February 2011
HPC Monthly
Member’s Choice Ken Goodrich
Competition Critique Night © Christine Heliker
The Hilo Photography Club is a photography club based on the Big Island of Hawai’i, and has been meeting monthly since 1978. Our members all have a common interest in photography and in sharing their craft/profession/hobby with others. Skills range from novice to professional. We currently have around 50 members from all parts of the Big Island. The club holds a meeting every month in Hilo. In addition to a business meeting, we often have demonstrations, slide shows from members or invited photographers, invited lectures, in-club photo contests and exhibits, discussions about upcoming contests, photographic technique, technology, equipment, digital manipulation, darkroom, etc. This monthly meeting is usually the 3rd Wednesday of the month, at 7 p.m, at the Kamana Senior Center on Kamana St. in Hilo Google Map. Hilo Photo Club Website Editor Bob Douglas 333-0402
© Ken Goodrich
Contents President’s Corner 4 The 1/250 Second Banana 6 Editor’s Page 7 Meeting Minutes 8 Outings 9 Photo Contests and Art Shows 9 Upcoming Meeting 13 More Member Pictures 17
President’s Corner
Aloha once again. February approaches and with it comes Valentine’s Day and for many tax preparation. Valentine’s is at least a photographic possibility whereas taxes....no, never! For you historian buffs in February 1968 the famous photograph of Saigon police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to his head was circulated. Who will ever forget this vivid portrayal of terror? This month the club will host a critique of member’s images - an excellent chance to learn and to see what others see when viewing another’s work. I hope you will attend and engage in the discussions. What inspires us to photograph? Why do we pick up a camera and record an image? Here’s a few thoughts and some responses from renowned artists found in ‘Image Makers Image Takers’:
Ideas come to me quite suddenly. Does this happen to you? Like a sudden flash of lightning? Do you get an sudden idea and jot it down for later? Or maybe your inspiration comes: from looking at a great work in painting and photography and especially in films. Yes, this has happened to me. I especially enjoy the big screen cinema photography work. How many times have you watched a travelogue and said: “Wow, I’ve gotta go see that!’ Are you a person who says: I don’t look at other people’s work much. I think young photographers often look to their heroes and try to emulate the style, but that’s a bad idea. You really need to find your own voice and do your own thing.” I think one can intentionally avoid looking at other’s work, but it would be very difficult to avoid it altogether. And impossible if you take any art class. We are bombarded daily with various forms of art. True, you don’t have to visit museums to say: I’m much more inspired by photographers than painters. I’m into people like Avedon,
Penn, Sorrenti, Teller, Knight. Whether you like it or not, you always get influenced by the work around you. I believe we’ve all been influenced by others and always will be. Building on the past is what we humans do. How else might one be inspired? It’s a pretty broad spectrum, but if I had to plump for one thing, I’d say music. Music may indirectly inspire but for me it’s more mood setting than inspirational. Does a song set you off to go shooting? Or are you a visionary like this? When I’m thinking about what I want to do, I close my eyes and imagine I have a museum in my basement that no one else can go in besides me. I
think about what kind of pictures I see on the wall. Then I make those pictures.” I wish to visualize like this, but no can. If you are such a gifted person, congradulations for you are to be admired. And while on the subject of inspiration, I hope there is a member who feels inspired to help with the newsletter. Please contact board member. Have a great month and happy shooting. Steve
The 1/250 Second Banana
It’s an interesting question to think about. For some, it is all about the journey, and not about the legacy; they could care less what happens to their photographs after they are gone. For others, it may be important to keep the photographs available and even documented/organized so that their children, grandchildren or interested family historians can have interesting material to sift through. For some photography is enough of their life’s work that they would like broader recognition of some kind. Many artists not appreciated so much in their time, but only after they pass on. Some may already have a body of prominent work, and have historical or financial considerations to consider. Finally, even the most mundane photographs may be of great interest to anthropologists and historians of the future, to understand what life was like in our times. Imagine a researcher 1000 years from now recovering and decoding digital images or negatives from a carefully preserved and documented time capsule.
