Our presenter this evening was Club member Mike Blazek, who spoke to us about “Capturing The Light”. Mike went over some of the history of image making, dating back to cave drawings, then canvas paintings, to early advances in photography. The one constant was how the direction of light was the key to interesting images. The Club thanks Mike for his fascinating presentation. We all learned a lot.

Dave Noordhoff was our featured presenter in our monthly feature What I Shoot. Dave concentrated on a trip he took to New Mexico where he captured images of rock formations, caves, mountains, abandoned places, churches, a hot air balloon festival and locally grown food. Dave’s photos gave us a clear indication of what great photo-ops await us in the American South-West. Let’s hope we get the chance to go there soon.

Jana Smith reviewed the submissions to January’s Photo Challenge. High scores went to Keith Blackwell (25 pts and 23.5 pts), Linda Pepper (25 pts) and Kellie Watson (23.5). You can see these excellent photos on our Club Photos page.

We remind everyone that several new items have been added to The Club’s Buy/Sell page.

Our next ZOOM meeting will be held in two weeks, on February 9th at 7PM. Former Chatham Camera Club member turned pro photographer, Chad Barry will present “A Look At Post-Processing.”

The camera is sometimes an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong.

We regret to announce the passing of one of the Chatham Camera Club’s most senior members, Les McCracken.

Les was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1926 and served as a motorcycle dispatch rider during the Second World War. In 1957, he and his wife Jean and their three children emigrated to Canada where he went to work for Union Gas in Chatham. Les retired from the company in 1991 after thirty-four years.

He was a member of our organization as far back as the late 1950s and became one of the most respected and well-liked people in the group, eventually being named as a Lifetime Member. Always eager to help others along in their photographic journey, we could always count on Les to share his vast wealth of knowledge.

Les will be greatly missed by many of our senior members for his friendly, out-going personality, his quick wit, and his willingness to help The Club. He took great delight in offering up little pearls of wisdom in his charming, Irish brogue. For those who didn’t have the pleasure of knowing him, you missed a real treasure.

Some examples of Les’ fine work can be seen on our Photo In Focus page.

• Meeting host Julie Faas introduced fellow Club member, Dave Noordhoff, who presented the photo editing program, Luminar 4. Dave began by showing us how to lighten, darken and straighten photos. From there, he went on to explain how to replace the sky, remove spots and enhance details. Finally, he demonstrated how to enhance a portrait by smoothening skin, whiten eyes, remove blemishes, darken lips and slim a face.

We want to thank Dave for his well-planned, easy to understand tutorial on Luminar 4. Several of the Club’s more experienced members have been using it for some time now, and would highly recommend it.

• Our next meeting will be held in two weeks, on Tuesday, January 26^th, 2021 when Club member Mike Blazek will speak on “Capturing The Light”. Mike is a very experienced and accomplished photographer who always gives us very informative presentations.

• Dave Noordhoff will be featured in What I Shoot

• We will review our January Photo Challenge
Novice Category is “Perfect Timing/Frozen Motion”
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon Category is “Silhouette”
To be submitted to ccc.picsubmissions@gmail.com by Midnight, Sunday, January 17th.
Instructions on how to enter the photo challenges can be found HERE.

If you succeed in everything you’re doing, you’re attempting things that are too easy.

Tips on cropping your images.

• Zoom Meeting host Julie Faas introduced our guest speaker, Andrew McLachlan, who presented a tutorial called Ontario And Beyond: Wild Places, Wild Faces. Andrew showed us his remarkable collection of photos from the Amazon Rain Forest, the Caribbean and various Ontario provincial parks. Throughout his presentation, he explained how he uses a tripod, neutral density filters and polarizing filters to capture his scenic, nature, macro and nightscape images. Judging from the number of questions asked and the compliments he received, it’s clear that Andrew’s show generated a lot of interest from our members. The Chatham Camera Club thanks Andrew for sharing his time and talents with us. For those who are interested, Andrew’s E-books can be found on his website, www.AndrewMcLachlan.ca.

• Because of the Christmas holidays, our next meeting will be held in five weeks, on Tuesday, January 12^th, 2021 when Dave Noordhoff will speak on how to use the excellent photo editing program Luminar 4.

Capture the beauty in the mundane and you have a winning photograph.

