Upcoming Speakers 2024-2025 Season

Bio: Michael Willems is an award-winning Orleans-based photographer with extensive international experience, both in his previous careers in engineering and C-level business management and in his career as a photographer. In the past twenty years he has been a newspaper photographer, a wedding photographer, an art photographer, and a portrait photographer. He has been published in many magazines and newspapers including The Globe and Mail, the National Post, The Toronto Sun, The Toronto Star, BBC, the Financial Times, The Hamilton Spectator, and many other publications. He is an all-rounder who has also been a teacher for many years, having taught at Algonquin College as well as Sheridan College, Henry’s School of Imaging, the Niagara School of Photography, and more. He runs his store and studio right here at Place d’Orléans mall.

How to Develop Your Style

Michael will begin by describing what photographic style is. He will explain why you would want to develop your style and how to develop your style. He will give examples of style and provide detailed suggestions for developing your own style.

Andrea is an award-winning Astrophotographer whose images have gained recognition worldwide. Her images have appeared on the covers of the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and on the cover of the 2024 edition of the popular  RASC calendar.

She is often an invited speaker to astronomical conventions and presents to astronomical societies and other organizations on solar imaging, a particular fascination for her. Recently she was invited to present on the well-known Astro-Imaging channel.

She is a two-time recipient of the Paul Commission Observer of the Year award, the Rolf Meir Planetary Imager of the Year, of the Ottawa RASC center, Her awards include a WITNS  selection from the late Alyn Wallace,  the Williamina Fleming award from the Astronomical League. and the 2023 “Imager of the Year” award at the NYAA annual Starfest event.  She sits on various national committees for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and is a judge of this year’s prestigious Starfest competition.

Her work is on Instagram, Astrobin, and Flickr. She shares many of her time-lapses on YouTube as well.

Andrea lives and images from Ottawa Ontario Canada and continues to refine both her art and her technical work in astrophotography.

https://andreagirones.com/

How to Photograph the Milky Way

How to get started in  night photography with equipment you already have.

As an advanced photographer, you may already have much of the gear needed to step into Nightscapes and Astrophotography; a digital DLSR or DSLM, fast prime lenses, a sturdy tripod, and photo editing software. Now take the gear out into the night and capture some photons from another world.

Matt is a wildlife photographer from the Toronto area.  He loves spending time in nature, and
showcasing the beauty he sees, especially in wildlife.  He is constantly looking for new ways to
capture what he observes in compelling and distinct ways.  From interesting interactions, to
frenetic action, to intimate portraits.

Capturing Compelling Wildlife Images

This presentation focuses on the strategies and techniques Matt uses in his photography.  Matt
will use several example images and the stories behind them to help illustrate this content, and
will cover a variety of topics including methods for respectfully approaching wildlife; observing and
anticipating action; selecting perspectives, framing, and backgrounds; using light; techniques for
eye-level portraits; settings strategies, and more.

Website: https://www.matthuras.com/

Hazel Meredith is an award-winning photographer and a sought-after teacher, speaker, and competition judge. She began teaching in 2007, and now does seminars at camera clubs and conferences across the U.S.–both in-person and virtual. She offers her own workshops and webinars, and has done webinars for several software companies. She has written two eBooks on working with textures, and released two creative courses. She and her husband, Dave, produce the “Virtual Creative Photography Conference” with attendees from around the world. Hazel loves the creative aspect of photography and post-processing, especially the use of textures and software to create unique images. She is actively involved with the photographic community, and has held leadership roles and received honorary distinctions from several organizations. In the Fall of 2020, she was the recipient of the Ashbrook Award for Digital Imaging Instruction from the Photographic Society of America.

Working with Texture and Overlays. Turn Ho-Hum into a Work of Art.

Do you sometimes have a shot that you really like…a subject that is hard to capture…a place you may not get to again…but it’s not perfect? Turn that “almost” good shot (as well as your great images) into a work of art by utilizing textures and overlays. Textures are everywhere – there are many free and for-purchase ones online.

You can also create your own textures within Photoshop or from photos of everyday objects. Working with layers and blending modes, there are many things you can do to create a beautiful work of art – I’ll show you how!

Peter is a full-time Canadian photographer and visual storyteller living in Toronto, Ontario. His work has been published in several magazines such as, Visual Wilderness,  Luminous Landscape, Canadian Photo News, Graphic Arts Magazine and has been recognized for photography and printing excellence. Peter regularly leads photography courses and workshops for novice and enthusiast photographers across Southern Ontario as a Canon & Hahnemuhle ambassador. His work is featured on www.PeterDulisPhotography.com and www.PhotographyAdventures.ca

The Art of Frozen Flower Photography

The Art of Frozen Flower Photography delves into the unique and visually striking process of capturing flowers encased in ice. During the bleak winter months, I immerse myself in a project that infuses the season with color and beauty. Though it can be challenging and experimental, finding the ideal flowers and mastering the freezing technique turns this pursuit into a unique and captivating form of photographic art. In this presentation we will delve into the tools & techniques I used: Preparation, Freezing Process and Photography Equipment used. We’ll discuss some artistic considerations to think about: Composition, Color and Texture.

Chris began with photography using an Olympus OM-1 35mm film camera in the 1970s and learned shooting & darkroom techniques at the Carleton University Photo Club. His subject interests lie mostly with landscape, urban/street, and architecture. Chris has taught on many aspects of photography through photo clubs, the Ottawa Public Library, and the Ottawa PC Users’ Group. His volunteer education efforts have led to being awarded 15 times as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, receiving the Ottawa Mayor’s City Builder Award, and the 2018 Ontario Volunteer Service Award.

Whoa, backup! Effective strategies for keeping your computer files safe

Think about all the data on your PC; videos of the grandkids playing in a park, photos of your trip to Patagonia (lucky you!), tax records, emails… Now think about whether those files exist anywhere else. If the answer is no, you need to think about backup.

You could lose data due to viruses, fire, theft, tornado, hard disk failure, making an unintended change to a file, or a wayward finger deleting a file. Chris Taylor, will discuss various ways you can ensure your important data survives any catastrophe.

Lisa is a landscape, wildlife, and nature photographer based in Ottawa, Ontario. She was born in Northeastern Ontario and has always enjoyed the outdoors. Her passion and love of photography started when she bought her first DSLR in 2014.

She had moved to Alberta, where the landscapes and vistas lured her into the wonderful world of amateur photography. She would take every opportunity to venture into the Canadian Rockies to create magic. Her favorite time of day to take her images is at sunrise.

Her work has been published by Ottawa Tourism.

She loves to share her work with others and can be found on Instagram at www.instagram.com/iamsograteful18

My Journey into Landscape Photography

Lisa will discuss the fundamentals of landscape photography and provide you with the information you need to create beautiful landscape images. She will also give recommendations on gear, provide tips and tricks, and discuss composition and the exposure triangle.

Locations for Lisa’s images include the Canadian Rockies, Jasper, British Columbia, Northern Ontario and the Ottawa area.