IVRPA members newsletter May/June 2009

Dear members of IVRPA,

This year's goals for our association are
- to improve and to the organisational workflows,
- to organize IVRPA in a more professional way,
- and last but not least to increase the membership values for our members.

As we mentioned in our last newsletter in February, several committees were formed to achieve these goals. Step by step we are getting closer to achieve them. In this newsletter we want to take a look at the first results that could be realized so far.

Cooperation committee

IAPP/IVRPA joint conference in Albuquerque
In cooperation with the International Association of Panoramic Photographers (IAPP) we invite you to join us at the ALBUQUERQUE PHOTO FIESTA 2009 - October 7-11, 2009. If you did not already sign up, you can find more information at http://ivrpa.org/news/2009-mar-24_albuquerque_photo_fiesta_2009_oc

The members are starting to subscribe for the Festival. There are only 50 places left of the maximum of 70. The first day we will have a buffet dinner at the The Fiesta's Gondola Club - the prime location for the hot air balloon launch and the first opportunity to photograph the balloons under the stars! Apart from the unique photo opportunity there will be workshops and we will take the tram to the mountain top for some fall foliage photos and lunch. Personal contacts with the people you only know from the forum or email is a great experience, or to meet again with the ones you met before. And also the exchange of knowledge, trics of the trade, how-did-you-do-that. Do not miss on this occasion, it is one of the privileges of being a member of IVRPA.

Cooperation with other associations
Apart from working together with IAPP, we are researching with which organizations (not necessarily photography associations) we could work together. We are thinking of organizations of architects, realtors or web designers, but will not restrict to these. We want to give lectures, workshops, presentations and other information to the members of these organizations, so their members understand more about VR photography. We will need members to give these kinds of lectures/presentations and the contacts can be mutual. So they can gives presentations about their trade at our events/workshops/conference. The events can be regional/national/international, so at a different scale.

IVRPA identity committee

The mission statement of the IVRPA says: "To promote and support the uses of image based VR and related technologies worldwide through education, community forums, networking opportunities, manufacturer alliances, marketing assistance, and technical support of our Member's efforts."

Nonetheless there were a lot of new and exciting developments during the last years and we would like to hear from our members if they agree to the fullfillment of that mission or if it should undergo some refinement or extension. Take your chance and discuss this issue with us in our next members chat.

We think that basically the mission is up-to-date and we have worked out a list of measures to be realised during the next months that shall support and strengthen the fullfillment of that mission and also take into accunt the results of our recent discussion of added membership value. Please stay tuned to the members forum where this list will be published soon and prepare yourself for a lively discussion of these issues in our next members chat.

Web committee

Move to a new hosting provider - dreamhost.com
As you might have read on our website, we had to switch the hosting provider of our website. After some problems with our first choice mosso.com, we finally found with dreamhost.com a very promising partner. The World Wide Panorama (WWP) project is also hosted on dreamhost.

Processing of membership subscriptions
If you renewed your membership in the last few weeks, you probably noticed that your payment was processed immediately. At the end of March our new automated Paypal gateway went into service, which handles all membership fee payments fully automatically. This allows us to reduce the processing time significantly.
We want to use this opportunity to thank our treasurer Kat Benett, she processed all membership subscriptions so far by hand! And of course we thank our webmaster Aldo Hoeben who took care of the programming and configuration of this automated gateway.

What comes next?
As next steps we will improve and revitalize the IVRPA mailing lists, update our website's content management system drupal to version 5.0, add additional web contents and update our website up to the newest "web 2.0" standards and much more... We will keep you posted!

Call for volunteers
IVRPA can use your help! If you are interested in taking part in one of our committees, don't hesitate to contact us!

Upcoming events

Friday 05 June 2009 at 8 pm UTC - IVRPA members chat
We invite you to join us at our next membership chat on 05 June 2009 at 8 pm UTC (see http://tinyurl.com/nlcb98 to convert the time to your timezone). The chat will be held through AOL Instant Messenger, detailled technical information will follow.

Around 21 June 2009 - Next World Wide Panorama event "Time"
The theme for the June WWP event is Time. We can't see, touch or taste it, but Time affects us all. Showing time in some way, capturing its effects or essence in pictures, can be a challenge, but it offers tremendous creative and aesthetic possibilities. Time-lapse photography, very slow shutter speeds and other ways of using time to affect the picture-taking process itself are as valid as concentrating on recording aspects of time within the subject. How will you convey time in a panorama?
More information at http://worldwidepanorama.org

11/12 July 2009 - 3rd Autopano Meeting in Cologne/Germany
Kolor - one of the sponsors of IVRPA - will hold its third Autopano meeting in Cologne/Germany. This weekend will feature conferences and workshops around panoramic photography and creation of virtual tours.
More information at http://www.autopano.net/wiki-en/action/view/3rd_Autopano_Meeting

10-13 August 2009 - PanoTools Meeting in Timisoara/Romania
The PanoTools meetings are an opportunity for like-minded photographers to get together and discuss life, the universe and everything. Oh, and panoramas as well. There is a bias towards PanoTools-based software, but everyone is welcome. More information at http://panotools-meeting.com/

07-11 October 2009 - IAPP/IVRPA Albuquerque Photo Fiesta 2009
IAPP (International Association of Panoramic Photographers) and IVRPA (International VR Photography Association) invite you to join us at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Our mornings and evenings will be spent enjoying the Balloon Fiesta and we will squeeze IAPP/IVRPA Education Sessions in-between!
More information at http://ivrpa.org/news/2009-mar-24_albuquerque_photo_fiesta_2009_oc

the current IVRPA board of directors,

Donald G. Bain
Carlos Chegado
Willy Kaemena
Jürgen Schrader
Aaron Spence
Matthias Taugwalder
Jan van der Woning