And the Beat Goes On...

When I joined PPSNYS back in September of 2000, I could not have forecasted the series of events that would have culminated in my becoming president of PPSNYS.

As I look back, it all came about because I had a desire to contribute. I've always believed that if I'm going to "belong" to something, I needed to contribute. So after I joined in 2000, I started pitching in at the section level -- first as secretary, then delegate -- and wound up being section chair at Central for two years, and the rest is history.

In order to be a good member, I believe that you need to find a way to contribute to whole. Everyone doing a little makes the organization stronger, particularly in an all volunteer organization.

So maybe you don't want to be president -- I certainly didn't think that was in the cards for me -- but I encourage you to find a way to contribute. Don't just carry membership card; carry out the "active" part of your active membership. Think of what small part you can play -- and add your own unique value -- that will make PPSNYS a better society for you, and all of us. Choose to be a partner in our greatness. It is the power of our team that makes us stand out, and makes us successful.

Thank you for helping us have a very successful year! Despite the downturn in the economy, PPSNYS members turned out mightily for our conference, and we had a great time.

The photo committee processed over 1500 images (see them on FLICKR at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppsnys/).


So, I've graduated to the ranks of past presidents - 104th in a series. Though my presidency is over, my contribution is not. I will continue to be a good member, and contribute to make our society better. I hope you will continue with me.

If you're new to our great society -- our family -- we understand that you joined us in hopes of receiving something. But members of a family support and nurture each other, and if we're not a family, we're just a bunch of people sitting around in a room together. I hope you'll be part of our family.

Thank you for allowing me to lead you. Take care.

Kelvin P. Ringold, CPP
"The Prez" (some habits die hard)

2 Weeks to Go (From Winifred)

We are only two weeks away from PPSNYS and as I am looking at yet another beautiful snow fall in the northwest, I know I am being prepared for what I might find in Albany – because I have certainly NEVER seen a winter like this in Poulsbo WA before - winter 2008/2009. We have created history!

In addition to a slideshow I hope you will enjoy, I will have sixteen 24x30 canvas prints on display. Sometimes it is difficult to put together a large display when traveling to a conference, but with the help of Paul Bernstein and my lab – I am getting them there.

I am so excited about meeting so many new people and of course meeting my new FACEBOOK friends. I would never have been on FB had Kelvin not said – “I need you to be on FB. I want people to start to meet you and you them and it will be good for your business.” I was resistant – I emailed “What is this FB. – just another link to my site” Anyway, I joined and could immediately see the significant platform it provides and the access it gives me to easily connect to my professional industry. I am actually a very private person, so there are real limits as to how I use it but I do enjoy.

I am speaking on the first evening but I am remaining for the entire convention. I am looking forward to all the presentations - it is such an opportunity to keep those creative juices stirred and such an opportunity to meet you.

See you there.

Winifred

3 Weeks to Go (from Winifred)

Less than 3 weeks to go and I am thinking "shouldn't I wear an evening

gown so that I can better represent my elegant ladies." I wonder if I

can pull that together! I have so much to show you and to share with you about Intimate Portraits for Women - my tiny slice of the market and I love it. I am in the 212 club. I am going for STEAM! SOMEBODY needs to setup a 212 group.

You are probably aware of the reputation New Yorkers have for being all business, cold and distant. I continue to be amazed by the warmth with which I have been received and the assistance extended by this NY community. Wouldn't it be something to have to coin a slogan "New Yorkers are Nice" Scary but It could happen.

Anyway, I sure hope you will come to State, as I hear it called, and please introduce yourself to me. I am so enjoying this cross country connection. Speaking of cross country, it was so frosty and cold this morning, I thought I was in New York. Well, at least the time has changed -- a promise of Spring to follow. Winifred

