Join us at our next (virtual) meeting and get to know the friendly folks of the Plano Photography Club.

Want to attend one of our monthly meetings as a guest? Please let us know via email.

Ready to become a member of the Plano Photography Club? Just click on this button: JOIN THE PPC

Photo Activities and Galleries

7:00 PM - Program by Russell Graves: 10 Ways to Be a Better Wildlife and Nature Photographer

ZOOM MEETING INSTRUCTIONS Want to attend this meeting as a guest? Let us know via email.

Russell Graves

If you've read any Texas-based magazines over the past 25 years, chances are you've seen some of Russell's photos or read some of his prose. Since 1989, he's been traveling the state telling authentic Texas stories with his camera and his words - both written and spoken.

A graduate of Dodd City High School and East Texas State University, Russell was an agricultural science teacher in Childress, Texas for 16 years where he was named Texas AgriScience Teacher of the Year on three occasions.

After leaving that career in 2009, he continued to photograph, write, and speak about his experiences and the people he meets. In 2010, he began delving into television production. His first documentary film, Bois d'Arc Goodbye, was filmed entirely in Fannin County and chronicled his canoe journey with his brother Bubba as they traversed the Lower Bois d'Arc Creek before a lake forever changed the landscape. The film aired three times to a national primetime audience and is now available for viewing on Vimeo.

He's worked with such celebrities as the Robertson Family from the Duck Dynasty television show, the late T. Boone Pickens, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Pat Green, and Tracy Lawrence, but he insists that regular people are his favorite subjects.

Recently, Russell's focus has pivoted to leading educational photo tours. In addition, he turned his attention to writing two new books on wildlife and nature photography that are now available for purchase.

Currently, Russell lives in the country north of Dodd City, Texas with his wife Kristy and their two children Bailee and Ryan. He spends a considerable amount of time creating content for clients, but still finds his passion in working and developing the land on the small farm he recently purchased.

Russell's website is russellgraves.com.

Examples of Russell's Work

The August 2020 contest topic is Open (Electronic).

Each club member may submit one photo to the competition. Remember that images that have placed in any earlier PPC contest are ineligible.

The maximum dimensions for images submitted to the contest website are 4096 x 2160 pixels.

Your submission must be uploaded to the PPC Competition Site before midnight CT Thursday, August 20, 2020.

For more detail on this month's contest requirements please visit Competitions | Competition Topics.

Winning Images From the June 2020 Competition
Topic: Open

Winners of the June 2020 Plano Photography Club photo competition were announced on Thursday, July 16 at the conclusion of the July 2020 club meeting.

Award recipients for the latest contest - whose work is seen in the slideshow at right - are as follows:

Full-Screen Slideshow | Judge's Commentary

Standings: All Classes | Entry | Intermediate | Advanced | Master

Congratulations to all those listed above and thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. See you next month.

The West Plano Presbyterian Church (WPPC) has been a terrific host location for our club for a long time.

Though currently unable to have in-person meetings there, we have been given an opportunity to give back to the church in a small but meaningful way.

WPPC publishes a Photo of the Day on its website, and they're running low on photos. They have reached out to us and asked whether PPC members can help them out by contributing to that feature.

The rules for photos submitted for the WPPC Photo of the Day are as follows:

1. Stay with WPPC's Theme: Heaven and earth are full of God's glory!
2. No personal pictures, including adults, children, or pets
3. JPG files only; maximum resolution of 4096x2160

Please take a look at the full Photo of the Day archive to see what types of photos would be appropriate.

If you wish to contribute, send them your photo(s) and then keep your eyes on the WPPC website to see if you get on the front page! If your photo is chosen, you AND the PPC will get credit for photos posted.

Even though the State Fair of Texas has been canceled for this year, there are some State Fair-related events still taking place. One of them is the fair's annual Arts & Crafts competition.

Photography is one of approximtely twenty (20) categories in which you can submit one or more entries (cost is $6 per entry item; there are 30+ color/black and white categories).

For information on how to register for the competition, visit the State Fair of Texas Creative Arts & Crafts page.

Deadline to enter is Tuesday, September 1, 2020.

ZOOM MEETING INSTRUCTIONS

Join us on Thursday August 13, 2020 at 7 PM for a virtual presentation about close-up photography from Fujifilm representative Matt Weintritt.

In this base-level conversation Matt will lead you through the various ways to achieve detailed images of your subjects. He will discuss the various tools and methods available for close-up picture taking and will get you ready to look at your surroundings from a new perspective.

Matthew Weintritt is a FUJIFILM Product Technical Specialist and a passionate member of the photography community. With more than 15 years of multi-disciplinary experience, Matt has traveled throughout North America sharing his knowledge and technical expertise in classrooms and through hands-on workshops.

Examples of Fujifilm Close-up Images

ZOOM REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS

If you are a new Plano Photography Club member or considering joining the club, you'll want to carve out some time on Thursday, August 27 for our first virtual orientation session.

Carol Barlow, who has been a club member for over 6 years, will host the orientation via Zoom from 6:30 PM - 7:25 PM CDT.

Here are some of the topics that will be covered:

• History of the PPC
• Programs and Presenters
• Activities and Events
• Training
• Current members who can give you insight into the club
• How to enter the monthly contests and the progression through the competition levels
• Q&A

Click on the registration button above to provide your name and email address to the host, who will send you a link to the meeting.