Canadian Camera Winter 2010

O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E C A N A D I A N A S S O C I AT I O N F O R P H O T O G R A P H I C A R T

Canadian Camera Conference 2011 2010 Annual Digital Competition Winners Destination Greenland When Depth of Field is Never Enough Geocaching Tour!

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Vol. 11, No. 4 • Winter 2010

Contents

Sheena Wilkie

Editor-in-chief 14220 71 Ave. Surrey BC V3W2L1 E-mail: editor-in-chief@capacanada.ca

Allen Bargen

Publishing Editor

Jozef VanVeenen

Art Director E-mail: info@tikit.ca

Allen Bargen

Roger Partington

Sheena Wilkie

Advertising Manager E-mail: roger@coherentb2b.com

CANADIAN CAMERA (ISSN1206-3401) is published quarterly by the Canadian Association for Photographic Art, Box 357, Logan Lake BC V0K 1W0. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission of the publisher and author. All photographic rights remain with the photographer. Opinions expressed are those of the individual contributors.

Articles and photographic portfolios are welcomed from all CAPA members. All articles should be submitted to CANADIAN CAMERA, c/o the editor-in-chief. If you wish material to be returned, include a suitably sized envelope with adequate return postage affixed.

CANADIAN CAMERA and the editor assume no responsibility for loss or damage to material, regardless of cause; however, every effort will be made to return material supplied with SASE. CANADIAN CAMERA reserves the unrestricted right to edit, crop and comment editorially on all submitted material.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: CANADIAN CAMERA is distributed automatically to CAPA members.

Individual copies are available for $7.95. Library subscriptions cost $25.00 for four issues.

For further information, contact CAPA National Headquarters, Box 357, Logan Lake BC V0K 1W0.

Tel.: 1-250-523-2378 E-mail: capa@capacanada.ca Canadian Mail Publication Agreement #1665081

2 4

Message from the President Phototalk

6

Club Focus 6 At The End of the Rainbow

8 International Cultural Friendship Exchange

London Camera Club

Jacques S. Mailloux

Lee Treloar

Eb Mueller

Mark Margerison

12 14 16 24 28 34 36

Lee-Anne Stack - Victoria Camera Club Dr. Otto O. Stevens - Secretary, Inland Empire Chapter PSA

Canadian Camera Conference 2011 CAPA 2010 Annual Digital Competition Destination Greenland Going to Extremes When Depth of Field is Never Enough!

A Geocaching Photographic Tour “Categorically Yours” - Black & White 2011 4-Nations Competition

THE COVER LeeTreloar Greenland Husky Beautiful Greenland Husky rests after a days’ pull.

Printed in Canada by

CAPA is a FIAP-affiliated organization.

www.capacanada.ca

CANADIAN CAMERA - 1

Message from the president

CAPA

Officers & National Council Members Founded in 1968, CAPA is a non-profit organization for photographers, including amateurs, professionals, camera clubs, and anyone interested in photography. The aims of CAPA are to promote good photography as an art form in Canada, and to provide useful information for photographers. CAPA ac­complishes this through interaction with individuals and member camera clubs and by distributing slide sets, evaluating photographs, running competitions, and publishing the quarterly Canadian Camera. CAPA also sponsors Canadian Camera Conference, an annual summer weekend of field trips and seminars held in a different city each year.

CAPA is a member of the Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique (FIAP).

CAPA OFFICERS President . .............Allen Bargen Vice President .......Bill Lloyd Secretary ..............Mike Breakey Treasurer . .............Len Suchan Past President .......Jacques Mailloux

CAPA DIRECTORS Pacific Zone ..........Larry Breitkreutz Prairie Zone............Larry Easton Ontario Zone..........Bill De Meester Quebec Zone . .......Volunteer op.

Atlantic Zone .........Volunteer op.

Director of Competitions .........Judy Higham Director of Pictorial Imaging....Bob Ito Director of CCC.......Volunteer op.

For membership information and rates please see page 28.

CAPA Membership Services Paula Allen Box 357 Logan Lake BC. V0K – 1W0 1-250-523-2378 E-mail: membership@capacanada.ca Web site: www.capacanada.ca

2 - CANADIAN CAMERA

Allen P. Bargen What a wonderful time of year this is. Preparations for the holidays are in full swing, and people everywhere anticipate getting together with family and friends to celebrate Christmas and the start of a New Year. On behalf of CAPA, we wish you the Best Holiday Season ever and of course a great New Year, filled with many good intentions, wonderful events and great adventures.

How quickly the seasons pass. It seems just last week I was in New Brunswick shooting fall colours, and here we are already, rolling out the winter edition. Hence the new photo of me for this edition, kindly taken my good friend Rick Shapka on one of our scouting trips last winter. In this case, we went to the Chilcotin Badlands in West Central BC to check it out for a possible weeklong photo trip. It was -21C on the day this image was taken by the way, cold and crisp, but then we all suffer a bit for our art don’t we? Farwell Canyon is a magical place and we will certainly go there to explore its wonders soon, though not in December I suspect!

The 2010 edition of our 4 Nations competition is now complete, and all four hundred entries from the four national societies who are part of this friendly event, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada are available for you to download and see. Details to the web location will have been sent to you in a private email from CAPA’s head office. If you missed it, please email me and I’ll send you the instructions. The images are truly remarkable. Since Canada is host country for the 2011 event, we are encouraging all of you to send in one or more of your very best images for consideration as an entry.

We want 100 of the best of the best for this competition. Full details of the 2011

edition are on the website in the NEWS box, and you will receive more information in one of our CAPA Members information emails with entry details soon.

I’m delighted to report that work on the 2011 Canadian Camera Conference, hosted by the London Camera Club is nearing completion. They have arranged great speakers and presenters, a terrific venue and a wonderful host city that awaits us for this meeting. I hope you’re planning on making the trip to visit with photographers from around the world on this June 29th to July 3rd weekend.

I’ve talked about CAPA’s Honours and Distinctions before. We are attempting to compile a list of those of you who have one or more of the following; ACAPA, MCAPA or FCAPA Honours. Please email me at president@capacanada.ca with your honours so we can ensure our data is complete.

I’ve also encouraged you recently to have a gallery of your work set up on our National website. Rick Shapka has accepted the role of Manager of CAPA’s Web Galleries, and is now ready to receive either club images, or your own images for our site. Please email Rick at galleries@ capacanada.ca for information as to sizing.

We encourage CAPA Clubs to have a gallery of their members work on our site.

Since we are a Photographic society, I hope

many of you will take advantage of this opportunity and show the world your images.

Have you ever thought about vo l u n t e e r i n g f o r a p o s i t i o n i n CAPA? We are continually looking for people to help us bring people together through the joys of photography. If you have an interest in getting involved with our national organization, drop me a note, and I’ll be happy to discuss opportunities with you.

What’s in our future? Like many of you, CAPA also has a job jar of sorts.

We want to improve/modernise and revamp our website, a process that is being led by Jacques Mailloux, our Past President. I’m sure Jacques would be pleased to hear from you about what you’d like to see in the new version.

In the not too distant future, we hope to host an International photographic exhibition (Digital Salon). Stay tuned for more details as we explore the possibilities.

I hope your winter is a good one. As is the case with any season, this one offers us some challenges that might encourage us to stay inside, warm and cozy with a good book or movie. I say, throw on an extra layer and get out there with your camera and find the joy in a winter day where you might just find a whole new world of excitement to photograph.

