Member Bios
Michel Biedermann
As a former business consultant by day, two factors influenced my early photography journey. Firstly, I was very lucky to travel all over the world for business. Secondly, most of my photography had to happen at night to avoid competing with my day job. This combination directed me naturally towards night architecture. Given how often the scenes I was working had tourists in them, I was forced to work at very odd hours to remove them in camera. Ultimately, I see myself in the same light (pun intended) as a sculptor. We both seek to remove extraneous "pieces" until our art is simple enough to convey the story we want to tell. In other words, I strongly believe that less is more.
Michael Hrankowski
Michael is a life-long resident of the Seattle area. His interest in photography dates back to high school in the 1970s. In college, Michael was the official photographer for his fraternity, Delta Chi. After graduating from Dental School in 1982, the bulk of his photography was dental-related for patient documentation and presentation purposes. His "for fun" photography was limited to vacation travel.
Now mostly retired, Michael has been immersing himself in photography as an art form. He does not yet have a favorite genre, so Michael's photos span the gamut. Stylistically speaking, though, he is drawn to altering his images to give them a different "look" utilizing the myriad of available editing applications.
Adi Ben-Senior
In 1987 I bought my first camera (Pentax K1000) and photographed ever since.In 2016 I moved from Europe to VA.
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I studied photography in the Arts museum of Tel-Aviv and then became a professional photographer in the navy including a nature journal. In the 90's as a professional printer in labs, I leaned "what makes a good print".My belief is that a good photographer resolves the picture in the camera and only a few corrections In front of the screen.That attitude of strict approach and uncompromising dedication awarded me over 15 international awards (Kodak, B&W, governments, and others).Over the years I had multiple exhibitions in museums, and fine art galleries. I love learning and teaching photography. For me this is a lifetime journey.
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In the last two decades I concentrate mostly on landscape photography and Fine art B&W.
Don Chen
I have been taking photos since early 1990s. I have vast interests in many areas of photography including portraits, travel, photojournalism and landscape.
I am an active member and volunteer in local camera clubs for many years. Learning from my peer photography enthusiasts is one of the best ways to advance myself in the journey of pursuing my photography passion.
I currently live in Chicago suburbs but am in transition to Sacramento, CA in a short near future.
Elsie Allen
As a hobbyist, I delight in visualizing, capturing, editing and printing images. Each phase is important to me. Although I have dabbled in photography since, college where I spent a reasonable amount of time with film, only recently have I felt compelled to bring more discipline to the art. The range and flexibility of digital photography has provided an excellent opportunity to reconnect with this art form following retirement.
Trees, landscapes and seascapes are my usual focus. But, I also enjoy capturing mundane images around the house, yard and anywhere as well as the occasional abstraction. To me, anything can be a subject if I visualize it correctly and the lighting is manageable.
Biography
Born in Connecticut, Elsie Allen is a retired physician who relocated to Decatur, Georgia from New Jersey in 2018. Juried exhibitions in which Elsie has presented her work include The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, Gallery 14 in Hopewell, New Jersey and the Downtown Gallery in Cartersville, GA. In 2013, she received a Photography Purchase Award from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission.
Group Admin
Lance Lewin
Introducing Fine Art Photographer/Lecturer
Lance A. Lewin
For the most part, my inspiration from behind the viewfinder comes from a richly filled combination of studying the pioneers of photography in the mid to late 19th century, and 20th century master’s in photography (e.g., Julia Margret Cameron, Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, and Bob Kolbrener, for just four examples) while also studying art history, drawing and design, all in the pursuit of developing my own artistic narratives.
Though a lot of my work cannot be deemed as "Straight Photography", nonetheless, I stay clear of trends that some refer to as hyper-reality and composite alternatives, instead, I maintain a photographic canvas that balances between modernist and pictorial aesthetics that evoke a sense of reality and authenticity.
My philosophy on teaching photography embodies photographic techniques developed, learned and expanded in both the 19th and 20th Century, and I feel should serve as the backbone to pedagogic material for students of photography in the 21st century and beyond. As such, my methodology of teaching photography is structured to embrace traditional photography skill sets and their application into the digital photography revolution.
Please, visit my website to learn a lot more about my perspectives from behind the lens and teaching philosophies. My office door is always open to take specific questions or just chat on anything about photography. You can reach out to me via email at: lance.visualizingart@gmail.com Thank you.
Website - http://visualizingart.com/
Photographic Society of America (PSA)
PSA Global Black and White Photography Mentor
PSA South Atlantic Area Membership Director
International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA)
North America-Canada Think Tank (Project: 2023 to 2025)
South Cobb Arts Alliance Vice President (new)
Contributing Writer at PHOTOPXL.com
Past co-director/curator at Gilmer Arts Gallery, Ellijay, Ga
Past Board of Director seat at Gilmer Arts
Retired Telecom business owner
Camera Systems: Canon 5D Mark II & III, and Minolta XD-11 and XD-7 film camera systems
Clark Anderson
I’ve been taking pictures since the sixties. I worked in a camera store spent my evenings in a darkroom developing my Rolleiflex and Nikkormat shots for the high school and local newspaper. My aunt dated a famous AP photographer Louie Oakman and he was a big influence in learning the craft. Life and family got in the way but I recently retired and I’m loving getting away from my computers getting outside again as much as possible.
I began shooting for fun again in 2006 when Minolta became Sony and digital photography really took off. I’ve done studio and off camera flash, and even worked with aerial 9x9 film, but my passion is getting into the wilderness and taking bird, wildlife, and landscape photos. Moved to Las Vegas 2 years ago from Florida and I’m loving visiting the new environment of the surrounding desert and mountains, and really the entire west.
One of my early cameras was the original film version Olympus OM1, and now I use their new digital OM1. I just converted my older EM1 II Olympus to full spectrum and I’m playing with filtered UV and IR landscapes and plants.