tinely sells abandoned items. The boxes contained a few prints, a number of developed rolls of negatives, and even more rolls of undeveloped film. They were purchased by a young Chicago-area businessman named John Maloof who had an interest in real-estate: rummaging through the boxes, he recognized some of the locations in some of the prints and thought that there might be some historical interest. Although not a photographer himself, after spending some time examining the prints and negatives, they began to capture his imagination. Vivian clearly had a very good eye for street photography. He began to scan some of the negatives and prints and post some of them on the Flickr street photography groups, asking if there was anything interesting about the work. Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback and interest he received, he began to educate himself about photography, street photography and Vivian Maier. Who was this interesting and reclusive woman? Well, long story short, due to his efforts there is now significant public interest in her work, and a show of her work is now on display at the Chicago Cultural Center through April 3rd. Maloof and his associates have raised money to make a book and a film about her life. It seems certain that she will be ultimately be recognized somewhere in the pantheon of important street photographers of the 20th century.
If you are interested in a photographic legacy for any of these reasons, it is well worth your while to think about what you can do now to aid those will come after. If you follow photography news on the internet you will no doubt by now have heard of Vivian Maier, a slightly eccentric french-american nanny that spent most of her life in Chicago and amassed decades worth of mid-to-late century street photography shots, mostly taken with a Rollei TLR. She did not make any concerted effort to organize or show her photography, and consequently almost no one knew of her work. After her death, several boxes of hers that were in storage were auctioned off at a business that rou-
With a great story like this, it is easy to overlook the fact that her boxes of photographs could very easily have ended up in a landfill. Plastic and paper being what they are, it is unlikely that she would have any legacy, however minor, but for a very lucky break. If she had taken any steps in thinking about her photographic legacy she might have improved the odds greatly, and perhaps received at least some recognition during her lifetime. There are two important lessons here: one is to try and show your work to people, and the other is to try to insure that your photographs are safely protected, organized and documented. Accomplish both and you greatly increase the chances that
Dear Readers, Do you have an interest in your photographic legacy? I am referring to your body of photographic work and your association with it after you move on from this world.
you may receive some recognition for your work in this life, and perhaps more importantly, that someone else with an interest in your work may find it after you are gone, possibly resulting in posthumous recognition or at least making it of use to others. Although digital images may seem ephemeral, being only bits on some kind of storage media, they also offer a very compelling way to safeguard your work because they can be duplicated without loss of quality. By copying your files to multiple media, and storing them in multiple locations (for example, a cool, dry room in your home, a safe-deposit box at the bank, and a secure location on the internet), you greatly reduce the chances of a catastrophic loss of your work. Mold, theft, fire, hurricane, etc. will not deprive you of your work. If you shoot film, or produce hand-altered prints, I highly recommend scanning your work to afford the same kinds of protection. Be sure to check the locallyaccessible media periodically, and transfer to newer, safer formats when possible. This does not have to be onerous; once or twice a year might be sufficient. When storing your work, consider carefully the importance of widely used and understood image file formats like TIFF and JPEG. Proprietary RAW formats come and go, and due to the short-sighted and protective nature of camera companies some of these formats have even contained encrypted parts. Due to the huge number of JPEG images out there it is very likely that someone 200 years from now will have a way to view one. Whether we can say the same for the unique RAW format of a Canon DSLR camera that sold from 2003-2004 is highly questionable. Finally, consider the ways in which you can make your work visible/accessible to others. Not only is this helpful in receiving possibly useful feedback, but you greatly increase the chances the someone will recognize or remember that you have a body of photographic work, and when
you pass away, it may receive increased scrutiny. Shows, magazines and other short-lived exhibitions are good for creating interest, but they tend to pass quickly. Nevertheless they increase the likelihood of someone taking further interest in your work. Consider longer term exposure: is there a place where you can donate a piece of work that will hang for a long time? Making a book and giving a few copies to interested family or friends is also good. Putting your work online in a web site is yet another way (and there is a synergy here with having an off-site copy of your work). For a web site it is important to remember that just creating a web site is not enough to drive interest (if you build it they will not necessarily come); usually one needs to engage in activities that drive traffic and eyeballs to the work (e.g. blogging, marketing, etc.). Still, just having the work internet accessible means that someone could discover it more easily, and that could be significant. Time to wrap up. I hope that I have made the point that no matter what kind of photographer you are, there is a case for a photographic legacy, and that it is worthwhile thinking about it. Perhaps your decision is not to leave a legacy, and that is a reasonable choice, if consciously made. Perhaps that was Vivian’s decision. Yet I think that was not her decision. The fact that she carted these boxes of things around from employer to employer, and finally into storage tells me that they were very important to her, and that she was thinking a little bit about her photographic legacy. But Vivian Maier got lucky that John Maloof found her work just in time. Even back then she could have been more careful. Till next time, Eric Jeschke ps. for more information on Vivian Maier, visit her article on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Maier) and follow the links at the bottom.
