setting what might you do differently?

• If an older image, would it be more or less powerful if created today?

Please bring electronic files of each image (not web links) to keep the same flow of the critique as we normally have. You can get these files by saving the image from a web page*, or using one of the sites listed under the “Resources” link at the top of this page.

– Jere {jere[dot]williams(at]yahoo[dot)com}

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* Before saving from a web page keep clicking on the image until it reaches its maximum size, then “Save image as” (right click mouse on PC, click and hold on Mac). Rename to something sensible, as names of these files tend to be garbage.

Tonight’s topic: Movie Night

Please join us for our annual Movie Night—we’ll be streaming a movie via Netflix or Amazon.  You’re welcome to bring some refreshments to share with the group – just let me know what you’re bringing so I don’t duplicate.  I’ll provide cups and paper goods.  You’re also welcome to bring your dinner with you if you wish.

The following movies and documentaries feature the theme of photography in some way.  I’ve added some new titles that I recently became aware of, and removed ones that are no longer available.  Feel free to bring any other suggestions to the meeting, or bring a DVD/Blu Ray disc if you have one you’d like to share.  We’ll choose one of the available options, based on a consensus of those who are attending.

Movies

• Closer (2004)  [A]
• City of God (2002)  [N]
• High Art (1998)  [A]
• Rear Window (1954)  [A]

Documentaries

• Chasing Coral (2017)  [N]
• The Art of Photography Artist Series (2016-17)  [A]
• Chasing The Light (2016)  [A]
• The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (2016)  [N]
• Bending The Light (2016)  [A]
• Finding Vivian Maier (2013)  [A]

FYI – There’s an interesting list of 40 movies featuring photography here.

On previous Movie Nights we’ve watched Monk with a Camera,  Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus and Public Eye.  Please join us for an enjoyable evening.

Tonight’s topic: Visit Boston Museum of Fine Arts

For the April Education Night, we’re visiting the MFA!  For anyone who is not familiar with it, this is the largest art museum in the Boston area and it is recognized as one of the best art museums in the US.  The museum’s collection currently includes nearly 450,000 works of art!  See more information on the museum here.  This special Education Night will be held at a special date/time: Sunday, April 29 @ 2:00 pm.

There is a photography exhibit titled (un)expected families in Gallery 169/170.  You can see a preview of these photos here.  There is also an exhibit of drawings by M. C. Escher, in Gallery 155, as described here.  Both of these exhibits are on the first floor of the museum, per this map.  You are, of course, welcome to take a look at any of the other exhibits that interest you.  (I’ve always enjoyed the Asia exhibits.)

We’ll meet at the Huntington Street Entrance at 2:00 pm.  If you happen to arrive a bit late – not a problem – just join us in one of the above galleries.

Please join us for an enjoyable afternoon at the MFA.

Tonight’s topic:  Images from Cuba by Conrad Gees

Conrad showed us a few of his images from recent trips to Cuba at a recent Image Review night.  For this month’s Education Night, Conrad will talk about this interesting project. Here’s a summary of this presentation, from Conrad …

Havana is in the midst of dramatic change. There is some truth in the statement, it is a city frozen in time. This is clearly evident in the American cars from the 50’s, & the storefronts with their limited consumer goods, but it is a characterization which can lead one to a false sense of sentimentality or condescension.

The 1961 US embargo of goods going to Cuba has clearly limited its economic development, but Havana today is not the Havana of 1961. Rather it is the outgrowth of the 1959 Revolution & Cold War which forced it’s inhabitants to develop in ways they can speak of with pride as well as longing for more.

I concentrated on the sections known as “Habana Vieja,” & “Centro Habana” now UN World Heritage Sites, deciding to document not only the buildings but the people. Their homes, the means by which they get food, electricity & water, & even the newly sanctioned private entrepeneurs left me, an American with many privileges, awed & humbled by the resilience & ingenuity of the “Habaneros”

I will bring images of the city and it’s people as aids to talk about some the experiences I had while there. In particular I’ll focus on the last bit of work I’ve been developing; Cuba: Person to Person (Snap Encounters on the Streets of Havana. Following is the artist’s statement for that work.

