Plano Photography Club (PPC)

During the week beginning May 14, 2023, club member Irwin Lightstone hosted two groups of photographers - one from the Plano Photography Club and one from the Heard Nature Photographers - to his home to take photos of his expansive collection of cacti and other succulents.

We invite those from the PPC who participated IN EITHER OR BOTH OF THIS VISITS to SEND UP TO TEN (10) IMAGES IN JPEG FORMAT to clubphotos@planophotographyclub.com for posting in the gallery seen on the right.

Please include YOUR NAME and the TOPIC in the file name(s) (e.g., KarlBlossfeldt_Succulents_1.jpg).

The maximum dimension (long edge) for submitted images is 4096 pixels; the maximum individual file size is 10MB.

Full-Screen Views: Gallery | Slideshow | All Galleries and Slideshows

President's Message

There's a saying in business that "a professional organization is only as strong as the commitment of its members to the organization's success."

Though the PPC is not a "professional organization" in that context, I feel strongly that this statement applies to it. There is an astonishing amount of ongoing commitment by the members, volunteers, and leaders of this club to make it enjoyable and beneficial to its members. That level of effort seems ingrained in the club's DNA, so I don't think this is going to change - and all of us are better for it.

As we begin the 2023-2024 club year, I want to welcome two new members to the club's Executive Council - Greg Rains as 2nd VP - Programs, and Jodi Smith as Treasurer. Many thanks to Mary Ruehle and Michael Losurdo, respectively, for their prior service in these roles.

"If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” — Jim Richardson

- David Swinney (from the May 2023 issue of The FLASH!)

Club Meeting - Thursday, June 15, 2023

Training - 6:00 PM CT

Program - 7:00 PM CT (Main Meeting Room)

Hector Reyes: Missiles to Models - One Man's Photographic Journey

Hector Reyes

Bio: Hector is a Dallas-based fashion photographer. He has degrees in engineering and has had a camera in his hand for over 20 years. He shoots with Nikon cameras and Elinchrom lights and is equally comfortable on location in natural light.

He works hard to create striking images that celebrate life in all its forms. His work has been described as "professional," "clean," and "modern." Hector has photographed new and established models and entertainers for years.

His background in engineering combined with years of experience as a fashion and lifestyle photographer results in modern, stylish images that his clients love.

Born and raised in Robstown, Texas, Hector has engineering degrees from Southern Methodist University and Texas Tech University. Before entering the world of fashion photography, Hector was the Chief Engineer for the Raytheon Company’s Land Warfare Systems business. He was the Chief Engineer for major Army weapon systems such at the Javelin Missile, Stinger Missile, TOW missile, as well as the Infra-Red targeting systems for the Abrams Tank and Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Program Description: After 30 years of designing military weapon systems Hector retired early such as to have a second chapter in his career. He is now four (4) years into a career as a professional fashion photographer. He photographs models for all the local modeling agencies as well as aspiring models just dipping their toe into the industry.

Hector will speak to his journey of discovery to this point. Discovery regarding photographic technology. Discovery of post-processing techniques. Discovery of photography for fashion. Discovery of what to do with his images. Discovery of the fashion industry. And, finally, discovery of his own artisan’s eye.

Examples of Hector's Photography

Club Contest Information - June 2023

The theme for the next Plano Photography Club photo contest is OPEN (Electronic). You may submit one image to this contest. SUBMIT CONTEST IMAGE(S)

Electronic entries must be uploaded to the PPC Competition Site before 11:59 PM CT on Thursday, June 15, 2023.

NOTE: You must be a Plano Photography Club member to submit a contest image.

News and Information

Looking for old news or information items? If you don't see it below, check out our News Archive.

PPC Members Recognized in the May 2023 GSCCC Competition

The following Plano Photography Club members received recognition in the May Gulf States Camera Club Council photo competition:

Color Projected

2nd HM: Half Dome's Summit Yosemite N.P. - Siu Wong

Nature Projected

1st: Mother's Love - Clive Fernando

Photojorunalism Projected

1st HM: Wings Over Dallas Mid-air Collision - Larry Petterborg

To see the winning images and a full list of award recipients, please visit the GSCCC competition results page. Congratulations to those listed above.

