Lisa Earn HonNEC

Lisa Cuchara, PhD, MNEC, was recently recognized by the New England Camera Club Council for her superior photographic leadership. Lisa, who teaches Biomedical photography and is the QU photography club advisor, was awarded HonNEC (Honorary Member, New England Camera Club Council). HonNEC is awarded for superior leadership in the operation of our Council and superior photographic leadership in the New England area. For achieving substantial and outstanding recognition in the field of photography through activities for a minimum of ten years through lecturing, judging, writing, and administrative activities in the New England area.

Lisa received the designation of HonNEC “For her outstanding dedication to New England Camera Club Council using her extensive organizational skills and knowledge to serve as its blog master, social media liaison, webmaster and executive board member; for her longstanding continued service in many diverse roles for New Haven Camera Club, Connecticut Association of Photographers and Connecticut Professional Photographers Association; for her tireless efforts to promote the photographic arts; she routinely lectures for New England Camera Club Council and camera clubs in the New England area; she constantly provides formal and informal teaching leading classes in photography concepts in the classroom as well as in field workshops; for her role as a sought after judge providing dynamic and constructive critiques; for her photographic achievements and exemplary exhibition records. With her commitment and vast knowledge of photography, Lisa epitomizes the concept of the dedicated professional.”

This honor is limited to a maximum of two each year. Applicants are evaluated by a three-person honors committee and ratified by a quorum vote of the council. Honors are given out to the most deserving candidates, based on the applicants’ contributions to the New England photographic community. The presentation took place at the 70th Annual NECCC Conference, in the Fine Arts Auditorium on Saturday, July 18, 2015.

photo contest winners

Photo Contest Winners!   No doubt it wasn't easy choosing winners here. Ok, first to the winners, congratulations Lisa, Tom and Joseph! We received many great images from birds building nests and feeding young to birds seen visiting backyard feeders.  The winning images along with about 50 others can be seen on the digital display at the shop.  Truth is, we wish we had a lot more prizes! Speaking of prizes, a big thanks to Vortex and Aspects, two of our favorite suppliers for their help with these and other items celebrating our 20th anniversary! First Place and winner of a Diamondback 8x42 Binocular. Osprey with fish by Lisa Cuchara Tons of action with this beautiful osprey.  Perfect wing position, great eye contact and what a catch.  Congratulations Lisa! Second Place and winner of an Aspects antique brass feeder with tray. Tri-colored Heron by Tom Cuchara Photography is all about painting with light which can make or break an image.  The warm soft buttery light on this just doesn't get any better.  Congratulations Tom!

Lisa Cuchara offering a class on HDR as part of a nationwide educational event by Professional Photographers of America (PPA)

Lisa Cuchara offering a class on HDR as part of a nationwide educational event by Professional Photographers of America (PPA)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 1, 2014

Coming to a Studio Near You!

Hamden, CT—Many people have an interest in photography, but how many actually have the skills and knowledge to become a professional? On Wednesday, October 15, 2014, Lisa Cuchara of BREA Photos in Hamden will be sharing her expertise as a professional photographer, helping you learn how to shoot and prcoess HDR (High dynamic range)

Lisa Cuchara's class, HDR, is part of a nationwide educational event by Professional Photographers of America (PPA). Called Super 1 Day, these classes occur during a two-week period and have been a huge success each year. Known for individual and focused attention, Super 1 Day features educational classes on diverse topics around the country, hosted by professional photographers.

Step into the world of HDR and discover the techniques you need to create incredible images! Lisa starts with some basics in camera set-up and what you need to capture the highlights and shadows of a scene. Discuss what you need, in-camera, and learn how to tone map and process high dynamic range images. You’ll explore both stylized and natural post processing, as well as selective HDR. This is your chance to get  in-depth with HDR and unlock its potential!

Discover more about Lisa Cuchara's Super 1 Day class at ppa.com/super1day.

