Welcome to NAPƒS!
The North Austin Pƒotographic Society is an inclusive, north Austin photo club dedicated to educating, inspiring and motivating its members through frequent face-to-face activities at regular club meetings. The club is open to photographers of all levels from true beginners (no camera required) to professionals. Through regular meetings, NAPƒS builds a community of active photographers, practicing their love for all types of photography. NAPƒS members share their passion and skills through presenting their work at meetings, participating in monthly competitions with live critiques, and exhibiting their work at our socials. We offer monthly presentations with topics of interest to photographers. Club activities are designed to help photographers of all levels grow through active shooting and feedback.
The slideshow on this page includes the winners from the latest month's NAPƒS photo competition.
Join NAPƒS for $24 yearly dues
Paying members may participate in our monthly photo competitions and have other benefits as shown here.
Not Ready to join yet?
No problem. You can still stay in the loop with our very low volume email list. Find out about meetings, upcoming field trips and other club activities. Click below to send email asking to be put on the email list. Be sure to include your name and email address if it is different from the email address from which you are sending the message.
Join us on social media, too!
Our Facebook group, Instagram, Meetup, and our YouTube channel are all free to join.
The YouTube channel contains the videos of most of our meetings since 2020.
Click on an icon above to go to that social media website.
Happy Happy! Joy Joy! People's Choice Award
We are looking for photos that make you smile, giggle, chuckle, or roar with laughter. Something that brings joy and amusement to those looking at it. It could be someone caught in a funny act, dressed funnily, an animal doing something amusing, etc. Let your imagination go wild.
This competition is now open for entries. The entry deadline is Tuesday, November 19 at 5:30 PM CT. The winner will be announced at our Christmas party (probably December 5).
Entries must have been taken within the last two years.
Upcoming Meetings
NOTE: the meeting announcements are shown below as soon as they are scheduled. Most meetings are held on Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM CT. We have four types of meetings:
The first Thursday of each month (except December) is the competition meeting where image entries are judged and critiqued. The deadline for submitting images is shown in the meeting announcement on this page. These meetings are held both in-person and via Zoom.
The third Thursday of each month (except December) is a presentation or workshop. The presenters come from our club, from the photography industry, or from professional photographers. These meetings are held both in-person and via Zoom.
On the months which have five Thursdays, we normally have a social gathering which is not held at our regular meeting location. Check the announcements below for details on these gatherings. These gatherings are in-person only.
We have a Christmas party sometime in December where we share a potluck dinner and awards are made for the photographers of the year and the photograph of the year. This meeting is in-person only.
In-Person Meeting Location
The in-person location is available from the menu at "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
Instructions for joining Zoom meetings
These instructions are available from the menu at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instruction". Zoom is used only for the first and third Thursday meetings.
Thursday, October 17, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - Laszlo Perlaky on "Softies to Imaginations: Creative Close-Up Photography"
NOTE: The meeting will actually start at 6:30 PM. The time from 6:30 to 7:00 is for socializing with your fellow photographers. The formal meeting starts at 7:00.
MEETING LOCATION: The meeting location is described in "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
The instructions on joining the Zoom meeting are at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instructions". Only competing members can see these instructions. If you would like to attend a virtual meeting but are not a member, please contact a competing member to get the meeting link.
Description: In this short but informative and inspirational presentation, after a brief overview of the different close-up photography techniques, Laszlo will show you new techniques and tools for creative close-up photography using unusual inexpensive lenses using digital DSLR, mirrorless, point and shoot cameras, or smartphone. Participants will learn how can they use a lens in combination with different close-up filters, magnifiers, or plastic lenses, and will get a review of exposure and composition. Participants will be able to see demo set-up techniques for macro and close-ups and will discuss the images from technical, compositional and artistic point of view.
Presenter Bio:
Laszlo Perlaky Ph.D. born and raised in Hungary, worked as a research faculty at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston during the week and was a photographic artist on the weekends. After 30 years of dedicated service, he retired and moved to the Tahitian Village of Bastrop and became a full-time photographic artist and educator.
