SnapShots Official Newsletter of the Capital City Camera Club February 2008
Photo by Barbara Bryan
What do Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Balloons, Old Time Villages and Indians all have in common? They’re all on the 2008 Field Trip Schedule! Check it all out inside!
This month’s cover photo was taken by:
Barbara Bryan
Club Officers
Chuck Rice – President - MARCH Robert Thomson – Vice President Open – Secretary Don Ball – Treasurer
Club Members
Judy Barranco Ron (Bart) Bartoszewicz Sherry Beazley Anna Bishop Donna Blanks - NOVEMBER Jessica Bowman Barbara Bryan -JULY Sandra Campbell Carla Copeland Mitford Fontaine Robert Fouts Aleah Goode Rhonda Goode Tim Goode Sandra M. Harris Les Hayles Frank Heatherly Beverly Henry - NOVEMBER Jan Hoffman Jeannine Keener - APRIL Ronald Klein - MAY Francis Knighten Amanda Kuykendall Charles Kuykendall Jesse Kuykendall Nathan Kuykendall Robert Lake - MARCH Walter Mayer Lori Mercer - APRIL Clyde Mills Curtis Miyasaka Jim Pappanastos Judi Parks - SEPTEMBER DiAnna Paulk Carl (Snake) Saunders Diane Sims Leah Smith Darryl Spaulding Lori Sullivan Eleanor Thomas Debbie Townes - JUNE Michael Ware Constance Westover - OCTOBER *MONTHS IN RED ARE THE MONTH YOU VOLUNTEERED TO BRING REFRESHMENTS.
I apologize to anyone mistakenly left off the list. Every effort is made to make sure it is correct, but mistakes can be made. Please let me know if there needs to be a correction.
A few words from the Club President
T
he Capital City Camera Club is as much a social organization as it is a technical one. Sure, we try to provide a learning experience and photographic opportunities that members might not have without the club and the chance to compare our efforts with those of others in regular competitions but as a byproduct of that process we also have the opportunity to form lasting friendships with others who have similar interests to our own. Over my years as a member of this club I have gotten to know quite a large number of people that I would have never met otherwise. Many of them are still good friends and still part of the club but some have moved on to other cities and other interests. While I miss those that have moved, I’m excited about the new people that join us on a regular basis. The digital revolution that has swept the field of photography over the past few years has made quality photography accessible to almost everybody. As a result there are many people out there who have the equipment and the desire and now need help to move forward in their photography. The Capital City Camera Club is well positioned to be able to provide that help. We have a great amount of knowledge in the field and our members are only too happy to share that knowledge. Our members need to take this information and let their friends and relatives and coworkers know about the opportunities that the Capital City Camera Club can offer. Let them know that they are welcome to visit our meetings and our website and let them know what they would gain by membership in this organization. It’s up to you to get them visit the club. Once they visit, I believe that they’ll be back.
2008 Club Meetings Dates
2008 Business Meeting Dates
January 14 February 11 March 10 April 14 May 12 June 9 July 14 August 11 September 8 October 13 November 10 December 8
January 28 February 25 (6:00 p.m.) March 31 April 28 May 26 June 23 July 28 August 25 September 22 October 27 November 24 December 22
Dates are subject to change. Attend meetings or visit the club website for the most up-to-date changes.
February Club Meeting
W
ell, it was the first competition night of the year! Robert Fouts judged 36 prints that were entered into the Open and Old Building categories under the Novice and Advanced classifications. Winners of the competition are listed on the following four pages. We are happy to welcome three new members: Mitford Fontaine, Charles Kuykendall and Robert Fouts. We also had two visitors: Elly Seo and Barry Anderson. Robert Thomson was our lucky winner of the monthly doorprize: A $20.00 gift card to “Books-a-Million”. Rhonda Goode won our monthly on-line competition with the image shown at right. She received 14 of the 21 votes. Make sure you check out the Capital City Camera Club’s website, www.photoclub.org, to view our member’s galleries, enter the monthly competitions and see what’s coming up!
