HPC - March 2010 by Bob Douglas

March 2010

HPCMONTHLY Faith Cloud Barcelona Celebra la vida with aloha!

Member's Choice Molly Hart

IDSpace Outing Pix

Creating a Portfolio ÂŠ Bob Douglas

Table of Contents President’s Corner............................................................................................. 3 Notes from the Second Banana.........................................................................4 Editor’s Corner................................................................................................... 5 What's Coming Up............................................................................................. 6 Review of Membership Meeting February 17, 2010.......................................... 9 News from Keaau Fine Arts Center - DIGITAL IMAGING CONTEST............10 PHOTO EXPO 2010.................................................................................................. 10 Future Developments................................................................................................ 11 Newsletter Report...................................................................................................... 11 Outing Pics.................................................................................................................. 12

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/hob by 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, inclub 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.

HPCMonthly

President’s Corner Doug Halsted HPC MEMBERS! HAWAII PHOTO EXPO is starting early this year and going digital for submissions and selection for the show. Participants will have to print and frame ONLY those images which have been selected. The deadline for digital submissions is March 19. The prospectus and entry form/instructions describe requirements and the process of submission. This information is on the website www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com. See you at the EXPO!! Doug Halsted Refreshment volunteers... Steve Garon, Jim Kelly and Eric Jescke. Thanks guys!

Hilo Photo Club Website Editor Bob Douglas 333-0402 All content copyrighted by either HPC or the original photographer. Please contact Bob Douglas with any questions.

“Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.” - Yousef Karsh © Tom Whitney

Notes from the Second Banana Steve Godszak February's meeting was both entertaining and informative with Glory Guerpo's black and white images of people living with HIV. I could see how some might be uncomfortable with a couple of Glory's images as they reminded me of WWII photos of prisoners rescued from death camps taken in the 1940s. Yes, it's hard to look at the human form in an unhealthy, stricken state and even though we know disease strikes many lives, it takes a special person to photograph this bleak side of life. And Glory does this with respect and care. Her photos offer insight into an aspect of the human condition which most look away from. Her comment of using color only when there is vibrant color inherent in the scene stuck with me. Ending the evening with George's vivid images from a few of his favorite stomping grounds were a great contrast to Glory's mostly B&W photos. Was glad to see the folks who came to the initial Photoshop class. Ken did a great job of introducing everyone to Adobe Bridge and it's organizational possibilities. The 2nd class will be held starting at 6 p.m.on the 23rd of March and it will cover working with RAW images. We have decided to provide the information and guidance via file versus hardcopy. This will enable each user to print what they want or if they want. Going green. Lastly I want to thank Molly Hart for hosting Timothy Hearsum's slide show and talk story. An interesting and gifted photographer who continues to love the craft (using film still) he began in high school. How many of us could ever say that?

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner Bob Douglas

ÂŠ Bob Douglas

Aloha everyone, You may have noticed that February's newsletter was missing, for a good reason. Late January I received a call that my Mom passed away rather suddenly. Normally I don't share this type of information but the experience taught me a few things I would have never expected and that I truly believe this one should be shared. My Mom like all of us are artists, except her passion was watercolors. My brother and I were not ready for the daunting task of fguring out what to do with all of her paintings. Honestly the experience was so emotional, so riddled with guilt that I was having issues with what to do with some of them. Yes we could have taken them home but being that there were so many they would end up in storage, not enjoyed. In the end my brother and I decided that we would offer all of her good friends a painting. Now we fnally feel better in the knowledge that her art will be appreciated and live on. The big take away in all of this is that we all should consider those we could leave behind. Don't leave them with a burden at such a diffcult time. Some things to consider organizing your best images so your family knows where access them. If a particular image is meant for someone document it. If you are a professional the images should be copyrighted and succession should be documented. Bob

What's Coming Up... March 17, 2010, HPC Membership Meeting Our guest for 3/17 will be HPC member Faith Cloud who will share her photographic impressions of Barcelona with us.

ÂŠ 2010 Faith Cloud

Here is a bit of her history: â&#x20AC;&#x153;My colorful past includes working 25 years as a Counselor for elementary through high school students on both Maui and The Big Island. During these same years I also performed modern dance as well as choreographed, winning several Hawaii State awards for choreography. I have a B.A. in English and Theater and a M.Ed. in

Counseling Psychology. In the year 2000, I went to Barcelona, Spain to work as a School Psychologist at the American School of Barcelona. At that time I bought a Pentax 3.1 mega pixel digital camera in order to share my cultural and travel experiences with friends and family. Five years later I returned to Hilo, fluent in Spanish and passionate about photography. Over the years, I graduated to a Canon Rebel XTi. When not traveling, I have been studying photography and digital media arts at Hilo Community College. I live with one foot in the Pacif ic and one in the Mediterranean. I photograph to express my excitement about being alive. I do not limit what subject matter I photograph. My awe of beauty and reverence for life inspires me to capture and celebrate the richness and diversity that surround me; the dance of life. This current photo presentation will cover my recent visit to Barcelona.” Celebra la vida with aloha! Faith Cloud Our Member’s Choice will be Molly Hart. About her photography she says, “I love variety, texture, contrast, color and the more subtle stories to be told within a portion of an object taken out of context of its origin. I will show samples of some of the variety of my subject material from the last five years of digital images.”