After 20+ years of black and white nature photography, has transitioned to the chrome medium, and then about 15+ years ago, the new technology helped him to rediscover the monochrome, combining large format film photography with quad-tone printing. He has won several prestigious awards and published his works in books, magazines, and calendars. His images were exhibited in many group and solo shows, and are in private collections and permanent exhibitions in the patients' rooms and corridors at the Texas Medical Center, Houston, and at the Founding Collection of Art at the University of Houston, Clear Lake. He is the past curator of the Fill Your Cup Coffee Shop Gallery and the current curator of the Lost Pines Art Center’s Art Wall at the Bastrop Public Library. He is a member of several national and international photographic and art organizations, elected board member at the Lost Pines Art League (Bastrop).
Laszlo is a long-time photography instructor at Houston Center for Photography and Houston Photography Study Group.
Thursday, October 31, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - NO Meeting
This is Halloween, so there will be no meeting on October 31. We normally have a "social gathering" on the fifth Thursday of months that have five Thursdays.
Thursday, November 7, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - November Competition - Theme is "In the Wild"
- Entries are now being accepted.
- Submission deadline is Tuesday, October 22 @11:59 PM.
- Popular voting will open at the submission deadline.
- Popular voting ends on Tuesday, November 5 at 5:00 PM.
- The judging and popular results will be at the November 7 meeting.
Thursday, November 21, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - Gary R Hook on "Printing"
Thursday, December 5, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - Annual Potluck Dinner and Awards Ceremony
The date is tentative.
MEETING LOCATION: The meeting location is described in "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
This meeting is in-person only. There will be no virtual meeting (Zoom) and no recording.
Thursday, January 16, 2025, 7:00 PM CT - Carol Schiraldi on "Marketing 2.0"
Thursday, February 20, 2025, 7:00 PM CT - David Valdez, Former White House Photographer with G.W. Bush
Upcoming Meetup Events
Meetup.com is a site that coordinates events in which its members might be interested. The NAPfS group will have many events, such as photowalks, photo outings, photo trips, etc. Some events are free; others are not. If you're interested in this type of thing, please join our meetup group at https://www.meetup.com/napfs-outings. It's free to join. Go to the website to see all upcoming and past events. You can post photos and see photos of the events. Virtual events are included whereby participants can participate from home.
If you'd like to host a Meetup event, please contact Gary Hook or Ed Peet and they will make you an organizer.
Photos from past Meetup events can be seen at https://www.meetup.com/napfs-outings/photos/ or on this website at "Galleries > Photowalks".
Saturday, October 19, 2024 - Field Trip: Painted Churches
We have a reservation for a tour of the Painted Churches in the Schulenburg area. The schedule:
- Depart the Stone Hill Shopping Center (Pflugerville) by 7:30 AM
- Arrive Schulenburg Chamber of Commerce by 9:15 AM
- Depart CoC with docent/tour guide at 9:30 AM
- Tour 4 churches, and get lunch somewhere
- Depart Schulenburg 3:00 PM-ish?
- Arrive back in Pflugerville around 4:30 PM
Car pooling will be a great way to save on gas, as well as spend time visiting (or napping). There is a per-person fee for the decent-led tour, organized by the Chamber of Commerce, with a docent fee (and likely an additional gratuity). Total cost of $30 / person.
For more information, see the Meetup page at https://www.meetup.com/napfs-outings/events/303279726/?eventOrigin=group_upcoming_events
Additional News and Information
Competition Results
Click on a button below to see the competition winners and some statistics.
Competition History
The following buttons will take you to the history of our photo competition all the way back to the club's origin in 2015.
Meeting History
These pages include links to meeting announcements, recaps (including videos), competition results, judges and speakers.
The past events pages are at "Organization > About NAPfS > Past Speakers and Judges", or just click on the button above and select the year.
Meeting topics and speakers for 2023 can be viewed by clicking here.
Meeting Videos
NAPƒS has a YouTube Channel. Click on the icon above to see it.
Videos of most of our meetings from 2020 to the present are available on our YouTube channel and on this website at "Organization > News and Information > Meeting Topics > Meeting Recaps". A list of all videos and some statistics are available here.
The chat windows and video event times are available in the "Meeting Recaps" pages but not on YouTube.
To see the latest meeting video, click on the button below:
Photowalk (Meetup) Photos and Announcements
NAPƒS has a Meetup group which organizes outings such as photo walks. Click on the icon above to see the currently scheduled events and to see photos from previous events.
