April Announcement

In lieu of their April meeting, members of the West Central GA Shutterbugs will travel to Macon on Saturday, April 16th to attend a free seminar hosted by the Middle Georgia Camera Club, www.mgcc.ws. The seminar will be held at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 565 Wimbish Road, in Macon. Adam Jones, an internationally recognized photographer, who is also one of Canon's prestigious Explorers of Light photographers, is scheduled to teach from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The seminar is open to everyone interested in photography, no matter the level of skill or the kind of camera used. To view examples of Adam's images, visit his website; http://www.adamjonesphoto.com/. Shutterbugs will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, May 10th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Thomaston-Upson Arts Council (TUAC) Gallery and Gift Shop. As always, visitors will be warmly welcomed. To find out more about the Shutterbugs, visit their blog: http://www.wcgshutterbugs.blogspot.com/.

Congratulations Ellen Tew!

Note: The following article, written by Matt Sharpe, was published in the March 9, 2011, issue of The Upson Beacon on page 11A

Ellen Tew Receives Honorary Membership to Kiwanis

The Kiwanis Club of Thomaston recently added another member to their club, as Ellen Tew was chosen to receive an honorary membership to Kiwanis. Tew is an active member at the Pleasant Valley Church/Be in Health, West Central Georgia Shutterbugs, member and photographer for the Thomaston-Upson Arts Council, the official photographer and photographic historian for the Thomaston-Upson Archives and Upson Historical Society, and the official photographer for the SlowExposures photography exhibition in Concord, GA. Ellen Tew is also the lead photographer for The Upson Beacon. Ellen is originally from Connecticut and has lived in Thomaston for the past 11 years.

Shutterbugs March Meeting Announcement

The West Central Georgia Shutterbugs will hold their March meeting on Tuesday, March 8 at the Thomaston-Upson Arts Ccouncil on the square in Thomaston, Georgia at 6:30 p.m. David Akoubian is coming to present our program. David has been photographing for over 30 years and has compiled a large library of images. He does all types of photography and photographic services, but he specializes in nature. David has a special love of the outdoors and spends a large amount of his time doing outdoor activities. He has been a Georgia resident for over 40 years but travels whenever possible, photographing wherever he visits.David has been working as a nature photographer for many years and has taught workshops with several different companies including the Great American Photography Weekends and the Showcase School. David teaches classes and leads workshops primarily in the southeastern United States. For more information about David please visit his website: http://www.bearwoodsphotography.com/.

GNPA Annual Expo - January 28-30 at Callaway Gardens

Several Shutterbugs attended the second annual Expo hosted by the Georgia Nature Photographers Association (GNPA) at Callaway Gardens on January 29-30, 2011. Featured speakers were David Middleton and Jim Clark, both highly skilled nature photographers who are nationally known. Once again, Shutterbugs claimed a good share of awards during the photo competition, which was judged by the two speakers. Out of the 30 or so awards presented, five went to Shutterbugs! (That's significant, given the caliber of the judges and the images in the competition.) The Viewer's Choice award went to Anna Mary Ellerbee. Best in Show went to John Quinn, who plans to join Shutterbugs, so we are already claiming him! He also earned an Honorable Mention, as did Jimmy Day, Anna Mary Ellerbee and Johnnie Ann Gaskill.

Approximately 100 photographers registered for the Expo, among them our own Allen and Anna Mary Ellerbee, Jimmy Day, Marcia Fisher, Johnnie Ann Gaskill, Dianne Kelly, Alicia Pastiran and John Quinn. They enjoyed the food, fun, photo shoots, over $1,000.00 in prizes, members' slide show, vendors, free camera inspection and discount cleaning, as well as the photo competition and keynote speakers. In summary: A wonderful time was had by all. Hopefully, even more Shutterbugs will plan to attend the Expo next year.

John Quinn received Best of Show with Dragonfly and Lily. He also received an Honorable Mention in the Macro Category for Lily in Bloom. Anna Mary Ellerbee received Viewer’s Choice for The Gift and an Honorable Mention for Purple Haze. Jimmy Day had an Honorable Mention in the Wildlife Category for Love Bugs. Johnnie Ann Gaskill’s Marred Landscape received an Honorable Mention in the Landscape Category.

Congratulations

Two Shutterbugs, Malgorzata Florkowska and Bonny Shockley, were juried into Arts Clayton – Juried Photography Show and Competition, September 28 – October 29. Arts Clayton is located at 136 S. Main Street, Jonesboro, GA 30236, www.artsclayton.org/gallery. Admission is free; open T-F 9-5pm, Sat 10-4pm. Congratulations!