Our upcoming overnight Maryland trip to the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge and the Baltimore Museum of Art for their 1900-1960 photography show will be held on Saturday, June 7th through Sunday, June 8th instead of Memorial Day weekend as previously scheduled. If you are interested in attending please email our president Dennis Loughlin at Loughlin5772@yahoo.com and put "Maryland Trip" in the subject line.

On Tuesday, April 8, we all got a heartbreaking email from Dennis Loughlin, our club President. He wrote:

I am so very sorry to tell you that our dear friend, Sally Rowland passed away on Sunday. Sally bravely faced the challenge of cancer with the same energy and resolve she always showed as a member and a leader of our club. Unfortunately the so-called "battle with cancer" is often a David and Goliath mismatch in which David rarely wins.

Sally served our club as a field trip coordinator, a treasurer, and a board member. More importantly, she demonstrated a can-do spirit that added so much to any activity in which she was involved. Most importantly, she was our dear friend and we will miss her very much. I spoke with Joe Lomax last night. Sally was Joe's administrative assistant at his environmental consultant firm. He has lost someone who can never be replaced. Joe informed me that funeral services will be held in her native Arkansas. I asked him to let me know the addresses of Sally's immediate family members so that those of us who knew her could send expressions of sympathy. I will pass that information on to all of you as soon as I receive it.

Truly, we will all miss Sally's cheerful and caring presence. Godspeed, Sally.

Here are some photos to remember Sally by: Remembering Sally

Our next field trip is occurring before the next club meeting, so here are the details from Dennis Loughlin, who is leading the trip:

We are meeting at the rest stop on the Garden State off Jimmie Leeds Road in Galloway at 8 am where we will car pool and drive to the NJ Transit depot in Toms River. From there we hop a bus to Port Authority. We'll walk to B & H Photo on 34th Street & 10th Avenue, and after that hop a subway up to the New York Historical Society at 79th and Central Park West to catch the exhibit:  Here is New York: Remembering 9/11. At some point in the day we'll have lunch in New York. We'll be heading back in mid to late afternoon.

If there are people who didn't yet sign up but would like to they can email me through the website or yahoo groups. Same goes for those who signed up but have changed their minds.

Port Republic artist John Shields is showing 14 photographs from his series titled “Flowers in Bloom" through June 13 in the Presidential Suite, Room K203, at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. The public may visit 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday (offices may be closed periodically for private meetings and holidays). There is no admission charge.

All of Shields’ floral images were digitally created with a Canon 20D, loaded into an iMac, processed through Photoshop and printed with an Epson 2200, according to the artist. Shields digitally alters his images to emphasize and isolate the flowers' beauty while maintaining the integrity of the specimen. The flowers -- iris, passion flowers, lilies, tulips, orchids, daffodils and columbine -- were photographed locally.

Shields was born in Drexel Hill, Pa, and spent his youth summering in Longport. He describes himself as a very fortunate man who has a love of life “with all it promises and proposes”.

Shields began working at Mainland Regional High School in Linwood in 1971. He taught classes in philosophy, contemporary issues, tolerance and history. The school had a darkroom and they were willing to give him a key, Shields said. His desire to photograph developed over the years from a hobby and part-time job with the Sandpaper in the early ‘80s to a full-time artistic endeavor. Now retired, he works daily at refining his craft in his home at Third Stone Studio, Port Republic, along Nacote Creek.

The exhibit will head to the Noyes Museum of Art after its display at Stockton.

For more information about the exhibit contact Denise McGarvey, exhibition coordinator, at 609-652-4566.

Ann-Marie Woods showed us what a cornucopia of images are available in the South Jersey Pinelands if you just look. Her images included a plethora of flowers, moths, and dragonflies, as well as many landscapes.





February showered us with a record number of enties in our monthly photo contest. Perhaps we like B&W photography more than we let on???!!