---

http://www.intimateportraitsforwomen.com/blog

http://www.intimateportraitsforwomen.com

elegance@intimateportraitsbyWinifred.com

~~~~~

New York ~ 347.835.8783

Seattle/Bainbridge Island ~ 206.777.5178

Poulsbo ~ 360.779.1375

http://www.facebook.com/people/Winifred-Whitfield/646537920>Facebook me!

PPSNYS / Westchester Member in the News!

Every body likes good news, and all the better when it's about US!

Westchester member Aida Krgin -- was featured last week in two different articles in her area. A local online journal entitled The Loop, featured Aida's studio on Saturday Feb 21, and also talked about her involvement with "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" (NILMDTS), an organization that provides bereavement photography for parents who have experienced early infant loss.

Aida and Krgin Photography were also featured in an article which appeared on February 25th in The Rye Record, and details her success in transforming her passion into a profitable business.

Check it out then drop her a line at aida@krginphoto.com and say congratulations!

Do you have other good news to report? Drop us a line at news@ppsnys.com!

Have a great day !!!

The Prez is on the Move

February 24th, I had the pleasure of visiting our Westchester section, at the kind invitation of Mr. Frank Mohalley. I got there just in time to be "social" and enjoyed a good meal and invigorating conversation. Then I found out I was going to be a print judge -- a pretty humbling experience when the other judge is Frank Dispensa!

But I survived the night and among other things had the pleasure of helping select the Carol Phillips 2008 print of the year, in honor of our past state president Carol Phillips. The award was presented by her husband, Robert Phillips, to Sheila Gardner.

It was a good night for Sheila -- she took that award, as well as Best of Show, 1st and 2nd place awards for Westchester's quarterly print competition. 3rd place was garnered by Les Howard. Thanks for inviting me Frank!

I have visited some other sections during my term. Last year I visited Southern Tier, actually before I was officially president. I visited Finger Lakes for their summer family picnic, SNAPP for their TEP with Don MacGregor last fall, Greater New York for their excellent Long Island Conference, and Hudson Valley in the fall for their John Woodward TEP. Greater Rochester invited me a couple of times, to include installing their officers in January.

I still need to get to Capital Champlain and Buffalo -- hopefully not on the same night! I have until mid-May as president, so maybe we can work these out after conference.

Have an excellent day! See you at conference!

PPSNYS 2009 Conference Speakers

Sometimes, the easiest / simplest things to do, are the things we forget -- like... making sure your conference speakers are ALL readily found so people know what they're teaching. Below, is a comprehensive collection of our conference speakers and their subjects -- and special surprise on some of them. Kevin Kubota and Rod Evans have given us video messages, Beth Forester and Carl Caylor brief hellos and updates on their programs. David and Ally McKay give us a heartfelt letter to all photographers who read this. Be sure to check that out.

Here's the line-up, folks! See you at the conference :-)

Kelvin

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Beth Forester "Digital Power: Pump Up Your Senior Business "
http://www.foresterphoto.com/

Beth is known for her dynamic style of cutting-edge style of senior portraiture, and for her ability to repeatedly create unique and stunning images using digital tools and techniques.
In her program, Beth will share insight into her success in the highly lucrative market of senior portraiture. She will cover all aspects of digital senior portrait photography designed to pump up any senior session and attract new customers to your studio. From lighting and posing the senior subject to photoshop tips and tricks, she will reveal her
everyday techniques used to create stunning, one-of-a-kind portraits. Finally, she will discuss senior philosophy and how to use it to create higher market demand and, thus, increased sales. See her special letter to PPSNYS attendees.

Carl Caylor Artistic Elements of Portratiure
http://www.photoimagesbycarl.net/

This program is designed to stimulate, energize and stretch your imagination. Carl will share his views on composition, lighting, dolor harmony and more. He will show how depth is created, where and how to look for light , how to make portraits believable and interesting, how to choose the correct background and how to use it, how to enhance an image with emotion and how all of these pieces work together to create and artistic image. Click here for his personal message to PPSNYS conference attendees.

Rod Evans
http://www.evanscreativity.com/

Portrait artist Rod Evans has become one of the fastest success stories in the photographic industry in the world. In ten short years he has taken his studio for start up to carriage trade. Rod has been selected as one of the 78 most influential photographer in the world by Canon USA. Learn marketing straregies and technology to gain more clients with online bookings and CD ROMs. Rod will also explain how clients order online without you losing your sanity and business with a presentation system that will have your clients spending more and enjoying every minute of it. See his special video message to PPSNYS conference attendees:

Mark Garber and Jennifer Gilman Creating the RED HOT Studio
http://www.markgarber.com/

*How to create Red Hot images even if youre in an Ice Cold location.
*How to get wedding event planners to fall in love with you and want to marry their brides to your studio.
*How to dazzle inquiring brides by using Red Hot Viral Marketing.
*Creating a Buzz about your studio by using co-vendor marketing.
