Chairman of the Board
Doug Peninger dpeninger@SEPPAonline.com
President
George Singleton gsingleton@SEPPAonline.com
1st Vice-President
Kevin Jiminez kjiminez@SEPPAonline.com
2nd Vice-President
Mary Fisk-Taylor mfisktaylor@SEPPAonline.com
Secretary-Treasurer
District of Columbia
Florida
Janet Boschker jboschker@SEPPAonline.com
Salon Exhibition Chair Executive Director
Delaware
Jessica Vogel jvogel@SEPPAonline.com
Georgia
*** Paula Mignagna
***Anthony Maril Joe Tessmer
*** Jackson Koontz Kaye Newsome
*** Spencer Smith Jason White
Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com
S out he r n E x p o su re
Souther n Exposure magazine is an online publication of SEPPA and is published monthly. Editor V ictoria Kelly vkelly@SEPPAonline.com 919.818.0726 Ad Sales & Business Manager Rick Gibbons ExecutiveDirector@SEPPAonline.com 866.982.4856
Maryland
*** Lidia Miller Steve Clark
Mississippi/Alabama
*** Wesley Ellis Gil Brady
North Carolina
*** Ellis Williamson Rose Mary Cheek
South Carolina
*** Patty Hallman Gregg Martin
Article & Ad Submissions 5th of every month OnLine Publication 20th of each month SEPPA 3710 North Main Street High Point, NC 27265 866.982.4856 Acceptan ce o f a d v e r t i si n g d oe s n ot c a r r y wi th i t en dor se m e n t b y t h e p ub l i sh e r. Opi n i o ns expre sse d b y Sout h e r n Exp osure o r an y o f i ts aut h or s d oe s n ot n e c e ssa r i l y refl ect t h e p osi t i on s of t h e Sou theaster n Pro fessi on a l P h ot og r a p h e r s A ssoc ia t io n . Asso ci ati on f i n a n c i a l i n f or m a t i on avai la b l e up on re q ue st .
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
*** Jeannie Forehand Barbara White
*** Jim Carpenter Robert Holman
*** Pat Dodd Brentv Kepner
*** state president SEPPA representative
Delaware
Mississippi/Alabama
District of Columbia
North Carolina
www.ppsgw.org
www.ppofnc.com
Florida
South Carolina
www.fpponline.org
www.ppofsc.com
Georgia
Tennessee
www.gppa.com
www.tnppa.com
Maryland
Virginia
www.delawarephotographers.com
www.marylandppa.com
SEPPA is a regional affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America and hosts an annual District Image Judging. To learn more about PPA, click HERE.
www.ppma.net
www.vppa.org
West Virginia www.ppwv.org
Are you ready for your FLASH2015 experience?
Speaker information and program descriptions will be online at the SEPPAonline website December 1, 2014.
BEFORE I WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER... MISSY MWAC
I would sit at weddings watching the photographer work and think, “That doesn’t look that hard.” I would frown upon bribing a child to cooperate. I believed taking good pictures was all it took to get your phone to ring. I thought the Rule of Thirds was dinner etiquette when asking for additional helpings. I thought bridal fairs were fun. I never had the need for a chiropractor. I thought Cyan was the country in “The King and I”. My right bicep was smaller.
I never noticed details. I considered style more important than comfort in clothing. I didn’t take pictures of my meal before I ate it. I never cared how late Applebee’s stayed open on a Saturday night. I thought it was funny when two photographers were shooting in the same spot. I thought Ansel Adams was Gretel’s brother in the fairy tail about the witch and the candy house. I thought f/16 was a fighter plane. I only had a vague idea of the time the sun set. I didn’t care if my clothing had pockets. Before I was a photographer…I never knew a job taking pictures could be so challenging, so rewarding, so demanding and so fulfilling. I never knew I could love an industry and the people in it this much. xoxo
For more of Missy’s out-of-this-world view of (p)rofessional (p)hotography, visit her website at www.missymwac.com
it’s Not Always About Winning... Christine Walsh-Newton, M. Photog., Cr., CPP We're gonna break my number one rule here and use the word “passion.� It's pretty much a given fact that I'm passionate about print competition. I enter it, work in print rooms, teach classes in it and just have an all-around addiction going. I firmly believe that it's one of the most intensive and beneficial learning processes available. I have colleagues, associates, friends and fellow organization members who are as passionate as I. We seem to be drawn to each other, like a zombie invasion. In a way, we're the geeks of our organizations. And we're very happy to have others participate in the geekness. Image competition is fun. When you get past the stress and uncertainty and you're sitting in the audience waiting for your image to spin, the excitement is palpable. I've sat in the darkness and felt both joy and disappointment in my scores, but the overall experience was always positive. And I love it when competition is positive for others. Especially when their hard work is rewarded with merit level scores, certificates and trophies. The road getting to that
point can be difficult and it can take a number of years before the first merit is earned. By the time you've hit that level, you've gone through a number of trials by fire and learned many lessons the hard way. And then you win. And you begin to collect an array of certificates, plaques and trophies. And sometimes things go a little bit haywire. Sometimes we grow to expect that we will be winners. And when we aren't, we have that disappointment to deal with. And sometimes we don't deal with it very well. At all.
