Member Bios
Bruce Benson
Name: Bruce Benson
<br />Location: Tacoma, Washington
<br />Age: 72
<br />Occupation: Retired, 32 years elementary PE teacher Tacoma School District;
<br />Owner/Director "Benson Soccer USA" international soccer tours and soccer camps. We took over 1000 young soccer players around the world to participate in tournaments and training camps. Countries visited, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, England, Russia, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil.
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<br />My interest in photography began around 2004 photographing my grandkids' soccer games and making posters for them. IN 2005 a visit to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge sparked my interest in wildlife and long lenses. My first entry into a PSA competion ,the NW International Exhibition of Photography resulted in a gold medal Best of Show image and I was hooked. I started studying Photoshop and used the internet to find the best locations for wildlife. My sports photography was providing some income selling posters to soccer players allowing me to purchase a 100-400 lens and a Canon 20D camera. Selling my beloved Mazda Miata sports car
<br />provided the money to by a 400 2.8. My travels around the world provided the opportunity to photograph images for soccer tournaments in Sweden, Denmark Spain Uganda and England for use in their brouchures. In Sweden, I met the editor of Svenskdam Fotboll, a national magazine for female soccer.
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<br />I have been providing images and articles for him including covering the womens world cup in Vancouver.
I was raised near Yellowstone National Park and soon realized how fun it was to photograph wildlife. My favorite subjects are foxes, grizzly bears, and birds, especially owls and eagles.
Http://www.pbase.com/brucebenson
Maria Mazo, QPSA
Maribi Mazo is a Spanish born self- taught photographer based in Sydney, Australia since 2012.
I started my photographic journey when our family moved to Australia.
My greatest passion lies in seeing and capturing the beauty of Nature through my
photography. Flowers and Animals are my favourite subjects.
The curiosity for finding the detail keeps me in a process of constant learning and
exploration of the creative side of the photography.
Active member of two local Camera Clubs, I recently joined the Australia Photography Society (APS) and the Photography Society of America (PSA).
Mary Frost
I am a native of Western New York, having grown up and been educated in the Buffalo Public Schools. I went to Northwestern University and graduated with a degree in Music Education. I began teaching music in the public schools of Rochester, New York and Oakland, California but spent most of my career teaching elementary vocal music in the Ken-Ton School District.
I enjoyed photography as a hobby, in a rather casual way, for most of my adult life. After I turned 50, I became more adventurous and began scuba diving which led me to underwater photography, something I have enjoyed for 33 years. In June of 2013, I completed my 1,000th dive as a recreational diver.
During the past 13 years, I have turned my attention fully to digital photography. My images have been exhibited at the Buffalo Museum of Science, The Amherst Center for Senior Services, Hospice Life Transition Center, and The Campos Group. I have received recognition in competition. In 2009, I received the Kodak Award for Photographic Excellence from the Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Clubs. and in 2011 and 2013, I received the Dorothy Ralph Essay Trophy from the Science Museum Camera Club. In 2011, I received the E.Thomas Smith trophy in Nature Competition from the Science Museum Camera Club and had the color print of the year in the same year. I am currently past-president of the Science Museum Camera Club where I have made presentations on the techniques of digital photography. I have completed the Judging training provided by CAPA (Canadian Association of Photographic Arts). In recent years, I have judged competitions for many of the member clubs of the NFRCC (Niagara Frontier Regional Camera Clubs). I have presented workshops on Photoshop Techniques for the NFRCC Annual Convention. For several years, I have been teaching Photoshop Techniques, locally, on Saturday mornings when I am in town. Whenever possible, I present these techniques using Adobe Photoshop Elements to make them accessible to all digital photographers.
I am an instructor in photography for the Mountains and Plains Institute (within Road Scholar) at sites in Colorado. These are held at the Mountain Campus of Colorado State University and within Rocky Mountain National Park. I am also presenting workshops in digital photography at the Amherst Senior Center and other sites in Western New York.
Barbara Gore
I have been interested in photography for as long as I can remember but was always at the snapshot level. Growing up I had film camera and I photographed what was pleasing to my eye but never really learned the craft or took the time to understand the elements of light, composition, or color, etc.
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<br />When I retired in 2012, I started on a self-taught photo journey using a Canon DSLR. My passion has always been the outdoors so it’s no surprise I chose landscapes/nature to be my starting point. I took various workshops and photographed as much as I could. Today my passion is still the outdoors, but now I bring my camera, tripod, and filters.
