Member Bios
Vinaya Mathews, PPSA
After working with State Bank of India, the leading bank in India, for 31 years, Vinaya Mathews decided to quit her job in 2014, from the position of Chief Manager, to pursue her two passions, working for the under-privileged and photography.
Her journey in the field of photography started with a basic course conducted by Late Prof. Manohar Desai, the Founder Director of National Institute of Photography, in Mumbai, India, in the year 2004. With the feel of a camera in hand, she discovered her over-arching love for photography. It took her 10 long restless years to finally free herself from the bonds of a demanding career and follow her passion.
In March 2018, she attended 12th batch of 'Gurukul Of Photographic Art’ where she learned philosophy of photography from an eminent photographer Dr Shivji Joshi. She learned five mantras of photography from him i.e. 'Line, Light, Life, Vision & Visualisation’.
During last six years, she has earned distinction 'Excellence FIAP’ (EFIAP) from 'The International Federation of Photographic Art’ Belgium, 'Proficiency Photographic Society of America (PPSA)’, 'Gold Exhibitor of APU (GAPU) from Asia Photographers Union, 'Master of Federation Of Indian Photography (MFIP) & 'MFIP – Nature’.
Her weekly column named 'Photography in easy words’ was published in a Marathi newspaper for thirteen consecutive weeks. She has also been a judge for National & International salons.
She idolises ex-president of India, late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and his beautiful quote "Dream is not that you see in sleep, Dream is something that does not let you sleep" is a reverberating source of inspiration for her.
Her dream is to gain distinctive knowledge and experience in the field to become an accomplished photographer.
Stan Bormann, FPSA, MPSA
Stan Bormann, FPSA, MPSA has had an interest in photography since a 9th grade photography class when he created a contact print darkroom in his mother's fruit cellar. This interest laid in the background until he acquired his first digital camera for Christmas in 2002. He has been the founding president of two photo clubs in Arizona, Grand Photos and West Valley Photo. He has also been the president of the Arizona Camera Club Council, ACCC and is now VP of the PSA Arizona Chapter. PSA positions have included Chair of the Pictorial Print Division and Conference VP. He currently has the PSA position of Director, Member Services, which resulted in him receiving the Fallon award in 2019. He is also the current chair the PTD division of PSA. He has over 2,000 acceptances in international exhibitions. He has been an active digital photographer and PSA member since 2003. He is an active international traveler having visited 49 states, all Canadian provinces but one, and about 70 countries. The 7th continent was on the agenda in 2016 but the ship broke down. He has particular interest in architecture and creating conversions to monochrome and has been a speaker at the PSA conference on monochrome.
His current email address is snbormann@gmail.com
Nancy Axelrod
I recently retired from a dual career as a scientist (molecular biology)/ patent agent. To continue indulging my creative impulses, I turned to photography. Travel is my passion. I love documenting the scenes encountered during my travels, capturing evocative light, vibrant colors, and atmospheric locations. I especially enjoy making portraits, communicating with people from totally different cultures even if we share no common language.
I have exhibited photographs in juried exhibitions. For example, in 2020, some of my images received designations of Special Mention, Honorable Mention, or Merit Award in the galleries Photo Place Gallery, Art Space and Time Gallery, J. Mane Gallery, and Grey Cube Gallery. Except for a photo in the Photo Place Gallery which was hung before the pandemic closed everything down, the images are displayed in online galleries.
Adrian Binney, PPSA
I am retired (64 as at 2018) and keen to devote more time to photography and traveling. My photography started 40 years ago with a home darkroom and like many, was kickstarted again with digital SLR's becoming affordable. I was a Canon man - 5 and 7 bodies, with many L series lenses, but sold the whole lot in 2015 due to weight issues. I now use an Olympus EM1X with many of their Pro series lenses and I don't regret the move! The quality of the glass is fabulous!
I have travelled to many USA National Parks (Yellowstone a firm favourite, especially in Winter) but now shoot very little landscapes. My wife and I love traveling - Africa, Asia and Costa Rica has been our focus over the last 4 years. We also love going to Zoos and bird reserves, so nature shots don't need to come from far-off locations.
I am Secretary and Committee Member of our Camera Club [Winchester, UK] and enjoy very much helping to run a large club - 200 members. I have learnt a lot from being surrounded by many good photographers (particularly in use of Lightroom and what makes a good competition image), but know I have much more to learn!
I gained LRPS in 2019 (the first Distinction level of UK's Royal Photographic Society) and PPSA in July 2021 through stars in Nature and Travel.
Sherry Weinstein
At ease with color and texture, my photos come more from gut instinct, a good eye, and a sincere interest in capturing images that tell a story, reveal a culture, or celebrate nature’s brilliance than from my scant photographic knowledge. As the viewer may know, I have had the good fortune of traveling over the years and the world with my husband, Marv. From lands of enchantment or lack thereof, I have met people around the globe whose beauty is an antidote to the pain that may be present in their eyes. The natural world, too, provides a glimpse into both what is, what might have been - or what we might lose - at some point in time. Architecturally, striking marvels are being created now as well as the exquisiteness of those from times gone by.
With regard to my life and history outside of photography, I have been married to Marv since 1966, but sadly, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2016. We have two terrific sons, Chad and Jordan, and one sensational (of course) grandchild, Oliver, who will soon be an official teenager.
My career spanned several different avenues, starting in speech pathology, I worked mostly with stroke patients. I also worked in special education over the years. Since moving to Arizona in 1998, I have been volunteering for a major cancer organization (International Cancer Advocacy Network - www.askican.org) …. For the last twelve years or so, I have served as the organization’s chair of their board of trustees. So, if I’m ever in a time crunch in this new position on the PTD of the Image Discussion Group, it’s probably because of my responsibilities for ICAN, so please bear with me.
Group Administrator
Michele Borgarelli
I am originally from Italy and move to USA in 2007. I now live in Virginia and work for Virginia Tech. My photography journey started when I received an Agfamatic 100 for my 10th birthday. Since then, I have been fascinated with photography as an art form, particularly because it allows an individual to convey their view of the world through a simple lens. After taking a hiatus, I finally returned to photography a few years ago. From that moment on, most of my free time was spent working on improving my photography. I have been experimenting with new approaches, reading about different techniques, and listening to the journeys of world-renowned photographers. I have also attended a number of photography workshops all around the world, and always sought the opportunity to submit my work for critique to other photographers. My interests include landscape, travel, black and white, and street photography.
Tom Lee
I learned photography and the darkroom process in high school, where my photography journey began. Starting with a camera loaned from my father, I saved enough to buy a rangefinder of my own while in college, igniting my lifelong passion for photography.
While raising our kids, I used camcorders and point-and-shoot cameras to capture their activities and family events, and my 'real' camera was left on the shelf to collect dust as photography became a luxury.
As the children grew up and left home, I longed to get back into photography. I traded in my old camera for a compact M-4/3 digital camera, which I could bring with me everywhere, and began making photographs again. Today, I use a Panasonic Lumix G9 as my main camera, with a collection of lenses ranging from 12 to 400 mm (24-800 mm f.f.e).
I find great joy in travelling because it allows me to immerse myself in diverse cultures and lifestyles, expanding my perspective and understanding of the world. Additionally, I am passionate about the art of photography and love experimenting with monochrome conversion to create stunning visual narratives."