Southeastern Photographic Society

Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking learnshop with Cole Thompson as he makes the compelling case that black and white is the perfect medium for any subject...except for one. In this one-hour presentation, Cole will share powerful images from his renowned portfolios, including:

• The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau
• Harbinger
• Ceiling Lamps
• Moai, Sitting for Portrait
• The Lone Man
• Powerlines
• And many others

Interspersed with the images, Cole will share his hard-earned photographic philosophies, such as:

• Never listen to others
• Photographic Celibacy
• Cole’s Rule of Thirds
• Equipment is overrated
• Vision is the most important tool in my toolbox
• And many more

Cole loves talking about black and white photography… but there’s one thing he loves talking about even more. You’ll have to attend to find out what it is!

About Cole Thompson:
“I’ve never taken a photography class, don’t have an art degree, and never worked as a photographer. My only qualification is my images — nothing else matters.”

Cole Thompson is an acclaimed American fine art photographer based in Colorado, best known for his striking, minimalist black and white long-exposure images. His work focuses heavily on expressing a deeply personal artistic vision rather than purely documenting reality.

While we’d all love to get our images perfect “in camera,” there are many reasons why cropping them after the fact is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to make them better. Fortunately, cropping requires no specialized post-processing expertise and is something anyone can easily do. This Learnshop will explore when and how you should crop your images and whether you should use standard aspect ratios. We’ll also offer specific tips for using crops to enhance your images. Regardless of your level of photographic expertise, join Jeff Milsteen for a fun and informative and look at the Art of the Crop!

Jeff is a long-time member, past president and five-time Photographer of the Year of the Southeastern Photographic Society. He is also a frequent speaker and judge for photography groups in the greater Atlanta metro area. His work can be seen on his website at milsteen.smugmug.com.

Please note:

The September Learnshop will be IN PERSON at our usual meeting place.

***
SPS has three standing meetings each month for its members and guests. The First Friday meeting features an outside speaker and a members’ image competition. While competition entries at these monthly meetings are restricted to currently paid-up members, we ALWAYS welcome visitors interested in photography to attend. The Learnshops (fourth Tuesdays) and Coffee & Critique (second Saturdays) are intended for members, but again, we welcome visitors. If you attend regularly, we ask that you help support the club (which pays for the rental of the facilities, supplies, and equipment) by becoming a member!

Signing up on the SPS Meetup page does not make you an SPS member. SPS members pay dues to engage in many activities that are unavailable to guests who only sign up on the SPS MeetUp.

Back by popular demand and now an annual tradition — here’s your chance to share your work with fellow SPS members! Drawing inspiration from Brooks Jensen’s insightful project-based concept, “Seeing in Sixes,” we are asking members to stretch their creative wings and share a “project” of six images with fellow members. No competition, no critique, no judgment — just an opportunity to share a personal “project.”

What is a “project?” For our purposes, we are looking for a series of exactly six images portraying a common theme, exploring a place or person, telling a story . . . there is really no limit to what you can include in your personal project so long as something ties the six images together. It can be something you’ve recently shot or something you’ve been playing with for years. The only criteria (aside from good taste!) is that the images have something in common that makes them suitable for viewing in a collection. (Still confused? Go and watch last year's program here:
https://youtu.be/CqiqoIpv6y8.

Size your six individual images according to SPS guidelines and submit them, with a project title (I just need a title for the project, not for each individual image), to milsteenphoto@comcast.net by no later than Tuesday, October 20th at 9:00 p.m. (Note - we are looking for six separate images, not one image that combines six photos, and they can be any combination of formats -- verticals, horizontals, squares, whatever.) Projects are generally shown in the order received, so get your images in early! We’ll ask each photographer to say a few words about their project, either before or after their images are shown.

Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or a newbie, we hope you’ll share a project. And, even if you don’t have a project to share, please join us on-line for what promises to be a fun night of inspirational photography!

Please note:

October’s Learnshop will be ONLINE. The link will be sent only to those who RSVP to this announcement. Only SPS Members may submit a Seeing in Sixes project.

******************************************************************************

SPS has three standing meetings each month for its members and guests. The First Friday Program and Competition features an outside speaker and a members' image competition. While competition entries at these monthly meetings are restricted to currently paid-up members, we ALWAYS welcome visitors interested in photography to attend. The Learnshops (fourth Tuesdays) and Coffee & Critique (second Saturdays) are intended for members, but again, we welcome visitors. If you attend regularly, we ask that you help support the club (which pays for the rental of the facilities, supplies, and equipment) by becoming a member!

Signing up on the SPS Meetup page does not make you an SPS member. SPS members pay dues to engage in many activities that are unavailable to guests who only sign up on the SPS MeetUp.

To pay your SPS dues or join SPS, visit: