State College Photo Club
Learn. Compete. Improve. Enjoy.
May 2023 Edition
From Carolyn Todd-Larson, 2022-2023 President
Our May meeting was a discussion on the competition theme “Not Your Ansel Adams Landscape”.
Due to an emergency, I was not able to attend nor was I able to get these Presidents’ Notes out
before the meeting. I apologize for that.
Thank you to Ann-Taylor Schmidt and Bill Duffy for leading the meeting in my absence. I hear it
was a very thought-provoking discussion, as the submissions showed wide variations in what
people thought were Ansel Adams landscapes, and especially what were NOT. The people who
were at the meeting thought as a club should do more of this: explore the photography styles of
well-known photographers and then do a competition related to that photographer.
Upcoming Dates:
May 7-28, 2023: “In Focus” exhibit at Bellefonte Museum (see below)
June 19, 2023: Our next meeting topic is Equipment Round Robin: Show and tell on your
cameras, lenses, tripods, and other photography gear.
July 17, 2023: Competition Theme: “Photojournalism” and “Open”
August, 2023: No meeting this month.
September 18, 2023: Annual Meeting and Election of Officers
September 25-30, 2023: PSA Photo Festival, Williamsburg, Virginia (see below for info)
For more dates, please consult the Calendar at www.statecollegephotoclub.org
Photography Opportunities Around Town and Elsewhere:
2023 PSA Photo Festival September 25-30: PSA’s annual photo festival will be held in
Williamsburg, Virginia this year. There will be photo tours, workshops, a model shoot, a line-up of
evening speakers, and an enticing group of fellow photographers to meet and enjoy. John Larson,
Lisa Cirincione, and I will attend, and we would love to have you join us! If you have questions
about it reach out to any of us. Early Bird Discount ends on May 31!!! PSA holds such a festival
on the east coast once every three years.
For more info, visit: https://psa-photo.org/page/photo-festival#.
“In Focus” exhibit at Bellefonte Museum at the R. Thomas Berner Photography Gallery. One more
weekend to see it as it ends May 28. 15 Centre County photographers exhibit one piece each.
Photo club members exhibiting there include Art Heim, Jane Liechty, Gary Perdue, Lou
Saporito, Carolyn Todd-Larson, Jim Valent, and David Whiteman. Photo club friends Stacie
Bird, Chuck Fong, and Linda Hale also have photos there.
Any poets in this mailing list? If so, then check out the Bellefonte Museum’s Ekphrastic Poetry
Contest this month. Jim Valent’s photo, “Lean Right”, was chosen for this contest. Congrats to
Jim for this honor! The due date for entries is May 26. For more info, click here.
Central PA 4th Fest: It’s back! We are again being invited to provide photographers for the 4K
race, the parade, the fireworks, and all the activities at the venue during the 4th of July celebration.
Again, another photojournalism opportunity in time for our contest! Email Carolyn Todd-Larson
at cmtodd@aol.com if you can participate. Check out their website at
https://www.centralpa4thfest.org/.
Art Alliance Photographer Request: Marie Doll, Executive Director of the Art Alliance, is
retiring in June. She has been very instrumental in supporting the State College Photo Club and
has arranged each year for our Annual Exhibit and Youth Showcase at the Kish Expect More
Store in downtown State College. I have received a request for a few photographers to attend her
retirement party on Saturday June 10 from 7-9:30 pm at the Mount Nittany Winery. I plan to
attend with my camera, but am looking for 1-2 other photographers who are better at people
photos than I am. Please contact me if you can help with this at cmtodd@aol.com.
Bellefonte Museum Artist Registry: Message from R. Thomas Berner:
“I somehow have ended up as a volunteer curator for photo shows at the Bellefonte Art Museum
for Centre County. In order to be considered for a show, one must be registered in the Registry.
I am already working on two shows by members of the State College Photo Club and will be
seeking entries for a third show that focuses on black and white photos. If you’re in the Registry,
you’ll be invited. The show will be juried, and we have room for just 15.
As Shakespeare once said: Get thee to the Registry.”
https://www.bellefontemuseum.org/artists/sign_up
I hope you consider joining as the Bellefonte Museum does a great job promoting its artists and
events.
PID Interclub Round 3: The highest score for the latest batch of photos submitted was a 10, not
enough for a recognition award this time. Our final standings for the year in Group F is tenth place
out of eighteen clubs. Check out the email sent with the President’s Notes for the scores and standings.
Note that the Academy of Science and Art in PA is in 5th place. That’s the
Pittsburgh camera club, folks. We need to figure out how to beat them!
3rd Annual Youth Showcase Results: SIX of the fourteen photos we submitted to the PSA Youth
Showcase have been accepted into this international competition: four in the print category and
two in the projected category. A 42% acceptance rate is a very good result, as generally PSA
acceptances usually run between 28-34%.
Accepted Print Submissions:
Accepted Projected (Digital) Submissions:
Note that this is the first time our club’s Youth Showcase submissions have produced a First-Place winner. So special congratulations to Alexandra Antoniono for her first-place submission Julia #8! This winning photo and a brief bio and photo of Alexandra will appear in the September print edition of the PSA Journal. It will also be prominently displayed at the PSA Photo Festival in Williamsburg in September (see above).
We will again display all fourteen State College Youth Showcase winners in October at the Kish
Expect More Store sponsored by the Art Alliance.
Congratulations also to Frederick Kissinger for his Honorable Mention. That is quite an
achievement as well. And finally, congratulations and thanks to Danielle Crowe of the State
College Area School District for encouraging State College high school students to enter the
Youth Showcase.
That’s all the news for now. Be well and get out there and use your camera!!
We look forward to your presence at our next meeting on Monday June 19!
Carolyn Todd-Larson
President