Expanded Executive

At the January meeting we asked members to join the executive and several did. After the February meeting,  where we met to discuss plans for the rest of the season, we took this snapshot:

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We are:

  • Standing left to right: Phil Tughan, Ed Lascelle, Frank Knor, Louise Robert, Ron Pierce & Carol Brown
  • Seated (L to R): Amy Lo, Anne Jones, Catherine Easton
  • Missing: Sue Carey, Marilyn Martin, Val Colins, Stu Moxley

If you have any questions about the club or suggestions about what we can do better, please talk to any of us at the monthly meetings or email us here.

January Galleries Online

The new member galleries for the February 3rd meeting are now online.

Click here or on the image below to see the “Contemplative” gallery:

 

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Let Me Sleep by Shirley LeClair

 

and here or on the image below to see the photos from last month’s “Shoot In”:

 

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Wine Glasses by Louise Robert

 

 

Marg’s Tip for February

Five Tried and True Landscape Photography Tips Used by the Pros.

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Have you ever found yourself wondering how do the professionals (Pros) consistently turn out amazing photographs day after day, year after year and what are their secrets.

1.  Experimentation

Experimenting is one of the best ways to shake yourself up out of the doldrums and even pros use it to get their creative juices flowing.  Try something totally out of your comfort zone,  If you are already a master of the golden hours, try shooting a nightscape or even a long exposure in the middle of the day.  Experimenting keeps you on the learning path and when you learn, you grow as a photographer.

2.  Making it on your own

Many places on your photography list have already been captured hundreds of times.  What else can you do?  Is there another foreground element you can add or take away?  One of the things that make pros work stand out from the rest, is their perspective and ability to make a place seem like you are seeing it for the first time.  Can you get a different angle, add or detract an element or shoot it differently. (eg. with light trails or multiple exposures?)

3.  Tell a Story

Being able to evoke the emotions of your audience should always be a goal.  Keep in mind that the purpose of your photographic story is to interest, instruct or amuse your audience.  Decide how you want the image to affect them, and then how to achieve that goal.  Is it going to be realistic or abstract, black or white or infrared?

4.  Less Can Be More

In landscape photograph, being more selective with the views you present, tells a more effective story, so pros understand the power of good composition.  One of the rules of good composition is that your image should contain just enough details.  You do not have the luxury of physically moving things around, so you must arrange the elements of an image by changing your position. You can then find the most flattering views and one that tells a different story.
Choosing the important elements to highlight, helps you to decide what to include and what to leave out.  Make your subject dominate by accentuating it with one or few related elements, remembering to declutter as much as you can.  As a general rule, if the element  doesn’t  enhance the subject, it may be detracting from it.

5.  Know Your Post-Processing

Ideally you want to get the shot right in camera.  Pros know the importance of post-processing. That is the main reason they shoot in RAW, to capture all the uncompressed image data, which leads to higher quality images in the end.  Digital photography has made it easier to post-process, but it also makes it easier to go overboard easily.  So determine your vision for the final image, and learn to execute it properly, so you produce an image that represents you.

Conclusion

Staying consistent means staying creative or constantly challenging yourself to try something different or learn something new.  There is nothing more amazing than producing a piece that someone can identify as yours, even before they confirm you did.

February 3rd Meeting

Remember that our next Camera Club meeting with be held on Friday February 3rd at 9:15 AM.

Our meeting will include:

  • slide show of member images from January “Contemplative” assignment
  • slide show of members images from January “Shoot In”
  • discussion of selected images from the above submissions
  • Marg’s photography hint and joke
  • announcements

Our feature speaker will be Vanessa Dewson speaking about Travel Photography. You can preview her work here.

We will also present a video on metering modes and follow it with a discussion.

The Mentors will be available before the meeting to help you with any technical or creative questions you have about photography.

Your images for the assignment and from the “Shoot In” must be emailed by noon on Friday January 27th to be included in the slide show. Images submitted after the deadline will only appear in the online gallery. For details on how to submit photos including formats and titles go to our Galleries page.

The assignment for February is “Light” and will be displayed at the March 3rd meeting.

See you on the 3rd,

A Shot of Summer

img_20170119_145303aWe’re somewhere in the middle of winter. If you are ready for a little shot of summer, you might want to visit the Tropical Greenhouse at the Experimental Farm. This map shows its location on Maple Drive. Here are a few images taken on a recent visit.

The Greenhouse is open Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Saturday.

Shoot-In Recap

Thanks to Sue who suggested the idea of a shoot-in and set the whole thing up, to all who helped out and to the participants who learned lots about their cameras and how to use them.

Here are some snapshots of the event taken by Amy Lo and Bill Robertson. If you want to share your images from the shoot in with the club, please submit them for the February meeting.

We plan on doing this again and would appreciate feedback from club members about what we can add or improve. Email the executive here or talk to us at a meeting.

Straighten Things Out

If you prefer to get your perspective as straight as possible in-camera but you don’t have a tilt-shift lens, there is a solution.  You have just taken a shot of a building, possibly with a 20mm lens, and are standing close to it and looking up.
If possible, step back and switch to a longer lens. You’ll be able to keep your camera level and avoid converging verticals – though your subject will be smaller in the frame.
Marg Jackman