July
During one of our tours in Bratislava, we wandered up this charming cobbled street. Remembering that photography is often about simplifying a scene, I placed my phone on the ground and concentrated on composition rather than equipment. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all an image needs.
In Focus
While on our recent Viking River Cruise along the Danube, Hilary and I met a delightful couple, Joe and Anne. During one of our conversations, Anne shared a piece of photographic advice she had received many years ago in the film era. When you got your prints back from the lab, she was told, don’t look at them right away. Instead, put them aside for a few months.
The reasoning was simple. Our memories of a place are often richer than any photograph can capture. We remember the atmosphere, the conversations, the people we were with, the sounds, the smells, and how we felt in the moment. When we first review our images, it’s easy to compare them to those memories and feel disappointed that the photograph doesn’t measure up. Given time, however, those extra layers begin to fade, allowing us to look at the image more objectively and appreciate it for what it is rather than what we remember.
That thought stayed with me as I reflected on BPG’s activities over the past month. We enjoyed an excellent presentation from Sam Simkins, who shared both his photography and his experiences documenting life on a university campus. Members also had the opportunity to get out and make photographs at Collinsville Civil War Days, and the images shared afterward on our Facebook page suggest it was both a fun and rewarding outing. A special thank you goes to Lyra, who continues to do a wonderful job organizing outings that provide opportunities to learn, create, and spend time together as photographers.
Perhaps Anne’s advice applies to more than just travel photographs. Sometimes it can be helpful to step away from our images for a while, then return with fresh eyes and a new perspective. We may find that what first seemed ordinary contains more value than we initially realized.
Enjoy the newsletter, and keep shooting and being creative.
Martin Cregg – BPG President
Monthly Calendar - July
Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Otter Creek Church
409 Franklin Rd, Brentwood, TN 37027
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Speaker: Chris Baker
Infrared Photography
Lunch Bunch
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Williamson County Public Library
1314 Columbia Ave, Franklin
Time: 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Optional Lunch at KOI
Mini Clinic
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Zoom: details will be sent via email
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Speaker: Chris Scott
Mastering the Modern Headshot: From Capture to Edit
Photography Outing
Friday, July 17, 2026
Nossi College of Art & Design:
590 Creative Way, Nashville, TN
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Hands-on Workshop with Tom Stanford
July POTM Themes
Shadows, Image from a recent Photography Outing, and an Open Category
Shadows- What to consider
Time of Day and Direction
- Early Morning / Late Afternoon (Golden Hour): The sun is low in the sky, casting elongated, dramatic, and artistic shadows.
- Midday: The sun is directly overhead, resulting in short, harsh shadows under subjects. This is ideal for crisp, high-contrast structural or abstract shapes.
- Angle of Light: Side-lighting (light perpendicular to your subject) creates the most dimension and reveals texture.
Light Quality (Hard vs. Soft)
- Hard Light: Produced by a small, direct light source (e.g., direct sun on a clear day or a bare studio flash). It yields dark shadows with sharp, well-defined edges.
- Soft Light: Produced by a large light source (e.g., an overcast sky or a studio soft box). It results in gentle shadows that “feather” out, which is highly flattering for portraiture.
Composition and Storytelling
- Silhouettes: Expose for the brightest part of the sky or background to turn your subject into a dark, graphic outline.
- Abstract Patterns: Look for shapes cast by fences, windows, or foliage to create geometric patterns.
- Focus on the Light: Instead of looking directly at the shadows, pay attention to the light’s location and what it illuminates. The eye naturally travels to the bright spots in a frame.
Exposure and Post-Processing
- Expose for Highlights: Overexposing can blow out the brightest parts of your image (making them pure white and unrecoverable). Expose for the bright areas and let your shadows fall into deep darks.
- Embrace Black and White: Converting shadow-heavy photos to black and white strips away color distractions, emphasizing form, texture, and dramatic contrast.
- Shadow Recovery: If you need to bring back minor textures in the shadow areas, shoot in RAW format to retain maximum dynamic range for your editing software.
2026 Photo Of The Month Contest
Photo of the Month contest images are hung prior to the main meeting. This is an opportunity for you to compare your work with that of others, as you perhaps think about entering our outside exhibits. It’s good training, and by compelling you to focus on specific themes you learn and grow in your photography. A Board member will be at the display to answer questions and encourage participation.
August POTM Themes
On the Ground, Image from a recent Photography Outing, and an Open Category
On The Ground: What to Consider
Perspective and Scale
- Insect’s-eye view: Dropping to the ground makes ordinary subjects (rocks, grass, flowers) appear massive and monumental.
- Wide-angle distortion: Using a wide-angle lens close to the ground exaggerates the size of the elements immediately in front of your camera.
