February 13 2025

 

 

Our guest speaker was former Canadian Fine Art Photographer of the Year, Lee Nordbye, who presented Making Monochrome Magic, where he showed us his end-to-end process, with a focus on the power of editing. One of the main steps he uses is
DXO’s Nik Collection, a Photoshop filter which offers a 30 Day Free Trial. Lee’s other go-to software is Adobe’s Lightroom.

The Chatham Camera Club thanks Lee for his informative and entertaining presentation. We’ll all be making much better black and white images from now on.

For another take on making excellent black and white images in Photoshop, check out the YouTube video below.


Our next meeting will be a “live” meeting at Evangel Church on Thursday, February 27th at 7 Pm when
• Mary Craig will answer the often asked question, “How are my images judged?” by giving us a presentation on critiquing and judging photographs.
• Results of the February Photo Challenge will be reviewed
• Keith Blackwell will be featured in What I Shoot
• Our monthly Print Display will be shown. All members are invited to bring in a print, any size, any subject, for viewing and discussion.


ImJustSaying2

“Photographers should follow their own judgement and not the fads and dictates of others.” – Bill Brandt


 

 

 

January 23rd 2025

 

 

• Club member Dave Noordhoff presented a detailed and well-thought-out tutorial on the Exposure Triangle, in which he explained how aperture, shutter speed and ISO interact with each other to attain a proper exposure. As a former public school teacher, Dave is blessed with a unique ability to explain even the most difficult subjects so that they are easily understood by his students. The Club thanks Dave for his time and efforts in putting together his excellent show.


For more about the Exposure Triangle, see this YouTube video.

• Our featured photographer in What I Shoot was Dave Richards, who shared his collection of travel photos from New York, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hanoi, Sicily, Venice and Paris. In case you missed it, you can view Dave’s slide show below.
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• Entries from our January Photo Challenge were reviewed. The top scoring shots have been added to our Club Photos page. You can see Jeff and Wendy’s YouTube video for all of the images and their scores.

• Mike and Keith discussed some of the prints that our members brought in for display. Thanks to all who participated. If you would like to share some of your printed work, your next chance to do so will be at our next live meeting on Thursday, February 27th.

• Our next gathering will be ZOOM meeting on February 13th at 7 PM when landscape photographer Lee Nordbye will present Making Monochrome Magic, where he will discuss his end-to-end process with a focus on the power of editing..

ImJustSaying2

“If you can’t make the image bigger or more important than what you see, then don’t push the button.” – Ruth Bernhard

 

 

 

January 9 2025

 

 

• This month’s guest speaker, via ZOOM, was UK professional photographer Jane Lazenby, who spoke to The Club about Working With Textures With A Unique Twist.
Jane gave us tips on where to find our own textures, such as old stone, junk yards, abandoned buildings, in galleries and around the house. She suggested photographing these subjects using natural light at a focal distance of 50 mm.

She went on to show us several of her award winning, textured photographs, which we found to be absolutely stunning. From there, Jane showed us how to add a texture to an existing photo by using layers in Photoshop. The ease of her workflow left us all anxious to try our hand at creating our own images using her methods.

You can see more of Jane’s amazing work on her website: www.ejlazenbyphotography.co.uk

The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank Jane for her time and talents.


For a review of what Jane taught us, see her YouTube video below
• Our next meeting will be a “live” meeting at Evangel Church on Thursday, January 23rd at 7 Pm when club member Dave Noordoff will present a tutorial on the Exposure Diamond. We will also have the results of our January Photo Challenge, What I Shoot by Dave Richards and our monthly Print Display, where members are encouraged to bring in a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion.


ImJustSaying2
“Photography is the only language that can be understood anywhere in the world.” – Bruno Barbey

 

 

December 5 2024

 

 

• This evening we followed up on Mike Blazek’s earlier tutorial on Intentional Camera Movement and Combining Photos In Camera. Many of our members brought their cameras to the meeting and shot pictures of the various items that were available, zooming, twisting and using their in-camera methods to combine photos. A few examples of the results can be found on our Club Photos page.


For a review on how to employ these methods, check out these YouTube videos.

How To Combine And Blend Photos In Photoshop

Mastering Multiple Exposures In Camera

• Our next meeting will be a “Zoom” meeting on Thursday, January 9th at 7 Pm when guest presenter Jane Lazenby will teach us about working with textures with a unique twist.

ImJustSaying2
“Great photography is always on the edge of failure.” – Garry Winogrand.

 

 

 

November 28 2024

 

• Club member Mike Blazek presented a lecture on Intentional Camera Movement, where we can create some interesting images by moving, twisting or zooming our lens in or out. Mike also talked about making multiple exposures in-camera for some fascinating results. Thanks Mike! Your lesson gave us some inspiration to seek out and capture some new and exciting images.


For more on ICM, see this YouTube video.

