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  • 9 Jun 2024 9:09 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    We had a busy day yesterday! In case you missed it, here are the Cliff Notes. Grab a cup of coffee for this update:

    We started with a board meeting, followed by our annual members meeting. We shared all kinds of great food (well, don't miss it next time!)

    There was the President's report. Ian Raymond recapped the previous year, followed by the Treasurer's report. Dan Gingras gave us an update.

    We welcomed two new members, Steve Lewis, and John Fitzgerald.

    Next we voted in a new board member, Becky Field, as Maundy Mitchell finished a 3-year term.

    Claudia Rippee, Maundy Mitchell, and Alicia Bergeron shared more about our new name (NH Center for Photography) and branding. We're rolling that out now. Our new website should be ready at the end of the summer!

    Dan Derby talked about our fantastic zoom presentations, most of which are held during the winter, but they're all recorded for you to enjoy.

    Gary Tomkins gave us an update on our historic architecture project. We need more photos! Check in with him if you'd like to contribute. We'll be finishing up early fall, and have an exhibit in the late fall.

    Gary Samson introduced our next group project--The NH Artist Portrait Project. It starts now!

    We talked about our upcoming events - these will be posted online--including our first annual NHCP Photo Flea Market (July 20 at Kimball Jenkins)

    Ian Raymond will give a cyanotype demonstration at an exhibit at the Sandwich Historical Society on June 29. This is part of a large celebration and exhibit of photography.

    NH Center for Photography will also have a table at the League of NH Crafts Fair on August 11.

    We talked about our upcoming "Photo Slam," which is for all members to share in a quick-moving slideshow of their work, one after another. More on that soon.

    After the meeting, some of the members had a wonderful time photographing each other around the mansion and grounds.

    NH Center for Photography - annual members meeting 2024

  • 2 May 2024 7:12 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    Trees are among the most common objects we see, and Effie Malley hopes her photographs of trees will lead people to look at them differently. She has been photographing the trees at Odiorne Point State Park for two years. Her work has culminated in a solo exhibit of twenty-five color photographs, The Woods of Odiorne: Photographs by Effie Malley, at the Portsmouth Public Library, 175 Parrott Ave, Portsmouth, NH through June 1.

    Join us May 8 from 6:30-8:30 PM for an Artist's Reception. Light refreshments will be provided. 


    Malley says that the exhibit provides no sequential narrative; rather, she hopes the photos convey the experience of awe she felt being around these trees she came to know. As a climate activist, she has learned the important role trees play in reducing carbon. As a former and budding botanist, she continues to learn about the remarkable ways trees communicate and share resources with each other.


    Malley grew up in the suburbs of New York City, and frequented art museums. She took photographs through childhood and was photo editor of the high school newspaper. She studied photography at the University of New Hampshire with Richard D. Merritt. Later she worked at the UNH Photo Services Department and the UNH Art Museum. She currently lives in Portsmouth and makes digital photographs in color and black and white. She has been a member of the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists (soon to be renamed NH Center for Photography) for three years and is grateful for the opportunities—sharing work, printing, attending webinars—that NHSPA /NH Center for Photography offers.


    About her plans Malley says, “I’m not sure I can stop photographing trees. My work has alternated between somewhat abstract photographs and landscapes inspired by 19th century painters. I may continue the more abstract work, but in black and white. I also hope to explore some still lifes.” She will continue her documentary work about the impacts of climate change.


    What drives her work is the process: she refers to the intense concentration where she can lose track of time shooting and processing images. She is fascinated by the inherent contradiction of a photograph catching the ephemeral while being impermanent itself. She gravitates to digital photography. Although she loved her years spent in a darkroom and particularly misses the experience of the print rising in the developer—so real and yet so miraculous—the accessibility of digital allows her to concentrate on the image.


    You can see more of her photographs on Instagram @efMalley. 

    Effie Malley by Peter Thornton

    Information about the exhibit at Portsmouth Public Library and jpgs of the images at https://www.cityofportsmouth.com/library/galleries/woods-odiorne-photographs-effie-malley-2024

  • 3 Mar 2024 2:36 PM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    On January 28, 2024, we held a member meeting at the Exeter Town Hall and voted to change the name of our organization to New Hampshire Center for Photography. While this will take a little time to properly transition and rebrand, the Board of Directors had been discussing this name change since last May.

    The consensus at the May board meeting was that the current name no longer best describes the organization nor does it encapsulate a range of photography types. The current name also does not represent the outreach and educational aspects of the organization. Rebranding will welcome any photographers in addition to those who describe themselves as fine art photographers. 

