December • 2013
Volume 30 • Issue 12
President’s Message
page 2
Christmas Party page 3
Competition Info page 4
Field Trips page 6
Exhibits page 8
Rural Life Christmas Sunday, Dec. 1st
Things to do in December page 10
Contest Winners page 12
Member Photos page 22 1
DECEMBER EVENTS December 10, 2013 6:30 pm Christmas Party the residence of Toni Goss 18733 Lake Harbour Drive, Baton Rouge, 70816 Monthly Competition None December 7, 2013 Cora-Texas Plantation, White Castle, Louisiana Fee: $25.00- includes lunch Time: Meet at McDonald’s at Drusilla at 7AM December 24, 2013 Bonfires on the Levee Paulina, LA Time: Leave Baton Rouge at 4PM
Cover photo : Renee Pierce Louisiana Photographic Society meets on the third Thursday of each month at the Baton Rouge Garden Center 7950 Independence Blvd. Baton Rouge, LA
Across from Louisiana State Police Headquarters Guests are always welcome! Membership dues are $25/year Each additional family member $5/year PO Box 83834 Baton Rouge, LA 70884 www.laphotosociety.com
President's
Message A Look Back at 2013
As the year comes to a close, I would like to thank all of the members who help to make this a successful club. Our membership continues to grow every year and I know it grows because of our programs, workshops, field trips, and enthusiastic members. It takes a lot of effort from many individuals to keep things running smoothly. Personal thanks to David Arbour, who has done an outstanding job as vice president and web coordinator. Ray Totty stepped in as treasurer and has kept our financial books and membership rosters in tip top shape. Cathy Smart will continue as secretary and does a great job with documenting our meetings. Elizabeth Mangham as past president has been a great source of support and knowledge of how to keep things on an even keel. Our committee coordinators have performed exceptionally well this year: Tommy Graner, Competition; Kathy Reeves, Exhibits; Debra Canatella, Education; Don Ewing, Projection; Ken Wilson, Field Trips; Mark Claesgens, Publicity; Renee Pierce, Newsletter; Theresa Low, GSCCC; Helen Haw, Library; Linda Medine, Program; David Howell, Equipment; and Stephanie Ross, Facebook. Thank you all for your efforts in making my job easier. 2014 will be a challenging year for LPS. We will be hosting the GSCCC Convention in April. Linda Medine and Renee Pierce are Co-Coordinators and are doing a fabulous job planning and preparing for the convention. They will need a lot of support from all of you to make this a memorable event. David Arbour as new president will again look to the membership for committee coordinators and members. Let him know what committees you would like to serve on. It has been a honor to serve as President of LPS this past year. I hope that you have enjoyed the year as much as I have. Let’s celebrate the year in style at our Christmas party on December 10. -Gene Bachman 2
Louisiana Photographic Society
Christmas Party
December 10, 2013 at 6:30 pm
You and a guest are invited to the LPS annual Christmas party. We will meet at the home of Toni Goss, 18733 Lake Harbour Drive, Baton Rouge, 70816 at 6:30 pm on December 10, 2013. The club will provide the meat, bread, and drinks. Members should bring a dish of their choosing. To help ensure a variety of dishes, we suggest you bring a dish according to your last name. A thru D Desserts E thru L Casseroles or vegetables M thru Z Salads Photographer of the Year awards will be handed out and a slideshow of all of the ribbon winners from the year will be displayed. This is a great opportunity to catch up on all the visiting we never seem to have enough time to do at the meetings. Hope to see you there!
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Competition Changes To: All Louisiana Photographic Society Members From: TJ Graner- Monthly Competition Coordinator Subject: Rewrite of the LPS Monthly Competition Guidelines In light of the voting procedural changes that have been made during the past year, and with the introduction of a new category, Black and White Projection, it became apparent that the existing guidelines were out of date. In order to address this situation, a committee (Pat Beard, Cathy Smart, Debra Babin and I) evaluated all the current guidelines and came up with a solution to the incongruences that existed in many locations. We are providing a link to the proposed changes for your review and information. It is hoped that the new guidelines will meet your approval. Our intention is to present these guidelines to the membership for approval at the January meeting. If approved, they will be posted on the website for all to read and use beginning with the February competition. In the meantime, if you have and questions or comments please email me and I will be happy help you out in any way. Tommy Graner Sum m ar y of prop os e d ch anges Section 3: Added Black and White category Section 4: Clarified number of entries Eliminated use of frames for prints Changed submission deadline for digital projection Section 5: Updated guidelines for judging
2014 Competition Schedule JAN
Projection
--- No Theme ---
FEB
Prints
Unusual Shapes
MAR
Projection
Photojournalism
APR
Prints
--- No Theme ---
MAY
Projection
Showing Motion
JUN
Prints
--- No Theme ---
Section 6: Updated voting procedures to reflect current policy
JUL
Projection
Contrasting Colors
AUG
Prints
--- No Theme ---
SEP
Projection
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Please read entire document as there may be other subtle changes.
