Coastal California Photographers Weekly Update

Week 28 - July 6 Mike Mercadante

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• Highlights

• Event Reminders

• Recent Blog Posts

• Website Update

• New Logo / CCP Branding

Event Ideas - We want to hear your ideas on events that you would like to see on our calendar. So, we created a simple page on the site where you can share your idea with us. Click here, or go to the Events Menu, and select the Submit Event Ideas item

Upcoming Event Reminders - To find other upcoming events on our website, click here

• Monthly Critique, Colorless Color Photo - July 8th @ 6:30pm - This event is not a competition; rather, it is an opportunity to get an independent critique from a trained judge. The feedback is intended to help develop photographic skills. Participants learn as their images are critiqued and by hearing the critique of images that others have submitted. Click here to Register

• Workshop: Getty Center Department of Photographs Study Room - July 14th - Event Full - This is a rare chance to see historic photographs, up close and personal, and without frames or glass between you and the images! The Study Room is a private setting where we view a collection of photographs curated especially for us from the vast Getty archives!

• Creative Portraits Workshop 7/23/2026 - This workshop is about bringing your own creativity to portraits through lighting, model direction, and post-production. It will be hosted in a small studio with Live models. Click here to register.

• Discussion: Working the Image 7/29/2026 - Learn photo editing skills from an informal session that focuses on the most commonly used tools, Photoshop and Lightroom, and much of the discussion is applicable to other products. Click here to register

• Q3 Competition Peer Review 7/30/2026 - Quarterly Competition Peer Reviews enable image critiques before Image Competition submissions. This peer feedback gives members the opportunity to refine their images before they are submitted to the Coastal California Photographers Quarterly Image Competition. Click gere to register

• Rescheduling - TechTalk - Preparing your image for competition - Learn why the presentation format matters in competitions with two approaches to preparing an image for competition, and which formats judges generally score down. Click here to Register

• Rescheduling -Presentation - How to evaluate your own image - This event is being rescheduled, and the new date will be posted next week. Tim Mathieson will explain how to evaluate your own images using general judging guidelines, as well as CCP, PPC, and PPA rules and standards

Recent Blog Posts: I wanted to highlight some recent blog posts you might find valuable.

• Getty Center Instructions 7/14/2026 - Members who are planning to attend the Getty Workshop can click here for the event instructions. Registration for the Getty Workshop will close on June 26th. We need to inform the Getty about the attendees.

• Ventura County Fair CCP Exhibit - We have a submission deadline of June 5th for digital submissions for review. We will review all digital submissions and select images to present at the Coastal California Photographers Exhibit at the fair. Click here to read the instructions. Once images are selected, we will send makers a notification and instructions on printing guidelines. ,

• Ventura County Fair Photographic Competition - Instructions for submitting images to the fair competition will be posted shortly on the Blog. Remember, you can submit the same image for the exhibit and for the fair. Remember, you are responsible for making submissions to the fair competition in accordance with the rules set out by the Fair. VC Fair Website, click here

• Learning Photography through our Engaging Events and Workshops - Photography is a skill that grows best when practiced and explored in a supportive environment. While tutorials and books offer valuable knowledge, nothing compares to hands-on learning and real-time feedback. Click here to read more.

• July Photo Challenge - Colorless Color Photography - A good summary of what to expect in July's Peer review and Critique. Click here to read the Blog Article

Website Update

The journey of bringing our two organizations together has entered an exciting new chapter! Our website is now entering a more visual, member-focused phase, featuring our new name and logo and bringing together content from our previous websites into one convenient location.

Our vision is to make the website the central hub for everything happening in our organization, so members no longer have to search through old emails to stay informed. Looking for upcoming events? Visit the Events page. Want reminders, newsletters, how-to articles, or stories showcasing our members and their interests? You'll find them on the Blog. Over time, the website will become a living archive of both current and past communications, with reminder emails linking directly back to the relevant content.

During this transition, you can access the site using any of these URLs:

• http://ccp.photos

• http://cippa.org

• Soon, we'll also be available at http://vcc.club

Our Roadmap

Phase 0 – Complete! We've successfully upgraded our event registration system, replacing LearnDesk with a new solution that lowers operating costs while giving us better control over event registration and tracking.

Phase 1 – Now Underway Our new identity is coming to life! This phase introduces the new name, new logo, and a refreshed homepage that shares the vision and story of Coastal California Photographers. You'll also find a new Program Ideas submission page under Events, along with an easy way to update your member information.

Phase 2 – Coming Soon The Monthly Critique section will become a valuable resource, featuring galleries from past critiques, participation guidelines, and helpful information for members.

Phase 3: We'll begin highlighting our greatest asset—our members—with profile pages and stories that celebrate the people behind the photographs.

Phase 4: We'll preserve and share the rich history of our organization, documenting the journey that has brought us to where we are today.

Phase 5: The final phase will introduce topical member groups, creating online spaces where members can connect, share ideas, and engage in conversations about their favorite photography interests.

New Logo / CCP Branding

Special thanks to Rich Sprague for donating his time and effort to develop a new logo concept for Cpastal California Photographers. As you can see in the image below, there was serious effort and attention to detail in thinking through how all the pieces and colors of the logo came together.