The Photographic Arts Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania (PASNWPA) promotes and supports fine art photography.

PASNWPA, a 501(c)(7) non-profit organization that was incorporated in July 2011, promotes and supports fine art photography in the northwestern Pennsylvania area by showcasing the works of its accomplished and award-winning contemporary photographers, defining photographic fine art by educating the community with gallery shows and programs, and teaching those who aspire to advancing their photography as fine art.

While it is difficult to define what constitutes art, especially “fine art,” it is ultimately up to the viewer and purchaser of such art. To that end we strive to offer art buyers access to the highest quality photography that meets the aesthetic and technical qualities defined by our organization.

Board meetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at the Lincoln Community Center Library, located at 1255 Manchester Rd and Rt 5. There are no meetings in July and December. All members are invited to attend the board meetings. General meetings for all members are held at least twice per year, also on the 3rd Tuesday evening of the month. The meeting in January includes the election of Board Members. (No afternoon board meeting is held when there is a general meeting in the evening.)

Artificial Intelligence in Photography
PASNWPA Guideline

The PASNWPA was first incorporated as a non-profit organization with its primary mission being “to promote and support photography as art.”  The post-processing software that is used by almost all photographers, such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Topaz, Luminar, and others, now have Artificial Intelligence embedded in their tools. Most are just improvements to the tools that help photographers streamline the process of enhancing their original images.  To stay true to our original mission to promote and support photography as art, our organization has issued this statement on Artificial Intelligence:

The major elements in images submitted for PASNWPA-related shows and events must have been captured by the maker using a camera (of any type). Any enhancements must maintain the integrity of the captured image. PASNWPA encourages creative enhancements, including composites and textures, providing the material was not created through the use of word prompts in AI image generation software.