- Connection with subjects: When photographing wildlife or people, meeting them at eye-level establishes intimacy and removes the “looking down” dynamic.
Composition and Depth
- Layering: Shooting low allows you to establish a strong foreground layer (pebbles, leaves, roots) that naturally leads the viewer’s eye into the mid-ground and background.
- Reflections: If you are near water, laying your camera nearly flat to the surface can yield perfectly symmetrical shots.
- Figure-to-ground: Ensure your main subject has good contrast against the background so it doesn’t get lost in the ground’s texture.
Technical Considerations
- Depth of Field: When you are mere inches away from your foreground, your depth of field shrinks. You may need to use small apertures (e.g., f/8 to f/16) or utilize focus stacking to keep both the foreground and background sharp.
- Focus point: Typically, focus roughly a third of the way into your scene for maximum sharpness.
- Leveling: Because wide-angle lenses distort lines drastically when angled downward, use the leveling tool or grid lines in your camera to avoid crooked horizons.
Gear and Environment
- Support: Tripods need to be positioned very low or laid flat. Many landscape photographers remove the center column or use a dedicated ground-level tripod adapter.
- Live View/Articulating Screen: If your camera has a tilting or flippable LCD screen, use it to frame your shots without having to lie flat in the mud.
- Tripod feet: Avoid using metal spikes when on hard rocks or delicate terrain to prevent scratching or habitat damage.
- Weather protection: Being on the ground means dirt, sand, or water can easily reach your front lens element. Use a lens hood and carry a microfiber cloth.
June 2026 Photo Of the Month Winning Images
First Place
Shallow Depth of Field
Leandra Habel
BPG Outing
Bill Scott
Open
Bill Scott
Second Place
Shallow Depth of field
Richard Wise
BPG Outing
Diane Burgett
Open
Dick Dougall
Monthly Meeting Member's Spot - Pat Hollander
At our May Monthly Meeting, Pat Hollander will share the story behind this striking image, recently accepted into the Poetry of Light exhibition. Selected by Mark Scala, Chief Curator at the Frist Art Museum, the exhibit celebrates light, creativity, and National Poetry Month through the work of SNAP artists.
Pat’s image captures a quiet, candid moment, yet invites a deeper read – where light, color, and setting come together to suggest something more reflective and introspective. She will walk us through how she saw the scene, what drew her to it, and how small decisions in composition and timing helped shape the final result.
It’s a great example of how compelling images can emerge from everyday environments when we slow down, observe carefully, and respond to the moment in front of us.
The Brentwood Photography Group Facebook page
Are you a new member? Contact us to request access to our Group page.
2022 – Pat Hollander – Main Page
- Session 1 – The Basics – Exposure Triangle
- Session 2 – Lightroom Basics with Martin Cregg
- Session 3 – Intermediate Lightroom with Martin Cregg
- Session 4 – Photo Editing with ON1 with Rick Wise
- Session 5 – SmartPhone Photography with Susan Ruach
- Session 6 – Intermediate Photo Editing with ON1 with Rick Wise
Member Websites
Check out our member websites
If you would like your art to be added to the list, send your web information to the BPG Secretary.
- Architecture Tour – Offered every Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
- Beauty and Ritual: Judaica from the Jewish Museum, New York. Oct 30, 2026–Feb 7, 2027
- Member Morning – Sunday, August 23, 2026, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 8, 2026, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. Members only
- Member Mornings – for members only on Wednesdays starting June 3, 2026 – October 28, 2026 8:00 am
- Fleurs de Villes THE GILDED AGE – August 1, 2026 – August 9, 2026.
- Gilded Paper Marbling – August 1, 2026
Franklin, TN
- Franklin Farmers Market Every Saturday year-round. 120 Aldersgate Way Franklin, TN at Franklin First United Methodist Church
- Fireworks Celebration July 4, 2026
- Tennessee Sunflower Festival, Lucky Ladd Farms. Estimated Flower Bloom Dates:
July 2-19 - Pumpkinfest – October 24, 2026
- Christmas Parade December 5, 2026
- Dickens of a Christmas December 12-13, 2026
Springfield, TN
- Sunflower Festival at Red River Farms. July 10-12, 2026
Portland, TN
- Sunflower Field Big Sky Farm. Sunflower Days happening July 24th – August 2nd 2026.
- Webb School Art & Craft Fair October 17-18, 2026
Lavendar Farms – Local Farm U-Pick & Harvest DaysIf you are located in the Nashville area, consider reaching out to Middle Tennessee spots like Oak Grove Lavender Farm in Hohenwald (roughly 1.5 hours southwest of Nashville) or Black and Blue Berry Farm in a nearby county. These farms typically bypass large festivals in favor of intimate U-Pick lavender events, fresh-baked goods, and harvest activities.
