SANP upcoming events

Club Meeting - Speaker M.K. Miller (10/27/2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

SANP Monthly Meeting

October 27, Speaker: M.K. Miller

Panoramas

Who is Mike Miller? He started serious photography during his doctorate at Oxford University 52 years ago, taking extremely low-light macro photographs of individual atoms with Nikon FM on Kodak Tri-X pushed to ISO 3200. Invited to America in 1979 to perform basic science research for US Steel to catch and identify individual atoms in steels to investigate how their physical properties could be understood and improved. Then invited to Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a research scientist in 1983 to extended this field of study. Rose to the position of Corporate Fellow. Elected a Fellow of the Microcopy Society of America in 2010 for his pioneering research. He experimented with the original commercial digital cameras i.e., Kodak DCS 760 and Nikon D1. His photographs have been used in hundreds of scientific papers and journal covers, and book covers.

Mike’s main photographic interests are macro, wildlife, landscapes including panoramas and lighthouses, and astrophotography. Travelled to all 7 continents multiple times that have resulted in the publication of 40 travel books and 5 scientific textbooks and his photographs have been used in several travel brochures.

The focus of this slideshow is to provide a general SANP audience with all the pertinent information necessary to become proficient in taking, producing, and printing high-quality panoramas. He has included a few points that even some experts may not be aware of. The presentation will be illustrated by over 40 examples of panoramas of scenic places around the world that you might be interested in visiting. So, something for everyone.

Topics to be discussed include what is a panorama, early, 12^th century, Chinese and English panorama paintings, and early photographic panoramas, photographic equipment required, lens selection, camera capture parameters, perspective, extensions and compression distortions, discussion of field-of-view of human eyes versus cameras, issues of viewing and displaying images, stitching methods, issues and artifacts, rotation and linear projection points, portrait versus landscape modes, and vertical panoramas, how many frames to stitch, file size considerations, and methods to reduce file size.

Troll Bridge and Other Areas of Interest (10/31/2026)

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 12:30:00 GMT

SANP Field Event

Troll Bridge and Other Areas of Interest

Saturday, October 31st, 2026

Leader: Dale Potter Phone: (865) 773-8114 E-mail: dalepotter55@gmail.com

Meeting place: Little River Trailhead Parking Area Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Time: 8:30 am

Registration available: Beginning today

I am a little rusty leading a field event, but we will see if we can find the Troll Bridge and explore the surrounding area. The Troll Bridge offers a different view for all the seasons and at night. We will see what it looks like in the fall. It may be hit or miss on the fall colors. You may want to visit in the winter and again in the spring. The photo below was taken mid-April a few years ago.

This is a great place to try out a panorama shot using some of Mike Miller's techniques from his club presentation, or Jeffery Wheterill's 4 Ls from his 3CT presentation.

After we visit the Troll Bridge, for those interested we can explore the surrounding area. We might find the large poplar tree that few ever see in that area. You can see if you can photograph the entire tree and keep it straight. We may check out the chimney and doorway on the house below and some of the ruins in the area.

Location Description:

Little River Trailhead

The weather will be cool when we start out. Only slight chance of rain projected. Wear comfortable shoes. The terrain will be old road bed, and spur trail. It will be short walks but on uneven terrain. Total walking distance should be in the two mile range depending on how much exploring you are interested in.

Remember you will need a GSMNP parking pass.

Learning opportunities:

Bring the lens you want to use. You may want to bring a tripod.

What to bring:

Your favorite camera.
Bring appropriate weather gear.
Tripod may be useful.
Rain gear for yourself and a rain cover for your camera in case we have rain. The weather is projected to be a nice morning.
Bring WATER.... SNACKS

Driving directions: Little River Trailhead, Elkmont area of GSMNP

Restrooms: You will want to stop at the Elkmont Campground for Restrooms.

How to Find Me: Red Jeep Wrangler

Field Event - Old Car City and Berry College and/or Gibbs Gardens (11/06/2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Back by popular demand, we are headed South to OLD CAR CITY to capture nature from a different angle. We have had a lot of interest in visiting this famous junk yard since the event held last year. OCC is located in White, GA, just north of ATL. There are 6 miles of trails surrounded by approximately 4000 classic cars. This is one you don’t want to miss. Everywhere you look there are unique photo opportunities, so be sure to bring your imagination.Think trees growing our of hoods, broken windows, and tons of patina.

You can meet us at OCC, or make plans to meet at exit 81 (Lenoir City) at Bimbos to share a ride. You can take I75, or for our members that live east of the interstate you may want to take the scenic route down HWY 411. We will be heading out at 7am.

If you want to make an entire day of it, or overnight and make it a two-day event, you can head over to Gibbs Gardens located in Ball Ground , GA. It’s about a 45-minute drive east of OCC. Also, Kelli and I chose to visit Berry College in lieu of the gardens last year and it did not dissapoint. The fall colors should be at their peak. The college is approximately 45 minutes west of OCC. Either would afford you wonderful photo ops. There is lodging near, but looks to be fairly limited.

More detailed informatiion will be sent to the registants a few days prior to the event.

