Guest Speaker 1: Bob Hills
ARTful Photography – My World Creating Digital Art
This presentation explores a variety of approaches for creating multiple exposure artwork, showcasing examples made from both straight photographs and intentionally blurred images. Through a series of examples, participants will gain insight into how different camera and post-processing techniques can be combined to create distinctive, visually compelling results.
The imagery will cover a broad range of subjects, with special emphasis on rodeo roping and racing as well as sailing, where motion, energy, and rhythm can be express through layered, intentionally blurred exposures.
Attendees will leave inspired to explore new photographic techniques and discover how multiple exposures can transform familiar subjects into refined and expressive photographic art.
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After a successful career in technology, Bob Hills has found new purpose in creating art through photography. His journey began as a pursuit of technically perfect, razor-sharp images but has evolved as he embraced photographic imperfection and new forms of digital expression. Driven by curiosity and a willingness to experiment, he continually explores new ways to merge camera craft with image processing.
Through techniques such as multiple exposures, intentional blur, and inventive post- processing, Bob seeks to capture not only what a scene looks like, but the feeling of being there. His work is characterized by bold color, strong lines, and a distinctive sense of expression. In subjects such as rodeo and urban life, that expression conveys energy and movement; in sailing or quiet desert landscapes, it becomes calm and contemplative.
Across this range, Bob reveals his fascination with the camera’s ability to create visual impressions that move beyond the literal. He hopes his work encourages viewers to experience his photo-based digital art as a bridge between observation and imagination.
Guest Speaker 2: Daniel Rappaport
This image is characteristic of both my motivation and my technical process. I’m drawn to forest scenes with flowing water. I typically hike to my favorite spots, here, Upper McCord Creek in the Gorge, carrying my camera, tripod, and waders on my back. In this case, the gear was my Canon 5DMkII and16-35mm lens. With my waders, I can place myself right in the flowing water.
I’m a sucker for sun stars and dappled forest light - a difficult dynamic range. Once I’ve found the composition that pleases me, I’m confronted with the need to splash around to place the sun against an edge, such as a leaf or branch, so that it is partially blocked. If I then stop down to f22, I can transiently obtain a well-exposed sunstar. I’ve found that diffraction softness at f22 is not typically that much of an issue with this sort of scene. Often in similar circumstances, I have taken multiple exposures with the intent of using HDR merging to compress the tonal range. HDR wasn’t necessary for this image, but I did composite 2 shots manually to replace the blown-out sun. My favorite exposure time for flowing water is anywhere from ½ to 1/10 second, here 1/8 second. The result is water that is smoothed out, but not to the point of losing all structure.
Virtual Monthly Presenter’s Meeting
Our featured speakers are typically accomplished photographers from throughout the US and beyond. The monthly meetings also include a “photo challenge” segment, in which all current PPF members are invited to submit photos that reflect a specific theme. These meetings are the Third Monday of the month and open to the public.
If you would like to learn more about meetings, please become a member today, and you will be subscribed to our newsletter.