8 Secrets For Sharper Wildlife Photos

Our guest speaker for the evening was Ian Sanderson, who presented a tutorial on Cell Phone Photography. He showed us several side by side comparisons of shots taken with a cell phone and a DSLR that were very close in image quality. Ian pointed out that an estimated two to three billion pictures are taken every day using cell phones, and that the genre has become so popular, the Canadian Association for Photographic Art has started to include it in their photo competitions. The Chatham Camera Club thanks Ian for his knowledge and his photos with us. His presentation was very enlightening.

Julie Faas was highlighted in our monthly feature What I Shoot where she showed us her impressive collection of photos that included flowers, scenic, macro, pets, nature and travel Thank you Julie. We loved your show.

Helen Heath led a review of the club’s November Photo Challenge. High scores among the Novice members were achieved by Lynn Brown (22.5) and Kim Charron (22.5).
Top marks in the Intermediate/Advanced/Salon group went to Tere Deslippe (25.5), Linda Pepper (24.5) and Keith Blackwell (24.5). You can see the top scoring shots on our Club Photos page.

Keith Blackwell demonstrated how some of our Photo Challenge entries could possibly have been improved. Thanks Keith. Nice job!

Our next ZOOM meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 8^th when our guest speaker will be nature photographer Andrew McLauchlan, who will present Ontario And Beyond: Wild Places, Wild Faces.

The best thing about a picture is that even when people in it change, the memory it contains never will.

7 Smart Phone Tips and Tricks

Our guest speaker for the evening was Antony Chodus, owner of Camera Canada.

Antony talked about What’s New In The Camera World, and told us what Sony, Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Panasonic and Pentax are concentrating on these days. He also answered several questions from our members regarding how to adapt to mirrorless technology and showed us some new video equipment.
The Chatham Camera Club would like to thank Antony for his time and his presentation. We invite all of our members to visit his store, Camera Canada at 217 Dundas St, in London, or online at CameraCanada.com for all of your photo equipment needs.

Our next ZOOM meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 24^th when our guest speaker will be Ian Sanderson, who will present a tutorial on Cell Phone Photography and Some Drone Shots.
– Julie Faas will be featured in What I Shoot
– We will review our November Photo Challenge
Novice Category is “Looking Up”
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon Category is “Perfect Timing/Frozen Motion”
Entries are to be submitted to ccc.picsubmissions@gmail.com by Midnight, November 15th

You only get one sunrise and one sunset a day, and you only get so many days on the planet. A good photographer does the math and doesn’t waste either.

What is a Stop?
The Common Currency of Exposure Explained

Our October 27th ZOOM meeting was another success thanks to our guest speaker Russ Chantler, who provided us with Tips On Bird Photography. Mr. Chantler’s presentation showed many fine examples of his excellent work along with explanations of what equipment he uses and how to find and approach your subjects. His advice for photographing birds was to remember the three Ps: Preparation, Persistence and Patience. The Chatham Camera Club thanks Russ for his time, his photo tips and his slideshow.

Martha Gillier was our featured photographer in What I Shoot, where she showed her travel photos from Europe and Cambodia. Thanks Martha! We now have an insight as to what it would be like to travel to these exciting locations. If anyone missed it or would like to see it again, here is the link to : Martha’s slide show

Competition Manager Jana Smith showed us the results from our October Photo Challenge where we saw several wonderful images. High marks went to Kim Charron (25 pts), Keith Blackwell (24 and 24.5 pts), Jeff McDonald ( 23.5 pts) and Jim Pollock (24 pts). You can view the top scoring shots on our
Club Photos page.

Our next ZOOM meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 10th when Antony Chodus from Canada Camera will be on hand to discuss What’s New In The Camera World. Antony’s presentations are always thoughtful and entertaining, so if you have any questions regarding mirrorless cameras, lenses, lighting or anything else related to photography, be sure to join us.

A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they’ll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won’t do a thing for you if you don’t have anything in your head or in your heart.

The Real Consequences of Taking a Break from Photography

Our friend and fellow Club member Margaret DeClerk passed away suddenly on Saturday, October 17th, 2020.

Margaret began taking pictures when she retired from teaching in 2012. Although she excelled at all types of photography, her grandchildren were her favourite subjects. Margaret once told us that she learned a great deal after joining the Chatham Camera Club. She was always keen to participate at our meetings and was an enthusiastic participant in our monthly photo challenges. In 2017, Margaret was named The Club’s Most Improved Photographer. Our deepest sympathy to her many friends and family. She will be missed.