Upcoming events

Switch to Calendar View

• CMPG Hands-On Meeting: Close-up Photography Fundamentals

  • When
    18 Mar 2026
  •  
    6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    The Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant, 9100 Fathers Legacy, Ellicott City, MD 21042
  • Registered
    35 registrants

  Register

  We'll kick off the 2026 Hands-On Group (formerly known as "User's Group") activities with Close-Up Photography Fundamentals. This is a workshop for all skill levels. If you're an expert hand at macro, then this is an opportunity to pass that information along. If you're a newbie to macro, this will help demystify some terminology. If you're like me, this will be a good refresher. This is a hands-on activity. So, this is an opportunity to experiment with peers.

  When:

  Wednesday, March 18, 6:30-9:00pm

  
  

  Where: 

  The Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant, 9100 Fathers Legacy, Ellicott City

  Learning Center, Terrace Level.  Click HERE for map.

  We will explore fundamentals:

  • What is close focusing distance?
  • What is working distance?
  • What is magnification?
  • What is life-size? How does sensor size affect the results?
  • Practical depth of field in a macro situation.
  • And finally, you'll see how clean your sensor.

  The activity will be a combination of photographing targets to measure parameters and putting this information to use in photographing some small objects.  Please bring your patience and cooperation as photographing the small world can be tedious, exasperating, yet the results can be very rewarding and entertaining.

  What to bring:

  • Camera
  • A macro lens (if you have one). Your kit lens or favorite moderate zoom will also work.
  • Tripod (if you have one).
  • Small LED panel (if you have one).
  • Any additional macro equipment that you have and may be interested in learning or sharing more about like extension tubes, teleconverters, close up filter lens, focusing rails, etc.
  • A tiny thing you may wish to photograph or share. Remember we are visitors in someone else's house, so no live insects, spiders, millipedes, or eggs of the same...
  • And no glitter or the like...

  
  

  What to prepare:

  • Please look up the close focusing distance and maximum magnification of any lens you plan on using.

  
  

  

  

  Show details
• CMPG April Slideshow Submissions

  • When
    25 Mar 2026

  Thank you to all that participated in the March Monthly Slideshows! In addition to Members' 5 images, we also have the first of our Monthly Theme Challenge. "Hearts" was this month's theme. Enjoy!   Click here to watch!   We have changed up the naming convention. When you name your files, the month will be for the month ahead. In other words, if you submit in March, those images will be used for our April show, so make the month "APR".

  Deadline for submitting is always on the 25th of each month. Please upload up to five (5) images, no larger than 30MB per image. Rename your files as follows: "CMPG-2026-APR-LastName-FirstName-01.jpg", -02.jpg, etc We have a new Monthly Theme Challenge!    April's theme is "1 by 1 Album Cover" Each month, we'll have a theme. You can interpret the theme anyway you wish. Submit one (1) image and it will be included in the Theme Challenge portion of the slideshow. This does not count  towards your five monthly images. It can be something new or something from your library. Use the word "theme" in your file name, not the actual name of the theme. "CMPG-2026-APR-Theme-LastName-FirstName.jpg"   Dropbox Upload Link

  Show details
• CMPG Outing: Sherwood Garden

  • When
    09 Apr 2026
  •  
    8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
  • Registered
    4 registrants

  Register

  

  Please join us for a beautiful flower shoot featuring an outstanding display of tulips at Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore City, April 9 (8:00-10:00 am)

  The goal of this outing is to practice techniques from the presentation on flower photography, as well as the Hands-On session on macro photography. If you weren't able to attend these meetings, you are still welcome!

  Meet Up: On the sidewalk at the corner of Stratford and Underwood Rd.  Mike Washington or John Schuster will be there. See their web site for directions and a facility map at https://www.sherwoodgardens.org/ 

  Information: There is no charge for visitors and parking is free along the streets around the gardens. The venue is a private park operated by the residents and is known for the wide variety of tulips on display. CMPG members will be happy to assist newer photographers. There are no restrictions on camera gear, as long as you don’t interfere with the other visitors.

  Please sign up so we know who is coming. Family and guests are welcome.

  After the outing, upload your 5 best images to share (see instructions on CMPG web site).

  
  

  
  

  Show details
• CMPG April Hands-On Meeting: Shoot a "Roll of Film"

  • When
    15 Apr 2026
  •  
    6:30 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Registered
    7 registrants

  Register

  Join us for our next Hands-On Group

  (formerly known as "User's Group")

  
  

  April CMPG HANDS-ON MEETING:

  THE EC SIMULATED "ROLL OF FILM" CHALLENGE
  

  Our April Hands-On Group activity is a Simulated Roll of Film Challenge. This is an activity for all skill levels. This challenge's objective is to improve our intentionality. Better composition by focusing our efforts before we click the shutter button. Increase our creativity by limiting our choices. Slow down, plan the shot. Also, we'll reinforce our fundamentals (exposure, focus, etc.)
  