Club members waiting for the competition to begin.
Above: “Fired Rainbow” Abstract - Online Competition Winner by Rhonda Goode
Club members listen as judge Robert Fouts provides feedback.
COMING IN MARCH The March 10th regular club meeting will include a program covering mounting and matting prints for competitions.
COMING IN APRIL The April 14th regular club meeting will be a competition night. Categories are: “Racing” and “Open”. Racing includes car, horse, motorcycle, dog, people, etc. Any kind of racing. Photo by Carl Saunders
C C C C advanced apital
ity
amera
lub
Above: “Blue Hydrangea” - 3rd Place - Open by Chuck Rice
Above: “White Majesty” - 1st Place - Open by Carl Saunders
Above: “Winter Red” - HM - Open by Tim Goode
Above: “Soon to be Spring” - 2nd Place - Open by Judi Parks
Above: “Here There Be Dragons” - HM - Open by Carl Saunders
F P C advanced ebruary
rint
ompetition
At Right: “The Balance of Trade” 3rd Place - Old Bldgs by Tim Goode
Above: “Home Sweet Home” - 1st Place - Old Bldgs by Judi Parks
Above: “Hollywood Squares” - 2nd Place - Old Bldgs by Tim Goode
At Left: “Little Wooden Church” HM Place - Old Bldgs by Carl Saunders
Above: “The Old Homeplace” - HM Place - Old Bldgs by Chuck Rice
novice
Capital City Camera Club
Above: “Wind Swept” 3rd Place - Open - by Beverly Henry Above: “I Only Have Eyes For You” - 1st Place - Open by Rhonda Goode
Above: “Reelfoot Lake” - HM - Open by Mike Ware
Above: “My Biggest Fans” - 2nd Place - Open by Aleah Goode
Above: “Say Aweeee” - HM - Open by Sandra Campbell
novice
February Print Competition
Above: “A Quiet Place to Pray” - 3rd Place - Old Bldgs by Aleah Goode
Above: “Look In, Look Out” - 1st Place - Old Bldgs by Rhonda Goode
Above: “Old Country Store” - HM Place - Old Bldgs by Donna Blanks
Above: “Faded Barn” - 2nd Place - Old Bldgs by Donna Blanks
Above: “Katrina’s Window” - HM Place - Old Bldgs by Aleah Goode
2008 Field Trips February 16, 2008 Montgomery Zoo Montgomery, Alabama
What a day we had at the zoo!
March 15, 2008 Lowndesboro Spring Fling Lowndesboro, Alabama
From left to right: Jim Pappanastos, Don Ball, Debbie Townes, Jan Hoffman, Rhonda Goode, Tim Goode, Aleah Goode, Robert Thomson, Sherry Beazley, Chuck Rice, Connie Westover, Carl Saunders. 1st Inset: Amanda Kuykendall, Charles Kuykendall 2nd Inset: Judi Parks 3rd Inset: Nathan Kuykendall, Amanda Kuykendall, Jesse Kuykendall
April 19, 2008 Spring Festival Westville, Georgia May 24/25, 2008 Balloon Festival Decatur, Alabama June 14, 2008 Chewacla State Park and Auburn Univ
Total: 17 club members attended this field trip!
See more 2008 Montgomery Zoo Field Trip pictures at: http://www.pbase.com/cccameraclub/fieldtrips
July 19, 2008 (PENDING) Black & White Workshop w/Andy Meadows Montgomery, Alabama August 16, 2008 (PENDING) Photoshop Workshop w/ Phil Scarsbrook Montgomery, Alabama September 13, 2008 American Village Montevallo, Alabama
By Chuck Rice
October 11, 2008 Pike Pioneer Days Troy, Alabama November 8/9, 2008 Thunderbird Powwow Niceville, Florida
By Rhonda Goode By Connie Westover
By Carl Saunders
Clip out and put on the fridge!