“People to People Exchange,” check. This was the box I marked when asked by U.S. Customs for the reason I was traveling to Cuba. Although it allowed me to travel from the U.S. to Cuba it was a half-truth.

People to People as defined by the U.S. Customs regulations implies organized tours by groups of Americans planning cultural exchanges with groups of Cubans to foster better understanding between our two countries. I was traveling by myself with no planned agenda other than to wander the streets of Havana and experience what I could. Was I representative of my country? Yes, but certainly not the “People” and I make no claims that these images represent the “People” of Cuba.

These photographs are simply a record of chance encounters I had with individuals on the streets of Habana Vieja and Centro Habana. Written down are the exchanges I had, along with thoughts, questions and insights gained from these encounters, and in that is a universality that we as humans share whenever we meet “Person to Person.”

Tonight’s topic:  Shore Photo Shoot & Dinner

We’re pleased to announce a special event to kick off the fall season at NELP.  Join Scituate-based member Brad Orner for an afternoon coastal photo shoot at some of his favorite locations, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

We’re meeting at 3:00 pm at the Scituate Lighthouse (Lighthouse Road, Scituate).  We can photograph the lighthouse from various angles, and there are plenty of great shore views from the nearby jetties.  For those that are interested, there are also great views of the lighthouse at various points around Scituate harbor, such as Crow Point.

At approximately 4:30 pm, we’ll move on to Conservation Park (250 Driftway, Scituate) to photograph the piers and salt marsh.  Feel free to spend more or less time at each location, as you wish, or to stop by other nearby points (e.g. Peggotty Beach) if you wish.

We’ll then get together at 6:00 pm at the Mill Wharf restaurant (23 Mill Wharf Plaza, Scituate) for dinner and to chat about highlights of the day.

We’ve scheduled this to be after the peak tourist season so it should be a little less crowded, but the weather should still be decent.  We plan to meet, rain or shine. (There are interesting views during stormy weather!)

If you’re planning to attend, please send a quick note to Brad (Bradley [dot] Orner [at] comcast [dot] net), so we have an approximate count for dinner.  You can also follow up with Brad if you have any questions.

Tonight’s topic:  Photography Goals

We’ve done this for the past several years, and have had a great discussion!  It is a great way to start the year.  (Credit for the original idea came from the Worcester Photography Meetup group)

The topic for our October Education Night will be a discussion about our individual artistic goals for the coming year  This meeting will start at 7:30 pm and take place at 17 Fox Hill Drive in Natick as usual.

I’m starting with the assumption that we all have our own ideas and our own pace.  We don’t all work the same way, and different approaches help each of us be productive.  That said, it is generally helpful to envision where you’d like to be in a year’s time and to express it in your own words.  This will be an open-ended discussion, including:

• What type of goals do you want to set for yourself?  Will you have succeeded if you produce a certain number of pieces, if you complete a specific project, or if you spend the desired number of hours each week.  How will you decide that your goal has been achieved?

• How much detail to you want and/or need?  Is it enough for you to just state your goal, or would it be helpful for you to identify some interim steps (milestones) in the direction of your goal?

• Would it help you to put your goals down in writing, or are you more comfortable just discussing them?  Would you be comfortable sharing your written goals with the group?  Would this help you?

• What can NELP do to support you and encourage you?  What can you do to support and encourage the rest of us?

• How often would you like to discuss progress towards your goals?  Annually?  Quarterly?  Monthly?

Please give a little thought to the above, and come prepared to discuss your goals (if you have any) for the coming year and how NELP can support you.  Please come even if you’re not sure what you want to set as goals (spectators welcome).  I’d like to have as many different perspectives represented at the meeting as possible.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Please join us on Monday (January 28) at 7:00 pm for the next NELP Education Night.  This year, we’re expanding on our annual “Book Night” concept to include other resources that we use.  Books offer so much by way of inspiration and technique, but we also benefit from Web Sites, organizations and DVDs.  and this is an opportunity to learn from each others about resources we’ve found useful.  Each year, we look at books from a different perspective, similar to the themes for our Image Review nights.