2022-2023 End of Year Awards Announced

The following club members were honored during the PPC End of Year Awards at the May 18, 2023 club meeting.

Competition Class Winners

Winners were determined by the highest total image points from the ten monthly contests.

Entry Level

First Place: Eddie Yu
Second Place: Maggie Hutchison
Third Place: Rachel Allen

Intermediate Level

First Place: Parvin Stiles
Second Place: Janice Goetz
Third Place: Greg Rains

Advanced Level

First Place: David Swinney
Second Place: Michael Farnham
Third Place (tie): Mary Kell Ruehle / Jason Ware / Clive Fernando / Siu Wong

Masters Level

First Place: Anita Oakley
Second Place: Dennis Fritsche
Third Place (tie): Larry Petterborg / Nock Wong

Special Interest Contests

Members could submit one image in any or all 3 categories; there were 76 submissions this year.

Nature (31 submissions)

First Place: Greg Rains - "Rockwell Falls on the Hudson"
Second Place: John Lehman - "coatimundi"
Third Place: Jason Ware - "The Great Andromeda Galaxy"

Portraits of People (23)

First Place: Roger Begham - "Autumn Beauty"
Second Place: Robert Shafer - "Mother and Son, Havana"
Third Place: Mary Kell Ruehle - "Best Friends"

Photojournalism (21)

First Place: Larry Petterborg - "Wings Over Dallas Mid-air Collision"
Second Place: Greg Rains - "Heavy Rescue"
Third Place: Russell McGuire - "Where have all the workers gone?"

Images of the Year

Winners were chosen from all the first and second-place finishers in the 2022-2023 print and digital contests, respectively.

Print Image

First Place: Mary Kell Ruehle - "Farm to Table"
Second Place: Greg Rains - "Peaceful Peggys Cave"
Third Place: Jose Artiles - "Little Outhouse on the Prairie"

Digital Image

First Place: Christopher Stone - "The Light Is The Way"
Second Place: John Copes - "2017 Spectaclet"
Third Place: Jodi Smith - "Starry Night"

Photographer of the Year

This honor is awarded to the person with the highest combined score of Image and Place points during the competition year.

The 2022-2023 PPC Photographer of the Year is Eddie Yu.

Presidential Recognition Award

The Presidential Recognition Award, established in 2020, is presented to any PPC member who has assisted in accomplishing the aims of the Plano Photography Club.

The recipient of the 2022-2023 PPC Presidential Recognition Award is Alan Daniel.

Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award may be presented annually to a Plano Photography Club member whose contributions of time, talents, and service have made a significant impact on the Plano Photography Club and its membership.

The recipient of the 2022-2023 PPC Distinguished Service Award is Larry Petterborg.

Congratulations and thanks to all honorees mentioned above.

Change To Photographer of the Year Award Process

After a one-year study and many hours of work by several people, and in consideration of the club's continued growth, the Executive Council believes a change is needed in order to fairly determine the Photographer of the Year.

The new system will supplement the existing competition. It will essentially be a separate contest that considers all submitted images, no matter their Competition Level.

The revised process - effective with the 2023-2024 Competition Year - is as follows:

Each month, after completing the Competition Level scoring and awards, the judge will select the four best images, in their opinion, and give them a separate award as follows:

Best of Show - 5 points

2nd in competition - 3 points

3rd in competition - 2 points

Honorable Mention in competition - 1 point

Those point values will be totaled at the end of the year to determine the Photographer of the Year.

To enhance the prestige of this award the eligibility requirements for Photographer of the Year have been tightened - ALL TEN MONTHLY CONTESTS MUST BE ENTERED. This shouldn’t be a burden; all of the monthly contests can be entered in advance, not just during their contest month.

The current system for determining winners in each Competition Level and for advancement remains unchanged. A minimum of SIX monthly contests must still be entered.