2008
March 15th Field Trip
Lowndesboro, Alabama
L
owndesboro Landmarks Foundations Spring Fling - Lowndesboro, Alabama - March 15th. Antiques and Collectibles Sale at the Historic CME Church. Barbeque chicken plates available at Marengo Plantation from 11 am-2 pm, $10.00 per plate. Country store housed in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with a variety of homemade treats for sale. Four historic churches(circa 1800’s) open for viewing. The LewisSmith Cemetery and the Oakview Cemetery will be open as well.
Paige Brennan, DiAnna Paulk, Darlene Benway, Judi Parks and Connie Westover participated in the 2006 Capital City Camera Club field trip to the Lowndesboro Spring Fling.
In the past, club members have met in the local area and carpooled to field trip locations. The meeting location and time will be decided upon at the March meeting. Location: ____________________________________ Meeting Time: ________________________________
“Abandoned Home in Spring” BY DIANNA PAULK - 2006
Never Safari Alone!
(Safaris require 3 or more club members)
Photo by Mike Ware
Ph ot o by Fran cis Kn igh te
First Safari of 2008: Carl “Snake’ Saunders, Francis Knighten and Michael Ware went to the Montgomery Zoo for a January safari. Check out the Safari gallery the club’s website for more photos.
n
Call your fellow club members up and plan a safari today! Ph ot o by Ca rl Saun de rs
Membership in the Capital City Camera Club is open to anyone having an interest in photography regardless of skill level. The Club offers members an opportunity to learn more about their hobby or craft and to share individual photographic knowledge or experiences with other members. We are an active group, with bi-monthly competitions, programs, and monthly field trips to places that offer us the chance to photograph things of interest. The Club, which currently has around 50 members, meets on the second Monday of each month at the Eastmont Baptist Church, 4505 Atlanta Highway at 7:00 p.m.
Gerlach Nature Photography Seminar Coming to Atlanta (Saturday, March 29) and Birmingham (Sunday, March 30) Several club members have registered or plan to register for this seminar. The information provided here is from their website, www.gerlachnaturephoto.com This information is being provided to assist you in finding photography training locally and is not connected to the Capital City Camera Club. ABOUT THE SEMINAR Our intensive one-day seminar teaches the most important things we have learned since becoming full-time professional nature photographers in the early eighties. We have shot more than two million nature photographs with film and digital cameras and switched to all digital in 2003. This seminar is a blend of film and digital information. Most of the topics we cover such as composition, lenses, closeups, and light are equally appropriate for both film and digital. THE SEMINAR SCHEDULE 9:00 AM INTRODUCTION 9:10 EQUIPMENT FOR THE NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER (SLIDE PROGRAM) There is a bewildering array of photographic equipment in the marketplace so it is hard to decide what works best. We’ll show you the equipment we use to shoot many thousands of images each year. We’ll point out all of the features you must have to easily shoot outstanding nature images in the field. We’ll share our opinions of all the latest innovations including auto-focus, matrix metering, auto-bracketing, zoom lenses, back focus, digital capture, fill-flash, and much more. This is a comprehensive program that covers cameras, lenses, tripods, film, digital memory devices, camera bags, field guides, blinds, and teleconverters. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN... • What to look for in a 35mm or digital camera system • How to use your lenses as tools and get the best quality • The five things to look for in a telephoto lens • How lenses work • How to use teleconverters effectively • How to get the best quality from your lens • The tripods and tripod heads we find most useful for field work • Great quick release mechanisms for tripod heads and why they are so important • How to carry equipment in the field • Photo bags that work well in the field • Three great ways to get a long telephoto lens • Blinds for bird and mammal photography • Film selection and use • Why becoming a naturalist makes you a better nature photographer • Three great ways to get the effect of a long telephoto lens BREAK 10:20 A.M. MASTERING EXPOSURE (SLIDE PROGRAM) Learn how to shoot perfect exposures every time and do it fast. We use a method to determine exposure where we meter manually with our through-the-lens spot meter and compensate for subject reflectance. Using many photo examples, we’ll show you how to perfectly expose slide film and digital images too. This is an important program that every photographer who really wants to control exposure needs to see. Very detailed information from this program is included in your set of notes! WHAT YOU WILL LEARN... • Why exposure meters don’t tell you how to get proper exposure • Why camera meters are programmed for 18% reflectance • What proper exposure looks like on slide film
