After more than a decade of judging the SMFPL Amateur Photo Contest, Gary Harwood, a professional photographer, teacher, and author of two photography books, will offer three different workshops designed to improve your photography and contest entries. This first session will cover the basics of photography. Key discussion topics will be exposure, light, color, focal point, subject matter, and the importance of simplicity. Register for each free class separately, beginning April 1. To register call (330) 688-3295 ext 4 or visit https://www.smfpl.org/events.

About the Instructor:

Gary Harwood has worked as a professional photographer and teacher for more than 30 years. His freelance and full-time clients included Reuters, United Press International, and Kent State University. He also taught for Kent State University and the Ohio Arts Council, specializing in visual storytelling through photography. Harwood co-authors Tiger Legacy: Stories of Massillon Football and Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community. American Photo Magazine selected Tiger Legacy as one of the ten best photography books for the summer of 2016. Growing Season won the Carter G. Woodson Honor Award from the National Council for Social Studies and the Ohioana Book Award from the Ohioana Library Association. Growing Season was also selected by the Stark County Mayor’s Literacy Program for its annual One Book One Community reading program. His work has appeared in the Communication Arts Photo Annual, the Graphis Photo Annual, The Sun Magazine, and Double Take/Points of Entry. His photographic projects won the 2005 and 2012 James R. Gordon Ohio Understanding Award from the Ohio News Photographers Association’s Pictures of the Year competition and the 2006 and 2017 Individual Excellence Award for Photography from the Ohio Arts Council.