And I do not love the word “robbed.” As a print competition education advocate, teaching the ins and outs of how to enter competition and prepare your entries is the easy part. Teaching competitors how to handle the emotional part of competition... not so much. Both the highs and the lows need handled with a bit more professionalism in some cases. I don't know what the answer is, but the problem weighs heavy on my heart.
Sometimes we blame it on ourselves. Sometimes we blame it on the judges. Sometimes we blame it on the competition process. And sometimes, well, sometimes the person who had nothing to do with our entry at all gets blamed. The “winner”. I love excelling, however, the whole “competition” part of competition can be a little awkward. I love rewarding outstanding images as well as talented makers. I love applauding for photographers of the year and others with notable results. I love scores and appreciate the scoring categories that the PPA uses that help me determine the level at which I'm competing. But, I do not love seeing the quest for trophies eclipse the quest for improvement. I do not love seeing rivalries become a bit more personal when the final case scores are tabulated.
Christine is a portrait photographer and owner of Gallery C in Dover, Ohio. She is a co-author of “The Daily Book of Photography” and authors “Wootness: The Big Girl and Guy’s Guide to Starting a Photography Business.”
SEPPAonline
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(sneak peek!)
Your FLASH2015 experience starts when you check into the host hotel, the beautiful Sheraton Charlotte located at 555 S McDowell Street. The hotel is conveniently located just off the interstate with ample parking. Are you ready to book? Click HERE to start your reservation process. The standard room rate is $139 including complimentary WiFi in each sleeping room. Need to call? Use 704.372.4100 for a direct dial.
Pre-Convention Programming: * Friday, May 1, 2015: Meggan Harper (newborns, hands-on) Ann Monteith (business) Craig Lamere (boudoir/fashion)
9:00 - 4:00 9:00 - 4:00 9:00 - 4:00
Regular Programming: Saturday, May 2 Cye Gray and Scott Garlock (shooting safari) Ann Monteith (business, continued) Jamie Hayes (print competition) Chris Wunder (church directories) Craig Lamere (boudoir/fashion) Michael Dill (sports)
9:00 - 4:00 9:00 - 4:00 9:00 - 4:00 9:00 - 12:00 11:00 - 2:00 3:00 - 6:00
Sunday, May 3 Meggan Harper (newborns) Cye Gray and Scott Garlock (landscapes) Chris and Deana Duncan (commercial) Bruce Berg (seniors) Parish Kohanim (fine art)
8:00 -11:00 9:30 - 11:00 4:00 - 7:00 4:30 - 7:00 6:00 - 8:30
Monday, May 4 Audrey Wanket Mark and Jennifer Garber (weddings) Ann Monteith (business) Carl Caylor Thom Rouse
7:30 - 10:00 7:30 - 10:00 8:00 - 11:00 2:00 - 5:00 2:00 - 5:00
Tuesday, May 5 Joel Grimes * schedule subject to change without notice
9:00 - 12:00
The Registration Desk will be open from 7am to 5pm Saturday, Sunday, Monday for badge pickup and questions.
Pricing; Pre-Convention Programming: SEPPA members pre-registered on-site
$ 49 $ 69
Non-members
$ 99 $129
pre-registered on-site
Regular Convention Registration SEPPA members pre-registered on-site
$ 0 $ 50
Non-members
$189 $325
pre-registered on-site
Registration for FLASH2015 will be OPEN on December 1, 2014 via the SEPPAonline website: www.SEPPAonline.com VIP seating for regular programming events available for the first twenty-five (25) registered!
Do you need a little social time? FLASH2015 is THE place to be...can you say “flash mob”? Dance away until the wee hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday! FLASH! party Saturday evening from 7:00 pm until. Opening party Sunday evening from 8:30 pm until. Closing party Monday evening from 8:00 pm until.
You spoke...we listened! What’s your FLASH2015 experience without a trade show? Vendors are requested to contact Rick Gibbons, Executive Director, for Trade Show information and floor plan. FLASH2015 Trade Show will be open Sunday and Monday.
District Judging: The district judging for SEPPA will be held on Saturday. Got the blues over your scores? Visit Club 79 (hosted by Virginia’s Jamie Hayes) for the lowdown on print competition and scoring.
World Cup 2014 images will be on display throughout your FLASH2015 experience. Grab your friends and wander through the images.
Make your plans NOW for FLASH2015 in Charlotte, NC May 1-5 (You KNOW you don’t want to miss this one.)