Editor’s Page Aloha It’s been an incredible journey, alas the time has come that I am no longer able to publish the club newsletter. My real employer has tasked me to work on a high visibility, fast track project. Suffice to say that my recent work load has increased exponentially and in addition I will called upon to travel more frequently and on very short notice. Fear not, the newsletter will survive! It’s in great hands. Long time, distinguished club member Tom Whitney has graciously volunteered to take over as your editor. He has numerous years of publishing experience. He maintains his own website and has published several documents including The Book of Years. The Book of Years is a 375 page retrospect that documents his high school classmate’s lives post graduation. With his experience he brings quite a few novel ideas to improve the newsletter and the website. Please give Tom all of your support and feedback. With it I have no doubt that he will take it up a few notches In closing thanks to everyone for your help, contributions and putting up with those requests for content. Bob “All things considered, in most matters of art it is more nourishing to be a maker than a viewer.” David Bayles and Ted Orland.
Meeting Minutes by Mary Goodrich
January 19, 2011
Expo, the competition is a good chance to get some feedback on it.
Ken Goodrich was acting President tonight in the absence of Steve Godzak and VP Eric Jeschke. Newcomers were introduced and several people joined the club and a few others paid their yearly dues. Announcements Andrew announced the 12th Annual Photo Expo. The deadline for digital entry is March 19. Send your DVD/CD with up to 4 entries at $15 each and $10 for each additional entry up to 7. Once again, there are categories for Master, Enthusiast and Student/Novice which HPC members were happy about. The notification for accepted entries is April 17 and intake of the accepted framed prints is May 28, Saturday. The juror is George Lee, photo editor for the Honolulu Star Bulletin. There will be a Critique workshop with George Lee on June 4 and the opening reception will also be held on June 4 at Wailoa Center. Go to Hawaii Photo Expo online for detailed information and Entry Form. www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com. There are two very good photography shows on the island right now. One of them is Wayne Levin’s “Papahanaumokuakea” now at the Donkey Mill Art Center in Holualoa through February 12. Call (808) 322-3362 for information. HPC member Kathleen Carr has filled the main gallery at EHCC with her photographs and the show will be up until January 27. Kathleen has announced that she is having a women’s creativity workshop in Honaunau, 2/26 through 3/5. Go to www.kathleencarr.com. for more information. Chris James let us know that there is a few more days for entries to be sent in for the competition in February. If you have a photo you are considering entering in Photo
At Keaau Fine Arts, there will be a Photoshop selections workshop with David Burns on January 29. Keaau Fine Arts will host “See the Light”, a seminar on February 19, 9 am to 4 pm with Dewitt Jones, one of America’s top professional photographers. Go to www.keaaufineart.com for more information. Member’s Choice We began the evening with a slideshow by Steve Clark for Member’s Choice. Steve showed us some recent work he did in Colorado. He uses a Canon 40D. His images showed his skill with HDR, Panoramas, night photos and the use of an intervalometer that allows him to do exciting time lapse photography. Steve’s love of the outdoors is evident in his work. HPC thanks Steve for sharing his techniques and beautiful images with us! Program Following the break tonight, the main program was by HPC member Bill Irwin. Bill showed his photographs of China which were taken last May. He plans to return to China in 2011. Bill is an expert at HDR and an excellent photographer. There was an overflow crowd to see Bill’s slideshow and hear his talk. Bill visited many temples in China and told us a lot of the history and stories about the different deities and Buddhas. He used HDR on many of the images. He explained that since the technique involves several separate exposures, it only works when there is no movement. One picture showed a building with a man walking out the door and the man’s image was recorded twice. This particular picture
worked anyway and it appears that there are two people instead of just one. Bill defined HDR, or High Dynamic Range, as a technique that renders the image in the way our eyes see by merging multiple photographs. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight. Sometimes HDR doesn’t work on the sky and will leave artifacts. Ten thousand thanks to Bill for bringing his China journey to the club tonight!
