Meetings

Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month, September through May at the REI Store, 750 West American Blvd, Bloomington, MN 55420. The January 2008 meeting will be on Thursday, January 17.

Meetings consist of exhibitions, competitions, image commentary and special programs.

6:00 PM - Set-up and Social Time
6:30 PM - Announcments and Business
6:45 PM - Program
7:45 PM - Nature Salon (Competition and Judge's Comments)

MNPC Membership

MNPC welcomes everyone interested in nature and nature photography. Dues are $20.00 per individual or $28.00 per couple. Dues are reduced one-half after January 31. There is a membership form on this site you can print out, complete and mail with your check.

MNPC Newsletter

Monthly, September through May, members receive the MNPC Newsletter "Nature Photo Times" with notices of meetings, programs, information on field trips, workshops, competitions and articles on photography. Current and past issues of "Nature Photo Times" are accessable from the home page of this web site.

Field Trips and Workshops

Field trips give members the opportunity to learn how and where to photograph a variety of plants, animals and landscapes and to see first hand a diversity of techniques and equipment. Small group workshops to meet the needs and interests of members are held throughout the year. Watch for these events in the newsletter.

Ombudsman

Larry Duke, our ombudsman, is available at our monthly meetings to help members who have questions about photography or club activities. If he is unable to help you he will make time-saving referrals. New members are encouraged to call on him for his friendly counsel.

Nature Photography

All images used in recognized PSA Nature Division competitions must meet the PSA Nature Definition of Nature Photography as follows:

"Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict observations from all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archeology, in such a fashion that a well informed person will be able to identify the subject material and to certify as to its honest presentation. The story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality. Human elements shall not be present, except on the rare occasion where those human elements enhance the nature story. The presence of scientific bands on wild animals is acceptable. Photographs of artificially produced hybrid plants or animals, mounted specimens, or obviously set arrangements, are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation, manual or digital, that alters the truth of the photographic statement."

All images used in recognized PSA Nature Division competitions for Wildlife images must meet the additional PSA Definition for Nature Wildlife Photography as follows:

"Authentic Wildlife is defined as one or more organisms living free and unrestrained in a natural or adopted habitat.” Therefore, photographs of zoo animals or photographs of game farm animals regardless of the game farm's use of wildlife terminology are not considered wildlife images.

All digital images used in PSA Nature Division approved competitions or for competitions or for competitions governed by PSA Nature Division rules must be considered “Digital Realism”.

“Makers may perform any enhancements and modifications that improve the presentation of the image that could have been done at the time the image was taken but that does not change the truth of the original nature story. Cropping and horizontal flipping (equivalent to reversing a slide) are acceptable modifications. Addition of elements, removal of elements other than by cropping, combining elements from separate images, rearranging elements or cloning elements are not acceptable.”

Ethical Considerations in Nature Photography

The Photographic Society of America has adopted a Code of Practice to serve as a guideline for the photography of nature subjects and the environment. In summary:

Be considerate of your subject - animal, vegetable or mineral. Killing or injuring any living thing is improper conduct.

Be courteous to your fellow photographers. Obtain permission before entering on land where free access is not customary.

Be familiar with the life history and the geographic setting of your subjects. Complex life forms and rare species call for greater knowledge and respect.

Be abiding of requests and signage by rangers or wardens in national and state parks or wildlife refuges.

Be protective of all wildflowers, not only those protected by statutory law. A competent photographer never picks a wildflower.

If rocks, logs, or natural things are brought in to enhance the scientific background of a picture, they should be returned to their original place.

Simplifying or gardening the immediate area of a picture does not include pulling up, cutting off, or otherwise destroying other plants. Knee holes and toe scuffing should be prevented.

Avoid trampling fragile habitats such as grasslands, marshes and wildflower patches. Damage to an ecosystem affects all of its resident species.

Club Competition

Article III of the MNPC constitution stipulates that submitted images must comply with the PSA definition of "Nature".

Competitions (Salons) are held most months and give members helpful evaluation and commentary on their nature images. Members may submit two images in each competition.

Competition judges comment on each image and score them on a scale of from 2 to 10 total points. Those images scoring 8, 9, or 10 points receive certificates and are accepted in to the annual salon held in December. Images not accepted may be resubmitted once, but accepted images (or similar images) may not be submitted again for club competition.

