The Southern Oregon Photographers Forum, a group that I am a member of, announces its first annual group photography show. Extending from November 7 though December 1, at Studio 5, 258 A Street across from Ace Hardware in Ashland’s Railroad District. The show features the works of 17 local photographers including myself and the renowned David Lorenz Winston. A First Friday reception will be held from 5:00-8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 7.

SOPF was formed in January 2007 by eight photographers and has grown to a membership of 21. An organization of fine art photographers, SOPF was established to encourage and support individuals in achieving their photographic goals and to promote an appreciation of photography in our community.  Members share a love for the medium of photography & the power images have to evoke strong emotional responses.

Through Ashland Artisan Gallery and Art Center I am offering an outdoor fall photography workshop on Saturday, October 25 2008 from 9-12 AM. I will meet participants at Ashland Artisan Gallery before we depart on a walking photography tour of the fall scenery in downtown Ashland and Lithia Park with the goal of photographing fall colors and themes, landscapes and abstracts.  I will offer my personal experience and knowledge on lighting, composition, texture color, technical settings and artistic vision.  It should be a fun and casual morning of photography in a beautiful setting to learn and improve.

The workshop is open to all photography enthusiasts with basic photography knowledge, a camera and a tripod.  The Art Center is able to make this workshop available for only $30.  The workshop has space for 10 participants, so call or stop by the gallery early to reserve your spot.  You can call Ashland Artisan Gallery at 488-5698 or come by at 163 East Main Street across from the Varsity Theater in Ashland.  For more information please contact me at sean@outdoorexposurephoto.com or 840-9237.

I am very excited to announce that my photo titled Lunar Eclipse Over Mt. Shasta has been selected as the category winner in the Creative Digital Category in the 2008 Windland Smith Rice International Photography Awards which is an international competition sponsored by Nature’s Best Photography Magazine.  The 2008 contest received over 20,000 entries.

The award-winning photographs will be published in the 2008 Fall Awards Special Collector’s Edition of Nature’s Best Magazine, due out mid-November. In addition, my photograph will be featured in the annual exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, one of the most prestigious and highly-visited museums in the world, running from mid-November through April 2009.

Nature’s Best will be posting the winning images on www.NaturesBestPhotography.com by the end of November.    In addition, the NATURE’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS will be displayed in galleries on AOL Pixcetera and MSNBC.

This is a very exciting recognition of my photography and I’m honored to be selected along with the other winners.  I’ll post more information about the exhibit and magazine as it becomes available.