Merry Christmas all. g

Allen P. Bargen, FCAPA President president@capccanada.ca

SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES, PORTFOLIOS AND NEWS ITEMS CAPA Members… We need submissions for upcoming issues. Canadian Camera is YOUR magazine! We welcome your articles, news items, portfolios and reviews. We do reserve the right to accept or reject material as we see fit. We will make every effort to achieve a balance of views, subject matter and geographical representation of our members. So please, submit an article about that last photo trip you took or that last nice lens you purchased. You never know, you might just get your name in print.

How to send material • Please write your article in Word format or plain text • You may mail your article and high ­resolution images on a CD/DVD • CD/DVD returns require a SASE suitable for return mail • You may send your article and low res photos by email to ­­editor-in-chief@ capacanada.ca • High resolution photos can also be ­submitted by FTP (instructions available upon request)

• Please don’t format the text of your article. No bold, underline, bullets, indenting, or special characters • Photos must be JPG format (No RAW, TIFF, PSD, etc.)

• Do not resize, final photos must be full resolution • If photos are scanned CMYK is ­preferable to RGB • Photos must have simple ­descriptive filenames and include the photographer's name, e.g. Susan_ Brown_barn_swallow.jpg

PUT YOUR AD IN THIS SPACE CAPA Individual/Family Members You can reach new ­customers with your ad in Canadian Camera. Your message will be seen by serious photographers across Canada at a reduced ‘Members Only’ price of $50.00 (B&W) per issue.

Contact: capa@capacanada.ca

• We may not use all of the photos you submit, therefore: • Your article should not contain notes about where to place a photo • Your article should not contain wording specific to a photo • You may list your files and suggested captions after your article text • Please include your phone number, ­ e-mail address and CAPA membership number

When to send it • Spring Issue Jan. 19, 2011 • Summer Issue April 20, 2011 • Fall Issue July 20, 2011 • Winter Issue Oct. 23, 2011 These dates are for time-sensitive ­material only. Submitting an article and having it accepted does not mean it will come out in the next issue.

Where to send it Canadian Camera

c/o Sheena Wilkie, Editor-in-Chief 14220, 71st Ave., Surrey, BC V3W 2L1 E-mail: editor-in-chief@capacanada.ca CANADIAN CAMERA - 3

phototalk

Sheena Wilkie, Editor-in-chief

Once Upon a Time Once upon a time, we made our photographs and we printed them. We put them in photo albums, we hung them on our walls and we sent them to our friends. We tied them up with a ­ribbon and put them in a shoe box up in the hall closet. Hundreds, ­thousands of photographs in albums, on walls, in cards and in boxes. Our lives in photographs.

Last week, I was out for lunch with a girlfriend. She’s a proud grandmother.

I asked her, “How are the grandkids doing? Show me some photos.” She dug around in her purse, pulled out her cell phone and proceeded to show me teensy-weensy, blurry, 100-by-150-pixel photos of her grandchildren on the smudgy LCD screen of her phone. My, how times have changed. It wasn’t that long ago that Grandma would pull out an accordion pleated album of dozens of photographs at every opportunity.

But our precious family memories are not stored in shoe boxes or albums these days; now they’re stored on hard drives, DVDs, and even phones.

So what does this mean? We know the benefits of digital photography, but are there drawbacks?

Digital images require a level of responsibility that wasn't there with physical photos. Physical photos degrade slowly over time, and accumulate scratches and folded corners when handled over the years, but they remain photos and lose only a portion of their value. Once a CD-ROM or DVD or hard drive fails, it's unlikely that the average person will recover any portion of the contents. We need to back up our files almost religiously to offset the risk of media failure.

But even if you are one of the few people who keep on top of this duty, what will happen when you're no longer around? Does your family know 4 - CANADIAN CAMERA

how to find all those digital heirlooms and continue your backup system?

It used to be that you could put your slides and prints in a shoebox up in the hall closet and leave them there, content in knowing that someone could find them in much the same condition 50 years later.

The real irony is it's never been cheaper or easier to print your ­photographs. So the solution to all of these problems is to print your photos on a regular basis.

But computers, digital media, and file formats become obsolete in a decade.

I suspect that a lot of family history is being lost as aging computers are replaced and unlabeled CDs and DVDs are tossed.

My p a r e n t s h a v e p h o t o s o f everyone in my family, right back to my grandparents as children. From them, I know who and where I came from, which gives me a great sense of myself. I worry that that's something

my great grandchildren will not experience. And I wonder how this will affect history; will historical digital images hold the same mystique as the old prints do for us today? And will anyone be able to find and view them? Or will they end up in landfills in people's old phones and computer hard drives?

But a more immediate concern I have comes from the fact that the value of a photo is realized only when it is viewed. While you know about the photos on your hard drive, and you may look through some of them from time to time, it's unlikely that friends and family members are spending rainy Sunday afternoons flipping through them.

Some are shared via email and social networking sites and so on, but does that compare to sticking real prints on the refrigerator and seeing them day after day? Does a phone screen or an inkjet print from a low-resolution JPG on cheap paper really convey the same feeling and connection?

The real irony is it's never been cheaper or easier to print your photographs. So the solution to all of these problems is to print your photos on a regular basis. Store those photographs in a shoe box or album up in your hall closet, and 50 years from now, people will delight in seeing the world as it was through your eyes. g Sheena Wilkie MCAPA www.phototalk.ca

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Water is the key to the survival of every living thing on Earth, and humans have devised countless ways to alter, divert and use it. Where water is scarce, people conserve every drop; where it’s abundant, we waste it.

To signal the importance of water conservation, we are proud to present The Canadian Geographic Blue Water Photo Contest, in partnership with the RBC Blue Water Project.

Submit your best shots of water where you work and play.

Winners will be published in the June 2011 issue of Canadian Geographic and the winners of each category will receive a $500 Visa gift card.

How to enter Sign up for a free membership with the Canadian Geographic Photo Club to enter your best wet and wonderful shots to the contest.

Contest categories • Waterscapes • Water works • Kids

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Club Focus

At The End of the Rainbow

Lee-Anne Stack Victoria Camera Club

Back in August 2009, Michael Lambie sent an excited email to the members of The Victoria Camera Club. We had been selected as semi-finalists for the Nature’s Best – 2009 Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

We had made it through the preliminary and second round of judging, and, as semi-finalists, the photographers were now required to submit their high resolution files or slides, complete camera, lens, settings and accessory information as well as a more detailed caption. And we only had seven days in which to do this. Michael, who had initiated and overseen the club submission, was scrambling to get all of this together for the final judging. Members were tracked down on vacation and packets of information were sent at the eleventh hour to the magazine’s headquarters in Virginia. And breaths were collectively held.

In 2009, Nature’s Best Photography magazine received over 20,000 entries in 19 different categories. The first round of judging eliminates technically poor images or photos that are too similar to ones that have won in the past.

The second round focuses on composition, artistry and uniqueness – images that are particularly striking.

Photographs that pass through this 6 - CANADIAN CAMERA

round are each considered eligible for selection as winners.

It’s at this point that the judges review the full-resolution files or original slides, and choose the Winners and Highly Honored images.

In early October, we finally got the news. Victoria Camera Club had won the Club division for 2009. We were finally able to take a breath, but only a

very quiet one as we weren’t allowed to say anything, not even to the other club members, until the magazine made their formal announcement in November.