• Our featured photographer in What I Shoot was Brian Marchand, who showed us some of his nature, landscapes, travel and zoo animal photos. Nice job, Brian! We really enjoyed your show.

• Entries from our November Photo Challenge were reviewed. You can see Jeff and Wendy’s YouTube video for all of the images and their scores.

• Mike and Keith reviewed some of the beautiful prints that were brought in for display. Thanks to everyone who brought one in. Your next chance to show us a print will be on Thursday, January 23rd.

• Our next meeting will be another live meeting on December 5th at 7 PM when we will have a workshop on Intentional Camera Movement. Bring your camera to the meeting and have some fun!

ImJustSaying2

“A good picture knows how to communicate the emotion that created it.” – Willy Ronis

Symmetry in Photography: A Comprehensive Guide 

 

 

November 14 2024

 

 

Our guest speaker for the evening was Chris Moore, who presented his tips and tricks on photo printing and framing. The Club wishes to thank Chris for his time and talents.


For more about printing, check out this YouTube video by Jared Polin.

Our next meeting will be a “live” meeting at Evangel Church on Thursday, November 28th at 7 Pm when Mike Blazek will speak to us about Multiple Exposures and In-Camera Movement.


ImJustSaying2

“The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.” – Annie Leibovitz


QuickTip

Auto White Balance:

Should You Really Use It for Photography?

 

 

 

October 24 2024

 

 

• Club member Chris Jorgensen presented a tutorial on how to make a panorama.

Chris started with a caution that reminded us to allow room for cropping at the bottom of the frame while taking the original photos. He went on to show us how to stitch and fill our panoramas in Lightroom and Photoshop. The Club thanks Chris for his well organized presentation. It has opened up new possibilities for many of us.

For a review, check out these YouTube videos
How To Make A Panorama In Photoshop

How To Make A Panorama in Lightroom

• Entries from our October Photo Challenge were reviewed with Stacy Arnold, Kim Charron and Janet Fraser scoring 21.5 pts each in the Intermediate Division. Jeff McDonald with 25 pts, Penny Rintoul with 24 pts, and Martha Gilliar with 22.5 pts led the Advanced group. The Salon class saw Linda Pepper (25 pts), Jim Pollock (23.5 pts) and Tere Deslippe (22.5 pts) gaining top marks. The top scoring shots can be seen on our Club Photos page.
Our next Challenge topic will be Scapes for the Novice and Pet / Domesticated Animals for IAS

• Mike and Keith reviewed some of the excellent prints that were brought in for display. Thanks to all who participated. Your next chance to show us a print will be on Thursday, November 28th.

• Our next meeting will be a live event at Evangel Church on November 14th at 7 PM when guest speaker Chris Moore will discuss Printing and Framing.

ImJustSaying2

All the technique in the world doesn’t compensate for the inability to notice. – Elliot Erwitt


 

 

October 10 2024

 

 

• Club member Keith Blackwell spoke to The Club about On-Camera Flash.


Keith explained that one of the reasons that we use flash is to separate the subject from the background and therefore we are actually dealing with two exposures. He went on to say that the basic properties of light are quality, quantity and direction. From there Keith spoke about basic flash operations and how to adjust our individual units.

Keith left us with this flash exercise to try on our own:

Set both your camera and flash unit to manual mode (don’t use ETTL on your flash).
Set your camera to ISO 100 or 200, Aperture f/8 and 1/100 Shutter Speed.
Set your flash to 1/1 (full strength) output power if it’s not already.
Choose a subject where the background is far away (don’t stand a subject right against a wall or tree).
Stand roughly five meters from your subject and take a test shot. Preview the image on your back LCD screen and take note of the light falling on your subject versus your background.
The result isn’t important for now. This experiment is purely for learning purposes.

Now adjust your Aperture from f/8 to f/16 and take another test shot. Notice this time the flash hitting your subject is darker. Next, adjust the Aperture from f/16 to f/4.6. This time notice the light hitting your subject is brighter.
Re-adjust the Aperture back to f/8.
By now you should understand that adjusting your Aperture will effect the flash output hitting your main subject.
Next you’ll learn how to darken or lighten your background (ambient light). Select a slower Shutter Speed, for example 1/20 second. Take a test shot. Notice how the background in the resulting image is now much brighter?
Now select a faster Shutter Speed of 1/200 sec or 1/250 (the maximum sync speed for your flash model). Notice how your background is now darker?

For another look at basic flash use, check out this YouTube video.
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• Our next meeting will be a live get-together on October 24th at 7 PM when Chris Jorgensen will give a presentation on how to create a panorama.
– We will also review the results of our October Photo Challenge.
– Members are encouraged to take part in our montly Print Display by bringing in a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion.

ImJustSaying2

“The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.” – Gordon Parks

25 Common Photography Abbreviations Explained