by Brian Lucy | May 1, 2020 | GNPA News, Spotlight
Brian Lucy, GNPA Conservation Communications Chair
This week’s post features the winner’s from the Landscape category.
“Landscape photography is the art of capturing pictures of nature and the outdoors in a way that brings viewers into the scene. From grand landscapes to intimate details, the best photos demonstrate the photographer’s own connection to nature and capture the essence of the world.” – photographylife.com/landscapes
Week 2 – Landscape Category
1st Place – Art Stiles
“Fishing at Marben PFA” by Art Stiles
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II
Focal Length: 185mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure: 1/30
ISO: 200
Location: Mansfield, GA
Date: Nov 10, 2017 8:45AM
During our monthly, now Zoom-held, Conservation Committee meeting we were discussing how this series of blogs is a great way to highlight the winning entries from the winter project. After about ten minutes talking about the winners Tom Wilson reminded us that while showcasing the top shots is important that the real win was hundreds of photos that GNPA was able to provide our conservation partner.
Week 2 – Landscape Category
2nd Place – Jenny Burdette
“Boat at Sunrise” by Jenny Burdette
Camera: Nikon D610
Lens: Nikkor 28-300mm
Focal Length: 62mm
Aperture: f/13
Exposure: 1/320
ISO: 1250
Location: Bryan County, Fort McAllister Park, GA
Date: July 7, 2015 6:40AM
“The Wildlife Resources Division is so thankful for the Georgia Nature Photographers’ Association and the special partnership we’ve built. By providing beautiful Georgia-based photos, photographers are able help the agency spread the message of conservation while also showcasing the talented residents of the state of Georgia.” Aubrey Pawlikowski, Assistant Manager for Public Affairs, Communications & Marketing
Week 2 – Landscape Category
3rd Place – Joseph Kovarik
Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: Nikkor 16-35mm AF-S F/4G ED VR
Focal Length: 22mm
Aperture: f/11
Exposure: 3 sec
ISO: 100
Location: Dick’s Creek Waterfalls, Cleveland, GA
Date: July 7, 2015 6:40AM
Now is a great time to go through your photo library to find pictures to share with our conservation partners, The conservation page in the GNPA website has list of active requests for photos for you to select from.
To learn more about the GNPA conservation group email us at cons_volunteers@gnpa.org
by Brian Lucy | Apr 24, 2020 | GNPA News, Spotlight
GNPA Members Shoot it Out for DNR
Nearly 400 photos submitted for
GNPA’s Conservation 2020 DNR Winter Project
Last week we announced the full list of winners and this week we are putting our focus on the winning shots from the Challenge Category. With 384 submissions from 39 members across 5 categories our judges had their hands full selecting the top photos.
The biggest winner of GNPA’s first annual conservation photography project is Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division, which now has hundreds of amazing photos to use online and in their materials to help connect people to nature.
“The Wildlife Resources Division is so thankful for the Georgia Nature Photographers’ Association and the special partnership we’ve built. By providing beautiful Georgia-based photos, photographers are able help the agency spread the message of conservation while also showcasing the talented residents of the state of Georgia.” Aubrey Pawlikowski, Assistant Manager for Public Affairs, Communications & Marketing
Week 1 – Challenge Category
1st Place – Dale Asby
Roseatte Spoonbill Landing, Dale Aspy
Camera: Canon
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM
Focal Length: 140mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure: 1/5000
ISO: 800
Location: Jekyll Island, GA
Date: April 6, 2016 9:39AM
The annual project is a key piece of GNPA’s Conservation Committee, whose primary goal is helping GNPA members become aware of how they can engage in GNPA’s conservation efforts, and help members develop the skills to make valuable contributions to conservation in Georgia.
2nd Place – Jenny Burdette
Brown Headed Nuthatch, Jenny Burdette
Camera: Nikon D500
Lens: Sigma 150-600mm
Focal Length: 550mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/400
ISO: 900
Location: Gwinnett Co, GA
Date: Aug 2, 2019 5:04PM
With 8 official conservation partners of GNPA across the state, there is always a need for your help. From documenting cleanup events and families in nature to helping build a database of plants and wildlife, you can make a difference!
3rd Place – Paul Thomas
Young alligators in Okefenokee, Paul Thomas
Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8
Focal Length: 200mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure: 1/1000
ISO: 1600
Location: Okefenokee Swamp, GA
Date: April 2015
GNPA is extremely proud of the difference that our Conservation Group members are making to have their photographs inspire current and future generations to connect with our natural world.
To join the GNPA Conservation Group email cons_volunteers@gnpa.org
by Brian Lucy | Apr 17, 2020 | GNPA News, In Focus Highlights
Ghost Crab at Jekyll Island – Sara Aspy, GNPA member
Congratulations to all the winning photographers of the first annual GNPA Conservation Winter Project!
The project was a great way to support one of our Conservation partners, Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Georgia.
With 384 photographs from 39 contributors across the state the judges had their hands full selecting the top photos.
To participate in future GNPA Conservation photography events email consvolunteer@gnpa.org
Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute. We will be posting a full gallery of the winning photos on the website soon, and featuring a category in a blog post each week over the next five weeks.
And your winners are….