For the next month, we celebrated quietly among ourselves and family and we waited and very painfully bit our tongues.

Our Club had originally submitted 20 images and seven were chosen as the final winners. Having those photographs appear in the prestigious Nature’s Best Photography magazine was an honour that many considered a pinnacle of their photographic journey. But it was soon to be topped. Nature’s Best Photography magazine partners with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. There, on the second floor of the Smithsonian, in the Special Exhibit Hall, along with the other category winners, hangs our club’s montage of seven images.

Shortly after the exhibition opened, Willie Waddell, one of the finalists, made the trip to the Smithsonian and met

Stephen Freligh, Publisher and Editorin-Chief of NBP. Willie found the entire exhibit very impressive and he learned that the judges were also very impressed with the images our club submitted. Mr. Freligh loves to meet the photographers and was very welcoming and engaging.

Willie received the winning plaque on behalf of our club.

Who, in their wildest dreams would have believed that their photos would be hanging in the Smithsonian? How could we ever top that? I think that’s easily answered. We’re all fired up to get out there, shoot more images that excite us and enter the contest again this year!

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The Victoria Camera Club would like to express appreciation to the original eleven photographers who made such a winning impression on the judges. Thank you to: Carole Valkenier, Elaine Freedman, Mike Silversides, Mike Hoffman & James Kissinger

And winners: Michael Lambie, Norman De Leenheer, Neil Boyle, Willie Waddell, Margarita Huang & Blake Ford All 20 images are available for viewing on the Club’s website at: http://www.victoriacameraclub.org/photos/naturesbest2009/photoindex.html

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Club Focus International Cultural Friendship Exchange between Chung Ai Photographic Society and Inland Empire Chapter PSA continues for the 9th year.

Left to Right: Clifford Chow, President, Chung Ai Photographic Society; Steve Shining, Past-Chair, Inland Empire Chapter PSA. Gift Presentation to Chung Ai. Photo by Mike Cannon, Past-Chair, Inland Empire Chapter PSA. Chung-Ai and PSA Group at VanDusen Garden

Eleven PSA members extended our Canada visit, October 18 & 19, after attending the APAC seminars, to enjoy two days of photography guidance

by Chung Ai members. We received individualized information as we toured Van Dusen Garden, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Garden, the 3rd largest Chinatown in North America, Richmond Oval 2010 Winter Olympics facility, and the Reifel Bird Sanctuary.

CAPA President Allen Bargen also honored us with his additional Project2:Layout 1 2/23/09 9:21 AM knowledge. Past-Chair of Inland

Empire Chapter PSA, Steve Shining, presented a sand-blasted glass emblem of “The Palouse” farming country which PSA members have guided Chung Ai members through during the last 9 years, to Clifford Chow, Chung Ai President, at a festive gourmet Chinese dinner attended by 28 Chung Ai members & CAPA President, Allen Bargen. 35th Anniversary Chung Ai photo books were gifted to each PSA family.

Our photographic dreams were Page 1 fulfilled when an estimated 10,000

Lesser Snow Geese landed in a field directly in front of us at Reifel Bird Sanctuary, for a climactic finale of Photo Opportunities. We feel richer for the friendship of the Chung Ai members, and wiser for their counsel.

We especially thank J.T. Tse for coordinating our 9 years of International Cultural Friendship Exchanges.

We admire the respect shown for their long-time leadership: Master Chui Yen Lau, his artistic wife Kew Fun Lau, and for Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver Secretary, John K. C. Wong.

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Presentation of Gift by Chung Ai. Left to Right: J.T. Tse, Friendship Coordinator; Clifford Chow, President, Chung Ai Photographic Society; Steve Shining, Past-Chair, Inland Empire Chapter PSA; Otto Stevens, Secretary, Inland Empire Chapter PSA. Photo by Mike Cannon, Past-Chair, Inland Empire Chapter PSA.

The vitality, enthusiasm & creative genius of Clifford Chow, President, and other young members of Chung Ai is contagious.

T h i s I n t e r n a t i o n a l Cu l t u r a l Friendship Exchange began in October 2001 when Chung Ai organized a “West and East” slide show in the Vancouver, B.C. Public Library. “West” was presented by Spokane PSA member, Dr. Otto Stevens “The Palouse – Jewel of the Inland Northwest.” “East” was presented by 8 Chung Ai members who had been invited by the People’s

Republic of China to photograph the Qinghai Province of China to encourage tourism. Invitations to the public were extended by John Wong, President, Chung Ai Photographic Society.

The Qinghai Province photography coordinated with authentic Chinese music was so beautiful that the Inland Empire Chapter PSA invited them to show their program twice, free to the public at Spokane Falls Community College in May of 2002. PSA Chapter members then guided our 25 Chung Ai guests through “The Palouse” farming

country south of Spokane for 2 days.

Chung Ai invited our PSA Chapter to Vancouver, B.C. in October 2002 to judge their images of “The Palouse” and then guided us to some of their favorite photo opportunities in the Vancouver, B.C. area.

We have maintained continual E-mail contact and Inland Empire Chapter PSA invited J.T. Tse to present the program, “Mystic India” for the annual PSA Chapter meeting in October 2009. PSA Chapter members then guided our Canadian guests to our most outstanding and unique Palouse photo opportunities for 2 days.

The melding of East & West philosophies, North & South of the friendliest border in the world, with generous sharing of our favorite photo opportunities has created a bond of friendship which reinforces our personal beliefs that “we like every Canadian that we have ever met.”

Dr. Otto O. Stevens, Secretary, Inland Empire Chapter PSA ottostevens@comcast.net

capa@capacanada.ca www.capacanada.ca Tel.(250) 523-2333

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CANADIAN CAMERA - 9

Club Focus Mike Fellhauer

Mike Fellhauer joined the Toronto Camera Club in 2003 and was put to work immediately. He was hardly in the door before he was running the slide projectors and in short order was running all the equipment needs of the Club.

Mikes loves to figure out how things work and is always on the look out for new (or old) things that will make everything work better. If you are

wondering about what things I am talking about, it is simple, EVERYTHING that is technical. Be it slide projectors, computers, high definition projectors, audio equipment, judging equipment, Mike is the man to figure it out. We often joke with him about having a cot at the club because he doesn’t have time to go home!

He looks after judging nights, regular Monday night meetings, International salon set ups, and other organization programs such as with the GTCCC and CAPA. This can be evening or weekend work and often as late as 11 o'clock at night. He also has a keen interest in working with new camera techniques and is more than happy to share his knowledge and experience with fellow club members.

All of us at the Toronto Camera Club thank Mike Fellhauer for being an indispensable part of our team for so many years. He is very much appreciated by all of us, especially by the competition chairs who depend on him to be able complete their jobs effectively.

Gord McElroy President, 2009-2010 Toronto Camera Club

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Canadian Association for Photographic Art (CAPA) Award Presentation

On Thursday September 16th, the Focus Camera Club of Moncton presented Clarence Nowlan (right) with two achievement awards from the Canadian Association for Photographic Art (CAPA). Mr. Nowlan received two pins commemorating CAPA’s Associate award as well as the Maple Leaf award. These awards pay homage to Mr. Nowlan’s achievements and photographic services as well as to his exceptional contributions to artistic photography. Presenting the awards is Leo Allain (right), Atlantic Zone Director for CAPA.

CAPA

Members Galleries Did you know that CAPA offers it’s members and clubs the opportunity to have a gallery of your photos on our website?

