Meeting

The next meeting is March 18th 6:30 social and 7:00 meeting start. There is a new location. It will be at Goins Auditorium at Pellissippi State Technical Community College.

Our presenter this month is Steve Gettle.  Skip Moody, who had been scheduled to speak, had to cancel this week due to medical problems.  He recommended Steve as his replacement.  Steve will be presenting “A Wilderness Year”, which is a journey through the four seasons with hundreds of pictures set to music.  After looking at his website I think we are in for an excellent program.  If you get a chance before Tuesday, check out his website at www.stevegettle.com.

BIO

Steve Gettle’s images communicate his love for the wildlife and wild places of our world.  For over twenty-five years, Steve has spent countless hours creating over 250,000 photographs of the beauty around us.  From this body of work, he has selected his finest images to offer for as limited edition fine art prints.

In addition to his work being showcased at many of the finest juried fine art festivals throughout America, his work has also been exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world, including the Museum of Natural History in London, as well as The American Museum of Natural History in New York.  Steve’s work has been featured in many books, magazines, calendars, and other publications by, The National Geographic Society, Canadian Geographic, Audubon, Sierra Club, The BBC, The World Wildlife Fund, The National Wildlife Federation, Birder’s World, Nature’s Best, Wild Bird, Natural History, and many others.

Steve has been honored to receive many awards for his photography.  Some of the highlights include being chosen Great Lakes Wildlife Photographer of the Year as well as being a multiple award winner in the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, as well as the Nature’s Best photography contest.  Steve was also honored to receive the People’s Choice award his first year at the Michigan Wildlife Art Festival.  We are told that no other first time exhibitor has ever received one of these awards.

Steve’s photography has taken him throughout North America from the woods of northern Canada to the salt mashes of southern Florida, from the coast of Maine to the high plateau of the desert southwest; although he travels extensively he finds much of his inspiration in the natural areas surrounding his home, Steve currently resides in Brighton, Michigan with his wife, Jill, and two sons, Jacob and Christopher.
 
IMPORTANT CHANGE:MARCH & APRIL 2008 MEETINGS
The March and April monthly meetings will NOT be held on the last Tuesday of the month due to scheduling conflicts at Pellissippi State TCC.  Both months we will be meeting on the Tuesday prior to the last Tuesday of the month.

Click here for directions and general meeting information.

Yellow Lady Slipper
Copyright Ron McConathy

Fieldtrips/Workshops

Workshops and field trips are a great way for SANP members to share their photographic knowledge with others. If you have a location in mind and wish to share it with others as a group or would like to share your photographic secrets with with a workshop contact Brad Cotrell. Anyone can suggest or lead a workshop or field trip.

Spruce Flats Falls
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Saturday, May 3, 2008

Leader:  Brad Cottrell  Phone:  (865) 691-398 6  
E-mail:  cottrelb@bellsouth.net

Meeting place:  Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont
Time:  9:00 am   Group size is not limited.  No reservations required. 

Location description:
Spruce Flats Falls is a beautiful cascade about 60 feet high spreading to about 60 feet wide at the base.  Spring foliage should enhance the opportunities for artistic compositions.  Previews of the falls can be seen on the websites below.

http://www.naturephotocentral.com/waterfa.html

http://www.rodsguide.com/spruce_flats.aspx

http://www.dlia.org/dlia/calendars/images/spruce_flats_falls_CW640.htm

http://www.danheimsoth.com/sprf.htm

http://www.ambvideo.com/nature.htm

Learning opportunities:
Achieving good white water exposure

• Using a polarizing filter to reduce reflections from water and foliage


• Using slow shutter speeds to create the silky look in moving water

Recommended equipment:
Wide angle and normal focal length lenses for broad landscape shots.  Telephoto lenses to isolate artistic portions of the cascades.  A tripod will be essential to achieve the silky look in moving water.

Walking required:
This is a fairly easy hike of about 2 miles round trip.

Driving directions:
Drive to Townsend and continue into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  At the “Y”, turn right toward Cades Cove.  Go 0.2 mile and turn left onto the Tremont Road.  Go two miles on the paved road to the Great Smoky Mountains Institute.  Turn left across the bridge into the Institute parking area.