Membership Director: 
Arabella Dane, [email protected]
Assistant Directors: 
Bob Costanzo, 
Fred Orkin, [email protected]m
all the images on this site are copyright protected by the photographer.
Winter 2021
Welcome to the Winter 2021 Issue of
The PSA NH Membership Newsletter!
Featuring the work of
Bob Legg, Manchester Camera Club
Bob says his awesome NECCC Conference Contest award winning macro "Hoverfly on Batchelor's Button" (above)
I was using my 105 Macro taking closeups of my Bachelor's Buttons and I spotted this tiny insect hovering over one of the stamens. I shot many images of it as I was not confident they were sharp. Shot in Raw on my Nikon D780. When processed in LrC I was fascinated by the critter's wild eyes and how the wings were iridescent. After a little research I found they were Hoverflies and that they are very common - Just not seen - because of their tiny size. F16,1/200 sec. The high clouds definitely helped create the soft lighting. The image was entered into the 2021 NECCC competition. (In lieu of the NECCC Conference competition).

While Bob was president of the Manchester Camera Club a few years back, we all were fascinated by his remarkable images of fires. Enjoy the story behind his front page images .
"I joined the PITTSFIELD FIRE DEPT as their photographer back in 2009 after I brought in images I had taken of their double fatal fire on Main St.”NoExit”. I heard that call as on my scanner. They were very appreciative of my images because of the quality and date stamp that provided help to their investigation. As a result I was given gear, dress uniform and a fire radio. In a small town it pays dividends to have connections with all first responders and to have
access to the scene. The Old Brick House Fire was in 2010 and I had access to the scene which was up a dead-end street. The largest fire I have photos of is “Rustic Crust” also in Pittsfield. That began at midnight, with temps below zero, and lasted for many hours. The heat from this fire was welcomed on my body and cameras. I used two cameras, Nikon D300 w/18-300 and D7000w/18-200. Night images of bright flames, firemen’s reflective coats and darkness presented plenty of challenges. I re-processed these images in Lightroom 2021 and found it absolutely amazing how much more detail and
quality was gained. Here is an image from the local paper. I also sold my images to Manchester and Concord papers."
HOT STUFF!
Main St. No Exit Fire
Old Brick House Fire
Rustic Crust Fire
Among his recent winnings are these two images that received kudos at the PSA competition in South Dakota.
Summer Storm
Alaska Landscape from Alaska RR
More recently, Bob is working on a swirl technique for his floral images .He has self published a book on his abstract images. Stay tuned! Do visit his gallery on the PSA web site..
Michele Peterson has been recognized with the PPSA designation by PSA
The PPSS distinction is awarded for 288 or more exhibition acceptances. These international exhibitions are held within the USA and around the world. So far my images have gained acceptances in over 20 countries!
Here is the link to see her gallery on the PSA web site.
NH Photographers win top awards and recognition in the 2021 NECCC COMPETITION
Mike Goodman - wins a Medal in the 2021 NECCC Competition Nature Category - Best Mammal For "Snow Monkey Baby on Mom's Back"
Mike shares with us his adventures in pursuit of these amazing animals..
" A few years ago I had opportunity to travel to Asia on business. I had heard about the famous Japanese snow monkeys (Japanese Macaque) that lived in the Japanese "Alps" near Nagono, famous for the Winter Olympics. There are a few hundred of these monkeys in a steep valley where they chill out in hot springs.
The snow monkeys are a species native to northern Japan, and are the most northern-living non-human primate. They can survive in very cold winter temperatures and they seem remarkably human like. From the Tokyo airport, you can take a series of trains in a matter of hours to get to the mountain park where they live. It is a mile hike to the hot springs. Pretty much they ignore humans and can be just a few feet away. Most of my shots were done with a 70-200mm lens. You want to do this in the winter when there is snow.
Two of my images were selected for the book "New Hampshire Now" a 2 year project,that recently was published. My two images are attached below as well."
MIKE's "Roller with Prey" (below) won HM in the NECCC 2021 Conference Competition
Here are the two images featured the book "New Hampshire Now " This two year project, of the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists and the New Hampshire Historical Society has recently been published. Here's a link that describes the book project https://www.newhampshirenow.org. "
One can order the book from this link, and see the schedule where you can attend the exhibits too."
Stratham Fair
Snowmobiler Race
Mike, former president of the Boston Camera Club and noted PSA judge, is renowned for his photographs and for his programs. Schedule permitting, he would be happy to present to our NH camera clubs. Visit his web site