Review of Membership Meeting February 17, 2010 President Doug was unable to be here tonight so VP Steve Godzsak held forth as official emcee/announcement dude.

Announcements There will be a meeting at Doug and Linda’s home on March 6 to discuss the Senior Portrait Project, tentatively scheduled for April. The meeting will begin at 5 pm and a potluck supper will follow. We passed around a sign-up sheet for the senior portrait project and many members were happy to get involved. Jim Kelly has volunteered to coordinate this project. If you would like to be a part of this project, contact Jim: jkelly@hawaii.edu. Current HPC member exhibits include Joe Ruesing in the Mauka Gallery at EHCC through 2/25 and Ed Goldstein at ID Space in Kurtistown through the end of February. ID Space is open by appointment. There are beautiful gardens – so bring your camera when you go there. Call 966-8943 or e-mail: idspace@hiartmagazine.com There will be a special presentation by visiting professional fine art photographer Tim Hearsum at Molly Hart’s home in HPP on Wednesday, February 24. 6:30 pm, the program starts at 7. Potluck pupus. Tim Hearsum received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Fine Arts from Ohio University and the State University of New York, Buffalo respectively. He calls the presentation "A Life in Photography or . . . 40 Years in the Dark". Tim and his wife, Judy, were present at the meeting to say hello. Andrew Bisset brought entry forms for the upcoming Photo Expo and urged us all to get our entries in early this year. The deadline is March 19 and up to 7 entries may be submitted digitally. For more information, go to the Expo website: www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com. Program Glory Guerpo gave a fascinating program tonight to a packed and very attentive audience. You could almost hear a pin drop as everyone gave Glory their full attention. Glory is a photographer who enjoys people and different cultures of the world. She was born in Honokaa, has traveled far and wide, and returned to her island home where she now lives in Kamuela. She studied photography in Australia. She is always thinking and analyzing what she sees. Her images are thought-provoking and insightful. Tonight she shared some of her travel photographs with us and presented three major bodies of work. One was entitled “Muslim Women at Worship” photographed in Australia. Another was about people on the Big Island living with HIV/AIDS. These photographs are all intensely moving and personal. Glory captured them and the people’s stories that go with them. She says the experience of doing the HIV/AIDS project really hit her hard when she was processing the images on her computer. At one point, she had to step away from it for awhile before continuing.

To lighten up the close of her presentation, she showed us another facet of her work, photographing the figure. HPC thanks Glory Guerpo for this awesome evening of sharing both her work and her heart with us. Following the break, the Member’s Choice presentation was George Jensen’s color photography of his travels. George has been to many countries including New Zealand, China, Japan and has also traveled extensively in the United States. George says he likes to emulate the look of Arizona Highways photography and does not manipulate his photographs. Ken Goodrich and Steve Godzsak are offering free Photoshop classes for HPC members, to begin on 2/23 from 6pm to 8pm. The next class will be on 3/23, same time. The classes will be held at Kamana Center in our regular meeting room. We passed around a sign-up sheet and many members would like to do this. The first class will be on organizing your images with Adobe Bridge. The second will be on Camera Raw. After that, we will see how things are progressing… Outings: March 20, Puna Coast. Plan to meet in Keaau at 10 am and bring lunch. Mark your calendar and more details will be forthcoming in a yahoo message. Our March meeting will be the photography of HPC member Faith Cloud, and Member’s Choice will be photography by Molly Hart. In April we will again have a critique of member images with 3 member jurors. News from Keaau Fine Arts Center - DIGITAL IMAGING CONTEST A state-wide digital imaging exhibition open to all Hawaii residents. To be kept up-to-date on submission info, email: digital4print@gmail.com Mark these dates in your calendar: January 1st - January 30th: submit digital files. Fees: $15 per entry, any theme. (Technical info to follow) February 13th: Accepted artists will be contacted and asked to supply a high-resolution tiff file for us to print up. The kind folks at Keaau Fine Art Center will then print up all accepted images 20"x30", on Hahnemuhle fine art papers. (at no charge! So you don't need to worry about expensive framing & mailing/delivery) March: Jurors will select the prize-winning images from the exhibition prints, not the digital files. March 6th: Public reception, 6pm - 9pm @ Keaau Fine Art Center. Exhibit will be open until March 26th, then: March - April 2010: Oahu exhibition: To be confirmed, we have several venues as possibilities currently. PHOTO EXPO 2010 Andrew Bisset announced that the deadline for Expo entries will be earlier this year. Expo is changing to a new process of selection. Entries can be submitted digitally for pre-judging.