*How to keep brides coming to your studio and spending money long after the wedding is over.
*Hot products and sales techniques that will help you to achieve your desired lifestyle.

David Jay Creating Freedom
http://www.davidjay.com/

David Jay will give you a firsthand look at the innovative techniques that he has developed in his unique approach to wedding photography. Creating Freedom will focus on Davids revolutionary Hands-Free marketing system and Hands-Free workflow, both of which have allowed him to create a thriving business and still have time to live the kind of life he wants. This program will combine discussions of Davids principles and techniques. He will also share the secrets of developing and adopting systems that will run and market your wedding business quickly and automatically, leaving you with more time to focus on other areas of our work and life. Davids Hands-Free workflow has been the key ingredient in his rapidly growing business: with less than 4 years in the industry, he has gone from photographing weddings for under $1,000 to making over $15,000.

Kevin Kubota - Your Undisputed Action Hero
http://www.kkphoto-design.com/2005/

Everyone knows Kevin Kubota for his incredible Photoshop actions, but did you know he was also named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world by American Photo magazine? His wedding and portrait work has been featured in Rangefinder, Studio Photography & Design, Popular Photography, and Shutterbug, as well as in photography books such as The Best of Portrait Photography and The Best of Wedding Photojournalism by Bill Hurter, and others. And so much more. Speaking on two separate days... you do not want to miss him. Click here for his special video message to PPSNYS Conference attendees.


David and Ally McKay The Journey ~ Ingredients for Success
http://www.mckayphotography.com/

Be prepared to be inspired artistically, creatively and financially. Sharing their passion for their work as well as their marketing and sales strategies, this program includes the ingredients the McKays have found to own and operate an incredibly successful high-end portrait business with consistent sales of over $5000 selling Wall Dcor Art pieces. These ingredients include: Passion and Inspiration, Artistic Technique, Niche Marketing and Sales Techniques. The McKays will also explain how even in a slow economy you can implements ideas to be highly successful. See their special letter to New York State Photographers, and PPSNYS conference attendees here. .


Duane Sauro Portraiture Today
http://www.saurophotographicart.com/

The program includes a slide presentation, print exhibit and discussion of techniques and philosophy of portraiture. The emotional and compositional structure of portraiture, past and present will be analyzed. Classical, contemporary, illustrative and surreal presentations of portraiture will be discussed. Digital imaging will be exhibited and discussed as an invaluable and repeatable tool in our ongoing effort to produce increasingly artistic images for our clients, personal gratification and business profits.

Marilyn Sholin The Digital Art Studio
http://www.marilynsholin.com/

Marilyn shows digital art techniques designed to give your portraits and weddings new artistic intensities. Learn how to use a variety of digital software that easily lets you define your own style and emphasizes your unique vision. Learn the secrets to creating original art and paintings fast and easy using an assortment of tools and software. Put the finishing touches on the final prints or canvas taking them to a new level using art products that are easy to use, but give a big impression.

Winifred Whitfield Intimate Portraits for Women
http://www.winifredsgallery.com/

Elegance with a contemporary flair is the style that is unmistakably Winifred Whitfield. Imagine the ladies of yesteryear, posing for their portraits. Two Hundred years ago women dedicated hours to sit for an artist turning their present appearance into a treasured memory. They had chosen a definitive time in their lives to capture their own immortality. Portrait artist, Winifred Whitfield believes that the ladies of today also hunger for and deserve the same type of definitive fine art portrait. Although at one time she was a traditional photographer, now the majority of her wall portrait commissions look like paintings on canvas. Her life work is creating beautiful and very flattering, portraits of women, and this is the reason women seek her services.

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We're Getting Excited here!

Hello New York!

It's heating up now. Less than 60 days before the conference and everybody is getting excited! Our speakers are excited, the conference team is excited and hopefully YOU are excited! Among other things, we'll be bringing you some messages from our speakers, so you can get a real feel for what you can look forward to in March!

We mentioned before that about half our speakers are on Facebook, and how great it is to get a peek into the daily lives of people we hold up as celebrities. It gives us hope to see them battle the same "stuff" in life as the rest of us, but forge ahead and make their dreams work in spite of it all !

DID YOU REALIZE that we are starting conference programming on SATURDAY this year? Yes! Usually you don't get anything good until Sunday, but tis year we figured... why waste a day?! The Regional Affliate Print Judging starts on Saturday afternoon -- earlier than usual -- but if you're not a print judging kind of person, Beth Forester is kicking it off early with her presentation on senior portrait photography! and she's got a lot to say.

As a matter of fact, Beth wrote me a note last week and asked me to pass it on to our members and anyone else who might be coming to the conference, so here it is:

Envelope-to: kelvin@ringold.net
From: Beth Forester
Subject: Re: Since you two...