Check out what other clubs and ­individuals have done on our site to see what you can do. It’s easy to get set up.

If you or your club would like an individual or Club gallery, please email galleries@ capacanada.ca with your name and membership number. You will be provided with more details. Image sizing is important for the highest quality reproduction of your image on our site. If your image is a horizontal, keep the maximum horizontal length to 600pixels (and don't worry about the vertical ­dimension). The same goes for vertical, but keep the maximum vertical length to 575px (and again-don't worry about the other length). Horizontal Maximum Dimension: 600px. Vertical Maximum Dimension: 575px For additional details, Contact Rick Shapka at galleries@capacanada for more information.

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Canadian Camera

Conference2011 June 29th - July 3rd

“A Celebration of Photography" The Conference includes: Renowned Keynote Speakers, ELLEN ANON (www.ellenanon.com) and NEVADA WIER (www.nevadawier.com). Notable presenters include: Ethan Meleg, Julie Waterhouse, Allen Bargen, Rob Stimpson, Paul Sparrow, Colin Smith, Joseph Rossbach, Ian Plant, Deborah Sandidge and more. Computers labs on CS5, Lightroom, Nik software, Proshow Gold and Proshow Producer. Check out our presenters web sites. They are sure to inspire you.

Workshop topics include Creative Photography, Portrait Photography, Landscape and Nature Photography, Infrared Photography. Among the other attractions are a Trade Show, CAPA Exhibition, Field Trips, Barbeque, Awards Banquet and Fireworks to photograph on Canada Day, July 1st.

For Information Contact Bill Lloyd at: vice-pres@capacanada.ca or lloyd@capacanada.ca

Schedule •

Wed. June 29th.

Field Trips, Meet and Greet KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ELLEN ANON • Thurs. June 30th.

Workshops and Labs KEYNOTE SPEAKER: NEVADA WIER • Fri. July 1st.

Workshops and Labs BBQ and Fireworks • Sat. July 2nd.

Workshops and Labs Awards Banquet, Audio/Visual Extravaganza • Sun. July 3rd.

Field Trips •

CCC 2011 will be held at Fanshawe College, London, Ontario.

Attendees will stay at the beautiful, new Fanshawe College Residence and Conference Centre.

Single, double and suites are available within the quads To make your reservations contact the Fanshawe College Residence and Conference Centre Carolyn Mitchell, phone: 519-453-4440 ext. 5002 or fax 519-453-2309.

Watch the London Camera Club website www.londoncameraclub.on.ca and the CAPA website www.capacanada.ca for on-going information about the presenters, programs, events and registration.

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Photo by David Robinson

The London Camera Club, on behalf of the Canadian Association for Photographic Art, is proud to host Canadian Camera Conference 2011

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CAPA 2010 C A P A

2 0 1 0

A N N U A L

D I G I T A L

C O M P E T I T I O N

Annual Digital Competition Well aged...

– rustic has a special place in our life; wisdom comes from experience, which comes with advanced years; patina is acquired over time! Some participants conveyed this idea to the judges really well, and were richly rewarded in return.

The theme of the 2010 edition of the Annual Digital Competition was broad but needed some forethought to earn the marks from our three experienced judges. Our first and returning judge was Pierre Gauthier, a CAPA certified judge, and past president of the RA Photo Club, in Ottawa. Sitting at the table next to him was Gilles Vézina, a photographer since childhood and a CAPA trained judge, he is a past leader of the portrait group and organizer of photo technique workshops at the RA Photo Club; Gilles is also the current the president of the RA Centre, the largest facility of its kind in the National Capital Region, home to numerous clubs and facilities. Eric Bawden, our third judge, is a retired professional photographer with over forty years experience in the fields of industrial and studio photography.

Eric got hooked on photography when he processed his first roll of film at the tender age of fourteen.

Once again this year, experience showed time and time again, with similar scores

from our three judges on a large number of entries.

We also benefited from the generous loan of high-end projection equipment, including a state-of-the-art judging apparatus using a Linux-based main database system with three wireless netbook computers, linked together by a special program written by John Elliott, a professional programming wizard and member of the RA Photo Club.

John was on hand to run the equipment and iron out any glitches that may have surfaced. But the whole event ran smooth as glass!

The winning entries, including the honour awards recipients, will be posted on the CAPA Website shortly, and will be incorporated into a short slide show, to be shown at all major CAPA events in Canada, throughout the year. As previously mentioned, Sony of Canada and Adobe Canada will also be showing these images at various venues, giving full credit to the photographers and to CAPA.

Competition participants can login to the CAPA Digital Website www.digitalcapacanada.ca/ , using the e-mail address they used to register and the password that was generated for them, in order to view their score in the competition. This was designed so that all scores be kept confidential. Only one entry was not scored by one of the judges, who felt the entry was not on topic.

The following is a complete list of the prizes won by our first, second and third place winners. Ten participants will also receive an Honour Award from our Competitions Director, Judy Higham, commemorating their winning entry into the 2010 edition of this competition.

The following is a complete list of the prizes won by our first, second and third place winners. Ten participants will also receive an Honour Award from our Competitions Director, Judy Higham, commemorating their winning entry into the 2010 edition of this competition.

First Place: Bill Young of Kanata, Ontario: Rusty Skates

Second Place: David Robinson of London, Ontario: Book With a Heart

Third Place: David Wray of Ottawa, Ontario: Facing Time

• Sony α550L Digital SLR Kit w/DT 18-55 f3.5-5.6 SAM Zoom Lens (upgraded) • Lowepro Fastpack 250 Backpack Camera Bag • Manfrotto 496RC2 Compact Ball Head • Adobe Photoshop CS5 • Adobe Lightroom 3 (upgraded)

• Sony α390L Digital SLR Kit w/DT 18-55 f3.5-5.6 SAM Zoom Lens (upgraded) • Lowepro Outback 100 Modular Beltpack Camera Bag • Photoflex PX229 30” White Ajustable Umbrella • Adobe PhotoShop CS5 • Adobe Lightroom 3 (upgraded)

• Sony Cyber-shot DSCWX1B 10.2MP Digital Camera w/5x Optical Zoom • Lowepro Terraclime 50 Camera Pouch • 2 packs of Hahnemühle Bamboo 290 gsm 8-1/2 x 11” Paper • Adobe Photoshop CS5 • Adobe Lightroom 3 (upgraded)

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Honourable Mentions

Honour Award: David Bromley Street in Lutry Honour Award: Ken Fuller Wedding Music

Honour Award: Carol Coleman Tracks Well Used

Honour Award: Neil leNobel Retired Shoes

Honour Award: Toni Wallachy Many Stories Once Told

Honour Award: Maggie Sale End of an Era

Honour Award: Linda Baker Symbolism in Havana

Honour Award: Janet Kempster Please Flush

Honour Award: Joy Gerow George, Tom, Ted and Abe

Honour Award: Toni Wallachy Weathered Religion

The support and response CAPA continues to receive from our sponsors has a major impact on the success of this competition.

As our membership continues to grow by leaps and bounds, member participation and interest is increasing, making this

competition one of the most valued CAPA has ever hosted.

Our most sincere congratulations go to all the winners. Many thanks to all of you who participated and for making our judging event so interesting and so challenging!

See the announcement of the 2011 Annual Digital Competition in the Spring 2011 issue of your magazine!