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<br />Aside from landscape/nature I also have dabbled in various genres such as product, still life, family portraits, night, and street photography all with the intention of learning new skills and having fun along with some freelance work. So which niche is right for me? I love them all. I focus on what captivates me in the moment. Every new skill I acquire is a new beginning for me. I look forward to sharing and discussing images as I see this as a way to improve technically and artistically. I currently shoot with a Canon R5 and 5D Mark IV and post process in Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik, On1, and Topaz.
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Marie Costanza
Having grown up in Rochester, New York, the home of Kodak, I was exposed to cameras throughout my life. During high school I had a love for photography, and at a very young age I began taking snapshots with my Kodak Instamatic camera. I took a photography course in high school, and over the years I have taken online courses and workshops. During my career as a high school English and Journalism teacher, I ran a community newspaper. During the journalism courses, I taught digital photography to my students in the early 1990s when digital cameras were emerging.
Since retiring from my career as an educator, I have continued to explore the world of photography by joining local, national and international photography organizations. My enthusiasm for photography has grown into a daily obsession. I bring my camera bag everywhere I go, and I am constantly looking for interesting subjects to photograph. My husband is a retired educator who is also an artist, so we frequently enjoy taking day trips where he paints, and I photograph. I find the majority of my subjects within nature, especially wildlife, seascapes and landscapes. Additionally, I enjoy creating still life photography.
You can see my work on: mariecostanzaphotos.com
Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS
I am retired (64 as at 2018) and keen to devote more time to photography and traveling. My photography started 40 years ago with a home darkroom and like many, was kickstarted again with digital SLR's becoming affordable. I was a Canon man - 5 and 7 bodies, with many L series lenses, but sold the whole lot in 2015 due to weight issues. I now use an Olympus EM1X with many of their Pro series lenses and I don't regret the move! The quality of the glass is fabulous!
I have travelled to many USA National Parks (Yellowstone a firm favourite, especially in Winter) but now shoot very little landscapes. My wife and I love traveling - Africa, Asia and Costa Rica has been our focus over the last 4 years. We also love going to Zoos and bird reserves, so nature shots don't need to come from far-off locations.
I am Secretary and Committee Member of our Camera Club [Winchester, UK] and enjoy very much helping to run a large club - 200 members. I have learnt a lot from being surrounded by many good photographers (particularly in use of Lightroom and what makes a good competition image), but know I have much more to learn!
I gained LRPS in 2019 (the first Distinction level of UK's Royal Photographic Society) and PPSA in July 2021 through stars in Nature and Travel.
Group Admin
Dr Isaac Vaisman, PPSA
Dr. Isaac Vaisman, PPSA
I am a native of Caracas-Venezuela, born and raised there. I still am a semiretired physician (Radiation Oncologist) and a self-educated photographer since the mid-sixties. As a teenager I was the youngest member of the Foto Club Caracas. Winner of the first price in black and white prints in all three camera clubs of Venezuela, the same year. Did my own black and white processing and printing for many years, until I finished medical school and came to the US for postgraduate training in the 70's.
After a very long gap, started with digital photography in the early 2000's and more involved since I acquired my first digital Nikon D300 . I am a "Nikonian" by conviction. Have participated in many competitions and received several awards.
I joined the first Camera Club in Florida in 2008: Broward Camera Club, of which I was President for four years (2013 to 2016). Also was a member of the Pines West Camera Club, and currently I only attend the Coral Springs Camera Club that offers activities of interest.
I joined PSA in 2011. Completed the course of Image Evaluation a few years ago, and most recently (March 2021) the Advanced Photo Travel Course and was an instructor for a while. Appointed as 2nd Vicechair of the PSA Photo Travel Division in 2021 as well as Director of all the Photo Travel Image Discussion Groups.
I am an active member on five of the PID Digital Dialogue groups: 04 (General Photography), 58 (street Scenes), 59 (Sport), 72 (Nature +) and now group 15 (Birds). I am the administrator of groups 15, 58 and 72. I am also a member of the PSA PTD (Travel Photography) group 04 and the PJ (Photojournalism) of Human Interest group 5 of which I am also the Administrator.
Early in 2022 I obtained my ROPA distinction QPSA, and in October 2022 my ROPA distinction PPSA. I hold 3 stars in Nature Exhibitions, 3 stars in Monochrome Class, 3 stars in Color Class, 3 star in Photo Travel Exhibitions and 1 star in Photojournalism.