About Me

My photo
Spofford, New Hampshire, United States
Jeff Newcomer had been a physician practicing in New Hampshire and Vermont for over 30 years. Over that time, as a member of the Conservation Commission in his home of Chesterfield New Hampshire, he has used his photography to promote the protection and appreciation of the town's wild lands. In recent years he has been transitioning his focus from medicine to photography, writing and teaching. Jeff enjoys photographing throughout New England, but has concentrated on the Monadnock Region and southern Vermont and has had a long term artistic relationship with Mount Monadnock. He is a featured artist in a number of local galleries and his work is often seen in regional print, web publications and in business installations throughout the country. For years Jeff has published a calendar celebrating the beauty of The New England country-side in all seasons. All of the proceeds from his New England Reflections Calendar have gone to support the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at the Cheshire Medical Center. Jeff has a strong commitment to sharing his excitement about the special beauty of our region and publishes a blog about photography in New England.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

A Busy Spring Photography Teaching Schedule


In Summary, here it is

·       Lightroom Tuesdays March 3-April 7

·       Introduction to Digital Photography Thursdays April 9 – May 14 (excluding April 23rd)

·     Spring Waterfall Weekend Workshop May 15th – May 17th  


Leaning In - Ashuelot River
With the holidays out of the way, I have been organizing my spring teaching season, and this year the programs are especially compressed.  It will be a busy and exciting time to cover photography, including an introduction to digital photography, a detailed exploration of the amazing image organizing and editing capabilities of Adobe’s Lightroom Classic, and a fun spring weekend workshop shooting some of the most beautiful waterfalls in southern Vermont and the Monadnock region.

This is just a brief listing of the spring programs.  For those who are interested, I will be posting more details as the dates approach, but since I keep the classes comfortably small, it always helps to reserve your spots early.  The best way to get your name on the list is to send me an email and if you have any questions, give me a call: 603-363-8338.


Introduction to Lightroom Classic – AND the Transition to Photoshop
Six Tuesday Evenings March 3rd – April 7th
373 Route 9a Spofford (around my dining room table)



Lightroom Workflow
 Once again, beginning in early March, I will be offering my Introduction to Adobe’s Lightroom Classic. If you are interested in getting the most from your images there is no better place to start.

With each new version of Lightroom, the program’s capabilities and features have grown. Its image management tools have improved, but the major advancement has been in its sophisticated editing capabilities. Lightroom’s Develop Module now is as fully capable as Photoshop’s Camera RAW, but Lightroom organizes these tools into a simpler and more intuitive workflow. The program also facilitates the sharing of images through Slide Shows, Books and simple Web designs.

Lightroom Magic


Given its power and ease of use, for the majority of digital photography enthusiasts, Lightroom is all they will need to get started with image management and editing.










The Course
Around the Table
From 6-8 pm, on six successive Tuesday evenings beginning on March 3rd, we will gather around my dining room table in Spofford.  The course will concentrate on Lightroom Classic, which is the full desktop version of the program intended for photographers who want to get the most from their images.  Adobe also offers a version of the program simply called Lightroom which is designed for mobile users and will not be covered in this course.  All the key functions of Lightroom Classic will be covered primarily in live demonstrations, and although everyone will be encouraged follow along on their own laptops, this will not be necessary to benefit from the course.


If you, like many, are still confused about the different Lightroom programs, just know that the Lightroom and Lightroom Classic versions are both included among the options in the Adobe Photography Subscription Plan, along with the latest version of Photoshop (if you ever want to enter the abyss) and still costs only $9.99/month.



 My course will be covering the full power of the Lightroom Classic Program but I have added a sixth class to review how to move images into Photoshop and a brief look at what this amazing program can add to your pictures. 



