Upcoming Speakers 2025-2026 Season

Eileen Sklon is a Fine Art photographer living in The Villages, Florida. She has been a photographer for 40 years and loves sharing her techniques with others. She loves creating impressionistic images with her camera and iPhone using Negative Space, in-camera techniques, and abstracts. Eileen feels that looking through the lens has allowed her to see the world and images she can create.

Negative Space

Eileen will show us what to look for in creating Negative Space images. She will also cover Minimalism, which uses Negative Space to create those images. Both of these techniques bring your eye to the subject because of the lack of clutter in the images. They can also create looks such as moodiness and loneliness. Eileen will also touch on editing that can take an image and change it into a Negative Space image.

Eileen can be contacted at eyesklon@icloud.com

Find Eileen’s work at:
Cloudfolios – https://www.cloudfolios.com/EileenSklon
Flikr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/37077426@N07/

Maxime Légaré-Vézina is a professional photographer with a passion for wildlife who lives in Quebec City. He has been spending his time in the wild since 2014, searching for the most beautiful scenes to photograph and new species to discover. These years spent observing wildlife has enabled him to develop a perfect knowledge of Quebec as well as the animals that inhabit it. Today, Maxime shares his knowledge through photo workshops he organizes in some of the most popular destinations for nature lovers.

Wildlife Photography: Pushing Your Photography Further
Maxime will cover the following topics supported by a slideshow of some of his best images:

– Framing choices (wide shots & portraits)
– How to add depth to your images
– Blue hour photography
– Making the most of golden hour through different angles
(backlighting, side lighting, etc.)
– Creating images with a black background in natural settings

Maxime’s work is found at:
His web site – https://www.maximelegarevezina.com/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/maxime_lv_photography/
Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/mlvphotography/

Jamie Johnson is a serious amateur photographer from Ottawa Canada, shooting film and digital since the 80s. He spends most of his time with nature, sports, travel and aviation, however he also enjoys urban, portraits, music and food photography.

He has been a member of the RA PhotoClub since 2004 as part of the feedback, nature and competitions groups. He has done more than 30 presentations to the Club on topics including Backup Strategies, Audio Visual Workflow, Iceland, Patagonia, Smart Phones and The Cloud for Photographers.

Jamie also runs photo tours in Iceland (PortfoliosInAWeek.com). for experienced photographers who want to get to a lot of shooting locations, and have someone else look after the logistics. One of the unique factors with the tours is Jamie’s partner, Axel Oskarsson of iAmIceLand.com, who also happens to be the Cordon Bleu chef for the tour.

In real life Jamie is an IT consultant and software developer, with one of his apps being Photo Walk Ideas (photoWalkIdeas.com).

How Smartphones can Make You a Better Photographer

Smartphones can be used to create some amazing images that can, in some circumstances, rival images from a DSLR or mirrorless camera. They can actually help throughout the workflow for preparation, organization of images, enhancement of those images as well as sharing them.

The presentation will touch on the phone h m a DSLR or mirrorless camera. They can actually help throughout the workflow for preparation, organization of images, enhancement of those images as well as sharing them.

The presentation will touch on the phone hardware itself, as well as software, techniques, and add-on hardware that can provide ways to improve your image creation process.

Jamie’s work can be found at:
His web site – https://itsallaboutthelight.ca/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jamiefromottawa/Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamieinottawa/ ardware itself, as well as software, techniques, and add-on hardware that can provide ways to improve your image creation process.

Jamie’s work can be found at:
His web site – https://itsallaboutthelight.ca/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jamiefromottawa/
Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamieinottawa/

Allan Cameron is a digital photographer based in Ottawa, Ontario. Although he is primarily focused on still life photography, his passion extends to various genres, including landscape, travel, urban, nature, and sports photography. Since 2014, Allan has been a part-time student at the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa (SPAO). His work has been recognized on multiple occasions, with five of his images selected as finalists for the annual SPAO Apex Exhibition. For the past eight years, Allan has been an active member of the RA Photography Club. He has achieved the Master’s level in club competitions, and his black and white prints won the Bruce Wilson competition in 2023.

Landscape Photography: A Personal Perspective

Allan will speak to us about his love of landscape and the various types of landscape images that he creates in his travels and active adventures.

“Enjoyment of the landscape is a thrill” – David Hockney

Manfred is an award-winning, Ottawa based photographer and print-maker. Serious photography has been part of his life since he was in his teens.  He has studied photography at both Algonquin College and the School of the Photographic Arts – Ottawa (SPAO). In 2024, he earned a college diploma in Photograph Arts and Production from SPAO. Manfred has attended workshops and master classes in Ottawa, Guatemala and India.
He is a member of Ottawa’s RA Photo Club (RAPC), where he has attained the rank of “Master Photographer”. He was named “Photographer of the Year” at the RAPC in 2023.
He is a member of the Canadian Association for Photographic Arts (CAPA). He is a CAPA Certified Judge and has judged at the local, national and international levels.

Elevating Your Photography

Most photographic training materials concentrate on the technical aspects of photography. When it comes to materials on Composition, it tends to be directed at the “Rules of Composition”. Materials on creating images that make an emotional connection with the viewer are not generally available.This presentation deals with these two elements of an effective image: Composition – how the elements of the image are organized; and Emotional Impact – how a strong image creates an emotional connection with the viewer.Manfred’s work is found at:
His web site – https://manfredm.ca/

David duChemin is a renowned Canadian photographer, author, and educator celebrated for his humanitarian and adventure photography. Known for emphasizing vision and creativity in photography over gear and technical prowess, he has authored influential books like “Within the Frame” and “The Soul of the Camera.”

DuChemin’s portfolio embodies richness and diversity, encompassing landscapes, cultural portraits, and wildlife photography.

He is also well-known for his educational contributions through workshops, online tutorials, and speaking engagements. His teachings emphasize photography’s artistic and soulful aspects, encouraging photographers to develop their unique voice.

The Heart of the Photograph

David walks through techniques and ways of thinking about the creation of images designed to engage human imagination and emotion, and creating images that are more than just visual, but visceral. He discusses vision and intent, the use of space and time, the creation of depth, creative point of view, and other tools and ideas for making photographs that are more than just “of” something, but about something more, something we can feel and experience more deeply.

David’s work is found at:
His web site – https://davidduchemin.com/
The Heart of the Photograph – https://www.theheartofthephotograph.com/