Selected photos from these events are on the Meetup website and on our galleries available at "Galleries > Photowalks"
Here are some links to gallery photos taken at previous events:
Hill Country Water Gardens (6/5/24)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Pistons on the Square (5/18/25)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Painted Churches (5/14/24)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Instagram
Every month, starting on the day after the competition meeting, the winning images are posted to Instagram at the rate of one winner per day. The first image will be from the basic group and the final image will be from the advanced group. If you'd like to see how your winning photos are received by the "general public", please visit our Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/napfs.club. If you're an Instagram member, you can start following napfs.club; Besides the winning photos, notices about upcoming competitions and meetings and other important notices are posted.
Members' Websites
We have many excellent photographers in our club and many of them have their own websites. To see the links to these websites, go to "Organization > Members' Website Links".
If you're a full member and would like your website's link on this page, please email the Webmaster with a square cover photo which is at least 200x200.
If you already have a link on the page, you can request to change the cover photo, change the link, or remove the link.
We Need Volunteers!
Our club has some excellent volunteers, but we need more in order to keep a healthy, active organization. If you can, please volunteer to help. The current volunteers will be happy to train you in whatever field you choose. Click on the button below to volunteer..
We need help with art shows, membership committee, outings committee, program committee, and competition committee.
And every month (except December) we need three advanced-level judges to judge the basic and intermediate competitions.
Popular Voting Instructions
All full NAPfS members can vote on the competition entries starting at the competition deadline and ending two hours before the competition meeting.
To read the instructions for popular voting, go to "Organization > News and Information", click on the triangle to the left of "Information", then click on "View" next to "Popular Voting Instructions".
Or just click here.
Instructions for Viewing All Competition Critiques
For instructions on viewing the competition entry critiques, go to "Organization > News and Information", click on the triangle to the left of "Information", then click on "View" next to "Instructions on Viewing Competition Critiques".
Or just click here.
How to Submit and Check Competition Photos
Instructions for submitting photos to our monthly competition are at "Competitions > Instructions on Entering Competitions".
To Check that your photo was properly submitted,
go to "Competitions > Submit Images to a Competition" and select the appropriate competition.
If your entry was properly submitted, you'll see it at the bottom of the page under "Images you entered into the Competition".
How to Set or Change Your Competition Level
Instructions for setting your competition level (mainly for new members) or requesting a change to your level are at "Competitions > Setting or Changing Competition Level". New members are not automatically assigned a competition level, but you must be assigned a competition level to submit photos to a competition.
Explanation of Competition Awards
First, Second, Third Place, and Honorable Mention awards come from the judges. These awards count toward the December “Photographer of the Year” awards. See “ Competition > Competition Rules” for the explanation of how the points are calculated. The images which win these awards are posted to Instagram at the rate of one-per-day starting the day after the competition.
Gold, Silver, and Bronze metals come from the Popular Vote. These awards do not count toward the December awards. Gold, silver, and bronze metals are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places respectively in the popular voting.
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
October 4-12, 2024
Gary Hook organized a trip to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2023 and may do it again in the future. Let him know if you're interested in going.
To see his presentation describing the event, his trip proposal, and photos of the fiesta, click here or on the photo.
Comments, Questions, Concerns?
Do you have questions for the NAPfS members or officers? Do you have comments or concerns that you'd like to share with the other members?
There is a forum topic that is used for this purpose.
Go to "Organization > Discussion Forums" and select "View Topics" under "NAPfS General Comments, Questions, Concerns". You can add a new topic or add a post to an existing topic in this forum.
If you're interested in this sort of thing, even if you don't have anything to post, subscribe to the forum by clicking on the "Subscriptions" button on the right side of the "NAPfS General Comments, Questions, Concerns".
Pƒotographic?
Why do we use "Pfotographic" instead of "Photographic"? Because the club was founded in Pflugerville, Texas, which is just north of Austin. The club history is available from the menu at "Organization > About NAPfS > Club History".
Contact Us
General email address: web@napfs.org -
A better way to send email is at "Organization > Send E-mail to Members" where you can direct email to specific people or specific groups of people; e.g. officers, competition managers, website administrators, etc.