Speaker for May Meeting-Bryan Ramsay

Image: Bryan Ramsey

Bryan Ramsay “BJ”, Volunteer Photographer for the Smithsonian Institute

He is currently a full time Navy employee (the Navy pays enough to put food on the table so his pictures don’t have too, which has allowed him to really explore his photography).  As a volunteer photographer to the Smithsonian Institute and the American Orchid Society he has multiple several published photographs. He is also the president of the St Mary’s Camera Club and an occasional lecturer.  

BJ started shooting at an early age (primarily landscapes) with 120 film in a brownie instamatic, followed by a Yashica and a Bronica (he is still a huge fan of Ansel Adams).  He did his own darkroom work all the way through HS, then beer and life got in the way and his photography slowed way down. He dabbled a little in underwater work with a Nikonos II/III and some aerial photography with a 35mm Canon SLR and slides but nothing serious until he picked up a Sony 727 digital point and shoot.  All of a sudden he could do his own “darkroom” work again, and even print in color. With that his photography started to explode. He now shoots with a D800E almost exclusively but will occasionally pick up the D7000 depending on the subject/location etc.  Somewhere along the way Bryan picked up a passion for orchids, primarily as great photography subjects, and the rest is history. He is now an accredited AOS judge (6 year in the training) with a passion for photographing orchids around the world.

But how does that make him a qualified speaker on image stacking? The ability to control the DoF with subjects that are not flat and are occasionally very small made understanding image stacking a necessity. It is now as much a part of his photography arsenal as his macro lenses.  Several years ago, he had the pleasure of taking a workshop with Joe McNally and Vincent Versace, both of whom had a significant impact on his photography, “I have as many speedlights as Joe” (well not quite but some days it seems that way) and Vinny’s influence on his Photoshop skills really opened the door for the art of the possible in the area of fine art photography. 

Meeting Information
May 27th, 2015
Chaplegate
2600 Marriottsville Road
Marriottsville, MD