Attached are the links to both websites for hours, pricing, and overviews, as well as the Google Maps link.

https://www.oldcarcityusa.com/

https://www.gibbsgardens.com/visit/directions/

https://maps.app.goo.gl/BhPTrX5oWErvkeUy9

https://www.berry.edu/

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Cindy Hatcher & Kelli Thompson

Field event coordinators

Salon Banquet - 2026 Digital & Print Competition & Dinner (11/13/2026)

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 22:30:00 GMT

The date: Friday, November 13 2026, 5:30 pm

The place: Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 (Next to Buddy's Barbeque)

Ticket price: $40.00 per person. No refunds.

There is a limit on attendance, so don't wait until the last minute to register.

Registration is online only. Online registration and payment are required by Sunday, November 8. If you have any questions about the registration procedure, see the instructions at the bottom of this page. Online registration and payment must be completed by Sunday, November 8. Registration will not be available at the door.

Participation in the salon competition was great this year. Expect the quality of entries to be exceptional, and you are sure to be amazed when you see all the images displayed at the banquet.

You can expect to enjoy an excellent dinner prepared by the staff at Buddy's Barbeque restaurant. Here is the menu they have planned.

Dinner menu

Big John’s Honey Pecan Chicken

Lightly Fried, Clover Honey, Toasted Pecans

Bar-B-Q Beef Brisket with sauce on the side.

Steamed Vegetable Medley (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, Zuchini, Squash)

Rosemary Roasted New Potatoes

Spinach Maria

Garden Salad with assorted dressings

Banana Pudding

Key Lime Pie

Beverages: Tea, Coffee, Lemonade, Water

Your table is waiting! Make your reservation today.

____________________________________________________________________

Salon Registration Instructions

To register and reserve a single seat at the salon:

Click the green Register button.
Follow the prompts to the payment screen and pay online.

To register yourself and others (members or non-members) on the same credit card transaction:

Click the green Register button.
After you have entered your own name and email, click the Add guest button.
Enter the name and email of the first guest and click Done.
Repeat step 3 as needed.
Click the Next button.
Verify the amount charged is correct .
Make the combined payment for all registrants online

To register and pay for an additional person after your initial registration is complete and paid:

Sign in to sanp.net and select the Salon Banquet event.
Click the Register button.
Click the New registration button.
In the Email field, enter either the email address for your membership ID or the email address for the additional person, if known.
Click the Next button.
Enter the additional person's name in the First name and Last name fields. Do not use the Add guest button.
Click the Next button.
Verify the amount charged is correct and pay online.

Registration and payment must be completed by November 8. Registration will not be available at the door.

Still have questions about registration? Contact Brad Cottrell at cottrelb@bellsouth.net or (865) 235-8350.

Field Event - Wheeler Wildlife Refuge (01/08/2027)

Fri, 08 Jan 2027 12:00:00 GMT

If you thought Hiwassee was great, you must visit Wheeler Wildlife Refuge outside Decatur, Alabama. We will be traveling to Wheeler on January 8, 2027 early and spending the night, returning on Saturday evening. Of course, if you want to arrive early and/or stay late, you can adjust your individual plans accordingly.

Wheeler is a huge wildlife management area with lots of opportunities for Sandhill Cranes, Herons, Eagles, and so many different ducks it was hard to keep track of the varieties. There were 15 Whooping Cranes when we were there last year according to their counts. We were lucky enough to see several of them at the main observation area.

The focus of this trip may be birds, but there are a host of opportunities for landscapes and more. We will provide details on equipment suggestions and specific plans to the registrants. You can bet a trip to Big Bob Gibson's famouse BBQ will happen too.

Here are some hotel options as well:

Hampton Inn https://www.hilton.com

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Decatur Riverfront on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/Uz2z9tvBv1zwazoc8

Comfort Inn https://maps.app.goo.gl/BwcQQdB1Q8UaNgRr5

Best Western https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotel-search.html

Field Event - Florida Birding Adventure (02/22/2027)

Mon, 22 Feb 2027 13:00:00 GMT

We are going birding in the warmth of sunny Florida in February, and we'd like you to join us. Cindy Hatcher and I will be making a return trip to Florida to explore the Orlando Wetlands, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, and other wetlands and birding spots in the area. We plan to stay in Titusville which is about 30 minutes from Orlando Wetlands and about ten minutes from Merritt Island. If time permits, we may also visit Cape Canaveral or if we are lucky, see a rocket launch depending on the schedule.

Each registrant will be responsible for making their own reservations for accommodations and travel, but when we went in February, we found ourselves in the company of ten other SANP members at various stages of our trip. This will be a wildlife and birding focused event, but you should plan on having opportunities to shoot a wide range of things including landscapes and macros. We will provide a detailed itinerary for registrants, and you are welcome to come for some portion of or all of the applicable days.

There are many options for travel and accommodations. Allegiant Air has direct flights that fly on Monday and Friday - if you are like me and long drives are problematic. There are lots of VRBO and AirBnB options as well as hotels and campsites. Cindy and I have already made our airfare reservations to leave early Monday and return late Friday. If anyone is interested in sharing a house or condo, please feel free to reach out to friends or fellow members if you want to stay together. It is actually more reasonable to share a condo or house than individual hotel rooms based on our efforts. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Cindy or Kelli.