OCT
Prints
--- No Theme ---
NOV
Projection
Autumn Events
DEC
Christmas Party 4
Eagle Expo & More Visit the website for more info
The Atchafalaya Basin, the largest overflow swamp in the country, is home to an abundance of wildlife, including rare and endangered species such as the American bald eagle. Our annual Eagle Expo includes boat tours into various waterways to view eagle's nests, raptor show, presentations on the American bald eagle, wildlife, flora, fauna and the culture of the area by wildlife professionals and photographers, and much more. Admission and registration required.
February 20 - 22, 2014 Morgan City, LA (800) 256-2931 or (985) 395-4905
Speakers Announced for the 9th Annual Eagle Expo & More: Friday, February 21, 2014 Kathy & Gary Clark - Birds of the South Saturday, February 22, 2014 Bill Clark - Eagle Quest Michael Sealy - Louisiana and the American Bald Eagle Jane Patterson - Birds of the Atchafalaya 5
Field Trips Sugar Cane Tour December 7, 2013 Cora-Texas Plantation, White Castle, Louisiana
Cost: $25.00- includes a lunch provided by local caterer in White Castle Time: Meet at McDonald’s at Drusilla at 7AM Note: The guide through the plant is a retired Sugar Cane farmer. Any $$ left over from lunch costs go to Gary. If we were not there Gary would be working.
Bonfires on the Levee December 24, 2013 Where: Paulina, LA Time: Leave Baton Rouge at 4PM, to be in place at 5PM Note: Bonfires are lit at 7PM Plenty of Port-a-lets; a local store stays open for those last-minute gifts for the hard-to-please!
Renew Your Membership Dues are $25.00 per year $5.00 for additional family member Due Now 6
Picture Perfect Published in the December 2013 digital issue by Theresa Mullins-Low
Have you got caught up in the Christmas shopping? Please take a moment and think about what Christmas means to you. I just love Christmas! Each morning I love to drink a cup of coffee, read, and meditate while gazing into the lights of my Christmas tree and being ever so thankful for my blessings and asking for mercy and help for those in need. Then I love all the music and festivities. I love to decorate my home in celebration of the season. Yes, I love to have my family and friends over during the season. How about those photo opportunities? Taking a photo with Christmas lights is a challenge and can be rather tricky. But once you learn you will be amazed at your photos. Photography basics are all about learning your ISO, shutter, and aperture settings and how they work together to tell a story. First, I prefer not to use a flash. A flash usually causes a photo to be flat. With a flash you probably won’t get that sparkle in the lights or starburst effect that is almost always expected at Christmas. Next shoot with an ISO probably greater than 400. Your shutter speed will need to be a slow shutter. Both of these settings will allow for more light to enter the camera or lens. Then your aperture should be closed down (larger number) to get a sparkle in the lights. Oh and you should use a tripod because you have used a slow shutter speed. If you don’t have a tripod, secure your camera on a table top, bean bag, or lean against a pole. Set your timer or use a shutter release to help eliminate blur. The settings for the ornament were taken at aperture f/4, shutter 1/50 second, ISO 1000. The photo with the gazebo and lights were taken at aperture f/18, shutter 30 seconds, and ISO 100. As you can see the settings may vary. So a really good gift for a beginning photographer is a book about exposure. For composition of your photo remember to fill your frame. This is a common mistake for beginners in photography. For a landscape shot you may want the sky and trees beyond your actual subject for that majestic feel. But for a portrait of the little ones opening their gifts, continuously click that shutter and fill the frame. Get up close and personal. If you continuously shoot, their wonderful expressions will surely be captured. Good news is that most point and shoot cameras have continuous shooting. Remember to have extra memory cards and batteries charged for continuous shooting.
Our next Louisiana Photographic Society meeting is being held January 16, 2014, 7:00 p.m., 7950 Independence Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA, and is held every third Thursday of each month. The guest speaker for January will be Carrie Stansbury from Cajun Coast. She will speak about the Eagle Expo held February 2022, 2014 in Morgan City, LA. LPS will be hosting the GSCCC Convention April 24-27, 2013, at the Crowne Plaza, Baton Rouge, LA. Check our website for updates at http:// www.laphotosociety.com 7
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Monthly Competition GSCCC has a competition for prints and digital projection for most months of the year. Categories include Photojournalism, Nature, Black and White, and Pictorial. All prints from last year have been returned and the supply is low. Don’t worry about what the category is each month, just bring in prints of your best images, especially those which have won monthly competitions here at LPS to the meeting this month. Theresa Low will collect your prints and enter them at the appropriate time. Please email your digital submissions to Gene Bachman.
