My strength is in helping beginners advance their skills. My experience in helping with the Fundamentals course is that some students do not quite grasp the essentials, like the exposure triangle. I enjoy helping them to better understand their cameras in a variety of situations. Most of our outings will be in the Metroparks, which, as a location to provides many shooting opportunities. I prefer to stay on the west side. Weather permitting, we will have at least one-night shoot.
Information
| City | North Olmsted |
| Camera Brands | Canon, Fuji, Sony. |
| Photography Interest | All genres. |
| Availability | Weekdays with some Saturday mornings occasional weekday evening. |
| Activity Level | Indoor and outdoor with some short distance walking of less than a mile. |
| Special Gear | Tripod and remote shutter release |
| Mentee Level | Beginner |
Brian O’Riordan
My photography may best be described as personal journalism. I like to photograph what interests me, be it where I am, what is going on around me, or what I would like to examine later to study or learn from. Landscapes, events, candids, nature, architecture, and still life have all drawn my interest and attention. And I enjoy the creative manipulation of images – usually in some mathematical transformation – to deemphasize reality and prod imagination. I don’t seek perfect photos as much as interesting ones, but the ones I find interesting I hope to perfect as best I can, and share when I can.
I think of photography as a form of expression much like language. Improving technical understanding is similar to learning the rules of good grammar. The “art” of photography is what is communicated to the viewer – how the eye of the viewer is directed and the brain engaged, and is the direct result of the compositional skills used. A good image is one that is “read” and appreciated as intended.
If you have a range of interests and experience – wide or narrow – that you wish to photograph and share with others, or simply to preserve, then perhaps I am a good mentoring fit. My approach is to discuss with you ways to improve your photography using one-on-one meetings, or exchanges of individual images. We will examine equipment and settings, techniques for capture and editing, and traditional and creative approaches to composition. There will be opportunities for field trips, or other field work, all based on what skills or interests you wish to work on.
Information
| City | Brecksville |
| Camera Brand | Nikon – All brands and types are accepted |
| Photography Interest | Landscapes, events, candids, nature, architecture, and still life |
| Availability | Flexible enough to accommodate most |
| Activity Level | Low to moderate |
| Special Gear | None |
| Mentee Level | Beginner or Intermediate |
Beverly Kenworthy
My experience with CPS includes being a student, board member, mentor, officer, judge, speaker and coordinating the mentor program for 4 years. In my 8 years as a mentor, I mentored over 40 CPS members, many who have become mentors themselves. My background stretches to stealing my husband’s Nikon SLR film camera when our kids were small 45 plus years ago. I quickly learned that travel and photography were great companions. There are few genres of photography that I have not tried and enjoyed except studio work. Our travels have given me the opportunity to use and develop my skills across 50 states and 43 countries.
I believe that snapping the shutter is just the beginning of the process, and we will discuss what happens next- I use Adobe and Topaz products, but there are many others. Discussions of organizing and post processing of your work will be a part of our time together, and I hope you will take the CPS School classes to learn how to use these valuable programs. I will not teach you to use software, only the reasons you need it as a part of your photographic journey.
On Sundays, we will meet as a group and photograph local treasures throughout NEO. You are expected to be there, on time and ready with your gear, including a charged battery and spare memory card, formatted for use in your camera. We will be shooting in a RAW format in manual mode. Shooting in manual will really teach you what you can command your camera to do.
We will meet on Teams before our first outing to be sure you are all prepared to arrive at location on time, ready to go. We will not be following a particular genre, but will go after what we find, much like we are traveling. Based on where we are going, recommendations will be made for what gear you might need.
Information
| City | North Ridgeville |
| Camera Brand | Nikon, will work with any brand, DSLR or mirrorless |
| Photography Interest | Travel, wildlife, birds, landscape, macro, specialty projects |
| Availability | Sunday mornings, 9-12, field work on location, Wednesday evenings, 7:30 virtual on Microsoft Teams, review and critique |
| Activity Level | Indoor and out door hiking |
| Special Gear | Camera manual on your phone, tripod is helpful, but not necessary to start |
| Mentee Level | All levels |
Bruce Orr and Karen Isaac
Bruce Orr
I’ve been involved with photography as long as I can remember. My grandfather was a wonderful travel photographer, which is where I draw my inspiration.
The transition from film and the darkroom to digital has been exciting, and as much as I loved the analog world, the digital world has proven to be a wonderful bridge, combing old school techniques with ever changing technology.
I enjoy all types of photography, but nature and wildlife are always a favorite. Overtime, I have grown to enjoy architecture, people, sports and some still life. Recently, I find myself gravitating to monochrome images.
The type of sessions I like to hold are informal and free flowing. Find a place, set out and learn as we go. The overall flow would be one week, we take photos and the next we review.