    The board noted that the use of the word “Center” would be addressed in the rebranding in order that it be considered a virtual center for photographers to connect, rather than a reference to a physical space.

    The January member meeting began with discussion and questions about the name change. The membership ultimately decided to change the organization’s name.

    Since then, board Treasurer Dan Gingras has secured the name New Hampshire Center for Photography with the state of NH and purchased the domain name www.NHCFP.org

    Board members Maundy Mitchell and Claudia Rippee will head the committee for rebranding. We will be working with a professional web designer to create a website using our new domain name, and who will help with other aspects of rebranding (news articles, social media, etc.). The website featuring our new name, New Hampshire Center for Photography (NHCFP), and updated interface will be live by the fall. As we make the transition the current site will remain active and as we phase out the NHSPA domain, for the next 12 - 24 months we will retain that domain name and internet searches will be redirected to our new site. 

    We feel that this is an exciting time for our organization, and we look forward to becoming a more inclusive and welcoming group.

  • 25 Jan 2024 7:54 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    Ammara Khan has been a member of NHSPA for almost three years.

    Growing up, she wanted to become an artist. She said, “In those early years I was intrigued by the colors, shapes, forms, and textures around me."

    Ammara Khan

    Over time, she became more intrigued with black and white images and photographed less and less in color.

    ©Ammara Khan

    Now she is drawn to symmetry, light and shadows. “To me, shadows are the most mysterious element of a photograph. One can see what they want to see in the darkest part of an image. As a photographer, I write stories and shadows provide me the space to do so.”

    ©Ammara Khan

    Lately Ammara has been pursuing urban exploration and has been traveling to cover heritage architecture in her native country of Pakistan. Her goal is to help preserve some of it for future generations. She also sees it as a way to complete her own identity. She is planning an exhibition once the body of work is complete.

    ©Ammara Khan

    She sees photography as a therapy. “Over the years it has tamed and molded me to appreciate and wait for the right moment. The urge to press the shutter relentlessly is gone. Instead, I wait for the elements to fall into place. My Leica has been my savior and has brought me great joy by letting me see the vastness in a small view finder and that too with the distractions of colors."

    ©Ammara Khan

    "My goal is to reduce the clutter and focus on what really matters to me as an artist during my explorations.”

    ©Ammara Khan

    “I am thankful to be part of NHSPA as I have made friends for life and have learned and continue to get inspired by the wonderful work presented by the artists here.”

  • 2 Jan 2024 11:17 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    We're excited to announce the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists (NHSPA) 24th Annual Member Exhibit. The exhibit will be held January 6-28, 2024, at the Exeter Town Hall Gallery (Saturdays and Sundays 12-4 p.m.), with an opening reception on Saturday, January 6, from 12-4 p.m. It is free and open to the public. We hope you'll stop by!

    NHSPA 24th Annual Member Exhibit

  • 18 Nov 2023 8:10 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

     

    Let’s welcome Jim Napier, a new NHSPA member who lives in Plymouth, NH.  He joined because, “Nature abhors a vacuum and creativity abhors a bubble. I lived in the bubble of rural Northern New England most of my life, long enough to know social isolation is [a] threat to survival up here." 

    ©Jim_Napier_Self_Portrait

    He described himself as a “card-carrying social phobic.”  He is no fan of the vulnerability it takes to have one’s work critiqued by others. But, as he said, “through the wisdom of age, exposure, and Prozac, I came around to the popular belief that constructive criticism is an absolute necessity to improve my [work].”

    Jim said that over the past 30 years, he has found it difficult to find like-minded artistic communities. The groups he found were difficult to break into, especially when his “artistic vision is based on moody existentialism and not pretty pictures…”

    ©Jim_Napier_Bonaire_3

    He moved to Plymouth in 2019, and again began a search for a local arts scene. Then Covid struck. He felt a sense of deja vu, so he reached out to Maundy Mitchell, a portrait photographer who also lives in Plymouth, for advice.  “She suggested this group and I immediately joined.  

    “I've searched for a very long time for a sense of community and believe I found it.”

    ©Jim_Napier_Girl_and_Rabbit

    When asked what drives him, Jim said, “Time. I have wasted too much time. I was born with a love and talent for creating art.  I was also born with an intense curiosity of literally everything, especially a love of problem solving. Not that you can't be right and left brained with ADHD and be a successful artist, you can. It just makes it very difficult to stay on any one track. Especially when you have pressure to choose the safe track. 

