June Program: Suzanne Maitland on Portrait Photography  Date: Wednesday July 20, 2005 Time: 7:30 pm Location: Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale 1799 S.E. 17 Street Ft. Lauderdale, Florida PPGF is proud to welcome Suzanne Maitland of Marrieta, Georgia, as our guest speaker for July. Suzzanne was heavily influence by Master Craftsman Photographer, Monte Zucker. She credits Zucker with helping her to discover talents that she "did not know that she had." Turn out in large numbers so that we can give Suzanne a hardy South Florida welcome. Plan to arrive by 7:30 pm for networking and to get a good seat. The program starts promptly at 8:00 pm. View Suzanne's work at http://suzanneportraits.com PPGF Ebay Auction As a fund raiser, PPGF is selling used photographic and computer equipment on Ebay, the world's largest auction site. The concept is a modern-day adaptation of the used camera flea markets that we used to hold annually. At one time, the Used Camera Flea Market provided enough profit to fund a large part of the Guild's annual budget. But once people started selling equipment online, the popularity of Camera Flea Markets declined drastically. Today, Ebay is the world's largest seller of used photographic equipment. So if we can't beat them we might as well join them. Donate your used photographic and computer equipment to PPGF as a fundraiser. You may elect to retain up to 50% of the proceeds for items that produce $100 profit or greater. Your Auction Manager for this fundraiser is Tom Collins. Contact Tom for additional information about the auctions.

President's Message Next month, the Miami Guild is hosting this years Inter-Guild Competition with the Palm Beach Guild, As usual, I expect the competition to be spirited, with the winner taking home the Inter-Guild trophy. Many of our members are as fine a photographer as can be found anywhere. But of course, the only way that we can win is if our members participate. Therefore, I am making a personal request that you prepare your prints early. On another subject, the Board and myself are always looking for ways to grow the membership. Bring a guest to the next meeting. The more members we have the better. It is easier to get sponsors for guest speakers if we can ensure a good turnout. Sponsors judge the success of a program by how many people are sitting in the audience. The Board recognizes that the easiest way to get members to participate is to present quality programs at the monthly meeting. We also know that YOUR participation is critical in us being able to have quality programs. Lou Gillard

May Program - Salon Competition

The May program was the second Salon Competition of the year. The big winners from the competition were Lou Gillard and Jon Laye. Lou's entry, This Is Love , won 1st Place in the Storybook Category and Best of Show. Jon's entry, Little Miss Hollywood, won 2nd Place in the Storybook Category.

Many thanks to the judges, Tom Collins, Domingo Sanchez, and Dick Roberts. They provided valuable critique for every entry. Their time and effort is truely appreciated.

Our next competition will be the Interguild Competition in August. This year, the Miami Guild will host the competition. So, get those prints ready! Remember that points for the annual Top 10 Photographer of the Year come primarily from Salon Competition. Therefore, the next salon competition will be very important. Click here to view more pictures from the June meeting.

Notice To Members - Darlene Rowe, Membership Chairperson

New telephone number, email, website address? Send member updates to Membership Chairperson, Dee Dee Rowe. Also, send your areas of specialty for our new Member Referral Program. One of the best sources of referrals is our fellow Guild members. If you receive an inquiry for a date that you are already booked for, a type of job that you do not do, a job that just does not fit you for one reason or another, refer the prospective client to another Guild Member. We have a great group of photographers here and we should refer, refer, and refer...

Please bring a stack of business cards to our next meeting. On the back of each card write the top three types of work that you do. For example, weddings, business portraits, commercial, etc... Pass out the cards to every photograph you see at the next meeting. See you there!