I think it’s import (but not necessary) to have some type of project in mind; a picture for the den, gift, photo-book – anything that will help give focus.
Information
| City | Old Brooklyn |
| Camera Brand | Canon, Fujifilm |
| Photography Interest | Nature (both wildlife and landscapes) fairs, travel, including cityscapes and architecture |
| Availability | Weekends mostly, but some weeknights as well. |
| Activity Level | Outdoor, walking, hiking, climbing |
| Special Gear | No special gear needed. Part of the learning is making due with what you have on hand. |
| Mentee Level | Beginner and intermediate. |
Karen Isaac
I have loved photography since I was young. Growing up I had several cameras that I took everywhere-documenting friends, family and vacations. Before I had my first child, I took some classes and used a Minolta film camera. My husband would come with me & write all my settings down on a clipboard! I set my hobby aside when my son was growing up. I joined CPS a few years ago. After taking some classes, I joined a mentorship group with Bruce as my mentor. I love nature shots, birds and flowers.
Information
| City | Northfield |
| Camera Brand | Nikon |
| Photography Interest | Nature, birds and flowers |
| Availability | Weekends and Some weeknights |
| Activity Level | Outdoor, walking, hiking, climbing |
| Special Gear | No special gear |
| Mentee Level | Beginner and intermediate. |
Gary Wood
I began photographing nature in 1977 when I bought my first SLR camera and took photography classes at the University of Minnesota. I continue to strive to improve my craft with CPS, professional workshops, and other resources.
We would take short hikes in the parks and preserves of northeastern Ohio. You could photograph whatever catches your eye and I would make suggestions and demonstrate composition, camera settings, techniques, and equipment.
Information
| City | Cleveland, Westpark neighborhood |
| Camera Brand | Panasonic LUMIX DC-G9 |
| Photography Interest | Nature |
| Availability | Weekday Mornings and evenings with some weekends |
| Activity Level | Outdoor, walking, and hiking |
| Special Gear | Nice to have but not required are telephoto and macro lenses, tripod and remote |
| Mentee Level | intermediate |
Brad Ruebensaal
I have been passionate about photography since age 15. I worked professionally out of college for the Sun Newspapers as a staff photographer covering local events, human interest features, and high school sports. My tenure as a full-time photojournalist has ended but I still actively pursue my interest in photography regularly through landscape/nature, wildlife, macro, sports, and concert photography.
My goal is to show someone my love of photography and hopefully have them learn something new.
Let us explore together!
Information
| City | Broadview Heights (home) & Mayfield Village (work) |
| Camera Brand | Nikon Z mount bodies/lenses and Tamron lenses |
| Photography Interests | Birds/wildlife, local landscape, events, sports, and macro |
| Availability | I will be unavailable until May. Lots of travel for work for the remainder of April. Weekends and weekday evenings work best. I am still full-time employed. I will alert mentees in advance to changes in schedule. |
| Activity Level | Indoor, outdoor, hiking |
| Special Gear | None |
| Mentee Level | Beginner or Intermediate |
Dave Korosec and Catherine Kenngott
Dave Korosec
I have been with CPS for five years. I was a mentee for a couple of years before being asked to be an assistant mentor and then a co-mentor last Spring. I am also involved in the Club’s Photoshop class- teaching the retouching class. I have been regularly involved in submitting to the club competitions over the past three competition seasons. The Mentee program has really changed my photography, improved my technique and confidence. It has really helped my focus on creating images by getting out regularly, challenging myself and discussing photography with others. Catherine and I are co-mentoring this year, and we want to pay forward our experience with the Mentor Program with an approach we are calling Deliberate Practice.
We will help you with technical aspects, build on what you learned in fundamentals; but our goal is not technical perfection or sharpness at 400%; it is Impact. We want to help you move from taking photos to making photos. We are going to work different creative muscles—focusing on storytelling, visual hierarchy, and breaking old habits.
Information
| City | Concord Township |
| Camera Brand | Nikon |
| Photography Interest | Nature, Travel, Landscapes |
| Availability | Weekends and Weekday Evenings |
| Activity Level | Outdoor Walking and Hiking no more than 1 mile |
| Special Gear | Tripod and polarizer filter |
| Mentee Level | Beginner or Intermediate |
Catherine Kenngott
Photography is simply an important part of my life. I love to be outdoors and taking photos just makes me happy. We have beautiful parks in Ohio and some pretty wild seasons. No matter where, no matter what time of year, there is a new challenge and there is so much to learn.
Information
| City | Akron |
| Camera Brand | Nikon |
| Photography Interests | Nature and Wildlife |
| Availability | Weekends and Weekday Evenings |
| Activity Level | Outdoor Walking and Hiking no more than 1 mile |
| Special Gear | Tripod and polarizer filter |
| Mentee Level | Beginner or Intermediate |