The North Austin Pƒotographic Society is an inclusive, north Austin photo club dedicated to educating, inspiring and motivating its members through frequent face-to-face activities at regular club meetings. The club is open to photographers of all levels from true beginners (no camera required) to professionals. Through regular meetings, NAPƒS builds a community of active photographers, practicing their love for all types of photography. NAPƒS members share their passion and skills through presenting their work at meetings, participating in monthly competitions with live critiques, and exhibiting their work at our socials. We offer monthly presentations with topics of interest to photographers. Club activities are designed to help photographers of all levels grow through active shooting and feedback.
The slideshow on this page includes the winners from the latest month's NAPƒS photo competition.
Upcoming Meetings
NOTE: the meeting announcements are shown below as soon as they are scheduled. Most meetings are held on Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM CT. We have four types of meetings:
The first Thursday of each month (except December) is the competition meeting where image entries are judged and critiqued. The deadline for submitting images is shown in the meeting announcement on this page. These meetings are held both in-person and via Zoom.
The third Thursday of each month (except December) is a presentation or workshop. The presenters come from our club, from the photography industry, or from professional photographers. These meetings are held both in-person and via Zoom.
On the months which have five Thursdays, we normally have a social gathering which is not held at our regular meeting location. Check the announcements below for details on these gatherings. These gatherings are in-person only.
We have a Christmas party sometime in December where we share a potluck dinner and awards are made for the photographers of the year and the photograph of the year. This meeting is in-person only.
In-Person Meeting Location
The in-person location is available from the menu at "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
Instructions for joining Zoom meetings
These instructions are available from the menu at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instruction". Zoom is used only for the first and third Thursday meetings.
Thursday, April 24, 2025, 7:00 PM CT - Jane Hogan on "The Elements of Composition"
The link to the instructions for joining the Zoom meeting is above this notice. The link to the map for the club's meeting location is also above this notice.
Jane Hogan is an award-winning Round Rock painter who will explain how photographers can learn better composition from painting.
Thursday, May 1, 2025, 7:00 PM CT - Competition
The link to the instructions for joining the Zoom meeting is above this notice. The link to the map for the club's meeting location is also above this notice.
The theme is Open.
Entries are now being accepted.
The entry deadline is Tuesday, April 15 at 11:59 PM CT.
Popular voting starts at the entry deadline.
Popular voting ends on Tuesday, April 29 at 5:00 PM.
The judging and competition results will be at the competition meeting on Thursday, May 1 at 7:00 PM
Thursday, May 15, 2025, 7:00 PM CT - TBD
The link to the instructions for joining the Zoom meeting is above this notice. The link to the map for the club's meeting location is also above this notice.
We will have a speaker for this meeting.
Thursday, May 29, 2025 - TBD
This meeting will be in-person only (i.e. no Zoom) and will not be recorded.
This is normally a social meeting allowing members to interact with each other.
The location has not been selected yet.
Thursday, June 5, 2025, 7:00 PM CT - Competition
The link to the instructions for joining the Zoom meeting is above this notice. The link to the map for the club's meeting location is also above this notice.
The theme is "After Hours". Capture the mood of nighttime—city lights, quiet streets, or late-night energy. Use artificial lighting, reflections, and shadows to enhance the atmosphere. Urban or rural settings are welcome, but daytime images don’t qualify. People may appear, but the scene itself should tell the story of what happens after hours. Let the night be your canvas
Entries are now being accepted.
The entry deadline is Tuesday, May 20 at 11:59 PM CT.
Popular voting starts at the entry deadline.
Popular voting ends on Tuesday, June 3 at 5:00 PM.
The judging and competition results will be at the competition meeting on Thursday, June 5 at 7:00 PM
Competition History
The following buttons will take you to the history of our photo competition all the way back to the club's origin in 2015.
Meeting History
These pages include links to meeting announcements, recaps (including videos), competition results, judges and speakers.
The past events pages are at "Organization > About NAPfS > Past Speakers and Judges", or just click on the button above and select the year.
Meeting topics and speakers for 2024 can be viewed by clicking here.
Meeting Videos
NAPƒS has a YouTube Channel. Click on the icon above to see it.
Videos of most of our meetings from 2020 to the present are available on our YouTube channel and on this website at "Organization > News and Information > Meeting Topics > Meeting Recaps". A list of all videos and some statistics are available here.
