Cheryl Prince, a former Chatham Camera Club member and wife of our long-time friend Andy Stockdill, passed away on April 3^rd 2018. Our sincerest condolences to her family and friends.

April’s featured photographer is Bill Henry.

To learn more about Bill and his photographic interests, take a look at our
Photo In Focus page.

46 members and 4 guests turned out for our March 27^th meeting.

• President Carson Plant told the membership about a recent photo shoot he attended at Milestone Studios in Windsor. Their hourly rental rate is $35 per hour. If anyone would be interested in attending our own gathering there, let Carson know.

• Carson introduced our guest speaker, Stephen Slack, co-founder of the Forest City Photographers Guild and owner of Art In Motion Digital Imagery.

Stephen gave a presentation called Creating Digital Art, which he began by introducing us to a slogan he uses to produce his work: “If you don’t have the visual concept, the tools do not work.” In other words, it’s not the software that makes the image, it’s the artist. Stephen showed us three slideshows of his amazing digital art where he stylized photos of famous people, vintage autos and modified scenery using various Photoshop plug-ins and his own imagination. We would like to thank Stephen and his assistant Dave Wellington for making the trip to Chatham and for giving us all a new direction to take our own photography.

• Scores were announced from this month’s CCC Photo Competition, with the Novices competing in a category called Rack The Lens. High marks went to Bill Henry (24 pts and 23.5 pts), Jana Smith (23.5 pts) and Wendy McDonald and Margaret DeClerk (both with 22 pts). The Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members were judged on their Rusty pictures where Tere Deslippe (24 pts and 23.5 pts), Keith Blackwell (24 pts) and Paul Schmoldt (23.5 pts and 23.5 pts), obtained the highest scores. Jim Pollock (23.5 pts) Jean DeBruyn (23 pts) and David Barr (23 pts) also did well. You can see the top scoring shots of the night on our Club Photos page.

• The membership responded to our President’s request to bring in some of their best prints as several excellent photos were on display. Our final print display of the season will be held April 24^th and we’d love to see a couple of yours. Any size and subject is welcome.

• Our next meeting will be held on April 10^th when our guest speaker will be pro photographer Bret Culp who will be on hand to discuss How To Find Your Photographic Style. Bret will also reveal some of his secrets for shooting Black And White photography. This is one meeting you don’t want to miss. As always, visitors are more than welcome to attend free of charge.

Beginners worry about cost.
Amateurs worry about equipment.
Professionals worry about light.

What’s all the fuss about Back Button Focus
What is it and why should you try it?

• 29 members and 2 guests attended our meeting.

• Dave Noordhoff presented Using The Exposure Triangle To Shoot In Manual Mode.

The group was shown a series of examples where we would decide what the main consideration would be before taking a photo, ISO, shutter speed or aperture. Using 100 ISO to insure minimum digital noise, we looked at photo examples where a large or shallow depth of field would be the most desirable, as well as some scenes where we would choose a fast shutter speed to capture motion or a slow shutter speed to attain desired blur. Club members wish to thank Dave for his excellent presentation. Many of us, new and not so new, learned more about the exposure triangle.
You can review or download Dave’s tutorial on The Exposure Triangle here.

For a review, take a look at this YouTube video on Shooting In Manual Mode.

Our next meeting will be held on March 27 when professional photographer Steven Slack will present Creating Digital Art. We will also review the results from our latest CCC photo competition: Give Me Space for the Novice group, and Rusty for Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members. We would like to invite all of our members to bring in a print of any size, any subject, to be viewed before the meeting begins and during the break.

To create interesting light, you have to create interesting shadows.
So, look at the light and think about the shadows.

What are all those icons on top of your camera?
Learn all about them in
Finding Your Way Around The Mode Dial

This month’s subject for Photo In Focus is Laura Jasper

To find out more about Laura and her photography, see our Photo In Focus page.

Back after another unplanned interruption, 40 members, including 3 new ones, and 1 guest attended our February 27^th meeting. Our room access problems appear to have been solved.

