Photography Café
Welcoming New Members!
We are a friendly group of area photographers getting together to share our common interest in photography and photographic art.
Who we are: Center for the Arts (CFA) Photography Café was established in 2019 as a venue for those interested in photography to share their knowledge and advance their craft through regular meetings, whether in-person or virtually.
When/where we meet: The group meets on the second Thursday of each month starting at 6pm. Meetings take place at the Tracy Library in New London, virtually via Zoom, a location for photo shoots, or one of the member’s homes (to be announced well in advance). Occasionally, members meet at other times and locations such as for photo walks when we want to explore new areas conducive to picture-taking.
What we do: While one can learn a lot about photography by watching online videos (i.e., YouTube) and attending classes and workshops, meeting regularly with like-minded photographers gives everyone an ongoing outlet for their questions about any aspect of photography. We all learn from each other in an informal and friendly setting. During our regular meetings, group members share some of their recent work, and offer it up for discussion. We often work together on special “challenges” such as shooting in black and white, creating “minimalist” images, and setting up and photographing still life, seasonal images, and so on. We also discuss composition, matting and framing, upcoming exhibit opportunities, photography equipment, software, printing, and more. The goal is to keep learning, sharing, and enjoying the company of others with similar interests.
Venues for shows and sales: As a member of the CFA and Photography Café, many opportunities are available to exhibit and sell your work. Examples include the many microgalleries, annual member shows, and other venues such as Naturally New England at Sunapee Harbor and Arts on the Green.
What’s the cost: Membership in the Photography Café is free of charge to current members of CFA. If you are interested in joining or want more information, please email Jay Fitzpatrick using jall@tds.net or call (603) 455-6595. Regular emails are sent to those interested in advance of upcoming meetings.
CFA Photographers Create Abstract Art
The Center for the Arts’ Photography Café had a fun, productive and creative meeting at the Tracy Library. Members practiced photographing “swirls” and colorful liquid combinations to create abstract photos, seen in this post.
Members explored what can happen when you have your camera and light source ready, then pour cream into coffee, food coloring into water or a combination of milk, oil and dish detergent. A great way to practice close-up (macro) capture and put a creative spin on colors in a coffee cup or soup bowl.
Thanks for those contributing their photos to include with this post: Bill Balsam, Nate Carey, Jay Fitzpatrick, Lindsay Holmes, Tom McHugh and York Xavier.
The Photographers’ Café meets on the second Thursday of each month, and sometimes in between
meetings for special activities such as gallery strolls, photo shoots, etc. For more information or to join the mailing list, contact Jay Fitzpatrick at jayfitz6932@gmail.com.
Photo caption: photographers York Xavier (left) and Bill Balsam work on shooting colorful swirls and the Photography Café meeting in July.
October 2024 Meeting Update:
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the Tracy Memorial Library, Oct. 10, and all are welcome.
On the agenda:
· Prep for our upcoming exhibit at Bar Harbor Bank, Images in Black and White (final title to be determined). Details include a write-up for the CFA and accompanying images, dates for hanging and take-down, who’s in, questions about hanging, art tags, and the First Friday opening reception (Nov. 1@ 5-7 p.m.).
· Photo share: please bring some photos on a thumb drive to share and discuss. What have you been photographing lately?
· A look at some black and white prints made on various papers.*
· Possible field trip to view photography exhibits at the NH Art Association and nearby galleries.
· Other business at the pleasure of participants (“all things (photography) considered.”)
· Ongoing photo challenge: “After the Fall.” Can we capture images of our surroundings as autumn turns to winter? Think floating leaves, frost on leaves and windows, ice forming on lakes and rivers, ski-tuning, snow-making, skate sharpening, Thanksgiving looming. Etc.
* For those interested, Nate Carey sent us the following link to a free webinar on printing, “Ask the Experts: Printing Webinar,” hosted by Digital Silver Imaging this Thursday at noon which sounds great. The details and link are found below. I’m registered. You have to register to attend. Thanks Nate for sharing this:
Webinar Summary:
In this hour long FREE webinar the experts at Digital Silver Imaging will answer your questions about inkjet printing. This webinar is for anyone who wants to make fine art inkjet/giclée prints with a lab or on their own inkjet printer. During this open Q&A webinar we will be available to answer your questions about printing paper, inkjet printers, archival issues, monitors, calibration, presentation considerations and anything else inkjet print related.
Potential Questions to discuss:
How do printer inks differ?
How do inkjet papers differ?
Why don't my prints match what I see on my monitor?
What is the "right" resolution for my print?
