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Efcubed Photography bio picture

Welcome to the Efcubed Photography Blog!

Roger A. Dallman Jr.    Roger started in photography in 1979, as a secondary job in the Army.  He shot "grip and grins" and Army events.  He began shooting portraits and weddings on the side for extra camera gear money.  He won several photo contests and an Army journalism award.  After career assignment changes, he put the cameras aside and sold his darkroom equipment. In 2006, he bought his first digital camera before a trip to Europe and was hooked again. 

Today he is a dedicated Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop user-advocate and NAPP member.  He is active in photography groups and teaches digital darkroom techniques.  He prefers to shoot portaits away from seamless paper and static lighting.  He is also a photo retoucher and restores old photos - a handy skill when working on his genealogy hobby.

Mark B. Segal.    Mark started shooting when he was 13 and has done it off and on since then.  As a Navy brat and then Naval Officer, I got to go to interesting places.  I wish I had taken my camera more often.  I love the way the camera allows you to dissect the world and shape what people see of it.  Photoshop and Lightroom are great tools to help capture what you thought you saw from behind the lens. 

I love helping people salvage and restore their photographic memories as links to their past.  The patience and dedication needed are usually far beyond what the images are worth, except to the person who owns the picture.  Seeing the smile or tears from when you've brought back an image from the cracked, torn and faded pile is a reward in and of itself. 

Go Join a Photography Group

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 7:00am Posted in Miscellaneous

You should consider joining a local photography club; it is a good way to learn more about photography and meet like-minded folks.  There is probably one in your town looking for new members.

Our photo club, Viewfinders, (http://www.pbase.com/viewfinders) is probably pretty typical.  We have about 25 members and meet in the Warrenton hospital a couple of times a month, on the second and fourth Thursdays.  We try to have topics of interest/classes each meeting, and we have guest lecturers and camera store owners visit several times a year for special meetings.  We try to divide the topics into beginner and advanced, alternating between our twice monthly meetings.  Many beginners can get overwhelmed by complex techniques, so you need to offer regular basic information.  Experienced photographers will get bored quickly with only basic topics, so we have to address their interests too.  In addition, several of the more experienced photographers teach the basic classes, keeping them engaged.  We also schedule several field trips a year to keep things rolling.  Our last meeting was held at a member’s house to photograph flowers in her very large garden.

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We post pictures to share and critique.  Critique is an important part of photography that people tend to shy away from, but should embrace.  We’ll discuss this in a future post, but, as long as everyone goes into a critique session without worrying about personal attacks, this is a great way to learn about what others think of your work and how it can be improved.

In addition, our club has a monthly photo assignment/theme.  This is a good way to encourage beginning photographers to shoot many different kinds of topics, promoting creativity and the use of different skills.   We pre-schedule our themes for the entire year, so people can think about what they may want to shoot in advance.

So, go out and find your local camera club and join it.  You will enjoy the experience and learn more about photography.

All of these are from photowalks.  For larger versions, go to Roger’s Gallery (link on menu bar).

Harper's Ferry, WV    Warrenton, VA    _D303367-Edit