    He was trained in painting, drawing, photography, poetry, and art history in his youth. He did well and was encouraged until “the time to think about picking a college and a profession. I became stuck on the track to Medicine.  Although fascinated with the problem-solving part of medicine, my secret driving force was learning anatomy drawing and photographing my dissection of cadavers.”

    ©Jim_Napier_Grammy_Roo

    In college, he stayed on the med school path but continued with independent study in art. But then he realized he had made a mistake. In medical school, he continued painting and printing negatives in the bathroom, but “medicine is all consuming and it was driving me crazy.”

    By 2010. He decided he had kept his true self hidden long enough, so he quit medicine and started making art.  “I did all sorts of odd jobs to survive and buy supplies. I lived on a farm, on a dirt road five miles from anything.  Except for my dog who served as my critic, subject, (and muse) I lacked an artistic or social network.”

    Time is of the essence now for Jim. He said, “I will be 56 next month...I understand that if I want to succeed with my goals, I must do it within the next decade.”

    ©Jim_Napier_Hal

    Jim’s favorite medium is film. He started in the darkroom between 2nd and 3rd grade and immediately felt at home. “I love the whole process of Black and white photography: mixing chemistry, developing, composing, printing- all the little choices which end as a final print.”  As film became prohibitively expensive and camera shops disappeared, I realized it was time to go to the ‘dark side.’”

    He switched to digital photography in 2006, which, he felt expanded his creative options, especially when it came to post-production. He enjoys the immediacy of digital work.

    The downside of digital work, he said, is a “complete dependency on the latest hardware, firmware, software, sensors, plus your computer system, in a word, you are tied to the speed of technology. And, if you fall behind of the latest tech, your images quickly start to look [bad].

    For these and other reasons, Jim is drifting back to film photography.  “These days I typically carry my Nikon D4s as well as my F4s.  I use a Mamiya RB67 as a studio camera.”  He sees film and digital as complements to one another. 

    ©Jim_Napier_Rivets

    Jim is always working on multiple projects at the same time. He is getting photography business going, which, among other things, takes "grit."

    He has an exhibit at Centerline Architects, 174 Battery St., Burlington, VT, with about a dozen pieces of framed work, as well as small, matted prints for sale.  The show runs through March.

    Several of his projects lean toward photojournalism. One documents how technology is affecting human interaction. One is about the divisive political climate, and another is a documentation of people performing their jobs with short interviews about their work.  

    He has also been working for years on how to create 3D photo constructions.  “I see using some type of emulsion on a transparent substrate creating a free-standing assemblage.” 

    As for what he’d like to learn next, Jim said, “There is so much to learn!  I want far more education in formal portrait photography and to master darkroom technique.  Really, to just be better at everything than I am now. I don't even know what I don't know!”

    You can see more about Jim Napier and his work on his website: https://www.studionapier.com/ 

  • 7 Nov 2023 8:57 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    We’re pleased to announce a new iteration of our exhibit called “Iconic New Hampshire.”  Originally displayed in full last summer at PSU, this exhibit is taking a new form this month at New England College in Manchester, NH. 

    “Iconic New Hampshire” offers a wide range of photographic subjects and interpretations on our theme for the exhibition—each contributing to the identity of the state of New Hampshire.

    Curated by former NH Artist Laureate Gary Samson, “Iconic New Hampshire” features about 40 works by members of the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artists. It will be on view from November 3 – November 24, 2023, at French Hall, 148 Concord St., Manchester, NH.

    Everyone is welcome to the opening reception on Thursday, November 9, from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. We hope you’ll join us!

    A photo of part of the original "Iconic New Hampshire" exhibit at PSU 2023

    A photo of part of the original exhibit of "Iconic New Hampshire" at PSU last summer


  • 14 Oct 2023 8:38 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    WHAT WE’RE DOING 

    In June 2022, NHSPA began new statewide photography project, New Hampshire Architecture: Buildings that have Survived 200 Years or Longer.  Members have been researching and photographing historic buildings that were built in 1823 or earlier in each New Hampshire town/city. 

    ©Gary Tompkins -

    The 1785 John Prescott Chase house in Epping, recently restored by the Southeast Land Trust (SELT). ©Gary Tompkins

    WE NEED YOU!

    Many thanks to the members who have, so far, contributed more than 220 photos to this project. The work we have received is beautiful and we can’t wait to share it in its entirety. 