• Vince Gagnier introduced long-time member Nelson Harrison who presented an excellent tutorial on How To Photograph Butterflies.

The key points from Nelson’s presentation were provided to those in attendance in the form of a hand-out. The Club wishes to thank Nelson for his time and efforts and we look forward to more in the near future.

• Pat Beaton was featured in our What I Shoot segment where she showed us some of her favourite photographs. Her collection of landscape, nature, scenic, architecture, flowers and people photos revealed just how accomplished Pat has become in just a few short years. Congratulations Pat! We loved your show.

• Scores from our latest CCC Photo Competition were announced, with the Novice group showing their Rack The Lens creations. The top scoring shots were entered by Wendy McDonald (23.5 pts), Jeff McDonald (22.5 pts) and Bill Henry (22 pts). The Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members competed in a category called Give Me Space where Paul Schmoldt (24 pts), Jim Pollock (24 pts), and John St. Pierre (23.5 pts) were given the top marks. Tere Deslippe (23 pts) Carson Plant (22.5 pts) and Gavin Stewart (22.5 pts) also scored well. You can see these photos on our Club Photos page.

• With only nine prints brought in, our discussion about them was brief, but favorable. Our next print display will be held next March 27^th. Remember, prints can be of any size and subject and we’d love to see one or two of yours. As our most senior member, Les McCracken is so fond of saying, “It’s not a picture until it’s printed.”

• Our next meeting will be held on March 13^th when Dave Noordhoff will present Understanding The Exposure Triangle. Mostly aimed at newer shooters, this tutorial will also be of interest to the more experienced photographers as well.

Ansel Adams may have said it best,
“The whole key lies in first visualizing the image you want,
rather than just snapping away.”

If you need to focus closer to your subject, try Extension Tubes

This month we shine our spotlight on Dennis Mackness.

To learn more about Dennis and his photographic interests, take a peek at our
Photo In Focus page.

Facing yet another night of poor driving conditions, 55 members and 2 guests attended our meeting.

• President Carson Plant introduced our own Mike Blazek, who spoke to us about How To Rack The Lens. Mike began his presentation by showing a collection of images that he made using zooming techniques, an area of photography that he excels in. He then went on to explain some of the different methods he uses.

– Zoom Effect – where you use a long exposure while manually zooming the lens.
– Zoom And Rotate – a method that involves rotating the camera while manually zooming the lens.
– Vertigo Effect – a technique where you physically move closer or further away from your subject while zooming the lens in or out.

For more information, check out Joe McNally’s YouTube video on

• Jeff McDonald was featured in our What I Shoot segment where he showed a slideshow of some of his favourite images taken in 2017. Jeff’s collection of landscape, portrait, scenic, macro and nature shots were both entertaining and inspiring. Many thanks, Jeff, for a job well done!

• Scores from our third CCC Photo Competition of this season were announced, with the Novice group displaying their My Canada entries. They were led by Catherine Dawson (23.5 pts), Jana Smith (22.5 pts) and Wendy McDonald (22.5 pts). The Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members, entering Rack The Lens pictures, saw Keith Blackwell (23 pts), Paul Schmoldt (22.5pts) and John St. Pierre achieving top marks. You can see the top scoring pics on our Club Photos page.

• Carson Plant reviewed some of the two dozen prints brought in for display, and thanked the membership for their efforts. It was great to see so many participate. Our next print display will be held on February 27^th and we’d love to see a couple of yours.

• Keith Blackwell showed us a print that he had made by a Canadian company called Canvas ‘n’ Décor, who specialize in high quality canvas prints. Thanks for sharing this resource, Keith. Many of our members were very interested.

• The Club held a Buy/Sell event where several pieces of photo equipment changed hands. If you’re still looking to gain or divest yourself of some gear, check out our Buy/Sell page.

• Our next meeting is slated for February 13^th when Dave Noordhoff will present Using The Exposure Triangle To Shoot In Manual Mode. Not just for newer shooters, this in-depth tutorial will also be of interest to the more experienced photographers.

Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see, and everything to do with the way you see them.