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
NAPfS Photos at Williamson County Courthouse Jester Annex
Plan to view the NAPfS framed print art show at the Williamson County Courthouse Jester Annex before it closes on August 30th. The Jester Annex is at 1801 E. Old Settlers Blvd. Map.
Thank you Jose Rios, Exhibit Coordinator, all members who submitted images, and volunteers who helped set up the show.
The Exhibit is sponsored by Round Rock Arts.
Williamson County Art Guild Exhibition in Georgetown
The Williamson County Art Guild has an exhibition at the Georgetown Public Library 7/7 - 8/9/22 in the upstairs Bridge and hallway areas. Each label has a QR code which brings up a 30 second video of the artist explaining the thoughts about his/her the piece.
Upcoming Meetings
NOTE: the meeting announcements can be accessed from the menu at "Organization > News and Information > Meeting Topics", then select the type of meeting and the meeting title. All meetings are on Thursday unless otherwise noted.
The first Thursday of each month (except December) is the competition meeting where image entries are judged and critiqued. The deadline for submitting images to the competitions is 11:59 PM on the Saturday before the competition meeting.
Because of some unwanted Zoom bombing, the web page that shows the meeting instructions (i.e. Zoom link) is now accessible only to full club members. If you are not a club member but wish to attend a meeting, please contact a club member to get the link.
NOTICE: In-Person Meetings
Because of the Covid resurgence, we will not hold in-person meetings until it is safe to do so again. Thus, all meetings for the foreseeable future will be Zoom-only.
Instructions for joining online meetings are available from the menu at "Organization > Virtual Meeting Instruction".
Thursday, August 18, 2022 - Gary Rivera on Light Painting Automobiles
This is a Zoom-only meeting. 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,
Gary Rivera has been interested in photography for over 25 years. He first started his adventures in photography in high school where he daily carried a borrowed camera to document everyday life. Since then, he’s experimented with various forms of photographic arts, people and pet portraits, landscapes, long exposure, and macro, but found his true calling in documenting various forms of former glory. He seeks out relics of the past in both good-as-new condition as well as weather worn. Gary’s signature style is to incorporate unique cloud structures whenever possible. Trains, planes, and automobiles are some of his favorite subjects, but he also enjoys exploring the forgotten places like ghost towns, cemeteries, and abandoned or rarely visited urban areas. Finding subjects has literally become a journey which takes him all over the southwest and beyond.
The name Blue Merle Photography comes from his love of Shetland Sheepdogs of which he still has two who were adopted as rescues. Blue merle is the blue-gray coat color of his beloved rescue sheltie named Bear. Gary currently lives in Albuquerque, NM.
Gary has received multiple awards for his work, including several first place prizes in a number of photographic competitions. He has been honored by showing his work in local exhibitions such as the Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show (ANMPAS) which is held every December in Albuquerque New Mexico.
Gary will be speaking on light painting automobiles. Examples of his work are at http://www.bluemerlephotography.com/#!/page/83583/auto-focus
Gary's website is
http://www.bluemerlephotography.com.
Thursday, September 1, 2022, 7:00 PM CT - Competition
PLEASE NOTE: Because of the Covid resurgence, we will return to Zoom-only competition meetings; i.e. no in-person meetings. We'll return to in-person meetings when it is safe to do so.
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 submissions will open sometime after August 4.
- Submission deadline is Tuesday, August 16.
- Competition theme is "Geometrics".
- Popular voting will open after the submission deadline. Please read the popular voting instructions before voting.
- Popular voting ends on Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 5:00 PM CT.
- The competition meeting is Thursday, September, 2022 at 7:00 PM CT.
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 Cat Smith, Allen Irby 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/
To commemorate the launch of the SpaceX Inspiration4 launch on September 15, 2021, we'll create an image with four photos, each representing the "pillar" that each person on the four-person crew represented, supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: leadership, hope, generosity, and prosperity.
*This event was originally planned for May 28th, but since we haven't had any rain, there is no water for the creek or waterfall, so moving date to September 24th in hopes we get water by then.
PHOTO HIKE from 9:00 to probably about 10:30
LOCATION: Walnut Creek Trail at Balconies District Park
ADDRESS: 12017 Amherst Dr., Austin, TX 78759
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.
NAPfS Photos at Williamson County Courthouse Jester Annex
Plan to view the NAPfS framed print art show at the Williamson County Courthouse Jester Annex before it closes on August 30th. The Jester Annex is at 1801 E. Old Settlers Blvd. Map. Thank you Jose Rios, Exhibit Coordinator, all members who submitted images, and volunteers who helped set up the show.
The Exhibit is sponsored by Round Rock Arts.
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.club
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.