OUR VISION
The GNPA is dedicated to helping nature photographers of all skill levels improve their photography, learn and grow, meet other outdoor photographers, participate in great trips and events, help others understand the value of the natural world and give focus to a special area of interest in photography.
Our goal is to make the GNPA the best nature photography club in the Southeast, and we want you to help guide and mold it into exactly the kind of club you want.
Georgia Nature Photographers Needed a Club Focused on Nature Photography
The Georgia Nature Photography Association grew out of simple frustration.
Although Atlanta is a huge metro area with over 5.5 million people there simply was no club focused on nature photography. Many other great photo clubs exist in the area and many of us are members of them and enjoy their meetings.
But somehow there just was no club where our photo interests were front and center. That left us looking for a home where there were others who shared our photographic interests.
For two years Chris Dekle actively promoted the Carolina Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) in Atlanta in an effort to jump start a club here. (The CNPA club has more than 1,000 members.) The people we spoke to loved the idea but said "It's too far away." That inspired us to put together a club here in Georgia. So we more or less cloned the CNPA and made the club local.
The Georgia Nature Photographers Association (GNPA) is organized almost identically to the CNPA. Their bylaws and operating procedures have come over to the GNPA largely unchanged. Thanks to the great help the CNPA members have given us, we have a club model that works for nature photographers.
A heartfelt "Thank You!" should go out to Doug Holstien, the CNPA's president, for his help and advice on starting and setting up the club. He is selfless and fantastic. Several other CNPA members have freely given their advice to us as well. Visit their web site at www.cnpa.org You will see we look a lot like them and look forward to working closely with them in the future.
Early in 2008, the Chattahoochee Nature Center (CNC) and the GNPA more or less found each other and realized that combining efforts was a great opportunity. The CNC wanted to hold more nature photography classes so people could take home some of what they saw. The GNPA needed a meeting location and a lot of help getting started.
We realized that by working together, we would introduce more people to nature photography and the CNC would be able to provide a great meeting location. Better, it would give the club an excellent local nature photo location with raptors, butterflies, beavers and the "Hooch" for photography.
Thanks to CNC staff and facilities, we have a regular meeting location with a spacious meeting area, many smaller classrooms for seminars and training classes, access to close photographic encounters with native wildlife, and knowledge of lesser-known locations for spectacular nature photography.
Beginning in 2008, a core group started meeting and putting the club together. Our goal was to give it direction so it could be formally launched. That day came on January 27, 2009, where we had over 240 people in attendance, six vendors and over 100 people joined the club on the spot. We now have about 15 people actively helping with the club and look forward to making this club the largest and best in the Southeast.
In 2009, GNPA joined the Photographic Society of America (PSA).
Benefits of PSA Club Membership
• Access to the PSA Club Services web site where ten Consultants are available to help PSA-member club’s leadership with: Getting Started, PSA Membership, PSA Club Forums, Club Communication, Technical Assistance, PSA Interclub Competitions, Judging Services, Club Programs, Club Community Service, and Club Recognition.
• Listing on the club’s Region webpage on the PSA web site and a link to the club’s web site. Potential to submit photos of club activities to be posted on the PSA Region webpage.
• Invitation to join the Photo Editors online forum which provides sample articles and other information for the club editor/webmaster.
• Invitation to join the Camera Club Sparkle online forum which provides an information exchange for club Presidents and the PSA Club Representative.
• Opportunity to enter the Adobe PSA-member Club Photo Contest.
• Opportunity to enter the six free PSA digital Interclub competitions. These Interclub competitions include Pictorial, Creative, Nature, Travel, and Photojournalism images. There is also a Print Interclub competition.
• Opportunity to participate in the PSA Youth Showcase. The publicity generated by the Youth Showcase is beneficial in recruiting new club members.
• Discounted customizable, template club web site that removes the work load from one person and assures the maintenance & safety of the images and data.
• Discounted software to manage the conduct of digital club competitions.
• Club judging service for every division; including real-time, remote judging.
• Opportunity for club members to take the online PSA Image Analysis Course as a first step in becoming a judge.
• Use of the PSA Logo on the club newsletter, website, brochure, etc.
• Opportunity to submit the club’s newsletter and web site to the PSA International Newsletter and Web Site competitions.
• Opportunity to submit application for the PSA Club Award (for Service to the Community) and gain recognition for the club.
• Reduced cost of various products and services of interest to photographers: seminars, workshops, Webinars, club liability insurance (US).
