Fun – Page 3 – Kanata Seniors' Centre Camera Club

2021 Spring Photo Challenge

It’s time to get ready for the KSCCC 2021 Spring Photo Challenge !!

The Spring Photo Challenge has been extended. Changes are in bold below.

This has been a challenging year for us all. It’s time to shake off those winter blues and get ready to welcome Spring, a time of renewal, rebirth and new beginnings.

Last year’s winter challenge, “Creating a Photographic Project”, was very successful. Let’s see if we can make this year’s challenge even better!

This year’s challenge will be “Spring: A Time of New Beginnings”.

While Walking Though Beaverbrook

On our daily walks in our neighbourhood , we find stones some residents painted and distributed along paths…

… to thank health care workers …

… to cheer you up …

… to make sure you do not feel alone …

… to make you feel strong …

… to make you happy.

Peter von Moos

Enjoy a Socially Distant Forest Walk

Last week I saw a fellow near my entrance way, photographing from the verge of the road. I invited him into my property and he spent a hour wandering about on his own. It got me thinking I could offer an open invitation to all camera club members who would like a walk in the woods. I live 6 km beyond the village of Carp. I will re-mark some of the trails in the next day or so, but if you are uneasy about going into the woods there are open spaces to photograph. At the moment there are few biting insects, but there are tics, so dress appropriately. Phone (613 839 2747) or email (careysj@hotmail.com) if you would like to come and I will send you directions. I am home.

With regards to the forest walk invitation, I do not want to dash hopes about a walk in the woods, but exploring the trails myself this afternoon, I discovered it is not a stroll or a walk, but rather a scramble. The once trail is now blocked by fallen large trees and it may be a challenge, in some areas, to locate the old trail. It would be an outing for the most venturesome or intrepid adventurer.

Sue Carey

Free Photo Course From Mike Browne

Mike Browne, whose YouTube videos have been featured often at past club meetings, has announced this:

This free twelve week programme of teaching, exercises and competitions will help you appreciate your home environment in a way you would never have believed possible, finding beauty in every angle and shadow.
No one wants Lockdown, but it’s a great opportunity to practise new ways of seeing and photo techniques, whilst keeping yourself and others safe whilst growing your skills and having the opportunity to win free access to my online courses.
I’ll post a free video tutorial every Sunday at 19.00 pm (UK Time) that also sets a challenge for you to enter an image in our weekly Photography Locked Down competition on Facebook.
Winners and runners will be announced ‘Live’ on Youtube the following Sunday by myself – and some superstar guests I promise you won’t want to miss. You’ll get the next free tutorial and photo challenge immediately afterwards.
This is an amazing opportunity to grow your skills, win free access to online training and keep your mind out of mischief – you literally give it your best shot.

Thanks to Phil Tughan for sharing this tip.

I Thought Macro Photography Would Be Easy

While we’re all cooped up at home, we might want to try some macro photography.

Phil Tughan

2020 Winter Photo Challenge

Don’t forget about the 2020 Winter Photo Challenge to “Create a Photography Project” All photographs must be taken between January 4th, 2020 and February 28th, 2020. Photographs must be submitted by noon on Friday, February 28th. For further information go to 2020 Winter Photo Challenge

2020 Winter Photo Challenge

It’s time to get ready for the KSCCC 2020 Winter Photo Challenge !!

This year we will be trying something a little different. Rather than taking a number of photographs of different subjects, we will be challenging ourselves to “Create a Photography Project”.

The challenge is simple. Here are the guidelines:

Prior to setting out on your photographic mission, select a specific topic that interests you or perhaps challenges you.
The subject matter is up to you; HOWEVER, all photographs that you take must be related to the specific topic that you have chosen.
Each photo project can include between 4 and 6 individual photographs.

Here is the timeline:

All photographs must be taken between January 4^th, 2020 and noon, February 28^th, 2020. That’s two months to take 4-6 photos. Lots of time to get creative!!
Photographs can be taken all in one day or over multiple days or weeks.
All photos must be submitted by noon, February 28^th, 2020.
The title for your project is also submitted by noon, February 28^th, 2020.
Submit photos and project title to the usual KSCCC email address. Make sure to identify your project as part of the 2020 Winter Photo Challenge. Number your photos in the order that you wish them to be presented.

Once all project titles and photos have been submitted, we will prepare a slide show to be presented at a KSCCC meeting this spring.

Ron Pierce

Victorian Fashion Show

The Kanata Seniors Centre needs our help. Janet Baigent asks:

The Centre is having a Victorian Fashion Show and Tea and I am searching for a willing photographer! Event is on Thursday, April 18 from 1-3pm. I would ask that the photographer arrive at 12:45pm, take pictures of fashion show and attendees having a great time throughout event.

If you’re interested in being their photographer, please contact Janet at the Centre by calling 613-580-2980 or by email.

Club members Phil Tughan, Ed Lascelle and Bill Robertson have all shot fashion shows like this in the past. They’re lots of fun.

Here are some images from the fashion show Phil shot a couple of years ago.

Tiny Planet Image

Beaverbrook Library Tiny Planet by Bill Robertson

For the September meeting slideshow, I submitted an example of a “Tiny Planet” image that I made of the Beaverbrook Library. In the review, I asked for suggestions about other locations that would make good Tiny Planets.

I received a couple of good recommendations but more members asked how I did it.

First I shot a 11 image 360 degree panorama then I followed these steps in Photoshop:

File->Automate->photomerge
flatten
trim one end (cut), paste over other end, align, and delete extra
flatten
Image->trim->transparent pixels
crop off any blank top and bottom
make square (use short dimension & make sure aspect ratio unlocked)
Image->Rotate->180 degrees
Filter->Distort->Polar coordinates (rectangular to polar)

If you have any questions about how I did this, I’ll be glad to try and answer them.

There’s a great video here by Mike Browne (thanks to Phil Tughan for bringing him to our attention) that demonstrates the whole process.

Bill Robertson

Digital Cameras Have Come a Long Way

From the IEEE Spectrum article 25 Microchips That Shook the World

Kodak KAF-1300 Image Sensor (1986)

Launched in 1991, the Kodak DCS 100 digital camera cost as much as US $13 000 and required a 5-kilogram external data storage unit that users had to carry on a shoulder strap. The sight of a person lugging the contraption? Not a Kodak moment. Still, the camera’s electronics—housed inside a Nikon F3 body—included one impressive piece of hardware: a thumbnail-size chip that could capture images at a resolution of 1.3 megapixels, enough for sharp 5-by-7-inch prints. “At the time, 1 megapixel was a magic number,” says Eric Stevens, the chip’s lead designer, who still works for Kodak. The chip—a true two-phase charge-coupled device—became the basis for future CCD sensors, helping to kick-start the digital photography revolution. What, by the way, was the very first photo made with the KAF-1300? “Uh,” says Stevens, “we just pointed the sensor at the wall of the laboratory.”