• How to judge subject reflectance • When and how to use aperture and shutter priority modes. • How to properly expose snow, fog, scenes, light and dark subjects • Why even with automation, you still have to understand the language of stops • How film speeds, shutter speeds, and F-numbers work together • Why your through-the-lens meter is the fastest and most accurate way to determine proper exposure • Why your camera manual never tells you how to properly use your through-the-lens exposure meter • When and how to use AEB (automatic exposure brack eting) • Exposure techniques for the digital camera (It’s easier!) • How to read a histogram and understand highlight alerts • Avoiding the five most common exposure errors digital shooter make (Hint! these problems involve the LCD monitor, computer monitor, luminance histogram, auto exposure defect, and exposure compensation button) 12:00-1:30 LUNCH 1:30 P.M. HOW TO SHOOT GREAT NATURE CLOSEUPS (Slide Program) Wildflowers, frogs, insects, mushrooms, butterflies, and dew-laden dragonflies are all small so special close-up techniques must be used to make outstanding photographs of these tiny subjects. With the aid of through-the-lens light meters and modern optics, closeup photography is very simple if you have suitable equipment and effective working methods. We’ll show you everything that works well in the field and how to use it. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN... • How to shoot high quality close-ups with natural light under field conditions • Why you don’t need to know any close-up formulas • The three reasons why the widely used 50mm macro lens is not the best lens to use for most subjects • Why longer focal length lenses work best • The best way to shoot close-ups with zoom lenses • How to use teleconverters for high quality close-ups • How to use reflectors and diffusers to greatly improve the light • How to shoot proper close-up exposures easily • How to maximize your depth of field • When to use your 50mm, 100mm, 200mm, or 300mm lens in close-up photography • Why working distance and angle of view is so critical to getting quality photos • How to get “flat on” and why it is so important • How to use extension tubes and why they are so useful • Why closeup filters work well on zoom lenses • The best choices in high quality closeup filters • Using plamps to make the subject hold still • Fill-flash techniques for closeups BREAK 2:30 LIGHT IS EVERYTHING (Slide Program) Light is the essence of photography. We’ll show you how the characteristics of light such as color, contrast, quantity, and direction make or break your photographs. Dozens of slide sequences are used to show good and bad examples of light. It’s a fun program that is incredibly revealing. One thing we learned early in our careers was photographing anything in bad light normally lead to lousy images. You must use the best possible light to make your images pop! WHAT YOU WILL LEARN... • Why color, contrast, and direction of light is much more important than the quantity of light • How to see light like the film or digital sensors do • How digital capture differs from slide film in its response
to light • When light contrast makes or ruins your photographs • How to use the color of light to greatly improve your images • When to use back-lighting and side-lighting • How to use reflectors and diffusers to modify the qualities of light to improve your images • How to make blue flowers record properly • When to use filters to improve the color • The one filter all digital shooters need to use most of the time and how to use it Break 3:20 HOW TO MAKE STRONG COMPOSITIONS (Slide Program) Anyone can learn to compose well. We’ll show you many examples of good and bad compositions and provide you with guidelines that make it easy for you to use lines, shapes, and colors to shoot much stronger compositions. What You Will Learn... • How to make strong compositions • Why subject placement is critical • When to use vertical and/or horizontal compositions • How to use lines of force and points of power • Why it is critical to compose hand-held • Why filling the frame with your subject isn’t composition • The two reasons why learning to compose stronger images makes wildlife photography so much easier • Why there are no rules of composition • The guideline of thirds • The three key factors that make a great nature photograph • How to see better • How to see the whole picture • When to slow down and really look • How strong compositions change as animals move about in their habitat and what to do about it • How to simplify your compositions • The difference between clinical and poetic compositions • The critical role backgrounds play in your images • How digital capture modifies some compositional ideas Break 4:00 STORIES BEHIND THE IMAGES (Slide Program) It’s been a long day and your brain has been doing overtime. You’ll be able to mentally relax while we tell you the revealing and often humorous stories behind many of the more interesting images we’ve shot during the past two years. It’s a fast paced program that covers 80 images in 35 minutes. Subject we are certain to cover this year include Kenya wildlife, hummingbirds, Yellowstone, Michigan closeups, and autumn color. It’s a great program you’ll love viewing. 4:45 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS This time has been set aside to answer any questions you may have from viewing our instructional programs. We do answer many questions during the program too!
