Member Bios
Steven Jungerwirth
Greetings - I look forward to participating in this group and benefiting from diverse feedback that always contributes to better results.
My interest in photography started as an adolescent; watching my uncle process B&W images in his basement darkroom. During high school I took pictures for a local realtor (getting paid!) and was the Photo Editor of our school newspaper. Strictly B&W and I processed all my own images on my bathroom floor.
Then for a couple of decades my serious interest waned (perhaps life got in the way). I kept taking pictures; really snapshots. Around 2010 I re-engaged; buying a Canon Rebel T6s and taking a photography class at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Since then I have taken several classes at other schools and invested in a full frame digital camera. I have broad interests; including landscapes/flowers, infrared, macro, cityscapes, tabletop, water/sunsets, reflections, and water droplet collisions. Recently I have been taking more pictures with my iPhone; amazed at the capability of that tiny camera. It's liberating not to carry my "big boy" camera!
I have a science background and studied medicine. I did Clinical Research in the Pharmaceutical Industry until I retired in 2020.
Steve
Jan Handman
I live in San Diego, California with my husband of 56 years. We're both retired now, and since we didn't do much traveling while we were raising our family, we're now making up for lost time in that endeavor. It's such a hoot to see photos of faraway places and be able to point and say "we've been there -- right at that very spot!"
I've always enjoyed fine art photography, but not always from behind the camera. I remember as a child seeing Ansel Adams' images and being mesmerized by them. Many of our family vacations were in places he photographed. When I was in college I tried many times to take a photography class, but they always seemed to be full, so I never got the opportunity. It was only after I was retired that I finally took my first class. This was just at the time digital photography was becoming mainstream. I loved the idea of being able to practice and experiment without having to spend big money on film developing just to find out if what you tried actually worked. I enjoy doing composite, minimalist, travel, and flower photography.
My website: https://jhandman61.wixsite.com/jhandmanphotography
Susan Pellegrino
I was born and raised in NYC and lived in the NYC-metro area until I took early retirement and moved to Central Florida (the Nature Coast). The opportunities for photography are quite different down here!
I got my first instamatic for my 6th birthday and have never not had a camera. Right now, I'm attempting to "master" a travel camera, a Sony RX100M7, in preparation for a trip to Italy. My other camera is a Sony mirrorless A6000. I thought the menu would be similar enough that the transition would be smooth, but it seems like the point-and-shoot has so many different settings. I also take a lot of photographs on my iPhone.
James Troeger
Originally a native "Michigander," I also lived in the Orlando, FL, Tampa/St. Pete, FL, and Asheville, NC areas prior to calling the Cape Fear region of NC home. My professional career has been spent in the areas of manufacturing and microelectronics with a heavy focus in engineering and quality roles.
My interest in photography kind of goes back as far as I can remember, having received a wide variety of cameras as gifts through the years, starting with my 10th birthday. I took a photography class in high school, which included a darkroom element, and subsequently helped me land a co-op position during my junior and senior years with a photography studio in my hometown. During that time, I served as the studio's primary black & white darkroom technician, primarily focused on developing medium format film, creating high-quality portraiture prints as large as 24" x 36" and also sepia-toned prints that were subsequently colorized by hand using watercolor and/or pencils by our in-studio colorization artist.
I have also been a member of a couple different camera clubs over the years and currently maintain association with the Coastal Photo Club in New Bern, NC. I look forward to the opportunity to learn with and from everyone who is on this journey!
Group Admin
Jack Florence Jr
I am a Northern California grape farmer who has taken advantage of semi-retirement to join my local camera club, to my great satisfaction and enrichment. I've always enjoyed a connection to the outdoors, nature, and travel; and though trained as a plant scientist, now am able to explore artistic expression, through photography. I got hold of an old infrared camera, which, along with software such as Nik Silver Fx, has given me an interest in black and white photography, particularly of landscape and travel subjects. Though completely digital, I love black and white prints, and print many of my images. I migrated from Canon to Sony mirrorless a few years ago.
Kieu-Hanh Vu
I am currently a Systems Analyst working in Washington DC. I learned to use Photoshop via a Computer Graphics course in college back in 2002 and was very interested in the power of Photoshop tools before starting to learn about photography. I started in photography by joining Vietnamese Photographic Society (VNPS) in 2006, using point-and-shoot camera, and slowly moved to SLR digital camera - Canon EOS 30D. I currently use Canon EOS 50D to capture my images. Photojournalism and nature photography are my main interests. I have been a member of Northern Virginia Photographic Society (NVPS) since 2008. I learned about PSA via VNPS and I am looking forward to improve my photography skills through this program.