As Summer of 2018 approaches, so too does the parade of planets in the night sky! Venus leads the way, visible until almost 10pm! And just as Venus is setting, Jupiter majestically rises in the East at its largest and brightest. Although we are saying goodnight to Orion the Hunter, more constellations are coming into view with a host of great deep sky nebulae, start clusters, and galaxies to see.

Please join us on Saturday May 12 th for a special Hobbs State Park Star Party co-hosted by Sugar Creek Astronomical Society and the Photographic Society of NWA. We will start off the night with lectures at 7:30 and followed by a Star Party where you will be able to look through telescopes and practice dark sky photography.

Tim Johnson of the Photographic Society of NWA (PSNWA) will kick off our evening with a presentation on Night Photography. Tim will share some of the equipment used, techniques, and share some amazing examples of the kind of photographs of the night sky that can be achieved. Following the lecture, we encourage you to take your own night sky photographs during the Star Party.

Next, Rick Marshall of Sugar Creek Astronomical Society will give a presentation on the king of the planets, Jupiter. Rick will cover some facts about the largest planet in our solar system, the history of human investigation of Jupiter and its moons, and then he will cover what to expect when looking at Jupiter during the Star Party.

What to Bring if you can:
– Camera and a Tripod for Night Sky Photography
– Flashlight (covered with a red cloth or red balloon)
– Binoculars and/or telescope (if you have)
– Folding chair – one per person
– Star chart (if you have one)

Where & When:
– Hobbs State Park Visitor Center
– Located on Hwy 12 just east of the Hwy 12/War Eagle Road intersection.
– Saturday May 12 th 2018
– 7:30 pm Lecture, 8:30 for Star Party
– Cost: Free

Photographic Society of NWA’s Facebook Group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/PSNWAnature/ and their website is https://www.psnwa.org/ns/. Sugar Creek Astronomical Society’s Facebook Group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/143382315673668/

Noted Photographer Brian DeMint will be at the PSNWA Gallery for a presentation of his work. All PSNWA members and guests are invited!

Brian DeMint is an art/fashion photographer formally trained as an oil painter. By combining the classic elements of design with the digital technologies of today, he creates visually unique and striking imagery. Brian can often be found lecturing at photography conferences and appears in many online training series.

Don’t miss your opportunity to see his work and speak with Brian DeMint! A gallery reception will precede his presentation in the PSNWA Gallery beginning at 6:00 pm.

Terry Boyd has been driving and photographing across North America from Arkansas to Alaska for the past 15 years. He leads photography workshops and tours yearly in Alaska May to September.

Terry grew up in Arkansas and spent his younger years mountain biking and fishing. In his early 20s he bought a used 35mm camera. He knew absolutely nothing about photography and had never even touched a camera with more than one button before. The first time he photographed a sunset from a bluff over the Arkansas River, he knew this was the path for him. Since then, he has dedicated his life to the light, doing his best to be in the right place at the right time. He first traveled to Alaska in 2003 and has returned every summer since, working in a variety of positions until beginning a photography tour business in 2010.

Join us as wildlife photographer Mike Wintroath speaks at Hobbs Spate Park!

[image_frame style=”framed” title = “Picture by Mike Wintroath” align=”right” width=”300″ height=”300″][/image_frame]A longtime photojournalist, Mike Wintroath has been the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission photographer for eight years and in that time his spectacular wildlife images have filled the pages of the Arkansas Wildlife magazine, calendars, and more. During this special event Mike will present a presentation of his wildlife work, including his underwater photography in Arkansas, as well as stories and insights from his years as a professional photographer.

Everyone is welcome.

Join us for a presentation by noted photographer Steven Foster!

[image_frame style=”framed” title = “Steven Foster” align=”right” width=”300″ height=”300″][/image_frame]For forty-three years, Steven Foster, has photographed and researched botanicals on six continents from the Amazon rainforest to the highlands of Vietnam. He began his career in 1974 at the Sabbathday Lake, Maine, Shaker Community’s Herb Department, America’s old herbal business dating to 1799. Foster is author and photographer of 18 books, most recently the 2014 third edition of the Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Eastern and Central North America (with the late James A. Duke; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) , plus National Geographic’s Complete Guide to Medicinal Herbs (2010), and A Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine (2006, with Rebecca Johnson), awarded a 2007 New York Public Library “Best of Reference”. He has thousands of published photos to his credit and has conducted botanical photo workshops throughout the US, as well as Belize, Costa Rica, Montenegro, Peru, the UK and elsewhere.

For more about Steven at: www.stevenfoster.com.