  When: 

  Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 6:30 to 9:00 PM (sunset: 7:45 PM)

  Where:  

  Main St. & Maryland Ave., Old Ellicott City (Downtown) Meet at the Tardis (blue Free library across from the B&O Museum) in downtown Old Ellicott City. 

  Overview:

  
  

  To ‘see things with your own eyes,’ as they say, is not always to see the truth. One must see with eyes of the mind; one must employ the little cells of grey!

  --Hercule Poirot (*1)

  
  

  The activity is to shoot the equivalent of one roll of film... 24 exposures... NO MORE...

  
  

  We'll start by "loading" our film, choosing our ISO and whether we are shooting B&W or color. We'll "wind" our film by recording on the clipboard our starting filename.  Shall we make it harder? For those advanced shooters craving more challenge: Slide film.  JPEGs straight out of the camera...  Can you nail Exposure, hold the highlights while still getting shadow detail?

  
  

  We'll explore Old Ellicott City for about an hour in small groups on what I hope will be a lovely spring evening. We will emphasize our composition and exposure skills: Architecture, street life, shadows, reflections, etc., as all are available downtown. We'll be shooting in the golden hour for the most part.  We'll meet back at the Tardis to discuss our experience.

  
  

  Please bring your patience, cooperation and sense of adventure. Remember this is a game, DO NOT let frustration ruin your experience. Please embrace the adventure. If twenty-four exposures run out to soon, then "reload..." B&W too constraining, change to color... ISO chosen, not good for golden hour, then increase it (or switch to auto-ISO)... The objective is to create composition choices intentionally, then record that choice with a decisive press of the shutter button. To think through the image making process rather than spray and pray...

  
  

  What to bring

  
  

     • Camera

     • A favorite walk around lens

  
  

  Sharing Images

  
  

  Submit up to 5 images from this challenge. If you are willing, the first of these images should be a contact sheet of all 24 images, unedited. We will provide instructions for Lightroom and a couple of optional templates to dress the contact sheet up.

  
  

  CMPG-2026-EVENT-APR15-LastName-FirstName-01.jpg

  
  

    Dropbox Upload Link  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Reference:

  
  

  *1. Agatha Christie, The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot -- Chapter 1: The Affair at the Victory Ball, (Dreamscape Media LLC, 2018, originally published Sketch Magazine 1923), pg. 19

  Show details
• Volunteers Needed: Hero Dogs Golf Tournament

  • When
    17 Apr 2026
  •  
    9:30 AM
  • Registered
    3 registrants

  Register

  
  

  Volunteers Needed!

  CMPG is looking for volunteers to photograph a golf fundraiser to benefit Hero Dogs, Inc. on Friday April 17, 2026 at the Laytonsville Golf Course near Olney.  Along with the amazing support dogs, there will be actual people to photograph.   Activities start at 10 am.  Details are on the hero-dogs.org website.

  Last Fall we photographed the 2025 graduating class of 12 dogs.  Each had completed three or more years of training for their specific role. This year we will support this golf event, a 1K and 5K race through the historic Congressional Cemetery in DC on May 16th, and the graduation in Olney on October 18.  We will post separate CMPG Event Notices for each.

  Hero Dogs, a Maryland 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in Burtonsville, MD improves the quality of life of our nation’s heroes and enhances the services of community organizations by placing assistance dogs with customized training and lifetime support.  For more information, go to hero-dogs.org or contact Dan Smith at DanSmith007@comcast.net.

  It would be great to have a minimum of 3 photographers.

  
  

  Show details
• Volunteers Needed: Rebuilding Together Howard County

  • When
    25 Apr 2026
  • Registered
    1 registrant

  Register

  

  Volunteers Needed!

  It's that time of year again! Rebuilding Together Howard County's Rebuilding day on Saturday, April 25th. 

  This is an organization we have partnered with for many years. We send our members to photograph volunteers as they repair or renovate low income homes in our community.

  We have 22 properties this year, so as they say, many hands make light work!  Each volunteer would be assigned a few locations to photograph. The photos are used to document the work they do, and to share with their donors to show the impactful their support.

  Even if this is something you may have never done, we would still love to have you. We will have a Zoom Meeting (date TBD) for volunteers to prepare the exciting day!

  Thank you to all past photographers! We hope you'll join us again! 

  Please register to sign up.  The sooner you can commit, the better!!

  https://www.rebuildingtogetherhowardcounty.org/

  
  

  Show details