Churchville Photography Club – SPOTLIGHT – Sara Pinkus

I think that almost everyone knows Sara! She's been with CPC for years, and I have to say, her SPOTLIGHT was way overdue. Your article says that you joined CPC in 2011! Wow! Ten years have slipped right on by. She finally decided to show her work, and we're glad she did! Visit the site and share a comment. We need more articles from more members giving us inspiration. BTW Sara, congratulations on your retirement!

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It’s 2008; my son starts high school. I enjoyed photography, shooting with digital point & shoots. I was learning post processing using Google’s Picasa. I wanted a better camera to take decent sports pictures as my son played both soccer and tennis. My husband gifted me the Nikon D40 – a good beginner DSLR camera. That’s where my story starts. During those high school years, I shot primarily on automatic settings. I became a prolific submitter of action shots to the school website.

It's 2011; my husband turns 50. We travel to Acadia National Park. I take loads of pictures and make my first travel book. I show this book to an artist/photographer friend. He tells me I have a good eye and recommends that I join Churchville Photography Club!

It’s 2014; it’s our 25th wedding anniversary. We celebrate with a trip to Italy! I upgrade to Nikon’s D7100, the camera I still use and still love. Enter Lightroom – a freebie with the camera purchase. Still shooting on auto or program. I make a gorgeous coffee table book – another photography passion of mine.

Over the ensuing years, learning so much through our club, various workshops, and outings with fellow photographers, I master my camera and many photographic techniques! I can shoot in any mode now! I love macro, black & white, street, intentional camera movement, still life – you name it. I don’t think I could ever focus on just one type of photography. It’s the range of subjects, techniques and never-ending learning that drives my continued passion. I also absolutely love the post-process process – bringing out the best in my images.

One way that I have upped my game has been through volunteering. I have shot for National MS Society’s City to Shore Rides and Walk-a-thons. I shot the Bar and Bat Mitzvah for a friend’s son and daughter; complete with photo books. I photographed an award event for the Luther Settlement House honoring former Today Show host Tamaron Hall. Last September, I volunteered for Sukkah 2021 an event where architect firms designed and built Sukkahs around Princeton.

It's 2022; I’m recently retired from a 40-year banking career! I plan to continue photography in an even more purposeful way. My first goal is to learn Photoshop. I am mid-way through an extensive tutorial and already I’m improving my post process flow. I am excited for my photographic future!

GALLERY: Please click on the image to see it full size!