Should I use soft proofing?
Is it better to buy a printer or have a lab print my work?
Please prepare a few photos of yours to share and discuss. Everyone gets a chance to view others’ work, to share their own work and/or to visit and observe what goes through the minds of photographers at various levels of experience.
Upcoming Meeting
Past Updates
September 2024 Meeting Update:
Our monthly meeting of the Center for the Arts Photography Café will take place on Thursday, September 12, at the Tracy Memorial Library starting at 6 p.m.
There are no pending assignments or challenges, but please bring some of your photos on a thumb drive to share and discuss with others.
Speaking of challenges, I was thinking of suggesting this one for this fall: "After the Fall." Most of us are eager to capture the brilliant colors of autumn. But what I'm suggesting is keeping your cameras ready and focused on the landscape as the colors turn to brown and the leaves collect on the ground. Those are the days when mist and fog sometimes can create spectacular landscapes, especially near dawn and dusk and especially near ponds and streams. So, it's just an idea and for me a cause to continue shooting after the colors fade.
At our last meeting, we reviewed many of our black and white photos. I really do like quality black and whites, but I'm told that "they just don't sell." So be it. We also briefly discussed the possibility of having a group show featuring only B&W. Let's have another discussion about that and, if the group agrees, we can put in an official proposal for a group show at one of the micro galleries in town.
August 2024 Meeting Update:
Our monthly meeting of the Center for the Arts Photography Café will take place on Thursday, August 8, at the Tracy Memorial Library starting at 6 p.m.
Two things in mind for this meeting:
1.) swirls and things…please bring in some of the “swirl” photos from our last meeting, so we can view and discuss them, quickly. What challenges did we face? If we were to do it again, what would we do differently?
2.) black and white vs. color…consider converting a few photos from your files from color to black and white and bring them on your thumb drive as well so we can discuss the differences and see if we can come to any conclusion as to when color or black and white might be a better choice for some photos, and Why.
Other choices: if you aren’t sure how to convert to b&w, we can do it for you on our computer. Next choice: bring nothing except your own self to the meeting and sit back, relax and take it all in.
July 2024 Meeting Update:
Our monthly meeting of the Center for the Arts Photography Café will take place on Thursday, July 11, at the Tracy Library starting at 6 p.m.
We’ll start the meeting with an experiment – trying to photograph swirling liquids. We’ll bring in a pot or two of coffee and some half-and-half, and clear containers (glass coffee cup, vase, etc.). Also we’ll try photographing food coloring dropped into water or milk, or both. What do you think we can come up with? What challenges do you anticipate? If you want to try it out, please consider bringing some of your own liquids and containers using your own creative ideas. Also bring, of course, your camera, flash if you have one and a tripod (useful by not required). We need to be careful not to make any mess, so I’ll bring plastic table cloths and a dump pail.
To start a thought process, you might want to check out this video:
Creating INCREDIBLE abstract photography using milk, paint and oil. (youtube.com)
We’ll do a photo share after that, so please bring in some images on a thumb drive to share and discuss, or prints, framed or unframed, for discussion purposes.
FYI, if you prefer, you don't need to participate in any of the above activities, so you can feel free to just sit back and observe.
Also, those with photos from the Precision Museum – reminder to bring whichever one(s) you want to donate to the museum.
Finally…the good news is (FINALLY) the headshots that we took of Sean HAVE REAPPEARED from the bowels of my computer (thanks to the computer wizard, York Xavier), and they came out well. If we have time (not sure), I’ll share the best of them, and move them onto a disc or thumb drive for our very patient model, Sean. Thanks much to Lindsay and Tom for their preparation and their work with the head shots.
Hope to see you on Thursday. Let me know if you have questions.
Jay Fitzpatrick
For the Center for the Arts Photography Café
April 2024 Meeting Update:
Hello gang:
Below is the link for next Tuesday's (4/30) Zoom meeting. As mentioned, I will be on the west coast but SHOULD be able to run the Zoom from there, with my old travel laptop. Please have some of your images ready for sharing and discussing, and/or share any tip or photo suggestion that we can all learn from.
I plan on launching the meeting as always. If for some unforeseen reason I can't connect from that location by 6:30, please feel free to exit the zoom waiting room and look to reconvene again on May 14, same time, Zoom link to be supplied.
Jay Fitzpatrick is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Central NH Photographers Group Zoom 4/30 @6:30
Time: Apr 30, 2024 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89699714479?pwd=Nm1kSWtHWlJOTHBOWDk4cXNFeE01QT09
Hope you are well and enjoying the start of spring