1st Newsletter for the 2017 Summit
Only 47 Days Until the 2017 Summit!
Have you made your lodging reservations, booked your flight, cleaned out your car, started making your list of what to pack? We are really busy in preparation right now and are so excited for this year's event! This is the first of several emails and newsletters that you will be receiving over the next few weeks and they will all have important information to make your experience at the event more rewarding, so please be sure to read them all to the end! You can also check the website for updates as well. We will post links to these newsletters there as well in case you need to refer back to them.
The 2017 Print Competition
The print competition is now open! You have until October 20th to submit your images for the print competition, so start narrowing them down now and don't procrastinate until the very last minute (not that ANY photographer I know would ever do such a thing!). There are 5 categories this year and they are:
  1. Landscapes, Seascapes, & Cityscapes
  2. Macro
  3. Flora & Fauna
  4. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
  5. Night Photography & Light Painting
Even if you have never entered a print competition before, I encourage you to consider entering this one. So many people have never even seen their images printed as large as 16x20 and that is one of my favorite things about this print competition is seeing people marvel at their own creations in print. It is a beautiful thing! We had some absolutely INCREDIBLE images submitted last year, so I'm very excited to see what you all send in this year! Please click the link below that will take you to the page on the website that gives very specific directions on how to actually enter the print compeition,

*Image to the right is the 2016 Best of Show Winner by Madonna Martin

Trade Show Vendors
We are excited and fortunate to welcome back all of these vendors to our trade show for 2017:

  • Used Photo Pro - One of their representatives will be on site to buy your used camera equipment! So be sure to clean out your closets before you come and bring that equipment that you are no longer using. You can make some cash off of it or even get trade credit to use on new equipment at one of the other vendors at the event!
  • Fujifilm - Our Fuji representatives are back with us again this year and they will have all the new toys on display (including the GFX body I am pretty sure!) AND they will be loaning lenses and bodies for you to try out during the event when you are out shooting.
  • Sigma - Brett Wells, our Sigma representative is also one of our instructors, so he is pulling double duty! When he is not teaching or leading a group in a field session, he will be in the trade show answering questions and loaning out lenses for you all to use during the event. He will have Nikon and Canon mount lenses for loan and most likely the MC-11 Converter for Sony users.
  • Peachtree Camera Repair - Do you have a dirty camera sensor or a lens that needs to be calibrated (the focus is not quite right)? Tim McEver will be with us offering his services to clean camera sensors, calibrate lenses, and take in repairs if needed. You can drop your equipment off with him while you are in class during the day and pick it back up from him later that day!
  • Dury's - Nick Coury from Dury's will be back with us this year offering all kinds of photography equipment for sale that he is bringing from their store in Nashville.
  • f/32 Photo - Between Dury's and f/32, we should have most of your photography needs covered. We will have a mini version of our store set up in the trade show so that you can browse through new items or pick up some things you have been meaning to invest in or ones you didn't even know you needed until you get there! We will be happy to help you figure out what will best suit your needs.
  • Smoky Mountain Journal of Photography - With us for the very first time will be Tyson Smith from the Smoky Mountain Journal of Photography. Participants will have the opportunity to sign up for their free, electronic publication.
Large f/32 Logo
Field Sessions

Just to jog your memory a bit, Field Sessions are the guided shooting sessions in the field where small groups of you will go out either early in the morning or late in the evening (photographing the night sky sessions) with one of our 12 instructors to a designated area of the Park to photograph. We do require sign ups for these field sessions so that we can make sure that there are not too many people in a group due to the fact that we have to carpool and we want to make sure that everyone can have the time and attention they need from their guide/instructor. We will send out the sign up form for these field sessions at the beginning of October, so do not worry if you thought you had missed this! We will send out an email ahead of time telling you exactly when the sign up sheets will be posted so you can be ready and waiting if you would like! More good news is that this year, because we have a slightly smaller group, you can sign up for a maximum of THREE guided field sessions instead of TWO as in years past! You will be receiving another newsletter soon that will give more details about the locations of the field sessions so you can do some contemplating before you sign up!
The Great Smoky Mountains Photography Summit | [email protected]| www.gsmphotosummit.com