Lisa Cuchara, PhD, MNEC, is very passionate about photography, both behind the lens and in the digital darkroom. She and her husband teach photography a variety of image capture and post-processing workshops and seminars, in the classroom and in the field. They have been photographing professionally for over 15 years and have their own Photography Studio in Hamden, CT.  Find out more about them, their classes and workshops and view their photographs here: www.BREAphotos.com

Professional Photographers of America (PPA), a worldwide association, exists to assist more than 26,000 members in achieving their professional, artistic, and fraternal goals; to promote public awareness of the profession; and to advance the making of images in all of its disciplines as an art, a science and a visual recorder of history. For more information, visit ppa.com/super1day.

Lisa and Tom's Photographs Earns Awards at Connecticut Professional Photography Association Convention

Lisa and Tom's Photographs Earns Awards at Connecticut Professional Photography Association Convention

Six photographs created by Lisa Cuchara of BREA Photos and an additional six photographs created by her husband Tom Cuchara, both of Hamden, CT, recently won awards at the Connecticut Professional Photography Association (CTPPA) 65th annual convention held at the Hartford/Windsor Marriott.  Lisa and Tom co-own BREA Photos (www.BREAphotos.com) where they love newborn, children, and portrait photography, as well as teaching photography classes and workshops. You can view their images galleries here: http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/

All told Lisa's six photographic entries earned her sixteen (16) awards: the 2014 Treskunoff Award (for the highest total point score for the 6 prints entered at the convention), Photographer of the Year in the ART/EI category (based on the total accumulated points) from all four quarterly competitions, Photographer of the Year in the unclassified category (based on the total accumulated points) from all four quarterly competitions, 2014 Court of Honor Winners for ART/EI, 2014 Court of Honor Winners for unclassified, Best in Show in the unclassified category, First place in the unclassified category, The 2014 BWC Printmakers Award "Most Creative" ART/EI image, The 2014 Sunset Award (for the "Best print in Exhibition" (selected by the judges from the top ten scoring images), The 2014 Kodak Award, 2014 Artist Images Award (Most Creative image in the unclassified Category), the People's Choice Award (voted on by attendees), and three Judges Choice Awards.

Four of Lisa's photographs ("Feeling out of Place", "Sunflowers Remind me of VanGogh", "Red-Eyed Green Tree Frog" and "Red Chair in the Prison") won Blue ribbons depicting Awards of Expert, and "Never and Line in the Men's Room" and "Contemplation in the Stairway" won Red ribbons depicting Awards of Excellence". "Red-Eyed Green Tree Frog" also earned People's Choice and one of the six Judge's Choice Awards. "Feeling out of Place" also earned one of the six Judge's Choice and the Sunset Award. "Sunflowers Remind me of VanGogh" also earned one of the six Judge's Choice Awards.

Five of Tom's photographs ("Abandoned roses on old glass", "Muscleman", Proud Older Brother", "Romance under the Moon" and "Spring Flowers in the Ornamental Grasses" won Red ribbons depicting Awards of Excellence" and his " Magnolia Tree blooming" won a Blue ribbon depicting an Award of Expert.

"Founded in 1947, the Connecticut Professional Photographers’ Association (CTPPA) is composed of hundreds of professional photographers whose common goal is the ethical advancement of photography. The CTPPA is an affiliate of the Professional Photographers of America. Members of the CTPPA include professionals with diverse photographic talents and interests; including, but not limited to; portrait, commercial, wedding, medical, legal and school photography. The majority of the members are studio owners and their assistants. All members have a common goal: to provide quality images that fulfill the client’s desires in an ethical, professional and artistic manner. http://www.ctppa.com/."

Thinking of Warmer days

On this cold winter day I am thinking of warmer days...

