Member Bios
Group Admin
Vincent Cochain, EPSA
Born in 1964 in Belgium, I began to have interest in photography in 2009… and I bought a Nikon D90. I didn't know anything about photography.
I tried to take pictures, but it was "souvenirs" pictures.
I liked to take pictures of dance (my daughter) and of the nature (animals).
In 2013 I joined a photo club. There were some people with a lot of experience. This was very useful for me, fi, I learned the necessity to work in RAW and to "develop" the picture. Indeed it was necessary...
In 2015 I began to participate at international contests, just to try.
In 2017, I participated at a lot of contests, with some results. I will ask my first star in four Divisions soon this year.
My favorite themes are still spectacles, natures, and when it is possible, some street pictures.
I participated two times at photo trip organized by the Nikon School of France, in Tanzania in 2013 and In India in 2016. Marvelous experience.
There are still so many beautiful subjects to photograph and I want to improve my pictures. These are my objectives.
Murphy Hektner, APSA
About myself: I am a retired construction superintendent. I live with my wife Marilyn in northwest Washington State. We have two grown sons and three grandsons. Along with photography I enjoy nature, gardening, hiking in the Cascade Mountains, traveling, fine restaurants, and spending time with good friends.
About my photography: I am a long time member of both PSA and the Mt. Baker Camera Club. I started out using Pentax cameras and recently acquired some Nikon gear, so use both systems depending on the situation. My primary focus is on nature photography, and macro photography is a special interest. I also enjoy other types of photography. I use Elements 10 for post-processing, and also enjoy the many opportunities for creativity offered in digital photography.
Judy Merson
I have taken pictures for years,but I have devoted my time to really learning to use my digital camera for the past year. I have learned that if I just point and shoot I do not get as good results as when I understand more about the camera and about composition and apply that understanding. I joined PSA to help me learn and better my photography. I enjoy the complete absorption I find when on a photo shoot and I enjoy learning to�use Photoshop CS3 to properly �develop� my digital images.
Gaetan Manuel
I am Gaetan Manuel and I am from Mauritius, a small island in the south-west Indian Ocean. I retired end of March of this year. I worked at the Mauritius Meteorological Service as a Meteorological Technician for almost 43 years. I have two children and a grandson. One of my hobby since my retirement is photography but unfortunately, because of Covid-19, access to many sites is limited or prohibited.
It was about 18 years ago when I went to Singapore with my wife and had brought with me a Minolta AF Zoom 65 film camera, just to get some snapshots. Unfortunately, the camera started to have problems and I decided to buy a small digital camera. I opted for a small Vivitar 1.3MP as I was short of money. It soon proved inadequate and I changed first to a Canon Power Shot A95, then a Samsung point and shoot and finally to my first DSLR - a Nikon D60. Today, I own a Nikon D7200 and a D750 together with some lenses, among which the Nikon 28-300mm, Sigma 70-200mm and the Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF. When I bought my D60, I joined the 'Cercle des Artistes Photographes', a group of pro and amateur photographers in Mauritius. I am a member of the Cape Town Photographic Society. I like landscape and macro and would also be interested in doing some street photography and still life, but I am afraid to go out in the streets alone. Wild life? Well, in Mauritius, we do not have much wild life.
Raymond Tice
Raymond R. Tice, married to Marcia, living in Hillsborough, NC. Retired (or rather repurposed) in 2015 from the National Toxicology Program, my training was primarily in genetic toxicology and in the development and validation of animal alternative assays. We have a small flower farm, sold flowers bouquets at a local farmer's market for 12 years and just retired from that in 2022 although still selling flowers to long-time customers as a delivery service. We also sell several kinds of fruits (blueberries, blackberries, figs, pears). Have been interested in photography most of my life but only after 2015 started working at it. My initial primary subject was flowers given their ready availability, but am also interested in many other kinds of photography as the opportunity arises. Am a member of the Chapel Hill Camera Club where I serve as the chair of the competition committee. I primarily use LR, some PS, DxO, several Topaz products, HeliconFocus, PTGui, StarStaX. I primarily use a Nikon D850 with a 105mm lens for my flower photos.
Mo Devlin
A seasoned photographer with roughly 50 years of diverse experience, Morrell 'MO Devlin continues to experiment and push his creative core.
He first became interested in photography as a high school student in Tamaqua (class of 73) and honed his craft while serving for a decade in the US Army working in the American Forces Radio and Television division. He has explored many photographic subjects, from tropical fish to presidents and celebrities and has published and exhibited work internationally.
Mo worked for NBC for 21 years, then left to create his own advertising agency, which he owns and operates today. Mo’s points of interest are very eclectic, ranging from tropical fish to frozen flowers.
Mo shoots all Nikon from speedlights to camera and lens. The majority of his recent work is with the new Z9 and 105 macro lens.