Educating, Inspiring & Motivating Photographers of all Levels
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 hands-on workshops from area professionals, as well as national level celebrity photographers. Club activities are designed to help photographers of all levels grow through active shooting and feedback.
Our original website is https://napfs.club/. It is still active, but all new activities are handled on this site (napfs.org) as of January 15, 2020.
Join NAPfS for $24 yearly dues
Not Ready to join yet?
No problem. You can still stay in the loop with our very low volume email list. Find out about meetings, upcoming field trips and other club activities. Click below to send email asking to be put on the email list. Be sure to include your name and email address if it is different from the email address from which you are sending the message.
Member since 2021
The balloon fest is October 7-15, 2023
Gary R.H. has done some research on this fiesta and is in the early stages of planning an outing. He will present his preliminary outline for the trip either at one of our meetings (time permitting) or in a special Zoom meeting. His outline includes things that need to be planned and questions that need to be answered. He will also present a slide show.
Click on the link in the title above to see some spectacular photos of past fiestas.
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.
Some months have five Thursdays, so we're restarting our fifth Thursday tradition which was suspended during the pandemic. These meetings are in-person only (i.e. no Zoom). They are social gatherings with a potluck dinner, equipment swapping, socialization, etc. In 2023 these meetings will be held on March 30, June 29, August 31, and November 30 (the week after Thanksgiving).
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, February 9, 2023, 7:00 PM CT - Competition
This is a makeup meeting for the February 2 meeting.
MEETING LOCATION: This will be a combination in-person and Zoom meeting. The host for the Zoom meeting will be at the meeting location which is described in "Organization > In-Person Meeting Location".
NOTE: although the meeting will be held at the same church, it will be in a different room. Follow the signs when you get to the church.
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,
- Competition theme is "Open".
- Submissions and voting are now closed
- The competition meeting is Thursday, February 9, 2023 at 7:00 PM CT.
Thursday, February 16, 2023, 7:00 PM CT - Allen Winston on Pet Portraiture
MEETING LOCATION: This will be a combination in-person and Zoom meeting. The host for the Zoom meeting will be at the meeting location which 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.
Allen is a professional photographer specializing in studio and location portraiture, available light photography, as well as photographing public and private events throughout New Mexico. He will cover the how-to of Pet Portraiture
Thursday, March 2, 2023, 7:00 PM CT - Competition
MEETING LOCATION: This will be a combination in-person and Zoom meeting. The host for the Zoom meeting will be at the meeting location which 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,
- Competition theme is "Get in the Corner". Read the special instructions below.
- Submissions will start on or after Friday, February 3.
- Submissions will close Tuesday, February 14.
- Popular voting will open when the submissions close. Please read the popular voting instructions before voting.
- Popular voting ends on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 5:00 PM CT.
- The competition meeting is Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 7:00 PM CT.
Special instructions for the "Get in the Corner" Theme
The sides of the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) represent three parameters that control exposure, and provide creative control. Choose a corner where two of the three parameters meet and take those parameters to their extremes. Create a properly exposed image that stops or blurs action or just shoot in the dark. Patrick St. Cin’s January 19 presentation covered the exposure triangle and other camera configurations and controls.
To see Patrick's presentation on YouTube, click here. His presentation on the exposure triangle begins at 58:27.
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/
Nothing scheduled at this time.
Additional News and Information
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 2022 can be viewed by clicking here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
Pfotographic?
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".
Contact Us
General email address: web@napfs.org -
A better way to send email is at "Organization > Send E-mail to Members" where you can direct email to specific people or specific groups of people; e.g. officers, competition managers, website administrators, etc.