 

Photography workshops, tours and classes

Photography workshops, tours and classes
Lisa and Tom Cuchara have been teaching photography workshops together for over 13 years. They have taught workshops and presented programs at the New England Camera Club Council Conference, and at a number of camera clubs and for the Connecticut Association of Photographers. They offer camera, post-processing and on location classes and workshops. They also offer individual one-on-one workshops. They are patient and enthusiastic, and both very passionate about photography. Lisa's exuberance is contagious and she will inspire you with her skill and enthusiasm. 

You can see what they are offering here: http://www.meetup.com/Image-Enhancement/.  Sign up today (free) to get notified of new workshops are they are posted...

Highlights:

• Textures Workshop (flower setups, take photos of texture, and learn post-processing using textures)
• Night photography 
• at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (or Woodlawn Cemetery)
• at Longwood Gardens
• at Trolley Museum
• at local parks, beaches and piers
• HDR 
• (and Macro) at Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum (with tripods)
• Morovian Tile Factory (with tripods)
• HDR  (with tripods) at Grand Central Terminal
• HDR and Architecture inside at Gillette Castle (with tripods)
• HDR and Architecture at the various theaters (Warner, Palace, Bushnell, Landsdowne Theater, Victory, Sterling Opera House, etc.)
• Models and Architecture at the Morovian Tile Factory
• Models at Grand Central Terminal
• Photo Hi-Jinx (photo setup) Workshop
• Macro Workshops at various locations
• Classes on using your Camera, Exposure, Manual, HDR photography, etc.
• Classes on post-processing (emphasis on layers and masks) 
• Classes on post-processing using plugins in Photoshop and Lightroom
• Classes on processing RAW images with ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) in CS6 and CC, 
• Classes on post-processing using Lightroom (emphasis on the Library & Develop modules)
• Project Nights -- come and work on a HDR or other photography project. We all have lots of images in our computer, these project nights are designed to get your photographs processed and for you to learn a particular post-processing skill you want to learn.

Contact                                          BREAphotos@comcast.net for more information.

Website:                                        http://www.BREAphotos.com

Classes and workshops:           http://www.meetup.com/Image-Enhancement/

Also, sign up for Lisa's Blog: http://lifethrulisaslens.blogspot.com/ (free) to receive information about photography -- photo ops, new products, reviews, workshops, articles, exhibitions, etc. etc.

Bio. Lisa and Tom, MNEC, are passionate about photography, both behind the lens and in the digital darkroom. They teach photography a variety of image capture and post-processing workshops and seminars, in the classroom and in the field. They love to photograph nature, but find capturing the essence of people equally intriguing. From birds and flowers to babies and HDR, they appreciate the world around them and embrace the challenge of interpreting what their eyes see and their hearts feel via the camera lens. Tom and Lisa are both very active in many local, national and international photography organizations. Tom is currently the Chair of the Connecticut Association of Photographers (CAP). Both Lisa and Tom are past presidents of the New Haven Camera Club, Lisa is also their webmaster and blogmaster. They have been photographing weddings, babies, parties, portraits, etc. professionally for over 15 years and have their own Photography Studio in Hamden. Their portrait philosophy is based on “We do not remember days, we remember Moments”. They have had many successful gallery exhibitions and their photographs have appeared in Adirondack Life, Wild Bird, Birder’s World, in calendars, on the cover of the Wolf Conservation Calendar and on the cover of paperback novel. They have presented a variety of instructional programs and workshops (Photoshop, Digital Workflow, HDR, RAW processing, Travel photography, Bird photography, plus fun and interesting travelogue slideshows at NECCC, PSA, and many other camera clubs and other organizations.

Skimmer

I've been trying for a long time to get a shot of a skimmer skimming.  This requires a lot
of patience because they are not always in the correct spot you want.  Lots of fun!  

Technical Information:  
Gitzo Tripod, Wimberley Gimbal Head, 
 Canon 7D, 500mm
with 1.4ext., 
shot in AV mode, 500 iso, 1/1250 at F8 and +2/3 exp comp.