Outings
by Linda Halsted
February 20, 2011 PRIVATE TOUR OF WATAMULL ESTATE Real Estate Broker Dana Kenny is caretaker of the Watamull Estate. He has graciously consented to take HPC members into the Estate for a private tour on Sunday February 20, 2011 The estate is about 2120 acres and closed to the public. It features Papai Bay and a private pavilion with landscaped grounds. There is a five acre park, coconut grove, and a restroom. This area is closed to the public. Access is through locked gates. He wants us to meet at the gate at 8AM on February 20th. Please be prompt since it takes about an hour to reach the coast. A regular vehicle is OK. It takes about an hour to go the six miles to the coast. There is a swimming area/beach, tide pools, coconut grove and landscaped gardens. One can walk for miles. Mr. Kenny says it is ok to bring your swimming, diving and fishing gear and if you have kids they are welcome. Bring your own food and water, supplies, chairs etc . Sun screen and a hat sound like a good idea.
We will spend the day there so come prepared. We need a specific list of names and vehicle license plate numbers. Email this to me before the 19th. Persons entering will have to sign a waiver of liability. This private tour is open to HPC paid members and their immediate families. If you aren’t sure whether your dues are up to date, contact George Jensen at 966-5865 or email him at gejensen@peoplepc.com if you plan to attend. The meeting point is located on the Macadamia Road. This road is the entrance to the Mac Nut Orchard and off Volcano Highway in the vicinity of Shipman (but on the ocean side off the Hilo town bound lanes). Turn in by the MacNut sign and head down the hill about .6 miles. You will see large Norfolk pines and a dirt road and large yellow metal gate on the left. That is the meeting point. See you Sunday. Doug and I will be there at 7:30AM
Photo Contests and Art Shows by Jim Kelly
For those of you who are interested, here are some 2011 photo contests and art shows easily available to Hilo Photography Club members. Most have no entry fee and accept digital entries. Some have prizes such as money, trips, or cameras. Others will exhibit your photo or publish it in their magazine. Check the appropriate website for complete instructions. Although the entry deadlines may be several months away, it’s not too early to begin thinking about it and stockpiling photos. Hawaii Photo Expo, 2011 Deadline March 19, 2011 This is the annual photo contest at Wailoa Center using approximately the same schedule as the 2010 Photo Expo. The Prospectus will be available in January. The 2011
contest will have 3 categories: Masters, Enthusiasts, and Beginners. George Lee, Photo Editor of the Honolulu Star Advertiser, will be the judge. The website is at www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com <http://www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com>
site is at: http://photocontest.smithsonianmag.com/
Hawaii Magazine, Photo Contest Deadline probably August 2011. Submit a maximum of 8 prints. See contest website www.hawaiimagazine.com/ photo_contest Honolulu Magazine, Annual Photo Contest. Deadline probably in September 2011. Submit up to 2 digital images at the Photo Contest website or mail a CD. No entry fee. Cosponsored by Halekulani Hotel. Website is at: www.honolulumagazine.com/photocontest/ Canon Camera Deadline probably September 2011. Submit up to 10 digital images either by uploading at the contest website or sending in a CD. No entry fee. The 2010 Grand Prize was a trip to National Park of your choice. Other prizes were Canon cameras: 5D, 7D, Rebel T2i, and Power Shot GV. The contest website is: http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleA ct&articleID=1326&refID=17 AAA Hawaii Photo Contest Deadline probably November 2011. Submit one photo by sending an email with your photo attached. No entry fee. Website is: www. AAA.com/hawaiimagazine-contest Nikon Photo Contest International Deadline probably in November 2011. No entry fee. Prizes are Nikon cameras. Website is: www.nikon-npci.com Smithsonian Magazine, 9th Annual Photo Contest Deadline probably December 2011. Submit digital images through the contest website. No entry fee. Five categories: Americana, Natural World, People, Altered Images, and Travel. All category winners and the Reader’s Choice winner will receive $500 and their photo published in the Smithsonian Magazine. The contest web-