At the annual salon images from the year are exhibited and Honorable Mention certificates, Image of the Year and Runner-up trophies are awarded in three areas:

Members may submit a maximum of two images in each competition. This can be any combination of slide or digital images.

Slides should be brought to the meeting and submitted between 6:30pm and 6:45pm before the meeting starts.

Each slide must have a signal dot placed in the lower left-hand corner of the slide as the slide is hand viewed. It signals the proper orientation in the slide projector. A descriptive title and the maker's name must be printed on the same side as the dot. Add a (W) to the title when the image complies with the PSA definition of authentic wildlife. For example: Egret
in Flight (W). (Dots are available at most stationery stores. You may also use a "Sharpie" pen that will write on paper or plastic mounts.) Give your slides to the projectionist before the start of the meeting. Slides are inserted upside down in the projector so your name and slide title are easily read by the projectionist when written as shown. Use printed labels or a dark ink so this information can be read in dim light.

Slides may be in cardboard or plastics mounts as they come from the finisher or in Gepe glass mounts. Gepe mounts are available in the standard full frame or with the interior window cropped in a variety of sizes. The "cropped" Gepe mounts may be purchased by mail from RMF Products, Inc., PO Box 520, Batavia, IL 60510. They also have metal slide boxes and mailing envelopes for mailing slides to international competitions.

Digital images can be either

1. E-mailed to anytime up until the day before the meeting - the earlier the better to allow for the proper archiving and presentation of your image.
2. Brought to the meeting on CD-ROM or a USB memory key and submitted between 6:30pm and 6:45pm, before the meeting starts (email is the preferred way).

Digital images need to be in the following format to be accepted.*

1. Computer adjustments to any image must comply with PSA rules noted above.
2. JPEG file format (.jpg)
3. Image size; minimum 1024 pixels, maximum 1280 pixels along the longest dimension.
4. Use the sRGB color space since that is how they will be displayed. If you are not familiar with the concept of color space, don’t worry about it.
5. File name for each image should be your personal 4-digit identification number* followed by a 12-letter image title. Add a (W) when the image complies with the PSA definition of authentic wildlife. For example:
   1903 Dawn Swans (W).jpg - First image for member 903
   2903 Marsh Margld.jpg - Second image for member 903
6. Please type your two filenames, each on a new line, in the body of your E-mail. Attach - do not imbed - the images to a regular E-mail message and E-mail to . The subject line should contain something like "Images for October salon".
7. If you do not receive a confirmation E-mail then please bring your images on a CD-ROM or USB memory key.

Interclub Competitions

A yearly competition is held among the clubs affiliated with the Twin Cities Area Council of Camera Clubs (TCACCC). The nature slides are judged at our March Meeting. Members are encouraged to participate. Club trophies and individual awards are given.

MNPC also competes several times a year in PSA club competition. Members' slides for this competition are selected by the PSA Club Competition chairperson. Results are announced in the newsletter.

International Competitions

Some camera clubs sponsor international competitions and exhibitions. The Photographic Society of America (PSA) sets standards for these. Three international nature competitions are held in the Twin Cities. Information is on the TCACCC special events page.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul International is held in October and is sponsored by the Twin Cities Area Council of Camera Clubs. The TCACCC website contains information on this competition.

The Northstar Nature Circuit is held in December and is also sponsored by participating clubs and TCACCC.

The Minnesota Botany Exhibition is held in February and is sponsored by our club.

Four slides may be entered into each section of an international competition for a fee of about $5. Approximately twenty nature exhibitions are held in the United States each year and another twenty in foreign countries.

Photographic Society of America Star Ratings

PSA recognizes achievements for photographic excellence by awarding star ratings based on the number of acceptances received in international exhibitions. Entrants keep track of the number of times their slides are accepted in these salons and apply for stars after achieving the required number of acceptances. For example, in the nature section, the first star is awarded for receiving 18 acceptances with at least six different slides, and the second star for 36 acceptances with at least 12 different slides. Additional stars require increasing amounts of acceptances.

PSA star ratings are listed after members' names in this directory. For more information about international competition, how to get on the mailing list for entry forms, or how to receive a PSA star, ask the PSA Representative or a member who has a star rating.

Photographic Society of America Membership

MNPC is a member of the Photographic Society of America and encourages members to join. PSA members receive the PSA journal with helpful articles on competitions and slide and print photography. PSA also offers a variety of services to members. Ask Jim Duncan, the PSA Representative, for membership information.