Jacques S. Mailloux Past President and CAPA 2010 Annual Digital Competition Chair

Our deep gratitude and appreciation go to our sponsors for their support: Sony of Canada Ltd.; Amplis Foto Inc.; DayMen Photo Marketing; and Adobe Systems Canada. A special note of thanks is also due to Roy Hooper, for creating and maintaining our submission system, and for being so responsive to our queries; to John Elliott for providing and running the judging program that made it so easy to get the results quickly and error-free; to the RA Photo Club for making their valuable equipment available to us; and to the RA Centre for providing a comfortable venue in which to run this event.

EVENT SPONSORS

We are deeply indebted to Roy Hooper of the Camera Club of Ottawa for hosting the CAPA Digital Website as well as providing and 足fine-tuning the software that makes it possible for contestants to submit their entries electronically.

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By Lee Treloar

Destination Greenland

Going to Extremes A small fishing boat with passengers enjoying the twilight in Ilulissat, Greenland

It is the end of an expedition, and the team of huskies leans into their traces for the home stretch as they charge along the frozen sea of ice. I feel like standing on the sled and raising my arms in victory. Dogs, hunters and passengers alike, are eager to get back to the small community of Qaanaaq in the extreme North of Greenland where we started our epic adventure six days before. More importantly, we are getting close to cooked food, hot ­showers and warm beds.

We had travelled more than 200 bonejarring, icy, kilometres and there were times when I was not sure that I could cope with the extreme conditions we encountered. But adversity, viewed in retrospect, becomes adventure. My bruises would heal and eventually I would get back the feeling in my fingers. I had done it!

The weather had been unpredictable, and the cold almost unbearable. Yet we were traveling in a photographer’s

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dream with 24-hour daylight, glacierdraped mountains and saturated sapphire-blue skies. The expedition was billed as a “Traditional Narwhal Hunt” but we had been assured that the only shooting would be with a camera.

Photography in extreme climates is always a challenge for both the camera and the photographer. I have travelled extensively in both the Arctic and the Antarctic and thought I had mastered

most situations for keeping camera gear and myself warm and functioning.

But this dogsled expedition to the far North of Greenland took me back to the basics Getting to Greenland from the west coast of Canada was not as easy as it appears on a map. Though Greenland is our next-door neighbour in the far North, I had to fly to Copenhagen, Denmark to catch the regularly scheduled flights on Air Greenland.

From Copenhagen we flew back across the Atlantic to Kangerluusaaq, the main international terminal for air travel to Greenland. A milk run took us further north with multiple stops in small colourfully painted communities that hug the rocky coast.

Ilulissat, (pop 4052) was our first layover in Greenland. The word

(left) Lee and two Inuit hunters. They are wearing traditional polar bear pants and Kamiks (boots). These keep them far warmer that our modern high tech clothing and footwear. (above) Icebergs float lazily in the harbour at Ilulissat, Greenland (right) A colourful beach house along the frozen sea ice in Qaanaaq Greenland

“Ilulissat” means “iceberg” and it is obviously a well-named community.

Greenland’s biggest tourist attraction is Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage site where a massive glacier tumbles into the sea calving hundreds of majestic icebergs. These icy cathedrals may remain grounded in the water of Disco Bay for years before they finally float south to Baffin Island and eventually reach Newfoundland, sometimes, sinking ships along the way.

That evening, the light was soft and golden and the water smooth as glass. We found a fisherman willing to take us out to the bergs for a photo shoot on his boat. This was the perfect night for photography as we sailed in and around some of Nature’s most impressive art. It was also the last sunset we would see for a week.

Ilulissat is only half way up the west coast of Greenland and we still had one more day of flying north over the glacier covered mountains. I stuck my nose to the window of the little Dash 7, and took far too many photos of the fascinating geology of Northern Greenland until we reached the small community of Qaanaaq (pop. 645) at 77º 28’ North.

The next morning, we finally began the journey we had come for; we met our drivers and their teams of beautiful

Greenland Huskies. These dogs are bred for their job and were howling and eager to pull. Tourism is new this far north

The next morning I woke early and tried to write in my journal. Fingers stiff, I was barely able to scratch out these cryptic words: “Pen won’t write fingers don’t move First night camping, Freezing cold Early camp Glacier Great driver Packing up to begin day 2” If I didn’t make it… at least I’d left a note. and dealing with passengers was as much of a novelty to these hunters as riding a dogsled was to us. I was waiting for instructions in dog sled etiquette when my driver motioned that I should hop on the sled; just hang on and ride was the message.

As we rode away from the tiny colourful community, I began to appreciate the magnificent landscape

around us: the meringue-smooth sea ice, the massive grounded bergs rising like icy mountains, and the blue skies that deceived us into thinking that this would be an easy ride.

But there was no time for reverie as fierce Katabatic winds soon began their relentless assault. I pulled my hat over my forehead and sank deeper and deeper into my parka. I looked at my driver’s thin coat and wondered how he could possibly be warm. He just laughed in glee and the energized dogs tore along the ice with excited yelps.

At our brief lunch break, I pulled another jacket from my pack and put it on under my parka. I was getting seriously chilled. By 3pm, conditions were too cold to continue and the hunters called it a day. We were at the base of a brilliant blue glacier beside a massive mound of rocky moraine: surely one of the most majestic campsites ever!

I watched as two drivers pulled their sleds together and pitched a simple canvas tent over top: close quarters for two hunters and two passengers. Our bags stayed outside, and were used as ballast to hold down the tent during stormy nights.

That evening I prepared my justadd-water-to-the-bag supper, and looked back at the first day on the

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Destination Greenland Going to Extremes

The colourful houses of a small community hug the shore of Greenland.

sled. Along with the cold, staying on the sled proved to be more of a challenge than I had thought and my muscles were aching. I was relieved to fall into my sleeping bag, only taking off my parka, boots and ski pants, and though I was still fully clad, and the sleeping bag was rated to minus 20º I shivered through the night. I really wondered how I could cope with these conditions. Every small task seemed so difficult.

The next morning I woke early and tried to write in my journal. Fingers stiff, I was barely able to scratch out these cryptic words: “Pen won’t write fingers don’t move First night camping, Freezing cold Early camp Glacier Great driver

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Packing up to begin day 2” If I didn’t make it… at least I’d left a note.

That morning I had added even more ­layers of ­clothing; my boots and my oversized leather ­mittens were stuffed with hand and foot warmers but still I felt the numbing bite of the North. Photos came second to survival.

That day things got worse. An hour out of camp, my driver stopped to help another driver with his dogs. I was

alone on the sled when our dogs took off. This situation was a nightmare: the dogs were careening across the ice without our driver and I had no idea what I could possibly do to stop this wild ride. The dogs are controlled by Inuit words, and the snap of a whip and I had neither. I was sure someone would come and rescue me any moment. But moments became long, heart-pounding minutes and when I turned around, I saw that the rest of the group was fading into the distance.

This was not a good thing. I thought of jumping off but I really did not want to add broken bones to the mix. All I could do was hang on and hope.

I really have no idea how long that wild ride was or how far the dogs ran. Five minutes? Five kilometers? It seemed an eternity of terror. Eventually

The Inuit hunter and his dogs enjoy the day on the ice.

the dogs got hung up on a rugged block of sea ice and the team came to a panting halt. The other hunters and passengers finally caught up with us and I don’t know who was more relieved: my driver that his dogs were safe, or I, that I had survived the wildest ride of my life.