The chat windows and video event times are available in the "Meeting Recaps" pages but not on YouTube.
To see the latest meeting video, click on the button below:
Photowalk Photos
NAPƒS organizes outings such as photo walks. The announcements for upcoming events will be on this page and in the calendar.
Selected photos from these events are on our galleries available at "Galleries > Photowalks"
Here are some links to gallery photos taken at previous events:
Painted Churches (10/19/24)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Sign Bar (9/29/24)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Hill Country Water Gardens (6/5/24)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Instagram
Every month, starting on the day after the competition meeting, the winning images are posted to Instagram at the rate of one winner per day. The first image will be from the basic group and the final image will be from the advanced group. If you'd like to see how your winning photos are received by the "general public", please visit our Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/napfs.club. If you're an Instagram member, you can start following napfs.club; Besides the winning photos, notices about upcoming competitions and meetings and other important notices are posted.
Members' Websites
We have many excellent photographers in our club and many of them have their own websites. To see the links to these websites, go to "Organization > Members' Website Links".
If you're a full member and would like your website's link on this page, please email the Webmaster with a square cover photo which is at least 200x200.
If you already have a link on the page, you can request to change the cover photo, change the link, or remove the link.
We Need Volunteers!
Our club has some excellent volunteers, but we need more in order to keep a healthy, active organization. If you can, please volunteer to help. The current volunteers will be happy to train you in whatever field you choose. Click on the button below to volunteer..
We need help with art shows, membership committee, outings committee, program committee, and competition committee.
And every month (except December) we need three advanced-level judges to judge the basic and intermediate competitions.
Popular Voting Instructions
All full NAPfS members can vote on the competition entries starting at the competition deadline and ending two hours before the competition meeting.
To read the instructions for popular voting, go to "Organization > News and Information", click on the triangle to the left of "Information", then click on "View" next to "Popular Voting Instructions".
Or just click here.
Instructions for Viewing All Competition Critiques
For instructions on viewing the competition entry critiques, go to "Organization > News and Information", click on the triangle to the left of "Information", then click on "View" next to "Instructions on Viewing Competition Critiques".
Or just click here.
How to Submit and Check Competition Photos
Instructions for submitting photos to our monthly competition are at "Competitions > Instructions on Entering Competitions".
To Check that your photo was properly submitted,
go to "Competitions > Submit Images to a Competition" and select the appropriate competition.
If your entry was properly submitted, you'll see it at the bottom of the page under "Images you entered into the Competition".
How to Set or Change Your Competition Level
Instructions for setting your competition level (mainly for new members) or requesting a change to your level are at "Competitions > Setting or Changing Competition Level". New members are not automatically assigned a competition level, but you must be assigned a competition level to submit photos to a competition.
Explanation of Competition Awards
First, Second, Third Place, and Honorable Mention awards come from the judges. These awards count toward the December “Photographer of the Year” awards. See “ Competition > Competition Rules” for the explanation of how the points are calculated. The images which win these awards are posted to Instagram at the rate of one-per-day starting the day after the competition.
Gold, Silver, and Bronze metals come from the Popular Vote. These awards do not count toward the December awards. Gold, silver, and bronze metals are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places respectively in the popular voting.
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
October 4-12, 2025
Gary Hook organized a trip to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2023 and may do it again in the future. Let him know if you're interested in going.
To see his presentation describing the event, his trip proposal, and photos of the fiesta, click here or on the photo.
Comments, Questions, Concerns?
Do you have questions for the NAPfS members or officers? Do you have comments or concerns that you'd like to share with the other members?
There is a forum topic that is used for this purpose.
Go to "Organization > Discussion Forums" and select "View Topics" under "NAPfS General Comments, Questions, Concerns". You can add a new topic or add a post to an existing topic in this forum.
If you're interested in this sort of thing, even if you don't have anything to post, subscribe to the forum by clicking on the "Subscriptions" button on the right side of the "NAPfS General Comments, Questions, Concerns".
Pƒotographic?
Why do we use "Pfotographic" instead of "Photographic"? Because the club was founded in Pflugerville, Texas, which is just north of Austin. The club history is available from the menu at "Organization > About NAPfS > Club History".