LPS members usually submit 11 X 14 prints that are matted to 16 X 20. A clear sleeve to protect the image is encouraged along with a backing. Prints must be no larger than 16”x 20”, either mounted or un-mounted. For a mounted print, the mounting board should be no larger than 20”x 24”. There is no minimum size. Prints may be printed commercially or self printed. Each print must be identified with a title, the maker’s name, and the name of the club. 9
Things to do in December The Advocate has a list of 71 fun things to do. Check it out here. Here are a few to get you started! Through Dec. 21 Miracle on Fulton Street: Fulton and Lafayette streets, New Orleans, Fridays and Saturdays. Santa photos, 6-10 p.m.; interactive Santa’s Workshop, dancing lights, holiday market; “faux snow” 5 -11 p.m. Through Dec. 25 Messengers’ Christmas land: 6-9 p.m., 25654 Plantation Ave., Denham Springs. More than 40,000 lights and 20 different animated scenes. Through Dec. 30 ZOOLIGHTS: 5:30-8 p.m., zoo closes at 9 p.m., BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, 3601 Thomas Road, Baton Rouge. Trail of lights through zoo, illuminated displays, activities. brzoo.org/ zoolights Sunday, December 1 A RURAL LIFE CHRISTMAS: 8 a.m.-6 p.m., LSU Rural Life Museum, Essen Lane at I-10, Baton Rouge. A 19th centurystyle holiday celebration. CHRISTMAS SHOPPE: 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Willow Wood Park Recreation Center, 113 Willow Wood Drive, New Iberia. Arts and crafts and more. (337) 229-4254. A VERY CAJUN CHRISTMAS: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p,m., St. James Parish Welcome Center. Food, crafts, storytelling, children’s ornament contest. CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE: 2-4 p.m., West Baton Rouge Museum, 845 N. Jefferson Ave., Port Allen. Free. December 5-24 REFLECTIONS OF THE SEASON: 5:30-9 p.m. WednesdaysSundays, West Baton Rouge Tourist Information & Conference Center grounds, 2750 N. Westport Drive, Port Allen. Lighting display, kids’ activities, more. (800) 654-9701. December 13-15 DRIVE-THROUGH LIVE NATIVITY: 7-9 p.m., Florida Blvd. Baptist Church parking lot, Baton Rouge.
FESTIVAL OF THE BONFIRES: Lutcher. Food, entertainment, crafts, carnival, nightly bonfire lighting. December 15 BATON ROUGE CONCERT BAND CHRISTMAS CONCERT: 3 p.m., St. Joseph Cathedral, 412 North St., Baton Rouge. Free. December 22 CAROLING IN JACKSON SQUARE: 7 p.m., (gates open at 6:30 p.m.), Jackson Square, New Orleans. Candles and song sheets provided. Free. (504) 220-8300. December 23 Home for the Holidays: 6 p.m.-midnight, House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., New Orleans. Patron party, silent auction, music. $37. Benefits the Daniel Price Memorial Fund for Aspiring Artists. (504) 310-4999.
Celebration in the Oaks New Orleans City Park This remains one of the most beautiful holiday light exhibits in the country, attracting over 122,000 people in 2010. Park and experience one of the nation’s most unique month-long festival of lights! Walk through the Botanical Garden, Storyland, a children’s theme park, and Carousel Gardens, an amusement ride area aglow with holiday magic at every turn! Nightly musical entertainment and a full service cafe featuring our famous hotbuttered rum!
