Educating, Inspiring & Motivating Photographers of all Levels
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 hands-on workshops from area professionals, as well as national level celebrity photographers. Club activities are designed to help photographers of all levels grow through active shooting and feedback.
Our original website is https://napfs.club/. It is still active, but all new activities are handled on this site (napfs.org) as of January 15, 2020.
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!
NEW - YouTube Channel!
NAPfS has a new YouTube channel. It currently contains the recording of the June 21 meeting where Josh gave a presentation on Astrophotography.
The channel also has a playlist which contains nine Phil Hawkins videos, including "Competition Critique Examples".
Click on a YouTube icon to go to the channel.
Upcoming Meetings
NOTE: the meeting announcements can be accessed from the menu at "Organization > News and Information > Meeting Topics", then select the type of meeting and the meeting title. All meetings are on Thursday unless otherwise noted.
The first Thursday of each month (except December) is the competition meeting where image entries are judged and critiqued. The deadline for submitting images to the competitions is 11:59 PM on the Saturday before the competition meeting.
Instructions for joining online meetings are available from the menu at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instructions". Because of the limited number of participants allowed, only full NAPfS members can access the instruction page.
Thursday, June 4, 2020, 7:00 PM - Competition Meeting
This will be a virtual meeting. The instructions on joining the meeting are here.
- Competition theme is "Open".
- Popular voting has started.
- Popular voting ends on Thursday, June 4, 2020 at 5:00 PM CDT.
- The competition meeting is Thursday, June 4, 2020 at 7:00 PM CDT.
Thursday, June 18, 2020, 7:00 PM - Bill Bunton on Lighting Simulator in Virtual Studio
This meeting will be held online via Webex. For instructions on joining the meeting, click here
There are many reasons photographers avoid using artificial light: cost, complexity, and learning curve. A virtual studio can provide a low-cost option to explore the creative opportunities of artificial light.
In the virtual environment, the photographer can select models, sets, camera parameters, light sources, and lighting modifiers, controlling the entire session. Using this simulated environment, an image can be visualized and rapidly evolved to convey the creator’s intent. After the creative process, the details of the session are automatically available for export as documentation to guide a real session.
We will start by demonstrating the common lighting patterns and lighting terminology. Moving on, we will explore less conventional lighting configurations. Time permitting, we will work together to create a multi-light photo session
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.
None pending at this time.
Additional News and Information
Pfotographic?
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".
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.
YouTube
NAPfS has its own YouTube Channel. Currently, there aren't many videos, but expect more in the future.
West Pecan Coffee + Beer Art Show
This art show is being affected by the current pandemic, so the dates and details will likely change. Patti Mitchell and Josh Baker will update us as they know more information. Click here to see the original post.
Popular Voting Explanation
The method for popular voting is "Rank Voting", which is new for the April, 2020 competition.
Rank Voting is useful when you have a large number of items to rank or order using a large number of people indicating their preference. Rank Voting is an option on a competition that considers each voter's ordered preference for images.
When voting on images using Rank Voting, you order thumbnail images using drag and drop or the ordering arrows at the top, right of the list of thumbnails. The top, left image is considered your first place selection. Your next preference is the next item in the same row. Remaining preferences continue in order within the row before starting a new row.
The maximum number of "votes" (rankings) each person may cast is 5. This means that only the first 5 images will be considered when computing a composite "Voting Rank". The limit is displayed on the page where you cast votes.
You cannot vote for your own images, so those images are always placed at the end of the list while you are voting.
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.
American-Statesman NAPfS Article
Read Ariana Garcia's article about NAPfS which appeared in the Pflugerville Pflag newspaper and the Austin American Statesman newspaper.
Past Events
Past events for 2020 can be viewed by clicking here. This includes meeting announcements, recaps, competition results, judges and speakers.
Contact Us
General email address: web@napfs.club
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.