Then the storm hit. Blinding snow, and freezing temperatures came roaring down from those beautiful mountains.

It seemed impossible to continue but continue we did.

That morning I had added even more layers of clothing; my boots and my oversized leather mittens were stuffed with hand and foot warmers but still I felt the numbing bite of the North. Photos came second to survival.

Things changed the following morning; my attentive driver had a

surprise for me. He motioned for me to sit down on the sled and, and like Prince Charming, he pulled off my

My mantra for a trip like this would be: “Simplicity and Organization.” I travelled with my compact Nikon D80 with my trusty travel lens the Nikkor 18-200mm VR; a good choice for ­conditions where it’s not always easy to change lenses. boots and tied his own snuggly warm polar bear skin Kamiks on my grateful feet. I padded around the campsite

proudly, warm and comfortable but with a considerable pang of conscience about the bear. Then another hunter brought me his beautiful furry polar bear pants, I felt like I was selling my conservationist soul. My objections dissipated quickly when I felt the radiant warmth flow through me.

The thick black hide of the polar bear absorbs the heat from the sun and the each shaft of hair is hollow and provides even more insulation. Nature does it right. I was ready to enjoy the rest of the journey in comfort.

My mantra for a trip like this would be: “Simplicity and Organization.” To keep things simple with my camera gear, I travelled with my compact Nikon D80 with my trusty travel lens the Nikkor 18-200mm VR; a good choice for conditions where it’s not Continued on page 22 CANADIAN CAMERA - 19

Destination Greenland Going to Extremes

Dog teams leave the community of Qaanaaq for a six-day expedition across the frozen sea

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In an environment without scale, distances are deceiving. On one clear and sunny day, our course was a straight line across the frozen sea to a tiny hamlet nestled against mountains that appeared to be only a few kilometres away. After a beautiful nine-hour ride, we arrived in the most northerly (77º 48’ N) Inuit community on the globe, Siorapaluk (pop 75).

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Destination Greenland Going to Extremes

Call of the Wild: Gliding along on smooth sea ice beside a blue glacier and jagged peaks.

always easy to access your pack, or change lenses. With only the 200mm zoom, I had been concerned that I might miss the distant shot of a polar bear, or rising narwhal, but in this case, I found the 18mm wide angle a far more useful option for the vast icy vistas. (Read: no bears, no whales!)

Cold weather can eat up a camera battery and I had researched the possibility of using a solar powered charger. In a land where there is 24-hour-daylight, it seemed that this would be a good choice but the solar options looked like they would complicate the situation rather than help. With six batteries, I managed with more than enough power for the six days. I kept my extra batteries next to me in my parka pocket and resisted the urge to review the images. When

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I got home, it was like Christmas morning seeing the expedition images on the screen for the first time.

We were traveling in the Inuit’s world and ­traveling their way.

There were ­lessons here.

The Inuit have survived for 4000 years in one of the most inhospitable and ­challenging environments on the globe The trip itself was exceptionally rich in photo opportunities: not only for the magnificent scenery and beautiful

Greenland Huskies, but also for the complete cultural immersion that we experienced with our Inuit hunters.

We were traveling in the Inuit’s world and traveling their way. There were lessons here. The Inuit have survived for 4000 years in one of the most inhospitable and challenging environments on the globe. For them a hunting trip, even in the 21st century, is not an adventure, it is about survival: finding food and shelter.

Much of the hunter’s food still comes from the land or the sea: raw Narwhal carved off a frozen slab; walrus stew boiled in a huge pot of water and shared among the drivers; raw seal for men and the dogs. No packaging, no waste.

We learned about igloo building in a demonstration by some of the younger

Iceberg in Ilulissat: The birds provide scale to the colours and textures of this massive mountain of ice.

Inuit hunters of the group. Using only simple handsaws and a large knife they easily carved the frozen blocks of snow and piled them up into the spiral dome that is the iconic shelter of the North: instant shelter whenever you need it.

Some evenings, the hunters relaxed and enjoyed lively spear-throwing contests and encouraged the passengers to join in. The hunters made it look easy and when the novices’ spears wobbled and flopped toward the target, the hunters had a good laugh at our expense.

In an environment without scale, distances are deceiving. On one clear and sunny day, our course was a straight line across the frozen sea to a tiny hamlet nestled against mountains that appeared to be only a few kilometres away. After a beautiful

nine-hour ride, we arrived in the most northerly (77º 48’ N) Inuit community on the globe, Siorapaluk (pop 75).

Lee Treloar M.A. Member International: The Explorers Club of New York Member: Abbotsford Photo Arts Club ltreloar@shaw.ca www.LeeTreloar.com

On the sixty-kilometer ride across the ice, I sat on my perch of caribou skins and soaked up that pristine and

powerful environment. I loved the endless solitude and the vast magnitude of that silent icy scene where the only sound I heard was the swish of the sled and the paws of the dogs as they powered through the snow. I turned off my camera and savoured my surroundings.

By the end of the fifth day, I sadly realized that this was my last night in the tent with my new friends. The journey that began with seemingly impossible challenges was coming to an end almost too soon. I knew that photos could never fully convey the intensity of the adventure, and I also knew that the despite difficult situations, I had a better understanding of life at the end of the earth: I had walked a kilometer or two in their Kamiks. g

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By Eb Mueller

When Depth of Field

is Never Enough!

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(facing page) Flowering Quince, stack of 13 frames at f/4, magnification 1:3, tripod without focus rail, ambient light in the field.

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Wild Dogwood Twig, stack of 11 frames at f/4, magnification 1:6, tripod without focus rail, ambient light in the field. In comparison, a single exposure at f/22 would introduce distracting background elements and still not meet the depth of field requirement for this subject.

Critics of macro photography go as far as to say that

"depth of field is the enemy of macro!" While I do not concur with the spirit of such a sentiment, I can understand where it is coming from on the basis of both objective and subjective factors. The objective factor is that, in macro images, the depth of field (assuming aperture is constant) is inversely related to magnification. Thus, the more ambitious the macro undertaking, the more frustratingly shallow becomes the depth of field. The additional, but 足subjective, factor is a reduced tolerance for selective focus in macro subjects.

This is because the magnified and enhanced image detail visually contradicts the loss of detail to out of focus blur in other parts of the image. There is not much one can do about that! The photographer may respond by 足increasing the f-number to a point where optical degradation, due to 足diffraction becomes the greater issue. The trade-off between very slight increase in depth of field, yet loss of overall sharpness is an unsatisfactory solution. Therefore, at higher magnifications, even at f/45, the depth of field is still seen to be never enough! Since my enjoyment is to make macro images at higher 足magnification ranges, usually from 3:1 to 5:1, where depth of field is a razor's edge, there is greater urgency for a better solution!

Focus stacking was devised for use in microscopic photography to increase the depth of field by combining multiple, focus-bracketed exposures of the tiniest, but inanimate subjects.

Hundreds of images may be taken at different points of focus and combined in specialized software to create a single image of breathtaking crisp detail. This technology is versatile and equally applicable to all genres of photography where insufficient depth of field is an issue, all the way from macros to landscapes.

Beginners are advised to practice with inanimate subject matter under controlled conditions. Flowers are particularly good subjects. With camera on tripod, one focuses manually on the nearest point, which is to be sharp, and makes the exposure. A slight nudge of the focus ring brings the focus further into the subject and another exposure is taken. The process is repeated until one comes to the end of the series, the furthest point into the subject one wishes to have sharp. It is important to make tests and select an aperture which

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Crimson Columbine, stack of 3 frames at f/5.6, magnification 1:3, tripod without focus rail, ambient light in the field, soft focus effect. Due to excessive wind motion the stack was spoiled.

