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, August 1, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - August Competition - Theme is "Macro Photography"
NOTE: The meeting will actually start at 6:30 PM. The time from 6:30 to 7:00 is for socializing with your fellow photographers. The formal meeting starts at 7:00.
MEETING LOCATION: The meeting location is described in "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
The instructions on joining the Zoom meeting are at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instructions". Only competing members can see these instructions. If you would like to attend a virtual meeting but are not a member, please contact a competing member to get the meeting link.
- Entries are closed.
- Popular voting is open.
- Popular voting ends on Tuesday, July 30 at 5:00 PM.
- The judging and popular results are at the August 1 meeting.
Thursday, August 15, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - Brent Howard of "Art Direct"
This will be in-person ONLY; i.e. NO ZOOM. The meeting will NOT be recorded.
Note that we are NOT meeting at our normal location. The location for this meeting is:
Art Direct
720 S. Bell Blvd, Building 9A
Cedar Park, TX 78613
Brent Howard, the owner, will host NAPfS members in a tour of his new facility in Cedar Park. Along with the tour he will discuss what it takes to make a good print on the various media that are available today. His lead technician will be on site so we can ask questions to either Brent or the person making your prints.
We are invited to arrive at 7pm for this tour and talk!
Click on one of the "Art Direct" instances on this page to go to their website.
Thursday, August 29, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - Social Meeting
NOTE: The meeting will actually start at 6:30 PM. The time from 6:30 to 7:00 is for socializing with your fellow photographers. The formal meeting starts at 7:00.
MEETING LOCATION: TBD
This will be in-person ONLY; i.e. NO ZOOM. The meeting will NOT be recorded.
To be determined.
Thursday, September 5, 2024, 7:00 PM CT - August Competition - Theme is "Motion"
NOTE: The meeting will actually start at 6:30 PM. The time from 6:30 to 7:00 is for socializing with your fellow photographers. The formal meeting starts at 7:00.
MEETING LOCATION: The meeting location is described in "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
The instructions on joining the Zoom meeting are at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instructions". Only competing members can see these instructions. If you would like to attend a virtual meeting but are not a member, please contact a competing member to get the meeting link.
- Click here for a description of the theme.
- Entries will open shortly after the August 1 meeting.
- The deadline for entries is Tuesday, August 20.
- Popular voting will open after the entry deadline.
- Popular voting ends on Tuesday, September 3 at 5:00 PM.
- The judging and popular results are at the September 5 meeting.
Upcoming Meetup Events
Meetup.com is a site that coordinates events in which its members might be interested. The NAPfS group will have many events, such as photowalks, photo outings, photo trips, etc. Some events are free; others are not. If you're interested in this type of thing, please join our meetup group at https://www.meetup.com/napfs-outings. It's free to join. Go to the website to see all upcoming and past events. You can post photos and see photos of the events. Virtual events are included whereby participants can participate from home.
If you'd like to host a Meetup event, please contact Gary Hook or Ed Peet and they will make you an organizer.
Photos from past Meetup events can be seen at https://www.meetup.com/napfs-outings/photos/ or on this website at "Galleries > Photowalks".
Nothing currently scheduled.
Competition Results
Click on a button below to see the competition winners and some statistics.
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 2023 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 (Meetup) Photos and Announcements
NAPƒS has a Meetup group which organizes outings such as photo walks. Click on the icon above to see the currently scheduled events and to see photos from previous events.
Selected photos from these events are on the Meetup website and on our galleries available at "Galleries > Photowalks"
Here are some links to gallery photos taken at previous events:
Hill Country Water Gardens (6/5/24)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Pistons on the Square (5/18/25)
Slide Show or Tiled Images
Painted Churches (5/14/24)
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, 2024
Gary Hook organized a trip to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2023 and will probably do it again in 2024.
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".