Proposed topic: What resources have you found helpful as sources for ideas for your photography projects?  Where do your ideas come from?

Option: If your resource is online, feel free to send me a link in advance of the meeting.

As always, you’re welcome to share any resources that you think would be helpful for the group – you don’t need to stick to the proposed topic.

Please join us on Monday (February 25) at 7:00 pm for the next NELP Education Night.  This month, we’re focusing (pun intended) on alternatives to the traditional “print, mat, glass, frame” approach for displaying our finished work.

I’ve worked with Blazing Editions, a RI company that prints on a variety of materials, including aluminum.  I have some examples of finished pieces on various of their media, as well as samples on other media that they offer.  I can describe what it was like to work with them as a company.

I’ve also spoken with several other NELP members who will share their experiences with various options and/or show us samples of their work.

If you have experience with any mail-order services or local firms, or if you’ve worked with any other alternatives to the traditional way photographs are displayed, you’re welcome to bring examples and/or talk about successes and caveats for the approaches you’ve used.

See you on the 25th!

Tonight’s topic: Movie Night

Please join us for our annual Movie Night—we’ll be streaming a movie via Netflix or Amazon.  You’re welcome to bring some refreshments to share with the group – just let me know what you’re bringing so I don’t duplicate.  I’ll provide cups and paper goods.  You’re also welcome to bring your dinner with you if you wish.

The following movies and documentaries feature the theme of photography in some way.  I’ve added some new titles that I recently became aware of, and removed ones that are no longer available.  Feel free to bring any other suggestions to the meeting, or bring a DVD/Blu Ray disc if you have one you’d like to share.  We’ll choose one of the available options, based on a consensus of those who are attending.

Movies

• City of God (2002)  [N]
• Kodachrome (2018) [N]
• Closer (2004)  [A $4]
• High Art (1998)  [A $3]
• Rear Window (1954)  [A $4]

Documentaries

• Tales By Light (2018) [N]
• Finding Vivian Maier (2013)  [N]
• Chasing Coral (2017)  [N]
• Harry Benson: Shoot First [N]
• The Art of Photography Artist Series (2016-17)  [A]
• Chasing The Light (2016)  [A]
• Bending The Light (2016)  [A]

FYI – There’s an interesting list of 40 movies featuring photography here. and a list of Netflix shows for photographers here.

On previous Movie Nights we’ve watched The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman,  Monk with a Camera,  Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus and Public Eye.  Please join us for an enjoyable evening.

Special Presentation: Quaker Meetinghouses of Massachusetts
By local photographer: Jean Schnell

I’m pleased to announce a special presentation of photographs of Quaker Meetinghouses by Jean Schnell on April 22.  Since 2014, Jean has photographed more than 20 of these meetinghouses across the state. Some are old buildings, some are new, some are still in use, and some are currently preserved as museums.

From a recent article about this project in Friends Journal:

It has become so much more than a photographic project for my mentorship program. It is a true calling and a labor of love. It has been a wow type of personal journey. I had a lot of fun photographing while on this artistic journey. I learned how to shape a collection of photographs in both style and subject as well as how to sift through a large number of photographs to pick a relative few. I learned many technical skills with the camera in order to get the pictures that I wanted, and after all of that, I learned some more! In order to write about my experiences, I needed to relearn a lot of Quaker history as well as discover facts related to meetinghouse locales. I needed to understand more about Quaker beliefs and practices in order to explain them to others. I reexamined my own relationship to my Quaker faith and practice.

Jean will present some prints from her final portfolio for this project, and will also share some related digital images.  She will share her goals for the project, the process she followed to photograph these sacred spaces, the laborious process of selecting the final portfolio from thousands of images, and her approach to showing and marketing these photographs.

These images were on display at the S&G Gallery (New Bedford) in September 2018, and in the Moakley Courthouse (Boston) from October through December.  This project has a Facebook page here, and is featured on Jean’s Web site.

Jean Schnell is a lifelong Quaker with roots in Valley Meeting in Wayne, PA. She is now a member of the Framingham (Mass.) Meeting. She is a retired nurse and health coach. She loves the contemplative process of viewing the world through a camera with delight, awe, and joy.