Share the love, join a PUG. Pictage User Groups are designed to facilitate communication and education among professional photographers on a regional level around the nation. There are over 55 PUGs located across the United States and in Canada. PUG meetings are open to both Pictage and non-Pictage members and are a great resource for professional photographers to network and grow.
In our attempt to get photographers connected to local PUGs, we are featuring Pictage User Group Spotlights. In each spotlight post we will get to know the PUG through the PUG leader.
We would like you to meet Alice Patterson of Alice G. Patterson Photography, Pictage User Group (PUG) leader in Central New York. Hear from Alice herself, what she loves about being a photographer and what her goals are for the Central NY PUG.
About Alice:
Alice Patterson graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography and has been a professional photographer for over fifteen years. She was based in San Francisco, then moved to Los Angeles for several years. While living in LA, she attended LA PUG meetings led by Jules Bianchi. Approximately two years ago Alice moved to Baldwinsville, New York, to be close to her family, and recently started the Central New York PUG.
Alice’s favorite part of photography is sharing her images. While there are definitely very talented photographers, Alice is from the school of thought that the real star is photography itself… the beauty of moments captured, by someone that cares enough to be focusing on that moment.
From Alice:
Our first PUG was a huge success with Justin and Mary Marantz giving us a portion of their fantastic, amazing, inspirational “Share the Love” tour. In addition, we had another photographer, Shai introduce his spider holster.
The November meeting was a smaller group, which gave us a chance to get to know each other better. Last month, we talked about some of the highlights of Partnercon2009 (and we tried really hard to limit ourselves because there were sooooo many). There was also a lot of exchanges of information within the group, questions asked and answered! It was really neat to discover how to help ourselves and each other at the same time.
In December, we had another awesome meeting with featured guest Steve DePino! While in New Orleans, I had the opportunity to hear Steve speak, and it was well worth it. In addition to Steve’s presentation, we did a holiday exchange of prints. We’re also working to get a shoot scheduled for a local non profit group for Help Portrait. Many of our PUG members have said they are interested in helping out!
Finally, I must say that the most amazing thing about the PUG is that there isn’t a sense of competition between the photographers, but rather a sense of community. Its a place to grow, learn and share.
The Central NY PUG meets the 2nd Tuesday of every Month, the next Central NY PUG meeting will be January 12th.
For more information on the Central NY PUG, meeting times and locations visit www.centralnypug.wordpress.com. To find a PUG near you visit www.pugs.pictage.com or email pugs@pictage.com.