Frank Forward - wins 3rd for two images at NECC Conference. Here is his "Running Bison"
below are Frank's beautiful image "Sunrise at Bosque" which also won a 3rd prize at the NECCC Conference Competition, followed by one of his prize winning images of African wildlife.
Below are a few more of his remarkable Kenya images. Frank says that they "were taken on a workshop run by Denise Ippolito; 6 days in the Masai Mara and 3 days in Amboseli (which sits at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro). It was one of the most productive workshops I have ever taken. All the images were taken with the relatively new Canon R5 with the RF 100-500 lens. I can't say enough about this camera and it's speed and ability to lock in focus on active wildlife, especially with the electronic shutter. you take an ungodly number of images, but you get the one action image that stands out."
To enjoy more of Frank Forward's work, click this link and visit his gallery on the PSA web site.
Sharon Nahill - Lakes Region Camera Club - wins a Merit Award for "Iridescent Feathers" - a Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird
"The photo was taken handheld with an Olympus Omd Em1 mark II camera and the 40 to 150 mm F2.8 Pro lens in the gorgeou gardens at the La Paz waterfall in Alajuela, Costa Rica.. The Violet Sabrewing (Campylopterus hemileucurus) is the largest hummingbird outside of South America. It nests near streams and flies very quickly even compared to other hummingbirds. See the enclosed photo for my full body shot of the spectacular bird at one of the many feeders dotting the forest and gardens at La Paz.

About me: I am a retired scientist and an artist. I make pottery, sculpture and travel to National Parks to hike and photograph the wildlife and the scenery, so different from my own, here in NH. My approach is to spend as much time as possible in each park to be able to scout and revisit scenes in better light or better weather. My only problem is that I always want to do one more hike...not to miss anything! " Sharon's Oak Hill Studio in Meredith NH showcases her pottery and her photographs among other things.
News from North Country Camera Club - Judy Burgess, President
The North Country Camera Club has been having a good 2021/2022 season. We have been meeting via Zoom again due to increase covid cases in our area. Safety for our members is our #1 priority along with promoting the enjoyment and education of photography. The NCCC also recently earned the recognition of a PSA Membership Milestone and Commitment of Ten Years of Continuous membership.

Our November competition category was "Open", October was " Nature" and September was "Open". The first place awards went to:
November
Class A John Keator for his image of Death Valley
Class B Bob Irwin for his image of Hosta
October
Class A Tricia Moody for her image of Green Pollinator
Class B Donna Wilson for her image of Red Bird
September
Class A Jen Hohenboken for her image of Well Ventilated
Class B Ed Boyle for his image of Ice Storm Barn

Past programs were "Image Adjustments available in editing tools based on LightRoom" 
NECCC "Nature" Circuit with Critiquing, and "New Updates in Masking Techniques".

Upcoming programs for the year are:
January 13 "Mobile Phone Photography and Editing Capabilities with Karl and Sue Pfeil"
February 10 "Bird Photography Field Trip to Plum Island with John Keator"
March 10 NECCC Open Circuit with Critiquing
April 14 Glennie Photo Competition 
May 12 Spring Photo Field Trip with Ed Bergeron
June 9 Annual Year-End Digital Competition
June 15 Annual Banquet
Competitions for the rest of the year are:
December 16 "Vintage Items" Judge: Kathy Bergeron
January 27 "Open" Judge: Dan Houde of Wiseguy Creative Photography
February 24 "Tools of the Trade" Judge: Ed Bergeron
March 24 "Open" Judges: Barbara Rozavsky and Chris Germain of Greater Lynn Photographic Association
April 28 "Motion" Judge: Rick Cloran, GLPA
May 26 "Farms" Judge: Leo Kenney

Congratulations to all of our awarding winning photographers. Please check out our facebook page North Country Camera Club for updates and postings of 1st Place through HM's monthly competition images.
Wishing you and your families Happy Holidays from the North Country Camera Club family of photographers.... Judy Burgess, President NCCC
This year for the first time the North Country Camera Club competed in the NECCC Interclub Competition
Ed Boyle - North Country CC - received an HM with his image "Ice Storm Barn"
Tricia Moody - North Country Camera Club - garnered an HM for her stunning image
"Make A Wish"
Bill Brochu, North Country Camera Club:
Bill's image "Posing for the Nickel" received an Honorable Mention in the NECCC Projected Image Interclub Fall Competition 2021 in the Nature B division