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:21:52 -0500
To: Kelvin

Hey Kelvin,

I am so excited about the PPSNYS conference in March. I have been working hard on my new program and I have loads of exciting information to share. It's all about Buzz Marketing and how to connect with the teen market. In the program we'll discuss topics such as:

-Word of Mouth marketing and why it works in the Teen market

-Viral networking; Facebook--how and why

-Podcasting

-Create a Frenzy--building demand in your area

-Creating Buzz-worthy product lines

-Designing for the Teen Market

-Selling the experience

It's going to be great and I am so looking forward to the event. See you there!!

Beth

Beth Forester, CPP, M. Photog. Cr.

Forester Photography

http://www.foresterphoto.com

I like the way that's starting off !!! And some of the other speakers are sending me messages too, so stay tuned or those !

Registration is STILL only $149.00 for PPA or PPSNYS members for everything ! 4 jam-packed days of seminars, conference parties, tradeshow ! I asked myself... how many red hot ideas would I need to bring away from this thing, from 10 of America's hottest photographic talents... to make it worth $149.00 ? One? What's the chances of coming away with just one ? Yeah.. .Exactly.

And mon-members get all that for only $215.00 PLUS they get a full year of unrestricted membership in PPSNYS ! Top is off by taking an additional $25.00 off those give-away prices just for registering online and using the special vendor discount code of TSP2009 that's printed on those 10,000 trade show passes that are floating around right now.

What an incredible bargain ! Less than you're probably going to pay for your next pair of shoes.

Anyway, I'm getting excited. And if you especially didn't fly to Phoenix for IMAGE USA, and you're not flying to Vegas for WPPI, you can drive on over to Albany... and you'll even get a chance to meet them and talk to them and shake their hands, instead of just peeping at them through the binoculars from the back of a big room

Okay ? Register now for this no-way-to-lose price, then call 1-800-448-3500 to reserve your hotel rooms at the beautiful (and very cozy) Desmond for only $132 per night (plus tax) because... no way are you going to want to miss Winifred Winfield on Saturday night (hey... she just joined PPGNY! She's a LOCAL girl now -- sort of)





And after her awesome presentation, you've got the room so you can stay for the party! then wake up refreshed and hit the trade show in the a.m.

Stay tuned for more. Have an awesome day!

Kelvin

The Prez

In Memory of Dan Runfola

We take this moment to honor a friend and fallen member, Angelo (Dan) Runfola, who passed away Thursday, January 22, at the age of 53. Dan was a long time member and faithful supporter of PPSNYS and Finger Lakes section.

He was installed as his Section Chair on Wednesday afternoon, and posed for this portrait right after. He succumbed to a fatal heart attack the next morning.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Nan and their family. Dan will be remembered lovingly by many.

Cards can be sent to Nan at:
Nan Runfola
The Crafty Bears Photography
8400 State Route 15
Wayland, NY 14572

FACE it! PPSNYS gets with the Technology!

Some things you just never think you'll see -- like PPSNYS on FACEBOOK.

However, we figured out that a significant porttion of our membership -- and a huge number of the photographers we want to attract -- are using social networking tools.

So, in an effort to reach as many people as we could to have them learn what an awesome society PPSNYS is, we created a both a FACEBOOK and LinkedIn presence. and we've promoted our March conference in both venues.

So... look for us on Facebook. It's not a closed group, so anyone can join us really, and that allows them a little insider view of the things we do. The group name on FACEBOOK is -- you guessed it -- is PPSNYS! It's a little tougher on LinkedIn, so I guess I'll go fix that right after this post.

There's about 70 people on so far, but that includes some honorary members like... our speakers. Those who are connected so far have had the chance to get personal with 5 of our conference speakers (Rod Evans, Winifred Whitfield, Marilyn Sholin, Beth Forester and Kevin Kubota), as well as a few of our vendors and some other favorites like Frank & Kathy Dispensa, Owen Kassimir, Doug Gordon, Michele Celentano and... well, why tell you all of that. Just get connected and see!

PLUS, it's a wonderful MARKETING opportunity. Think about that for a while.

K

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year PPSNYS!

I am so excited about the coming year and what we're about to accomplish. The conference is coming together in a TREMENDOUS way. March 28-31st in Albany is going to be one, serious event -- maybe the biggest thing hosted in New York that wasn't in the Javitz Center :-)

PPSNYS is marching confidently into the 21st Century with web presence! Not only do we have this blog and our forum, but we've established a group (PPSNYS) on FACEBOOK and LinkedIn, and are advertising the conference in both venues -- we've even gotten a few inquiries ! EXCITING that 7 of our 10 speakers have incredible presence on FACEBOOK, and we're linking them in as we speak, so you can get to KNOW them and meet them as friends at the conference. Already online we have Beth Forester (pending), Marilyn Sholin, Winifred Whitfield, David Jay, Rod Evans, Carl Caylor (pending) and Kevin Kubota.

We've had some challenges updating this blog, but we'll have some ideas for making that happen better in our upcoming member emails, along with some other news you're going to want to hear.

For right now, I just wanted to say hello and welcome you to 2009. You can certainly expect more and frequent updates in the future.

PPSNYS! IT TIME TO GET EXCITED! 2009 is going to be a BANNER year.

Have an awesome day! STAY TUNED!

Kelvin (the Prez)