Wildlife
1st Place Blue Bird with Worms Jenny Burdette
2nd Place Coyote on Fallen Pine Joe Berry
3rd Place White Eyed Vireo Steve Rushin
Landscape
1st Place Fishing at Marben PFA Art Stiles
2nd Place Boat at Sunrise Jenny Burdette
3rd Place Dicks Creek Waterfalls Joseph Kovarik
Close Up
1st Place Ghost Crab Sara Aspy
2nd Place Cicada Metamorphosis Ricki Forbes
3rd Place Gopher Tortoise Steve Rushing
Story in 5 Shots
1st Place Eagle Drinking Steve Rushing
2nd Place Hummingbird vs Praying Mantis Diane Yancey
Challenge Shot
1st Place Roseate Spoonbill Landing Dale Aspy
2nd Place Brown Headed Nuthatch Jenny Burdette
3rd Place Young Alligators in Okeefenokee Paul Thomas
Grand Prize Winner
With one first place and two 2nd place photos Jenny Burdette
by Chris Dekle | Mar 3, 2020 | GNPA News
by Chris Dekle | Aug 11, 2019 | Post Processing
Sometimes you will have a vertical image but it needs to be converted to a 1080 pixel wide horizontal image with a 4:3 aspect ratio for posting on Meetup and the GNPA website. I’ll walk through the process. This video from Matt Kloskowski helps to walk through the basic ideas.
Here is a vertical image: We want to change this to a horizontal image for posting on Meetup and the GNPA website.
Start by Opening the Print Module in Lightroom. Open the Layout panel on the left side of the screen. I am creating the 8×6 User template so I can use it for this image and in the future.
First, create a Custom Layout with appropriate dimensions or a multiple of those dimensions. Select the + to the Right of the Template Browser. I am going to use 8 inches wide and 6 inches high for a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Add a single custom cell for the vertical image. You can choose any of the cell size options and then adjust the size as needed. I used 4.5 inches wide and 6 inches high – a 3:4 ratio that fills the 6 inch canvas height but that could be changed as needed. Be sure to fill the page height if you want to avoid having excess white space. You can use any size for the cell as long as it matches the height of your layout. The sides will simply have white space.
Drag the photo into the cell. Tweak the image dimensions on the page as needed so it fills the vertical dimension. If you have a different dimension, make sure the height of the cell matches the height of your layout.
Go to the Page Panel and add a watermark for the photographer credit.
Open the Print Job panel. Select Print to JPEG at top of panel. Set PPI so the image width in inches times PPI is approximately 1080 pixels wide. In this case it is 135 pixels which is 1080 pixels divided by the 8 inch width of the cell. Choose Standard Sharpening and Glossy Output. Choose Quality 70-80%. Set custom file dimensions to 8 x 6 inches to maintain 4:3 aspect ratio. Render as sRGB with Relative Colormetric.
Select Print to File at the bottom of the screen to create the JPEG. Name the file as desired and put it in the desired folder. Here is the resulting file.
by Chris Dekle | Aug 10, 2019 | GNPA News, GNPA Officers | Board | Chairs
At the June 22, 2019 board meeting, after GNPA general elections were held, the following officers and members at large were installed by unanimous board approval. Chairmen for standing committees were also announced. Please reach out to one of our board officers or members with any questions or concerns. We look forward to hearing from you.
President: Eric Bowles
Vice President: Mary Jo Cox
Secretary: Ken Dunwoody
Treasurer: Susan Burroughs
Past President: Tom Simpson
Website: Chris Dekle
GNPA Board Members At Large
Jimmy Day
Anna DeStefano
Lee Friedman
Tony Madden
Tom Wilson
Committee Chairs
Communications: Anna DeStefano
Conservation: Marcia Brandes
Expo: Alfie Wace
Membership Chair: Stewart Woodard
Chapter Coordinators
The activities of each GNPA chapter are overseen by one or more chapter coordinators. You can find the current chapter coordinator on each Chapter’s page. View Chapters
by Chris Dekle | Aug 7, 2019 | Conservation - Supported Orgainization Contacts
Currently supported organizations
Chattahoochee Nature Center, cons_cnc@gnpa.org
Chattahoochee Parks Conservancy, cons_chair@gnpa.org
Friends of Georgia State Parks, cons_friends@gnpa.org
GA Dept. of Nat. Resources (DNR)
Wildlife Resources Division, cons_dnr@gnpa.org
Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, cons_kgbf@gnpa.org
Park Pride, cons_partners@gnpa.org
Piedmont Park Conservancy, cons_ppc@gnpa.org
Trees Atlanta, cons_newsletter@gnpa.org
by Chris Dekle | Aug 7, 2019 | Resources Page
The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) offers fantastic tips for being an ethical photographer.
Access to Public Lands
Ethical Field Practices
Truth in Captioning Blog
by Chris Dekle | Aug 7, 2019 | Conservation - Memorandum of Use
GNPA has written agreements with our supported organizations that provide important details on each party’s rights and responsibilities. Each of our partners has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that governs the use of these images for the protection of our photographers. These MOUs state, in part:
The parties understand and agree that the submitting photographer retains the copyright to submitted images, and that the non-exclusive license to utilize images submitted by GNPA members as set forth above is limited to your organization’s use for its own promotional and educational materials and programs.
From time to time, in addition to the GNPA services described herein, GNPA photographers may provide your organization with photographs from photographers’ personal portfolios. These photographs may contain the word “Limited Use” in the file name of the photograph. Unless your organization agrees otherwise in writing with the submitting photographer, photographs designated as Limited Use can only be used for the organization’s website, newsletters, social media channels, and printed material including posters, brochures, educational materials, annual reports and event invitations. Without limiting the generality of that limitation, photographs designated as Limited Use cannot be otherwise published, sold, or transferred to third parties.
Your organization agrees to provide notification to GNPA photographer(s) upon your organization’s use of any image(s) submitted to you by GNPA photographers.
Model Releases
When acting at the request of one of our supported organizations, the organization itself will assure that appropriate model releases have been obtained and you can submit photographs of people to the organization without obtaining a model release.
Other Resources
by Chris Dekle | Jan 9, 2020 | Conservation - Conservation Committee Contacts
GNPA’s Conservation Commitee