Bill says" I was lucky enough to spend a week in January a few years ago (pre-COVID) photographing in Yellowstone NP and that is where the image was captured. It was a cushy trip with about 20 or so other photographers. Each day we were driven around the park in warm cozy snow coaches that we left long enough to photograph the fantastic scenery and wildlife. 
At the time I was using a Canon 60D with a Canon 70-200/f2.8 lens + 1.4 extender. The exposure was 1/160, f4, 280mm (must have been using a tripod). Yellowstone is a wonderful place in summer but I found it to be magical in winter albeit COLD. While bison are imposing animals and can be quite agile, in winter they appear to lumber along seemingly trying to conserve as much strength and energy as possible so he was hardly posing."
Jay Fitzpatrick , partnering with Ellen Goddard-Jacques, hosts the Central New Hampshire Photographers' Group, which meets virtually every other Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The group is open to photographers with an interest in sharing their images and learning from each other. The group also hosts a variety of presenters, many of them nationally-recognized photographic artists. To join the group or for more information, contact Jay at [email protected]. Participation is free!
This is exhibition is an annual joint project between The New Hampshire Historical Society and New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists. Numerous other historical societies are schedule to exhibit, " says Dan Gingras
here is the link to the website with all the information about the exhibitions as well as the link where one can order the "New Hampshire Now" Book

News from
Lakes Region Camera Club, Alan MacRea, President


“The Lakes Region Camera Club has returned to Zoom meetings, following one in-person meeting. The consensus from the membership was that, in light of the sharp increase in COVID cases in NH, the wellbeing of our membership is the overarching priority. While the club had gone to monthly meetings prior to COVID, we are trying to meet virtually twice a month. This is not without challenges as only two club members have professional Zoom accounts, which allow for the provisioning of meetings with a static meeting link and enhanced screen sharing capabilities. That said, we have been reasonably successful in staying engaged as a group and, like everyone else, look forward to hopefully seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in 2022.”
Alan shares the holiday spirit.. with memories of Christmas past... "Yesterday, I was ‘re-visiting’ some pix I took back in 2015 of an elaborate miniature Christmas village that Mary and Gordon King had at their Lakeport home. They have both passed since then, Mary in 2019 and Gordon last February. Mary had a large sewing room but, every Christmas she set up an amazing winter wonderland for Christmas. In 2015, I was there to shoot some pix for the Sun and, I asked if I could return another time to take more photos. On December 28, 2015, I came back and spent several hours, much of it in awe of it all, taking pix. I decided that the treasure that was Mary’s should be shared and so, I posted one on Facebook yesterday along with another this morning, and plan to continue doing that until Christmas."
Phyllis Meinke -Lakes Region Camera Club wins an HM at the NECCC Conference Competition.
Phyllis says "This is my dog Quinn’s hair. I don’t remember really exactly how I did it - it was some app on my old iPad - it’s actually an old photo. 
Here’s a pic of Quinn looking more dog like. So you can see I did quite a lot of manipulation!
Here is a link to Phyllis Meinke's website

News from the Manchester Camera Club, Tracy Szela, President
"Manchester Camera Club (NH) has managed to stay active during these last nearly 2 years of change and adaptation.
We are meeting on zoom for our regular club meetings, but have regularly scheduled print critique nights held in person at a local library.
This helps folks connect and share prints, which we haven't been able to do for quite a while! Dust off those printers!

We have also had some local photo adventures out at night to see the milky way and to an old car museum in Maine! Our club is active in NECCC and in a recent digital image competition, one of our members, Marian, won an honorable mention for their photograph!
If you are in Hopkinton, NH take a stop at the Two Villages Art Society:
https://www.twovillagesart.org/, two of the club's members (as well as 30 other artists!) have art for sale at the Winter Members Show. If you want to learn more about the club, please visit: http://www.manchestercameraclubnh.com
i've attached an image (above) I took at the old car museum and one of my prints (below) for sale at Two Villages." -Tracy
Marian Boyer, Manchester Camera Club
"Turkey cleaning feather" 3rd prize
NECCC Competition