ART SHOWS Artists of Hawaii Deadline April 1, 2011. Submit up to 3 digital entries for $35 using the Café website. Selected framed images will be exhibited at the Honolulu Academy of Arts from June 30 to September 26, 2011. Juror for the 2011 show is Wu Hung, Director, Center for the Art of East Asia, University of Chicago. Website is at: http://www.honoluluacademy.org/cmshaa/academy/ index.aspx?id=5658 EHCC (East Hawaii Cultural Center) Spring Arts Festival Deadline probably end of March 2011. Entry fee is $15 per picture for members, $25 for nonmembers. Cash prizes. Entries must be framed. Selected pictures will be exhibited during the month of April in the EHCC Gallery in downtown Hilo. Website is at www.ehcc. org EHCC (East Hawaii Cultural Center) Fall Arts Festival Deadline probably end of October 2011. Same procedure and fees as the Spring Arts Festival. March 2011 Hawaii Photo Expo 2011, Deadline: March 2011 This is the annual Hilo Photography Club’s photo contest at Wailoa Center. Digital entries will be accepted sometime in March using approximately the same schedule as the 2010 Photo Expo. It’s not too early to begin thinking about taking photos or selecting photos for next year’s contest. The 2011 contest will probably have 3 categories: Masters, Enthusiasts, and Beginners. The website is at www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com
August 2011 Hawaii Magazine, Photo Contest, Deadline: Probably August 2011. We just missed Hawaii Magazine’s 2010 contest. The deadline was August 6, 2010. But, keep it in mind for next year. This year the contest had 4 categories: Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii, with up to 2 photos accepted for each category for a maximum of 8 photos. A photo print was required but it could be accompanied by a digital image on a CD. Prizes included a trip to Kauai, money, or gifts. See this year’s contest website at: www.hawaiimagazine.com/ photo_contest April 11, 2011 Honolulu Academy of Arts Artists of Hawaii 2011 Fee: $25.00 (Artists of Hawai’i 2011) Entry Deadline: 4/1/1 The Honolulu Academy of Arts annual juried exhibition is one of the longest running juried exhibitions in the country, showcasing the quality and diversity of Hawaii’s artists. All artists residing in the state of Hawaii are eligible. Artists may submit up to 3 artworks. There is a $25 Jury Fee which includes one digital image submission. Each additional digital image submitted is $5 (1 entry=$25; 2 entries=$30; 3 entries=$35; 1 entry+1 detail=$30; 2 entries+1 detail=$35, etc). For more information on the Honolulu Academy of Arts please visit www.honoluluacademy.org.
Upcoming Meeting Photo Competition and Critique This Wednesday we will be presenting the member-submitted entries for our club’s Winter Photography Critique. We are honored to have three fantastic judges take the time to review all the pictures and offer their thoughts and advice. Our judges include, Craig “Tapecat” McCudden of Bleeding Finger Studios - a graphic designer, sculptor and recent Red Bull Art of the Can Peoples Choice winner. Debra Lex - a professional freelance photographer of 25 years and recent addition to the Big Island of Hawaii. She has worked for People magazine, Newsweek, and as staff photographer for the yachting magazine ShowBoats International. And finally David Rosenberg, the current photo editor of Tennis magazine and a writer for the New York Times. Ken Goodrich Member’s Choice will be Ken Goodrich. Ken will show his recent multi-image work, projected images choreographed with music.
More Member Pictures
Š Christina Heliker
Š Mary Goodrich
Š Mary Goodrich