These will then be culled down to about 150 images and selected photographers will be invited to show their finished work. This will benefit the photographers because only selected works will need to be framed thus saving a lot of money on matting and framing. Look for more information on the Expo website or in this newsletter in the coming months. www.hawaiiphotoexpo.com

Future Developments March 6th: Keaau Fine Arts Center - DIGITAL IMAGING CONTEST - Public reception, 6pm 9pm @ Keaau Fine Art Center. Exhibit will be open until March 26th, March 17, HPC Member Faith Cloud, Slideshow of Spain March 23, 6-8PM Ken Goodrich and Steve Godzak will be presenting Camera Raw at the Kamana Center

Treasurerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Report George Jensen reports all is well at the bank.

Newsletter Report Bob Douglas welcomes submissions from the membership of photos and articles. If you would like to research and write about a photographic topic of interest please do so and send it to Bob at b.douglas@sun.com . You will learn a lot by doing so and all of us will beneft! Over and outâ&#x20AC;Ś.

Outing Pics Mahalo to Ken for organizing yet another awesome outing. And a big mahalo to Mary Goodrich and Steve Clark for sharing these wonderful images.

ÂŠ 2010 Ken Goodrich

Creating a Portfolio A portfolio of images gives people a visual impression of a photographer’s work. A photographer may have several portfolios representing different facets of his work. The portfolio is made up of printed, completed, images on quality matte or semi-glossy paper. It is not a disc of digital files as there can be a huge difference between what is seen on a computer screen and the finished print. The portfolio is a collection of not less than 12 or more than 20 photographs that are of a specif ic subject, or that have been created over a certain period of time, or in the same geographical location, an event, etc. The selected images have a unifying theme, they “know” and complement each other and form relationships within the context of the portfolio. The photographs are not necessarily all made up of the photographer’s very best work – the main thing is that they are connected thematically to each other. There are strong images, and others that give support to an idea or concept. Be mindful of the differences between “repetitive” and “supportive” images. If you have too many images that all say the same thing, keep only the strongest and eliminate the others. A supportive image is strong enough to show on its own and usually reveals another aspect of the theme.

It can be time-consuming work to make the right selections for the portfolio. Knowing which ones to choose is an art in itself. First, consider the purpose of the portfolio. Is it to show to a curator for exhibition in a gallery? Attract new clients? Share with a small group of friends? What is it that you want viewers to know and remember about the work? How to select the images? You need to understand why you took the photographs and how to express this to viewers. Be sure that the point of the portfolio is clear. Focusing on what you want to say with your photographs, consider all that fit into the chosen category, maybe 100 images or more. Then wait a day or two before looking at them again and this time take away about half. Give yourself some more time. Then go back and edit down to 20 images, looking for the common thread that unites the theme. When you have the 20, talk to a few people to see what they think of your choices. Sometimes it is hard to know what our best work is. Listen to what others say and if several say they like the same images, pay attention to that. Don’t mix color and B&W. Don’t use an imperfect image even if it supports your idea to a T. Take as much time as you need to create the portfolio and be sure it is completed before you show it. Twelve images is a reasonable size for a portfolio. If you choose less than 12, your presentation may not be strong enough. More than 20 may be too overwhelming. If there are fewer images, a viewer is likely to spend more time with each one. Select a logical order in which to present the photographs. You may do this chronologically or in such a way that that the images elicit an emotional response or develop a story. Images should be selected to reflect what is in an “artist’s statement”, included with a specif ic portfolio. Also include a list of image titles. Each photograph should be dated and signed and also numbered if it is part of an edition or series. The prints can be presented in a clam-shell style box such as can be found through Light Impressions, or a folding carrying case, a binder or Itoya case with pages. If the prints are 11x14 or smaller, they will look best if they are all printed on the same kind of paper and matted. All the mats should be the same size and same matboard, but the image window can vary in size. Larger prints should be on the same size and kind of paper and images may be cropped. Big prints (16X20) may be unmatted with interleaving tissue between them. It is optional, but recommended, to provide white cotton gloves inside the portfolio box for handling. Very large prints are not always convenient for a basic portfolio. When you show your portfolio to someone, be sure your cell phone is turned off and know what you want to say. Your attitude toward the work should be positive and show that you believe in yourself. Bring a table top easel for matted prints and set them up to show one at a time while you talk about the work. The benefit of creating a portfolio is that you will get to know your work and why you do it. A portfolio shows what you have accomplished and will help you to know what you want to do in the future.