- 7/2 – Smyrna’s Independence Day Celebration – Smyrna
- 7/3 – Fairview July 3rd Celebration – Fairview
- 7/3 – Independence Day Celebration – Goodlettsville
- 7/3 – Hendersonville’s Freedom Festival – Hendersonville
- 7/3 – Springfield Freedom Fest – Springfield
- 7/3-7/4 – Clarksville Independence Day Celebration – Clarksville
- 7/3-7/4 – Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree – Smithville
- 7/4 – Red, White and Boom in Brentwood – Brentwood
- 7/4 – Red, White and Boom July 4th Celebration – Cookeville
- 7/4 – Franklin on the Fourth – Franklin
- 7/4 – La Vergne Independence Day Celebration – La Vergne
- 7/4 – Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th – Nashville
- 7/4 – Music City Hot Chicken Festival – Nashville
- 7/4 – White House Americana Celebration – White Hous
- 7/10-7/12 – Red River Farms Sunflower Festival – Springfield
- 7/10-7/12 – Red River Farms Sunflower Festival – Springfield
- 7/17-7/18 – Tennessee-Kentucky Threshermen’s Show – Adams
- 7/24-7/25 – Bluegrass Along the Harpeth Fiddlers Jamboree – Franklin
- 7/25-7/26 – Mountain Market for Arts and Crafts – Monteagle
Sloss Furnace Workshop Open to BPG Members Only
Just a few spots left so act fast if you are interested.
We are organizing a workshop for BPG members at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark on Sept 12, with Birmingham photographer Meg McKinney. It is open to a small group of 10 for this special behind-the-scenes event and is $225 per person.
Date: Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, 1:30 – 10:30 pm
Location: Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, 20 – 32nd St. North, Birmingham, AL 35222.
We should still have nice weather, cooled down, and sunset is around 6:50 pm, which gives time for both day time and night time work.
Current itinerary set up by the instructor Meg McKinney. She gives this workshop to various clubs and groups and has been photographing the Furnaces for years.
Workshop begins at 1:30 pm on a Saturday, meeting at the Visitors Center’s auditorium / classroom. (We sit at tables and chairs. There is a huge digital screen to project images.) The first session, daytime photography, goes to 5:30 pm, followed by a break (meal time in classroom / auditorium) with review of images projected (need to bring laptop, thumb drive). The second session begins approximately 6:30 pm for nighttime photography, and goes to 10:30 pm (although we might be able to stay until 11:00 pm). Each session includes a brief presentation of images for ideas and inspiration presented by Meg McKinney (instructor), with discussion of suggested equipment, gear. I have hand-outs at the beginning.
Sloss Furnaces closes to the public at 4:00 pm, so we have the place to ourselves after closing.
Because Sloss Furnaces can be overwhelming – It’s sprawling with steel behemoths!, I offer suggested themes, and a quick on-site, walk-around following the initial workshop meeting, to get an idea of what-is-where.
During the photography sessions I offer on-site, one-to-one instruction, feedback, and use of some personal gear. Also a representative of Sloss Furnaces will take us to several non-public locations, that make great photos! (Older clothes and sturdy shoes will be appreciated for this one.)
Once registration is completed, Meg will send a suggested ‘What to Bring List’ via e-mail, including a brief list of eateries near Sloss Furnaces, for meal options. Coffee is usually provided. There is a soda vending machine at the Visitors Center. Water bottles can be refilled at the Visitor Center’s water fountains.
Note: Photographers are attending to learn, explore, discover, and create photographs at Sloss Furnaces. Therefore, family and friends are not permitted to “sit in” or “drop by” during the workshop, as they may interfere with discussions and distract from creativity.
Fees are $225.00 per photographer. Venmo.com and check payments are accepted. Once we have a confirmed list, Lyra will send out additional information on payment options.
Registration:
If interested, please submit your name to Lyra Hankins at lyrahankins@hotmail.com. Only10 spots are avaialble and they are first come first serve. Any additional interestested members will be placed on a waiting list.
Byron Jorjorian Fine-Art Photography
Byron Jorjorian
Kathleen Clemons Photography
Kathleen Clemons
Natural Connections Photo Workshops
Ledra Woodlee
New Life Photos
Jamie Konarski Davidson
Rich Seiling Photography
Rich Seiling
Show your support for BPG by purchasing our very own branded “merch”!
- Mug
- Tote bag
- Baseball cap
- Insulated tumbler
- Unisex T-shirt
- Women’s T-shirt
All products are made and delivered by Zazzle; they will handle any customer service issues too. BPG will receive royalties on all products sold which we will put towards Group expenses.
