Georgia Nature Photographers Association (GNPA) Meetup Group

4.8

314 ratings

Duluth, GA, US

1,132 members · Public group

Organized by PresidentGNPA and 17 others

What we’re about

Georgia Nature Photographers Association is dedicated to helping nature photographers of all skill levels improve their photography, learn and grow, network with outdoor photographers and participate in exciting trips and events. Through our work, we share our appreciation for the natural world and spotlight the value of nature as a photography special interest.
Our goal is to become the Southeast’s premier nature photography club, and we welcome your help guiding and molding GNPA into the amazing future ahead.

Upcoming events (4+)

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Mon, Sep 15, 2025, 6:00 PM EDTMilky Way Photography - Planning, Execution, and Processing
Embry Hills DeKalb library, Chamblee, GA
PLEASE NOTE WE WILL MEET THE 3RD MONDAY FOR SEPTEMBER

GNPA DeKalb Chapter Meeting
Monday September 15, 2025 6:00 - 7:45pm
Embry Hills Public Library

Milky Way Photography

Cindi Kisiel-Smith will talk about the equipment, planning, field work, and processing for taking Milky Way composite photos - including when to use compositing versus single shot images.

Time permitting, we will also do member photo sharing so if you have an image you would like to share, please bring it with you in any format - print, flashdrive or email.
10 attendees+5
Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 7:30 PM EDTAlpharetta Chapter Meeting: Your Image to Zealous to frame to exhibit
Alpharetta Arts Center, Alpharetta, GA
Speaker: Janet Newton

Description:
Choosing the perfect photo for a competition can be tough—and figuring out how to print, mat, and frame it can feel even harder! Join us as Janet takes you through the entire process of preparing your photo for a GNPA exhibit. From selecting your image to submitting it for competition and exhibition, she’ll share practical tips to help your work shine on display.

We plan to showcase your photos on TV in the meeting room prior to the speaker presentation. Before the meeting please upload upto two nature photos that you have taken on the following link.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WUde2KEYdgsv3DNsNyG7fw2Ic4mmDtH-?usp=share_link

Speaker Bio:
Janet is an active member of 12 years of GNPA-Georgia Nature Photographers, GNPA Coordinator for the 2024 EXPOin Jekyll Island and 2025 Expo in Hardeeville, SC.,NG3c-North Georgia Camera Club Council & NANPA-North American Nature Photography Assoc. She has been taking pictures since she was twelve when she started with a film camera and learned to develop in a darkroom. Her artistic background extends back to high school art class and 4 years on the yearbook staff as designer and photographer. She spent early times as a boy’s undefeated baseball coach and for years a "scout" on a wagon train with over two hundred horses and riders.She worked as a Banquet Sales Manager before spending 20 years as a Human Resources Manager. After retiring, she joined the Sweetwater Camera Club in 2012 and went on to earn Photographer of the Year honors in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2024.She now spends her energy taking pictures at her community events, the local museum, garden club, monthly magazine, and newspaper. For two and a half years she wrote for the Community page in the paper about photography with pictures. Janet received the Local Newspaper "Reader's Choice Award" for Photography consecutively from 2018 to 2021, and Janet was awarded again in 2025.Janet's photography has appeared in local, regional, and international publications.
She has taken part in various exhibits, including Fence Galleries, Arts Clayton, and Georgia for the Arts at the Atlanta Capital, GNPA’s exhibits such as the Fernbank Science Center, Road to Callaway, Stand in Ansel Adams Footsteps, Smokey’s Weekend, Chattahoochee Nature Center, Double Vision, and Alpharetta Chapter exhibits. Janet also received a Second Place in the Georgia Press Association for a Photo Essay and images on the Partial Lunar Eclipse.

Janet is an enthusiastic gardener who has cultivated acres of perennials around her home over the years. She often photographs flowers, butterflies, insects, and birds in her backyard; "Janaway Gardens".The National Wildlife Federation has certified her yard as an official wildlife habitat.

ArtPop Street Gallery selected Janet to have her image displayed on a vinyl billboard for one year. In addition, she was on eighty digital billboards in twenty-one counties including the Atlanta Regional Airport. She was proud to be a nominee for the 2021 Governor's Award for the Arts & Humanities. Janet served as the Photography Chair for the Atlanta Botanical Garden's Metamorphosis exhibit, which featured over 250 images. During our state's 2022 Arbor Day, she aided with her photography skills of the planting five American Chestnut trees as part of a restoration effort.

Presently, Janet’s image titled "Sunset at Hunter Park” is featured on a billboard along I-20W at the entrance to Douglas County, GA, in recognition of the Douglas County Parks & Recreation Center’s Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management, presented by the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA).

This is a free event, non-GNPA members are welcome to attend.
13 attendees+8
Thu, Sep 18, 2025, 7:00 PM EDTSmyrna Chapter September Meeting
Needs location
Roger Easley's presentation will be on Composition Essentials.

· Composition: the never-ending challenge for every photographer
· How a viewer’s eye travels through an image
· Better Backgrounds – do’s and don’ts
· The Rule of Thirds and when to break it
As a teenager in a small Missouri town, Roger Easley started taking photos as something to do. He loved photography’s power to preserve moments in time and took hundreds of rolls of film of his son and daughter as they grew up in the Atlanta area. But his first digital camera really ignited his passion for photography in 2011. Since then, he has taken photos nearly every day and has shared them online for years. He leads a Decatur photography group and loves teaching. Roger belongs to the Georgia Nature Photographers Association and is an officer of the Southeastern Photographic Society.
5 attendees
Sat, Sep 27, 2025, 7:45 AM EDTAlpharetta Chapter Field Trip: Fausett Farms Sunflowers
Needs location
Join Thomas Yackley at Fausett Farms Sunflowers on September 27 at 7:45AM. Bring $8 cash for admittance. The farm is projected to open on Saturday, September 20, so the sunflowers should be looking good. https://www.fausettfarmssunflowers.com/ 11336 GA-136 W, Dawsonville, GA 30534 We will meet in the parking area. We should be the first ones there at 7:45. Depending on the mood we could head to Gibbs Garden www.gibbsgardens.com on the way home for more flower photography. Entrance fee for Gibbs Garden is $25 for adults and $18 for seniors.You must be a dues-paying member to attend GNPA Field trips.

Dress for the weather. Solid shoes or hiking boots are recommended. After a rain it can be pretty sloppy.

Equipment:
For wide shots to show the vastness of the fields, use a wide lens, in the vicinity of 15-35mm.
For macro shots with and without insects, consider a macro lens or lensbaby.
To compress distant shots, or for macro work, a long lens, 100-500, or 150-600mm will do the trick.
Consider extenders or diopters for a shorter focal distance. For any lens, polarizers to cut glare from foliage can be useful but if you need speed for insects, you may wish to do without.
Tripods may also be useful.
Never underestimate the power of a cell phone camera.

Additional shots to consider:
shots that show “relationships” between flowers, backs of sunflowers, new or partially open buds, shots with dewdrops (or freshly moistened), varying focal lengths, whatever the weather provides, gold against blue sky, or through fog, or with the “softbox” of an overcast sky, groups of flowers, a focus-stack with literally thousands of flowers in focus.

Feel free to ask for assistance!
6 attendees+1