Smug­Mug is a pho­to host­ing com­pa­ny based out of Moun­tain View, Cal­i­for­nia. I post my some of my pho­tos there. They recent­ly decid­ed to sponser Smug­Mug User Groups which have been form­ing all over the Unit­ed States and Cana­da.

The idea is to gath­er pho­tog­ra­phy mind­ed ama­teurs and pro­fes­sion­als togeth­er for a month­ly meet­ing where they can “learn, teach and meet oth­er pho­tog­ra­phers that share your pas­sion”. They use the meet­ings to gath­er feed­back for their com­pa­ny and even give­away swag.

3 groups have formed in the San Fran­cis­co bay area alone and I attend the group at Smug­Mug head­quar­ters in Moun­tain View. There is no fee or even a require­ment to sign up, and you can bring friends. I have signed up for all 3 but so far they meet on the same nights.

To date we have had pre­sen­ta­tions by wed­ding pho­tog­ra­phers Gene Higa and Dane Sanders and Gary Lev­en­berg, Chief Busi­ness Guy of QiGo. BayPho­to of San­ta Cruz attends the meet­ings with many sam­ples of their print­ing process and experts to answer ques­tions.

So far, it has been a use­ful and reward­ing expe­ri­ence for me, keep­ing my mind on pho­tog­ra­phy, meet­ing oth­er pho­togs and help­ing me get the most out of what Smug­Mug and BayPho­to have to offer. Check it out.

Direct Link to find a User Group in your area: http://smugmug.com/smugs/find/