The expanded course will be $225.
More details will be coming soon on my blog at:



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Introduction to Digital Photography Thursdays April 9 – May 14 (excluding April 23rd) Keene High School


My introductory class on digital photography has evolved over the years as I have tried to find better ways to inform and excite students about the amazing capabilities of digital cameras.  The course includes 5 two-hour classes and two photo shoots. I cover a wide range of topics from understanding the differences in camera types, to image file formats, file management and archiving. Special emphasis is placed on exposure, composition and the use of different types of light.  All these topics are applied to the results of the photo shoots.  This class always fills very quickly, so sign up early at :

https://www.keenecommunityed.org/classes/digital-photography-intro/

Spring 2018 Class

Contact Erin White, Program Assistant
(603)357-0088 ext. 103, ewhite@sau29.org
for more information


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Spring Waterfall Weekend Workshop May 15th – May 17th  

Garwin Falls
It may seem early to anticipate my annual Spring Waterfall Weekend Workshop, but I’m reminded that the snow on the ground is the raw material that will contribute to the vigorous spring run-off.


This year’s weekend workshop will follow my usual, time-tested format. We will first gather Friday evening around my dining room table, for a chance to meet everyone, and review our plans. I will discuss key elements of the photography of flowing water, including exposure, the importance of a sturdy tripod, a cable release and, of course, a polarizing filter. 




Porcupine Falls


Will meet on Saturday for an all-day shoot traveling to many of my favorite regional waterfalls and ending with an evening of pizza and sharing around my informal table. Sunday morning, we will gather again for more falling waters and I will let you all escape, exhausted but full of wonderful waterfall images, by noon.



Dummerston Veil






It should be an exciting weekend and I’m looking forward to sharing many of my favorite spots. 

To allow for individual attention, the workshop is limited to only 8 participants. The entire program including snacks and an informal dinner will be $195. 




Get in touch as soon as possible, by email or phone, to get on the workshop list. I look forward to seeing you.

Jeffrey Newcomer

603-363-8338


Saturday, January 11, 2020

More Catching Up / Autumn 2019




Dummerston Vermont


Newfane Vermont
It is amazing how quickly time and the seasons progress in New England.  When I last posted I covered our eventful September trip to Ireland. I returned with a mass of beautiful images requiring careful attention and an injured heart that demanded my dedication to an intense program of cardiac rehabilitation.  With help, I have been easing into more regular activity and, of course, that means photography.






Reading Vermont

  This year, our fall colors were full and seemed to extend longer than usual. Without asking permission of my rehab team, I decided that at least a few brief explorations of the autumn foliage would be therapeutic. I felt guilty about canceling my annual fall foliage weekend workshop and decided that, as an apology, I would get together with those who had already signed up for a friendly morning shoot to some of my favorite local foliage locations. My weekend workshops can be exhausting, but I had a great time with friends exploring one of our perfect autumn days.  We covered a surprisingly wide range of sites and, despite the fact that we didn’t get back until about 3PM, I required only a short nap to recover.     


Farm Pond, Reading Vermont
                       

Chesterfield NH
I have been doing better and was able to teach my Introduction to Digital Photography course in November, and I’m excited about a very full set of classes this spring. More about the schedule in my next blog.



The fall colors were great, and despite a general paucity of snow, the winter has provided the usual photographic opportunities, but my daughter has provided a miraculous distract of an entirely different kind.




Dublin NH


The "Bear Cub" 

Our first grandchild, Owen Emerson Bryant was born on October 6th.  Despite his impressive name, the little “bear cub” came crashing into the world at only 5Lbs 13 Oz, but he has filled out nicely.  Obviously, he has filled us with an abundance of excitement and pride – especially Susan, who has for years been desperate for a grandchild.  It has been wonderful to follow Owen’s early development and watch our daughter transform into an amazing mother.  Of course, I must mention that our son-in-law Grayson has been an equally loving and dotting father.




It should be obvious what will be consuming my time, and my pixels, over the next few years, to perhaps several decades.  Abby and Grayson live a little less than 2 hours away and we will continue to search for any excuse visit our grandson.  You must agree that the harried parents deserve a night off, or perhaps a day or two.



I am sure I will continue to commune with the unique beauty of New England and, since Abby and Grayson don’t want their child to become fodder for Facebook’s media mill, I will be restricting my postings to mountains, trees and such. 



Mandatory Jenne Farm View, Reading Vermont

It will drive me crazy, but I promised to be good - at least until Owen graduates from Dartmouth!      


Jeff Newcomer
www.partridgebrookreflections.com