Mile High Wildlife Photography Club, a Denver, CO, Camera Club

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Winning image
from the
May 2013 Monthly
Competition

View All Winners

Image from the
2013 TWE Exhibit

View All Winners

The Mile High Wildlife Photography Club (MHWPC) is a camera club based in Parker, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, Colorado. It was founded in 1976 to provide members the opportunity to learn about wildlife and scenic photography, and also to promote personal growth, education, and enjoyment through nature photography.

It is the only photo club to win the Nature's Best Photography, Windland Smith Rice International Awards, competition in the Camera Club category twice, having won in 2007 and 2010. You may view the winning submissions for 2007 and 2010.

Learn about the benefits of membership and how to join.

Next Meetings

General Meeting

When:

June 12, 2013 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm

Where:

The Wildlife Experience (in the Theater)
10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, CO (view map)

Who:

Club members and visitors

Program:

PLANTS AND BIRDS OF THE DESERT FLOOR
Clair Postmus, Photographer
Bev Postmus, Writer and Presenter

Arizona's Sonoran Desert has a great diversity of plants because there are two rainy seasons. When winter rains are good, the March spring bloom is magnificent. Summer monsoons bring a "second spring." Birders from around the country visit this desert because it marks the northern boundary of many Mexican species.

The Postmus’ program shows some of the plants unique to this area and some of the birds that live here either all or part of the year. Many of these photos are beautiful and can stand alone. But woven together, they have much to teach us about the nature of the Sonoran Desert floor.

Competition:

Type:	Wildlife, Scenic, & Wildlife CC
Guidelines:	Digital Image Submission Guidelines, Monthly Competition Guidelines
Submissions:	May 9 through Jun 8

Digital Training Meeting

When:	May 22, 2013 from 7:00 to 9:30 pm
Where:	The Wildlife Experience (in the Great Hall or Classroom) 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, CO (view map)
Who:	Club members only
Program:	How to Stitch Gorgeous Panoramas by Larry Matney How to Create Amazing HDR images by Ken Winner Panoramas: Larry M. Describe how to shoot and stitch panoramic images. Describe how to determine exposure, camera settings, and image overlap for shooting panos. Demonstrate workflow for stitching single, multi-row and HDR panos using Photoshop CS6 and Hugin from Lightroom 4. HDR Images: Ken W. We see an image that we want to shoot but after looking at it we realize that the dynamic range of the light is beyond the capability of your camera. Now what do you do? Software has been developed to allow us to expand the dynamic range of a photograph, it’s called “HDR” or High Dynamic Range. So you go ahead and take multiple shoots of the image with different exposures so you have captured the darkest darks and the lightest lights without blowing out either one. Now you can blend them together to get an image that is closer to what you can see with your eyes. The results of the HDR processing can not only expand the dynamic range but also the texture and tonality of the image. The final image can be from “very realistic” to the “grunge” affect. We will process a couple of sample images including the Photoshop post processing to get a completed image.

Learn about our upcoming meetings.

Monthly Meetings

General Meeting With Competition

When:	Second Wednesday of the month from 7:00 to 10:00 pm
Where:	The Wildlife Experience (in the Theater) 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, CO (view map)

Photographers of all ages and levels, as well as guests, are always welcome at our general meetings which are held in the theater.

Each meeting has a program typically in the form of a slideshow about an aspect of wildlife or scenic photography. Some of the guests or members who have presented are: Russ Burden, John Fielder, Weldon Lee, Joe Lange, and Gordon and Cathy Illg. The program is followed by a photographic competition, and competition details are provided below.

Learn about our upcoming meetings or read past meeting summaries.

Digital Training Meeting

When:	Fourth Wednesday of odd-numbered months from 7:00 to 9:30 pm
Where:	The Wildlife Experience (in the Great Hall or Classroom) 10035 S. Peoria St., Parker, CO (view map)

Club members are welcome and encouraged to attend these meetings to learn how to get the most out of their digital files. At each meeting, a technique will be demonstrated, new software may be highlighted, or a creative process may be taught. Meetings are geared to cover aspects from beginner to advanced.

In November the meeting is held on the third Wednesday.

Learn about our upcoming meetings.

Competitions

The program at the general meeting is followed by a photographic competition where images compete in five different categories: Wildlife, Wildlife - Captive or Controlled, Wildlife In Its Environment, Scenic, and Open. The Wildlife and Scenic categories are part of each competition, and the Wildlife - Captive or Controlled, Wildlife In Its Environment, and Open categories alternate. Images compete in two different levels: Club, and Masters. The Masters level is for veteran club members whose past history of competition entries has demonstrated their photographic abilities at an extremely high level.

More information is available in the Competition Schedule and Monthly Competition Guidelines. Digital images must be submitted in advance following the Digital Image Submission Guidelines. The submission window opens the day after the previous meeting and closes at the end of the Saturday before the competition.

All images on this site are copyrighted by the photographers and are intended for viewing only. They are not to be downloaded or reproduced in any way without the written permission of the photographer.