If you know o f training schedu led for the local area, let us know. We will include it in the newsle tter.
Prattville Mardi Gras Parade By Connie Westover, Editor
N
ot growing up here in Alabama, I haven’t really understood the attraction of Mardi Gras. I saw these funny looking bread/cake things in the store in weird colors along with masks and beads. Having “cabin fever”, I decided to attend my first Mardi Gras parade in the hopes of getting a couple good shots. Rodney was working so I ended up standing in the street by myself with camera and tripod. As soon as the parade began, I enjoyed every minute of it. The kids were the funniest, all dressed up in big hats and bright colors. Moon pies and beads were flying and everyone was getting a kick having their picture taken. There were plenty of floats and beauty queens to photograph. I got more experience at “shooting moving targets” as not every float stopped. It was great seeing the community celebrating and having a good time, either by participating in the parade or as a bystander. I can’t wait till next year!
2008 Digital Wizard Contest - Pop Photo Go to www.popphoto.com and select the contest tab. Do you work magic with image-editing software? Think you can spin photographic dross into pure gold using Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Microsoft Picture It!, or other programs? Here’s your chance to put your creativity to the test with Pop Photo’s 2008 Digital Wizard Contest. You could win the $1,000 grand prize and have your work published in the magazine -- and there are cash prizes for runners-up, too! But hurry up -- the contest ends March 31! Download these 12 photos and then prove your wizardry. You must use elements from at least 4 of the shots. You can’t add any other images, but you can apply any filters or plug-ins your software can handle. Please read all the contest rules and details. You may begin uploading your entries starting on February 1, 2008. You can enter as many times as you like. The deadline for entries is midnight (ET), March 31, 2008. The winners will be published in the July 2008 issue and on PopPhoto.com.
Snow Days Ph ot o by Ch uc k
R ic e
Photo by Anna Bishop
A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the weather one morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made the daily trek to the elementary school. As the day progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning. The mother was worried that her daughter would be frightened walking back home from school, and she herself feared the electrical storm might cause her harm. Following each roar of the thunder, lightning would cut through the sky like a flaming sword. Being very concerned, the mother got into her car and drove along the route to the school.
Photo by Barbara Bryan
Photo by Aleah Goode
Ph ot o by DiAnn a Paulk
The Photographer
Soon she saw her small child walking along. The thunder would boom, and then, at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look and smile. One followed another, each time with her child stopping, looking up at the streak of light and smiling. Finally, the mother called out and asked, “Honey, what are you doing?” Her little girl answered, “God keeps taking pictures of me!”
February On-Line Competition “White-on-White�
Enter by February 29. (Members Only) Visit wwww.photoclub.org to review the 2008 competition rules!
February 25th BUSINESS MEETING 6:00 p.m. We would like everyone to try to attend the February business meeting. This will be a great opportunity for you to become involved in issues that help the club grow. As a special treat (and as an incentive), pizza will be purchased for this event.