"I took this on July 6, 2020 at 8:01 AM with my Canon 600 f4 with 2.X converter (therefore a 1200mm lens) , 1/640, f11 ISO 5,000.
RAW image which I use Lightroom to work with….and Photoshop only for sizing. I only work on an image using PSA nature approved work which includes cropping (therefore the fence was cropped out). sitting in a chair with my tripod and as I can’t handhold that lens! Haven’t done any work on the turkeys this year as I turned in my equipment in anticipation of the new 600 and going mirrorless…..the 600 was supposed to come out end of July this year but is still backordered……made a quilt as a wedding gift for my grandson instead! That took a good three months of constant work….so not much photography this year but then it was HOT and HUMID which I can’t handle, and RAIN which the camera doesn’t like. I have Lightroom remove all metadata when I work with it and it therefore removes the maker and copyright. So I have put that on the image although, obviously, not for competition."
Marian's work is an inspiration to the members of Manchester Camera Club. She captures amazing wildlife images - mostly from behind the safety of her window while her husband captures images of insects in their garden!
Dick Hudnall, Manchester Camera Club
at the NECCC Print of the Year (POY) 2020- Dick received a first prize for his print "Approaching Storm over Madison" and a 3rd for "Storm over Badlands"
This year his intriguing image, entitled "Wrapped" garnered acclaim in the manipulated pictorial division. He says "Most of What I do now is Digital Art, 95% +, so it is very hard for me to relate to my older work. I am putting together a program on what I do now and how as it relates to Digital Art." We can't wait to see his production!
Dick generously helps bring the most out of our own images during our critique sessions by suggesting when more clean up is needed - such as border patrol around the edges of an image, cleaning up lens spots, and other minor flaws that might limit the photographs potential.
News from Seaside Camera Club, Tony Baldasaro, President
"Members of the Seacoast Camera Club meet twice per month Sept - May to improve their photography skills through lectures, workshops, and friendly competitions Meetings are held from 6-8 pm on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of the month, September through June. The first meeting of the month is an educational presentation, while the second meeting is a photo competition all members can enter. These in-house competitions are judged by an outside judge and commentary is provided.
The Seacoast Camera club participates in the regional New England Camera Club Council (NECCC) competitions held in the Fall, Winter, and Spring. I would also add that our membership consists of a wide variety of expertise and interest levels.
We have beginner photographers who enjoy taking pictures with their iphones and highly skilled professional level photographers, and everything in between. However, the common thread throughout the group is a sincere interest in improving our photographic skills and celebrating when members of our club are able to achieve their photographic goals." Tony
Please enjoy Tony's Web site.
Interclub Digital Comp
Interclub Competition: Projected Image
Note the new upload site http://cgburke.com/neccc
 Information for Judges (posted 7/1/20)
► Instructions for the Host Club (posted 7/1/20)
► Instructions-Web-based entry system (posted 7/1/20)
► Contacts: William B. Barnett, APSA, GMPSA, AFIAP, MNEC 5003 Ashlar Village  Wallingford, CT 06492-6100 Phone: 203-774-7524 E-mail: [email protected] or Cindy Gosselin,  199 Lovely Street, Unionville, CT 06085. (860) 418-7907. [email protected]
FALL (Nov 2021)

NECCC has a blog which is full of interesting information and opportunities.
Join PSA as an individual member and take advantage of

Participate in one of the many free programs
Bob Costanzo Assistant NH PSA Membership Dir. & Member of The Merrimack Valley Camera Club had a field trip on Wednesday October 6th to Castle in the Clouds and the Brook Waterfall Trail. "I attended the Castle in the Clouds portion and attached are two photos. The foliage colors were not very strong on that day and I left early to go to the base of Cannon Mountain for better foliage colors ( The tram was sold out --too many tourists 3 bus loads. 
Castle in the Clouds - view over LakeE Winnepesaukee
More from Castle in the Clouds

Also attached is a photo that got 27 points( honorable mention) the most ever for me of a sunrise at White Horse Beach in Plymouth, MA
Plus, a new PSA member joined on line because of my recommendation Bob Wallace ( A MVCC member) maybe from MA. Several members of the Merrimack Valley Camera Club actually live on the NH side of the mighty river.

Also attached is a photo I sent in for the November camera competition (waiting for the score) to a surfer at Sawyer Beach in Rye. I have focused on surfers when storm waves are forecasted." Be back again. Bob
Musings...
Arabella Dane, PSA NH Membership Director
Autumn's glory, now mute and quiet, is overtaken by Arctic Cold and North Wind. Snow shrivels fallen apples in the pasture and ice edges the pond. Winter locks the gate. Cold rusts our springs. Like old dogs stretched before the fire, we relish the warmth of glowing embers, as they pop and break the stillness. Lets relish these quiet moments to celebrate the creativity of friends, who vision brings us inspiration and joy.
New England Camera Club Council of PSA
http://www.neccc.org/

New England’s Top Photography Conference
ALL PHOTO ENTHUSIASTS ARE WELCOME!
75th NECCC Photography Conference Amherst, MA
NH Members Galleries
 Hillcrest Farm PO Box 711, 252 Dane Road
Center Harbor, NH 03226