    So far, 202 buildings have been photographed, or will be photographed by NHSPA members. Ninety-eight towns have had at least one building photographed, but there are about 150 towns where no historic buildings have yet been photographed for this project.  

    Our projected completion date is June 30, 2024 (extended date). We have a lot to do, but it’s not too late!  And winter light can be especially pretty!  Don’t worry, we won’t make you go out in a snowstorm – you can choose which buildings to photograph, when you want to.  See below for details about how you can start.

    Participation is the key to the success of this project. We need many members to cover all areas of the state.  

    HOW CAN YOU START?

    We have used the National Register of Historic Places to find the listed New Hampshire buildings that were built in 1823 and earlier, but not yet photographed for our project. This list contains over 500 eligible structures that we have not yet photographed.  Please visit the main page of our website https://nhspa.wildapricot.org/  and click on the tab "Historical Building Photography Project" for the list, guidelines, and signup sheet.

    The number of buildings in NH that are listed on the National Register is only a fraction of our existing historic structures. Many more historic buildings can be found through local historical societies, and individual research.

    If you’re a member (or would like to become one, please join us!) You can start photographing buildings that fit the criteria right away! These can be in your local area, or in other parts of the state.

    ©Gary Tompkins - The Fitts Museum Candia NH

    One of Candia's oldest houses. Built in the mid-18th century, it was transformed into the Federal style in 1820. It is now the town's history museum. ©Gary Tompkins

    WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DO YOU NEED?

    Members are primarily using digital cameras, but you can use any photographic process.  The camera, lens, and process are each members’ choice!   

    BOOK

    If we come close to our goal of photographing at least one building in each of the 234 towns in the state, the project will culminate in the publishing of a book. This project, unlike the NH NOW project, does not currently have grant money that would allow us to do a large print run, so we will be creating print-on-demand books that can be ordered online. 

    EXHIBIT        

    We are planning an exhibit for this project.  We’ll keep you updated when we have more information!

    If you have any questions, or need assistance please contact Gary Tompkins at garytompkinsphoto@gmail.com

  • 23 Sep 2023 7:40 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

     "Small Works" Exhibition & Sale 

    We are pleased to announce our upcoming exhibit called “Small Works.”  It will be held at the historic Belknap Mill, 25 Beacon St., Laconia, New Hampshire, October 5 - 30, 2023.  

    Everyone is welcome to stop by the opening reception on Thursday, October 5, from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

    ©Dan Derby - Prepping for Small Works Exhibit
    Many NHSPA Members submitted images to this open themed, family-friendly exhibition.  Each framed piece is no larger than 11x14.  The works will be displaye
    d salon-style and will be for available sale for $50.00 each.©Ian Raymond - Belknap Mill and Rotary Park Laconia NH

    While you’re visiting the “Small Works” exhibit, you can have a look around the Belknap Mill, the oldest, unaltered textile mill in the U.S.  Then enjoy the foliage with a stroll around Rotary Park, along the Winnipesaukee River. 

    We hope you’ll stop by!

  • 3 Sep 2023 10:56 AM | Maundy Mitchell (Administrator)

    Michael Sterling has been a member of the New Hampshire Society of Photographic Artist since 2013. He first picked up a camera when he was in high school and was motivated to continue after winning an honorable mention in a national Kodak high school photography contest. After retiring and moving to the NH Seacoast about 15 years ago, he transitioned from film to digital photography and became more serious about it


    Michael says, “I want to create images that draw the viewer in for a closer look. I work on projects to keep creatively engaged. I was privileged to be a co-editor of the NH Now book along with Gary Samson and Dan Gingras. [I gained] new perspectives on evaluating imagery.”


    While Michael enjoys today’s digital cameras and post-processing, he says, “I do not chase technology. [I’m] comfortable with what I use now. I spent many years in a home black and white chemical darkroom."  He feels that digital processing is easier for him because of his darkroom experience. "It was a great way to learn. [Working in] black and white forced me to look at an image’s line, form, lighting, and composition, without being distracted by color. In fact, today I often change my camera’s viewfinder to [monochrome] as I compose a shot.” 


    Michael is always working on several projects at a time. Ongoing subjects include architecture and environmental portraiture. Lately, he has been busy with photography assignments for Portsmouth NH 400 events. But he enjoys street photography. “I try to have my camera with me ‘just in case’". He is also currently working on a portraiture project and has plans to start a new landscape project in the fall. In editing the NH Now book, he saw images of parts of the state that were new to him and which he plans to explore for his new project.


     

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