Celebration in the Oaks
Other opportunities http://www.louisianatravel.com/holidays-in-louisiana-special Lake Charles Area Festival of Lights in Natchitoches Reflections of the Season in Port Allen, LA Shadows Merry Making Season in New Iberia, LA Christmas in the Park in Bogalusa Oak Alley Plantation Annual Christmas Bonfire Party Dec. 7 The Louisiana Travel Website has a searchable calendar that is very useful. 10
LSU AgCenter issues call for entries for 2015 Get It Growing calendar Professional or amateur nature photographers from Louisiana may submit their work and earn recognition if their photos are selected for the 2015 edition of the popular lawn and garden calendar. LSU AgCenter faculty members will select approximately 40 photographs of Louisiana gardens, plants, vegetables and nature scenes for the calendar, according to Elma Sue McCallum, the project coordinator. “The LSU AgCenter is a great resource for lawn and garden information and educational programs, and the Get It Growing calendar is a popular source for gardening tips and beautiful photos of flowers, plants and gardens from Louisiana photographers,” McCallum said. “The calendar has become the ‘must have’ item for gardening enthusiasts, and it’s great for anyone on your gift list.” The 2014 edition of the calendar, which is a showcase of photos, monthly gardening tips, how-to information and other items based on Louisiana’s climate zones, currently is being sold. Online information and links to order the 2014 calendar are available by visiting here. Work on the 2015 calendar will begin over the next few months, and it will be published by the end of next summer, McCallum said. A dozen of the photos will be featured as full-page, full-color images for each monthly page in the calendar, and one will be used on the cover, she said. The rest will be used throughout the calendar. Photographers chosen for the featured monthly pages will receive 10 copies of the published calendar, and their names will be included with their photos in the calendar, she said. Other contributors also will be listed with their photos, and they will receive two copies of the published calendar. Submissions must be high-resolution digital images on CD with the photographer’s name, address, telephone number and email address attached, McCallum said. All images must be the original work of the photographer submitting the image. Submission guidelines can be found on the Call for Entries form, which is available online. “We’re asking photographers to submit their favorite photos of lawns, gardens, flowers, trees and vegetables,” McCallum said. Each person is asked to limit their entries to 25 or fewer of their best photos. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2014. Entries must be mailed to Elma Sue McCallum, LSU AgCenter, 135 Knapp Hall, 110 LSU Union Square, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. CDs will not be returned. For more information, contact McCallum at (225) 578-2462 or email emccallum@agcenter.lsu.edu. 11
Digital Projection Category A
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Let’s Go Sailing Tommy Graner 1st Place, Level A
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Refuge from the Cold Cathy Smart 2nd Place, Level A
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Midnight Reading Gene Bachman 3rd Place, Level A 14
Dancing in the Stars Theresa Mullins Low 1st Honorable Mention Level A
15
Humn Slow Light David Howell 2nd Honorable Mention, Level A
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Digital Projection
Category B
Night Blooming Cereus Dianne Richards 1st Place, Level B
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Bridge to New Hope Robin Stevens 2nd Place, Level B
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Digital Projection
Black & White
Moon over the Old State Capitol Cathy Smart 1st Place, Black & White
19
Chapel on the Hill Pam Kaster 2nd Place, Black & White
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April 24- 27, 2014 We continue to make plans to host the annual Gulf States Camera Club Council Convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Constitution Ave. We have secured speakers covering a wide variety of topics including Nature Photography Composition, Macro, Lightroom, Sports, Layers and Product Photography, Street Photography, Photo Critique, Birds, Still Life, Curious Critters, Composition, Photojournalism and Black & White. We will have speakers from Canon, Tamron and Sigma and are working on offering (for an additional fees) Nikon classes on the Thursday before the convention and on the Sunday of the convention. Our convention webpage is now available at www.gsconvention2014.com. We will continue to add information as it is confirmed and hope to have the page fully operational by mid December. At this point you may reserve a hotel room and send email to info@gsconvention2014.com. You can help us by talking to your friends who may enjoy taking photographs or want to learn more about photography but may not be members of our club. LPS membership is not required to attend the convention and take advantage of the learning opportunities it will provide.
