Club Meetings Held on the Third Thursday of Each Month (except December)
West Plano Presbyterian Church - 2709 Custer Road, Plano, Texas
Live Training Session(s) at 6:00 PM and Program at 7:00 PM
Online Training Session(s) Open to Members of Plano Photography Club and Dallas Camera Club
Winning Images from the November 2024 Club Contest
Topic: Open (Print)
(Click any image to see it full-screen)
Award recipients in the Plano Photography Club November contest were announced at the monthly club meeting on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
Detailed results are listed below; honored photographs are visible on the right. Congratulations to the awardees and thanks to all competitors.
Entry
- 1st: Must...touch...water - David Valdez
- 2nd: Board walking on water - Jonathan Biser
- 3rd: North Clear Creek Falls-Creede-CO - Maggie Hutchison
Intermediate
- 1st: Starfish Splash - Lynn Barrett (Best of Show)
- 2nd: Splashed - Melanie Sandager
- 3rd: Finding a Path - Craig Rowen
- HM: Christine Falls Mt. Rainier - Jodi Smith
Advanced
- 1st: In and Out - Earl Snoga (2nd Place overall)
- 2nd: Find a Way to go Downstream - Clive Fernando (Honorable Mention Overall)
- 3rd: Turbulence - Richard Otto
- HM: Early Morning Serenity in the San Juan Mountains - David Hutchison
- HM: Blue Lagoon - Sanjay Kaul
Master
- 1st: Box Canyon - Janice Goetz (3rd Place overall)
- 2nd: Fallen Star - Michael Farnham
- 3rd: Air Plane Rescue - Lois Lehman
- HM: Waterfalls in Fort Worth Zoo - Nock Wong
- HM: Lighthouse in Scotland - Linda Grigsby
Full-Screen Slideshow | Gallery | Judge's Commentary
Standings: All Classes | Entry | Intermediate | Advanced | Master
Hagerman NWR Sunrise Photo Shoot
Please plan to join us early on Saturday, January 25, 2025, for a sunrise photo outing at the Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (map) in Sherman, Texas.
Featuring 11,000 acres of outdoor recreation opportunities, Hagerman NWR is the largest natural space in North Texas freely available to the public.
Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1946 to provide a habitat for migratory birds, wildlife, and plants native to the area. The 11,320-acre refuge is an overlay of the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Texoma.
Shallow marshes, creeks, bottomland hardwoods, forested uplands and grasslands, and managed farm fields provide habitat for more than 300 species of birds and many varieties of wildlife.
Details
Location: Hagerman NWR | 6465 Refuge Rd, Sherman, TX 75092 (directions)
Meeting Time: 6:30 AM CT
Admission and Parking: Free
Nautical Twilight begins at: 6:30 AM CT
Blue Hour begins at: 7:00 AM CT
Golden Hour begins at: 7:10 AM CT
Sunrise: 7:27 AM CT
After the photo outing, attendees are invited to attend a group breakfast at Mom's Cafe at 317 W. FM 120 in Pottsboro, a short drive (directions) from the refuge.
If you have questions about the event, contact club Activities Chair Mary Ruehle.
Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park Photo Shoot
We hope you can join us for a photo shoot at Texas Discovery Gardens on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
Located in Dallas' historic Fair Park, Texas Discovery Gardens is a year-round organically maintained urban oasis filled with natural wonders and is home to the Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium, along with the snake and reptile shack, indoor axolotl tank, koi ponds, fountains, outdoor playscape, garden trains, many specialty outdoor gardens, art gallery, and picnicking areas.
General admission gets you access to the gardens, butterfly house, snake and reptile shack, outdoor playscape, garden trains, ponds and pools, and the entire 7.5 acres of exploration, experience, entertainment, and education for the entire day.
Details
Location: Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park |
3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75210 (Fair Park, Gate 6) | (directions)
Meeting Time: TBA
Admission: Adults (13+) $12 | Seniors (65+) $10
You may purchase tickets online or at the gate.
If you have questions about the event, contact club Activities Chair Mary Ruehle.
Plantation Inn
As was announced at the January club meeting, we're heading to the Wichita Mountains this spring.
Our field trip is set for April 14-16, 2025, and we'll be based at The Plantation Inn in Medicine Park, Oklahoma (map).
Built on the original foundation of the old Oklahoma Press Association's Clubhouse and re-created from old photographs to look like the original building, The Plantation Inn has the charm of yesteryear with all the modern conveniences.
The Inn has 20 rooms (a mix of upstairs and downstairs) and reservations just opened up for the week of our trip.
If you're interested, don't wait to book your room.
RESERVE A ROOM AT THE PLANTATION INN
We're still finalizing some trip details, but stay tuned - we'll share more info in the coming weeks.
