FCCP Coffee & Photography Meetup at O'Keefe's Family Restaurant in Clearwater

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Welcome to our longest running series of events at the Florida Center for Creative Photography. Every Wednesday morning, for over 9 years, we've been providing free instruction on all phases of photography including image editing with programs such as Lightroom, Photoshop and Elements.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee among fellow photographers while you get your questions answered about photography techniques, equipment and computers. The program is run by Jeff and Lew Donald and they have over 70 years of combined photography experience. There literally is no photography related question that they can't answer.

Perhaps the most popular segment of the meetings is the 20 to 30 minutes of each week devoted to watching award winning documentaries on select photographers from the past 100 years. These include films on Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, W. Eugene Smith, Robert Cappa and many others. Watching these documentaries is not only entertaining, but educational as you see how the masters worked at their art and craft.

Another popular segment is our "Show & Tell" segment where members bring a few (10 to 25) recent images on a flash drive. Then we project them on our big screen with our state of the art digital projector.

You're welcome to narrate or just let the images show on the screen. If you want a few images critiqued, no problem, just say so. Jeff will be happy to offer words of encouragement and helpful suggestions to improve the photograph.

If you want to show a few photos, just add them in JPEG format to a USB Flash Drive (sometimes referred to as a Thumb Drive) and give them to Jeff at the start of the meeting.

This meeting is extremely popular with the regular members and many don't bother to RSVP. We regularly have 40 or more members in attendance. It's OK to come late and leave early if necessary, so don't worry about traffic or being late.

Everyone is also invited to lunch following each meeting. We visit several of most popular Clearwater restaurants on a rotating basis after each weekly meeting. This is a great way to meet other members, learn about FCCP and get involved in the photography community.

My Recommended Retailers

Where you buy your gear matters. You expect to get what you ordered and you want to pay a low price for it. The retailers I recommend below are the ones I trust for my own purchases.

B & H Photo and Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Great-Deals/ci/16478/N/4280521071?BI=4308&KW=&KBID=4736)

Adorama - The Photography People (http://www.adorama.com/?kbid=64386)

Bringing you the activities and this site is now a full time job (typically 60-80 hours per week). Thus, I depend on membership fees and on the commissions received from you using the links on this site to make any purchase. My family and I are grateful for your support! - Jeff