Committee Chairpersons: Banquet: Competition: Equipment: Field Trips: Finance: Hospitality: Publicity: Registration:
Dianne Linder Gene Bachman Mark Canatella David Arbour Janet Gelpi Debra Canatella Mark Claesgens Elizabeth Mangham
There will be plenty of opportunities to help out and we will make those know as the occasions arise and we get closer to the convention. If you have suggestions, we would love to hear from you. Linda Medine & Renee Pierce, Co-Chairs
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Member Photographs
Photos by
Sheldon Anderson
Top: Dauphine Charm Bottom: Hotel St. Marie 22
Top: Toulouse Corner Bottom: Taste of NOR 23
Top: Toulouse and Dauphine Bottom: Golden Hour Downtown 24
Top: Golden Hour Bottom: Old State Capital 25
Sunset on the River
Riverfront Dock
Capital Park 26
Lights of the Fair
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LPS OFFICERS President:
Gene Bachman president@laphotosociety.com
Vice President:
David Arbour vicepresident@laphotosociety.com
LPS COORDINATORS Digital Projection:
Monthly Competition:
Education:
Newsletter:
Donald Ewing dpcontestcoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Jay Patel/ Debra Babin
educationcoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Past President:
Equipment:
Secretary:
Exhibits:
Elizabeth Mangham pastpresident@laphotosociety.com
Cathy Smart secretary@laphotosociety.com
David Howell equipmentcoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Kathy Reeves exhibitcoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Facebook:
Treasurer:
Ray Totty treasurer@laphotosociety.com
Stephanie Ross facebookcoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Field Trips: Louisiana Photographic Society is a member of the Gulf States Camera Club Council. The GSCCC Newsletter is available at: http://www.gulfstatesccc.org/html/ newsletters.html
Ken Wilson fieldtripcoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Greeter/Name Tags:
Stephanie Ross facebookcoordinator@laphotsociety.com
Tommy Graner monthlycompetitioncoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Renee Pierce newslettereditor@laphotosociety.com
Programs:
Linda Medine programscoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Publicity:
Mark Claesgens & Barry Spears publicitycoordinator@laphotosociety.com
Refreshment: Position Open
Website:
David Arbour websitecoordinator@laphotsociety.com
Competition Review Chair: Gene Bachman president@laphotsociety.com
GSCCC Representatives:
Theresa Low & Gene Bachman GSCCCcoordinator@laphotsociety.com
Library:
Helen Haw librarycoordinator@laphotosociety.com
The LPS website has a new, quick checklist for preparation of images for digital projection competitions. The new checklist can be found on the Monthly Competition page of the website, or by using this link: http://www.laphotosociety.com/ userfiles/Checklist%20for%20Entering% 20Digital%20Competition.pdf
http://www.gulfstatesccc.org/ Find us on Facebook
http://www.psa-photo.org/
Membership Drive While we are always eager to welcome new members our Membership drive continues. Please remember to pay your dues and to invite your friends and colleagues to our meeting and encourage them to join us this year. To continue to be eligible for fieldtrips and competitions and receive the newsletter, you must be current on your dues. The membership form is at the end of the newsletter.
LPS Members are encouraged to submit photographs and articles for inclusion in FOCUS, the Louisiana Photographic Society Newsletter. Items received up to 3 days before the end of the month will be included in the following month’s newsletter. Send your submissions to: newslettereditor@laphotosociety.com Please be sure to read the sizing guidelines before submitting.
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Membership Form Mail completed form and dues to:
Louisiana Photographic Society P.O. Box 83834 ,Baton Rouge, LA 70884-3834 www.laphotosociety.com MEMBER OF PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA AND GULF STATES CAMERA CLUB COUNCIL
WELCOME TO LOUISIANA PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY LPS communicates to members through website, e-mail, and monthly meetings. All members are encouraged to visit the LPS website at www.laphotosociety.com for the latest on club news and events. The monthly newsletter “FOCUS” is available on the website on the first day of each month. Please provide an e-mail address below to receive club updates. If you do not receive e-mail communications after 30 days, notify LPS at treasurer@laphotosociety.com. Select one: [ ] Membership Renewal [ ] New Member – If you are a New Member, how did you learn about LPS: [ ] Current Member [ ] LPS Website [ ] Newspaper/Magazine [ ] Social Network [ ] Other______________ Select one: [
] Individual Membership $25.00/year [
] Student Membership $5.00/year–Must be a current student
Name _______________________________________________________
Date ______________________
Address __________________________________________ City _________________ State ____ Zip______ Home Phone (
__ )_______________________ Cell Phone (
__)_________________________
E-mail Address ___________________________________________________________________________ [
] Additional Family Member $5.00/year–ONLY available with the Individual Membership, not Student Membership
Name _______________________________________________________
Date ______________________
Mailing Address ____________________________________ City _________________ State ____ Zip______ Home Phone (
_ )________________________ Cell Phone (
__)_____________________________
E-mail Address ____________________________________________________________________________ SPECIFY FOCUS OF PHOTOGRAPHY:
SPECIFY AREA OF LEARNING INTEREST:
SPECIFY AREA OF INTEREST IN CLUB PARTICIPATION: [ ] Competition (set up, tally votes, present ribbons) [ ] Education (plan/teach, set up workshops and seminars) [ ] Equipment (store, transport, set up for LPS functions) [ ] Exhibits (explore locations, set up/take down exhibits) [ ] Field Trips (plan and arrange to photograph at various sites) [ ] Gulf States Camera Club Council (GSCCC liaison, collect and submit entries for GSCCC competition) [ ] Library (display and maintain materials, check-in/out)
[ ] Programs (plan speakers, make arrangements for speakers at monthly meetings) [ ] Projection (set up and operate equipment for digital projection competition) [ ] Publicity (publicize programs, meetings, events) [ ] Refreshments (plan and set up refreshments)
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! 30