However, the remaining three successful frames were enough to render all the separate flower elements in reasonable focus.

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Hibiscus Blooms, stack of 12 frames at f/8, magnification 1:6, tripod without focus rail, window light. The depth of field represented here is about 12 inches. The "normal" maximum depth of field at this magnification would be about 4 inches, assuming an aperture of f/22.

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(middle) Northern Star Flower, stack of 8 frames at f/8, magnification 1:2, tripod with focus rail, ambient light in the field. Stacking makes it possible to get three separate blooms in focus and still choose to create a smooth background.

will give enough inherent depth of field so as not to leave focus gaps between successive exposures, even with the slightest movement of the focus ring. It is advantageous to consider the optimal aperture for the lens and, also, one which will render pleasant background bokeh. At much higher magnifications, it becomes essential to use a focusing rail. With the latter, the progressive focusing is not done with the lens but by moving the camera with micrometer precision.

The series of differentially focused exposures is loaded into software, w h e re t h e f r a m e s a re s t a c k e d , aligned, blended and retouched as necessary. When selecting software, it is important to consider how well it performs with your subject matter in regard to alignment, blending algorithms and practical retouching.

Among the dozen or so software options there is Helicon Focus, Zerene Stacker and the freeware CombineZP. Also, Photoshop, since CS4, offers a suitable starting point for experimenting with focus stacking but lacks in retouching convenience.

In Photoshop CS4 or CS5, you can open the images in layers (directly from Bridge or Lightroom.) All the layers are first selected, then aligned (Edit—Auto-Align Layers,) then blended (Edit—Auto-Blend Layers.)

The modified layers are then flattened.

If poor alignment and objectionable

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Hibiscus stamen and pistil, stack of 34 taken at f/5.6, magnification 1:1, tripod with focus rail, window light. The advantage of focus stacking with a wide aperture is the retention of a smooth background.

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u Dung Fly, stack of 7 frames taken a f/32, magnification 3:1, hand-held technique with flash.

It is important to use a small enough aperture in order to obtain enough focus overlap.

artefacts are noticeable in the finalised image, I recommend experimenting with a trial version of specialized software for better results. My choice has been Zerene Stacker.

What of things that move? Alignment of multiple exposures is an irresolvable problem if the subject has moved, e.g. active bugs or breeze blown flowers.

However minor camera movement can usually be compensated for by the software's alignment algorithms. This feature presents an opportunity for attempting macros of living subjects that are willing to stay still, but only a second or two while multiple exposures are attempted, (at high frame rate!)

My p r e f e r r e d t e c h n i q u e f o r photography of insects, in nature, is to work handheld, with flash, a telemacro lens, for good working distance and apertures of f/22 or f/32. Focusing is done with body movement and the shutter is triggered in (well practiced) anticipation of sharp focus on the eyes of the subject. (I find no alternative to the hand held approach, the positioning of a tripod, even a monopod, is too intrusive and will frighten lively subjects in the time it takes to set up.)

By taking my off-hand technique a small step further, it is possible to make multiple exposures in the second or two the insect remains still. However, not all shots taken at high frame rates will be useful for focus stacking. At magnifications of 3:1, or beyond, it is difficult enough just to find the creature in the viewfinder frame, let alone keep it there. Skill comes with practice! In approximately 75% of my attempts at photographing lively subjects, I find that there are 3 or more frames useful

for stacking and increasing the depth of field.

While my motivation to pursue the benefits of focus stacking has been for the sake of better presentation of high magnification macro subjects, I have also gotten into the practice of focus bracketing other subject matter. There is artistic opportunity in great depth of field or where multiple subjects can be rendered in focus and, at the same time, isolated against a smooth background. I feel privileged to share my "discovery," knowing well that not many photographers will be as interested in macros of insects, but may find many alternative and creative applications for focus stacking technology. g

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Unidentified Fly #2, stack of 5 frames at f/32, magnification 5:1, hand-held technique with flash. 5x magnification is about as far as I can go to effectively focus stack, using my hand-held technique. It is quite a physical strain to keep such a small subject within the frame of view, for more than a single exposure.

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By Mark Margerison

A GEOCACHING PHOTOGRAPHIC

TOUR When my wife, Lisa, first took me out geocaching, I have to admit that I was not sold on the idea. For those of you who may not be familiar with geocaching, it is best described as a technological treasure hunting game. Geocachers, as they are called, use GPS (Global Positioning System) units to search for items hidden all over the world. These can be tiny capsules no larger than a button, or watertight containers holding a logbook and small tradable items. Participants enter latitude and longitude coordinates into the GPS for the geocache they want to search for. The GPS guides you straight as an arrow to the geocache – at least until you get within about 20 meters – and that’s where the fun, or frustration, begins. You might ask what this has to do with photography, but it is a wonderful combination. With thousands of geocachers out there, many of them are placing caches in their favorite locations which inevitably turn out to be little known photographic opportunities.

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Our last vacation, up Highway

37 in Northern BC and into the Yukon, was no exception. Although it is a remote highway, and at times more like a gravel road, it is well traveled and there are quite a few caches to be found. Lisa planned the entire trip, looking for geocaches along the way to break up the drive. The first of many highlights was located in Boya Lake Provincial Park. Boya Lake is very distinctive with its virtual maze of islands and bays that offer the photographer plenty of subject matter. Adding to the ever-changing shoreline, the water of Boya Lake is noted for its clarity. The lake boasts a brilliant aqua-marine colour which is the result of sunlight reflecting off the marl bottom (silt and shell fragments). A canoe paddle around this lake offers the photographer a variety of images from ducks to beavers and pristine reflections.

The park attendants have canoes for rent and though the weather was not great, we decided to rent one on the evening we arrived. I should mention it had been about 17 years since we paddled a canoe and this large one (to fit the five of us) had no keel. So we made our way out onto the lake and tried, almost in vain, to go in straight line. We had actually put some distance between us and the dock when the first bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. After a second bolt followed moments later we decided to cut short our 4 hour canoe rental and head back to shore. There was some disappointment in the group while we sat in the trailer listening to the rain. No geocaches, no canoe ride and lots of rain.

The park attendant came by later that evening and said we could hold onto the canoe until morning, so the kids went to sleep with the hope that the weather would clear up. We awoke the next morning to cumulous clouds ringing the horizon with an ocean of blue sky in the middle and all of this splendor was reflected in the glass surface of the lake.

The only ripples we saw that morning were the ones trailing behind us.

Now that is not to say that my photography is centered on locations that have geocaches. Geocaching has just taught us to look harder for new locations, which is what happened in CANADIAN CAMERA - 29

Kluane National Park in the Yukon.

This amazing stretch of wilderness covers almost 22,000 square kilometers with a beauty that can be admired even from the highway. One day-hike we took was into St Elias Lake. This is an easy 7km round trip trail through the forest opening onto a lake filled valley at the end. St. Elias Lake is a sub alpine lake located 60km south of Haynes Junction and offers great scenic photographic opportunities. The trail ends at a simple camping area on the edge of this beautiful lake surrounded by mountains.

