The Chatham Camera Club’s meeting room was packed with over 60 members and visitors to hear our guest speaker, Dave Stimac give an informative presentation on photographing North American waterfowl. Mr. Stimac showed an impressive series of Nature, Wild Life, Flowers, Landscapes and Macro shots that clearly demonstrated his considerable skill. He also spoke of the importance of blinds, how to attract birds and the special considerations for successful flight photography. He shared tips on the best timing and locations for waterfowl photography close to home, as well as other hotspots worth visiting.
Using his Nikon D300 camera and a 600 mm lens, Mr. Stimac also offered these tips:
- Keep the sun and the wind at your back.
- Set metering mode to Matrix (Nikon) or Evaluative (Canon, Pentax, Sony)
- Use Auto ISO and Continuous Auto Focus
- Set a wide aperture for stationary birds
- Get down low for swimming birds
- Set a shutter speed of over 1 / 1000 second for moving birds
- Take a test shot first, check the histogram, then adjust the exposure if needed
- Anticipate bird’s behavior, be ready for take-off
- If possible, use a blind or camouflage.
For information on upcoming workshops, visit DavidStimac.com
The Chatham Camera Club would like to thank Mr. Stimac for taking the time to visit and for sharing his methods and his outstanding results.
President Dave Noordhoff informed the membership that judging for our February 25th entries for CAPA Open and Nature will be judged offsite and not at a Club meeting.
Our latest submissions to CAPA were reviewed with several high marks in the Open category enabling The Chatham Camera Club to finish 11th out of 30 competing clubs. Even better results were attained in the Nature category where we ended up 6th out of 31. Well done everyone!
Next up will be our Christmas Breakfast at the Links Of Kent Golf Club, 120 Indian Creek Rd. West, Chatham. On December 7th at 9AM.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 10th when we will judge Novice entries for Night and Open for Intermediate and Advanced members. Dave Noordhoff and Keith Blackwell will review their Contrast Panels assignment. Dave Summerfield will be featured in our What I Shoot segment. Les McCracken will lead a discussion on the prints brought in for display. The Club’s first half activities will be reviewed.
Making photographs is a way to experience beauty
instead of just looking at it.