MAPS meetings are held on the second Monday of each month from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. You can attend in-person or by using Zoom.
All MAPS members are invited to attend the monthly meetings and will receive a Zoom invite. Check out our Zoom web page to prepare for the monthly program meetings and for tips & tricks we might have. Non-members are welcome to attend in person or view the recording of the monthly program once it is posted.
The highlight of each monthly meeting is a presentation about a photography topic. Presentations are typically oriented toward nature photography (animals, birds, insects) or landscape photography. Our program committee carefully selects the speakers. All presenters are accomplished photographers, and many are involved in photography professionally and/or as teachers. At one or two meetings a year, instead of a presentation, we offer non-competitive evaluation and critique of member-submitted images by a professional photographer.
-
Seeing Beyond the Obvious: MAPS Member Image Review with Mike Baker
Tue, Nov 10, 2026, 6:30 pm-8:00 pm - Zoom OnlyMike Baker with discuss and critique select images submitted by MAPS members who attended his Black & White image photo walk and workshop. This session is open to all members, whether or not you attended the workshop or submitted an image.
-
Post Processing for Fur and Feathers
Mon, Nov 09, 2026, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm - Morton Arboretum Thornhill Center OnlyMAPS member, Joe Norton, will share his digital darkroom workflow in a live, post-processing editing demonstration. Joe will transform some of his original wildlife raw images into photographic art. The program will begin with a short introduction to the Adobe Lightroom Developer Module and a brief explanation of what all the sliders do.
-
Seeing Beyond the Obvious: Finding Photographs in Everyday Scenes thru Monochrome Images
Tue, Oct 20, 2026, 6:30 pm-8:00 pm - Zoom OnlyA two-part immersive program with an accompanying hands-on workshop that explores observation, composition, light, and tonal interpretation through the language of monochrome photography. This special "Plus Program" is being taught by Mike Baker.
-
Image Review: America the Beautiful
Mon, Oct 12, 2026, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm - Morton Arboretum Thornhill Center and ZoomThis month’s program is designed to give members an opportunity to get expert advice about their images. Members are encouraged to submit images interpreting the theme, America the Beautiful, but it is not a requirement. All image subjects will be accepted. Members are invited to submit photographs between September 15 and October 9 for our panel to review and comment on at the October 12 monthly meeting. Time permitting, the review will consist of approximately 30 images. One image per member will be selected until we have a total of 30 images. A second and third image will be included on a first-come, first-served basis. Here’s what you can expect…
-
This month’s program will explore the challenges photographic artists face today, as well as those encountered throughout the history of the medium. Presenter, Guy Tal, will discuss his philosophy of photographic art and examine the ways photographers can move beyond simple documentation to create images that communicate emotion, interpretation, and individual vision. Guy will also offer practical guidance for expressive photographic composition, emphasizing that there are no universal rules that apply to every image. Instead, he will explain how composition depends on intent, context, and the emotional response the artist hopes to evoke. Photography is a medium uniquely capable of both objective representation and subjective expression. This dichotomy—long since resolved…
-
The M.A.P.S. Women's Group presents this special program by photographer Rebecca Kowalsky. who left Chicago for Israel in 1985. As her family grew, so did her passion for photography, especially street photography and artistic landscape photography, spanning the Land of Israel, and the world over.
-
August's presenter, Jack Shouba, will share his photography and talk about a little-known aspect of the Illinois prairie, pioneer cemeteries.
-
July’s program will focus on black bears. Presenter Bill Lea has spent more than three decades photographing America’s black bears, gaining rare opportunities to observe and study them in their natural habitat.
-
Black and white photographs can increase creative opportunities for self-expression. The presenter of this month’s program, Dan Anderson, will discuss the hallmarks of good black and white photos. Dan will show why monochrome imagery can allow more creative tonal control than color, and he will show the importance of critical contrast in black and white photographs. Dan will cover best practices of converting color film or digital captures to black and white. Several examples of different types or styles of monochrome photographs will be shared. Dan began his photographic career after studying with Ansel Adams by making finely crafted black and white prints with an 8×10 view camera. His printmaking…
-
The MAPS Women’s Group invites all MAPS members and their friends to an evening of discovery and inspiration, as Lisa Frank shares the story of her photographic journey—from her beginnings to her present work, and the exciting possibilities ahead. This program will be held on Zoom so that all members of MAPS, and their friends, regardless of their location, may enjoy it. An excerpt from Lisa’s Frank’s Artist Statement. “I am a disciplined observer, and the natural world is a gloriously chaotic mess to behold. My personal experiences inform the art I will create. The air I breathe, the heat of the day, the awe of knowing the oneness of…
-
Photography & Artistry
May 2026This month’s program will focus on artistry in photography. Will Clay says that a definition of “art” fits a pattern that can be applied to all art forms: painting, sculpting, playing and composing music, authoring, or whatever. The definition fits all art forms—including photography. The controversy is a photographer’s work can “theoretically” be reproduced by anybody with a camera, but that does not happen. Why? The great portrait photographer, Yousuf Karsh, was approached by an attendee at one of his exhibits who said, “You have been so lucky to make all these great photographs!”. His response: “Why is it always the same photographers who are lucky?” Indeed, why? This program…
-
Photo Review Night
Apr 2026This month’s program is designed to give members an opportunity to receive expert advice about their photographs. Members are encouraged to submit images interpreting the theme, Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring, but this is not a requirement; all image subjects will be accepted. Members are invited to submit photographs between March 9 and April 10 for our panel of three members to review and critique at the April 13 monthly meeting. Time permitting, the panel will review 30 images. One image per member will be selected until we have a total of 30 images. A second and third image will be included on a first-come, first-served basis. Here’s what to expect…