Since our viewpoint was from the waters edge, I shot with an 18-200VR lens at 18mm and took 6 exposures in order to make a panorama later that evening. To tone down the bright sky, I made use of a graduated neutral density filter. This made for a darker mountaintop, but as there were also rain clouds moving into that side of the frame, it added to the mood of the photograph.

Of all the lakes we saw on our trip, Emerald Lake had by far the best colour and we found it on the road home.

South of Whitehorse we turned off the Alaska Highway and onto the South Klondike Highway, which heads to Carcross. We had been on the road for almost 2 weeks at this point and had it not been for the geocache hidden here we might have driven right by. As with most of our geocaching stops, Lisa and the kids bolted from the truck in the hopes to be the first one to find the cache. Me, I grabbed my gear and looked for opportunities. In this instance, the highway was right beside the lake and I could not get the angle I was looking for.

I hiked up the hill on the opposite side of the highway for a better view. What began as a rocky hill quickly turned into shrubs and small alders, which were enough to hide the highway and rest area. The lighting was not ideal, but with the help of a graduated neutral density filter (to balance the sky with the forest) and a circular polarizer (to cut some glare off the leaves and water) I was able to get the shot I was looking for.

GPS units have benefits other than locating new places to photograph. Using GPS technology, it is possible to embed latitude and longitude information into 30 - CANADIAN CAMERA

A GEOCACHING PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR

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the exif data of each image taken. There are two options for doing this. Many newer cameras have the ability to connect directly to a GPS unit so that location data can be recorded at the time of image exposure. The second option is a software solution where you synchronize the clocks on your camera and GPS. Then once you have transferred your images to your computer, the software uses the timestamps to match up images to location data. This can be beneficial if you want to track exactly where your photographs were taken or for sharing them with others through services such as Google Earth.

Not all geocaches have a container to find. My wife’s favorite type of cache is called an Earthcache. These geocaches are in locations that have some kind of interesting geological formation where you can learn about something unusual. For me, there is often an opportunity to photograph something out of the ordinary. We found one of these in Miles Canyon, on the Yukon River near Whitehorse. We were able to follow roads in the general direction the GPS was pointing and they eventually led to a small parking lot. Getting out of the car, we followed the arrow on the GPS and were soon standing on the riverbank, only we were some distance above the water. From our vantage point it was quite obvious that the Earthcache was the riverbank across the water. What you see is a cross section of a lava flow from over nine million years ago. A slow moving lava flow, it cooled forming basalt layers up to 15 meters thick. As the lava cooled it fractured in 5 or 6 vertical intersecting cracks resulting in distinctive geometric columns. The park at Miles Canyon offers many crisscrossing trails with various viewpoints of the river and several geocaches to find. Spending an afternoon here ensures you’ll be spending the evening in front of your computer.

The end result of our geocaching photo excursions is that sometimes Lisa finds her treasure, and sometimes I find mine. Regardless though, we always come away satisfied after having spent an afternoon outside. g 32 - CANADIAN CAMERA

A GEOCACHING PHOTOGRAPHIC TOUR

Mark Margerison

Mark Margerison has been holding a camera since the age of 9. This early interest in capturing moments in time grew to the point where his camera was always at his side. In early 1996 he took this passion for photography and created Highlight Studio, a home based photography business providing a variety of services including photographing weddings, sports, scenery, wildlife and picture framing.

Mark has had his photographs published in various tourism brochures and Visitor’s Guides as well as Truck Logger magazine. He has also been the proud recipient of first place in the Vancouver Island Brandt Festival’s ‘Birds of Prey’ category and ninth place in Photo Life magazine’s Image International’s ‘Wildlife’ category. Most recently, Mark provided photographs of both the Terrace and Kitimat areas for the Knowledge Network’s Picture BC project.

For more information on Geocaching, visit http://www.geocaching.com.

Mark Margerison, 6160 Grieve Rd, Duncan, BC V9L 2H1 marger5@telus.net CANADIAN CAMERA - 33

“Black & White”

Carol Coleman, Urban Decay

Bob Walling, Two Domes St. Kitts in IR

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Bob St. Cyr, Broad Leaves

“Black & White”

Maggie Sale, Abandoned

Jack Schaerer

Donna Winkler, Takhini River

“Categorically Yours”

Angela Schaerer, Lighthouse

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Announcing the 2011 4-Nations Competition CAPA, in association with the Photographic Societies of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa is pleased to host the third Annual 4-Nations Photographic Competition. This friendly event encourages sharing your best photos with fellow photographers from all 4-Nations. There is no entry fee to participate in this competition.

Rules of Entry

Awards

Each Society will enter 80 images, selected from their membership for this competition. Only one image per individual member is allowed in a nation’s final selection of images, but members may send many images to their country representative to be pooled for final selection.

The topic is OPEN so any subject matter may be submitted.

Winners will be announced by August 1st, via email to the Societies. Winners will receive the following Awards:

Deadline for entries from CAPA Members: The Deadline for entries to be received at CAPA in Canada from our individual members is June 1st, 2011. Please note, this is not a club competition, only individual and family members can participate. The top 80 images selected from all entries received by June 1st will be CAPA’s entry for the competition.

All 4-Nations Entries will be sent to Canada no later than July 15th, 2011. Entries will be judged

by CAPA Certified Judges.

4-Nations Award Society that wins the competition 4-Nations CAPA Medal individual image scoring the highest points 4-Nations Certificate

second and third highest scoring images

5 digital shows will be created for the 2011 competition and made available for direct download via FTP or by e-link no later than Sept 30th, 2011. One show per nation and one master show combining all 4 countries will be produced. A master score sheet by nation will also be provided to all countries at the same time.

Sunday August 21 to Thursday August 25, 2011

Image File Size: Maximum 1024 pixels horizontal and maximum 768 pixels vertical. Save at 180 pixels or higher.

File Type: JPG only Image must be titled as follows: Image_Name –Photographers_Name .jpg Example: Great_Red_Egret-George_Brown.jpg

Instructions for sending images:

Production of Digital Shows

2011

Please note - this is a digital event. Pay particular attention to the following requirements.

CAPA Members must email their images to 4nations2011@capacanada.ca no later than June 1st, 2011. You may send as many images as you wish for consideration.

Please note that winners provided they agree, will be asked to provide a high quality jpg file suitable for publication in Canadian Camera and may also be displayed on the websites of the other Photographic Societies.

WINTER 2010 CAPA NEW MEMBERS Atlantic Leo Allain NB Joe Chase NL Rob Martell NB

Andre Secours Peter Simon Allan Turner Olga Zamora

John Ostaf Gordon Perry Kayla Stevenson

Ontario

Pacific

Norman Brown SK Don Fairbairn SK Ian McAdie AB Christina Varro AB

Ray Boisjoli Irene Borins Ash Phyllis Chant Lorie Cooper Jale Fancey Orillia & District Camera Club Anda Marcu Angela Schaerer Jack Schaerer David Schaffelburg

Fred Benallick Linda Bickerton-Ross Nicole Bienvenu Linda Cunningham Tony Dathan John Egyed Gord Grisenthwaite Jinah Hwang Peter Langer Alice Mckinnon Jennifer Nord

Prairies

Quebec Michel Collette Sarah Rennie

Donations G.H. Brown A. & H. Winkleman

capa@capacanada.ca • www.capacanada.ca

(250) 523-2378 36 - CANADIAN CAMERA

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Features and specifications subject to change without notice. Screen images are simulated.

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