"Animals from the wild, in captivity, and family pets" is the theme of the digital photography competition to be held at the next meeting of the Sandhills Photography Club on Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m. at Christ Fellowship Church at the corner of Midland and Pee Dee Roads in Southern Pines.

Don McKenzie will judge the competition. McKenzie is a full-time professional photographer, specializing in local and studio photography for advertising, corporate events, industrial/commercial, portraits, weddings, and restorations. SPC members and guests will benefit from his professional observations on the quality and creativity of the digital images submitted to the competition.

McKenzie's career began at age 14 when he was a darkroom assistant for the Pinehurst Resort photographer, John Hemmer. He continued to study photography through high school, junior college, and professional courses. He joined the Air Force as a still photographic specialist, was trained on a wide variety of camera equipment, and was repeatedly recognized for his creative and professional work while in the military. Returning to the Sandhills, McKenzie re-established himself as a full-time photographer and provides quality photographic services from his studio in Southern Pines. His son, Matt, joined the family business in 2002.

At the March meeting, Vinny Colucci and Melissa Southern presented a program on wildlife photography to a packed house. During a discussion of what equipment is best when photographing nature, they recommended four lenses: 400mm F2.8, 80-22mm F2.8, macro, and wide angle, emphasizing that all these lenses are not necessary to shoot wildlife successfully, but a good tripod that will carry the weight of the lens is critical.

The photographer must know and practice with his/her equipment and "know the area and animals" ahead of time. The best approach to shooting wildlife includes: sequence shooting while the animal is moving; shooting at the animal's eye level when possible and focusing on the eye; moving slowly toward the animal (if safe) and shooting as you move forward; and respecting the animal's space and moving away if the animal is stressed. It's important to know the animal's behavior and signs of danger. Talking to a ranger when going to a new area is often helpful.

Colucci and Southern are sponsored by LowPro, Lensbaby, Wimberley, Kirk and Nikon. At the end of the presentation they held a drawing for a camera bag, cap, case to carry disks, mug, and memory card. There were luggage tags for all attendees, and printed materials were available.

The Colucci-Southern workshop to the N.C Zoo on Saturday, March 14, was rainy, but productive for the members who participated. Many of these photographs will be submitted to the April 13 competition.

The spring field trip to New Bern April 27-29 will include a meeting with the New Bern Camera Club, whose members will recommend their favorite photo opportunities in the area. The group will also take an afternoon side trip to Oriental.

The May 11 meeting will feature a presentation by Frank Pierce on preparing for and doing a magazine shoot. Pierce's latest cover photograph can be seen on the March-April issue of the Pinehurst Magazine. Pierce teaches oil painting at his Southern Pines studio at 275a NE Broad Street, and his work can be seen at the studio and online at www.asouthernstudio.com.

"Visitors are always welcome at SPC meetings," says SPC Membership Chair Alison Earl, of Pinehurst. "We have eight to 10 guests at most meetings, and the club now has 80 members."

Monthly SPC newsletters, along with prize-winning photographs and additional information about the club, are posted on the club Web site, www.sandhillsphotoclub.org.