Got questions? Reach out to Mary Ruehle, our Activities Chair, and she'll get you the information you need.
Flickr's Year in Review is an annual reflection on the platform's photography community, highlighting key achievements, trends, and notable moments in photography. The 2024 Year in Review reveals fascinating insights into the platform's photography community and trends.
Here are the key features:
Photography Device Highlights
- Canon dominated traditional cameras, occupying 6 of the top 10 spots
- iPhone 13 was the most-used camera overall
- Surprisingly, 900 users still actively used the iPhone 3G
- A total of 7,000 different image capture devices were used
Photography Trends
- 30% increase in street photography popularity
- Color-themed tags (red and green) were among top 5 used
- "Friendly Challenges" became the most active discussion group
- "World Photography Day 2024" was the fastest-growing group
Popular Photography Locations
- Times Square
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Empire State Building
- Vatican City (2,300 unique users uploaded photos)
- Mammoth Cave National Park (most photographed U.S. National Park)
The review emphasizes that great photography transcends equipment choices and highlights the enduring power of photography to connect people globally.
Training (6:00 PM CT) - Wichita Mountains Planning (Library) | New Member Orientation (Room 1)
Program (7:00 PM CT) - Julio Cortez: Sports Photography – Make Every Event The Super Bowl
Julio Cortez
Bio: Julio Cortez is a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff photographer for The Associated Press, currently serving as Chief Photographer for the Texas/Oklahoma region. A California State University, Northridge graduate and Mexico City native, he earned his Pulitzer in 2021 for his powerful imagery of the George Floyd riots.
Professional Highlights
- Notable News Coverage
- Covered the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021
- Led coverage of Superstorm Sandy, capturing dramatic images of destruction in New Jersey
- Documented the Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrest in New York
- Contributed to national coverage of the Sandy Hook massacre and Boston Marathon bombing manhunt
- Sports and Multimedia Achievements
- Covered five Olympic Games, focusing on gymnastics and ice hockey
- Photographed five Super Bowls and two FIFA World Cups (including a focus on Team USA in 2014)
- Became an FAA-licensed drone operator, expanding his photographic capabilities to better cover what's going on in the Texas Rio Grande Valley
Career Trajectory
Cortez began his career as a stringer for the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News while in high school. During college, he completed photography internships with various publications, including Spanish-language newspapers and The Associated Press in Chicago.
His versatility is evident in his ability to capture both news and sports moments, from the Odell Beckham one-handed catch against the Dallas Cowboys to his viral Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift photo to his iconic images of social movements and natural disasters. Cortez continues to push the boundaries of photojournalism, telling powerful stories through his lens.
You can read Julio's full biography (and it is impressive) on our Upcoming Club Programs page.
Program Description: Learn how you can take Julio’s process of planning and executing competitive images from the world’s biggest stages to your everyday sporting events. Learn how strategically placing a remote camera can elevate your photography and take your viewers’ eyes to places that are normally not visible.
Samples of Julio's Photography
The Plano Photography Club's February contest is a PRINT competition with the theme LAYERED LANDSCAPES.
Please review the print contest procedures before producing your image for submission.
Electronic entries must be uploaded to the PPC Competition Site before 11:59 PM CT on Thursday, February 20, 2025.
NOTE: You must be a Plano Photography Club member to submit contest images.
Resources
Parvin Stiles
Happy 2025!
On this bright, sunny final Sunday of 2024, I reflect on a year filled with unforgettable events and shared experiences. It has been a year of connection and creativity from group outings to DIY photo adventures.
Many of us ventured to the Hill Country to capture the beauty of the bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. We experienced the awe of the total solar eclipse on April 8th — moments we will forever remember, not only for what we saw and photographed but for who we shared the experience with.
We explored the vibrant wildflower park in Richardson and marveled at spring blooms in the Dallas Arboretum, photographed the cultural celebration at the North Texas Irish Festival, and relished the charm of the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano.
Our calendar was brimming with exciting adventures: the Mesquite Rodeo, Roller Derby, and the State Fair of Texas were just a few highlights of a truly banner year for group photo activities.
As always, we were fortunate to have inspiring guest speakers who added valuable insight to our year.
While I don't typically make explicit resolutions, I do have one goal that I hope to focus on in the year ahead: "Extracting simplicity from the complex."
I thank you for sharing your beautiful images. Here's to a new year of clarity, joy, and even more wonderful memories together.
Jay Miller | Aviation Photography
Janet Cunningham | Lensbaby
Ben Jacobi | Jacobi Creations, LLC
Graham Hobart | Infrared Nature and Wildlife Photography