• 55 members and guests attended the first meeting of the Chatham Camera Club’s 84th season.

• Tere Deslippe read the auditor’s report, prepared by Rick McArthur, which indicated that The Club’s financial books are in order.

• Tere explained how to access the photo magazine’s that The Club sponsors at the Chatham-Kent Public Library.
1- Obtain a library card from the library of get a virtual card on-line from the CK Library web site.
2 – Go to www.Chatham-Kent.ca and click on the link that says “Community Services”, then click “Public Libraries”.
3 – On the library site, find RBDIGITAL on the right hand side of the page.
4 – Click on the icon of the magazine you want to read. You can read them on-line or download them for later viewing. The Club sponsors two digital magazines, Digital Photo and Digital Pro Photo. Other magazines such as Outdoor Photographer are also available.

• President Jim Pollock went over a list of some of the learning and teaching methods that The Club uses, including guest speakers, Club members tutorials, monthly photo challenges and hands-on lessons.

• Jana Smith spoke to us about this year’s Photo Challenge Themes.

October 22, 2019 (Submission Date Oct 13)
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon – Perspective/Leading Lines
Novice – Open

November 26 2019 (Submission Date November 17 2019)
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon – Crumbling Buildings/Ruins
Novice – Perspective/Leading Lines

January 29, 2020 (Submission Date January 19 2020)
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon – Windows and Doors
Novice – Crumbling Buildings/Ruins

February 25 2020 (Submission Date February 16 2020)
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon – Long Exposure/Night
Novice – Windows and Doors

March 25 2020 (Submission Date March 15 2020)
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon – Macro
Novice – Long Exposure/Night

April 28 2020 (Submission Date April 19 2020)
Intermediate/Advanced/Salon – Open Black And White
Novice – Macro

Instructions on how to prepare your Photo Challenge entries can be found
On This Page.

• Jim Pollock went over some of the points to consider if you are asked to judge one of our Photo Challenges. Points to be considered are Colour, Lighting, Exposure, Sharpness, Distractions, Composition, Subject, Imagination and Impact. Jim also explained the importance of Bias Avoidance. Don’t let your personal feelings about a photo’s subject influence your score. A scoring guideline would be: 4 pts for extremely poor with major faults, 5 pts for a fair image with some possible faults, 6 pts for an image that is technically good with average impact, 7 to 8 points for an excellent image with above average impact and 9 to 10 points for an exceptional image with a great “Wow!” factor.

• Chris Jorgensen led a discussion about the use of filters, including Neutral Density, Polarizers and Ultra Violet.

• Keith Blackwell and Dave Noordhoff commented on several of the prints that were brought in for display and discussion. If you would like to participate in our Print Displays, your next opportunity will be at the October 22nd meeting.

• Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 8^th when our guest speaker will be Sherry Butts from the London Camera Club who will speak to us about how to get the most out of Macro Photography.

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

6 Tips for Creating Leading Lines to Make Your Photos Stand Out More

The 84th season of The Chatham Camera Club will begin on Tuesday, September 24^th at 7 PM. We meet at Evangel Community Church, 76 Sandys St. Chatham (across from Sara’s market). Come around to the back door. Photographers of all experience levels are welcome. You may attend two meetings for free to see if we’re a good fit. Over the course of our year we will present lessons, tutorials and guest speakers that will inform, entertain and help all of us learn and advance our photography skills. You can check out what we have planned for this year on the Meeting Schedule page. We hope to see you on the 24^th.

Two dozen CCC members and guests gathered at Wes Thompson’s garage to photograph his collection of antique cars, trucks and fire fighting equipment. The Club thanks Wes for his hospitality. We had a great time! You can see a few pics from the event on our Club Photos page.

The Club enjoyed a turnout of 15 members and 2 guests at our July 16^th Walk-About.
To see some of the pictures from that night, check out our Club Photos page.

Our final meeting of the season was attended by 40 members.

• Tere Deslippe presented A Year In Review in which we looked back on another successful season at the Chatham Camera Club. The highlights were:
– Our What I Shoot segment featured Jean DeBruyn, Bill Henry, Kathy Burke, Clark Warner, Barb Ferren, Wendy McDonald, Ric Aarsen, Herman Geithorn, Mike Blazek and Keith Blackwell.
– Featured workshops were : Macro And Close-Up Event, An Introduction To Tripods, and How I Shot This Picture.
– Skills That We Touched on included: the Histogram, Bracketing, Focus Points, Exposure Compensation and Demystifying Flash. Thanks to Nelson Harrison, Dave Noordhoff, Paul Schmoldt and Mike Blazek for your time and efforts.

– Our Guests Speakers were:
Wayne Fisher – Architecture & Minimalism. Fine Art B&W
Antony Chodus – Camera Canada
O.P.P. Forensic Photographer – Mark Lancaster
Chad Barry – The Telephoto Landscape: A different Perspective
Neil Ever-Osborne – Conservation/Nature Photographer

– A special thanks goes out to Jana Smith and Helen Heath for their dedication and commitment in handling our monthly Photo Challenges.

– If you could spare some time, we can really use your help on the Scheduling Committee. We just need you attend a couple of meetings and make a few phone calls. Contact Mary @mmcraig39@Hotmail.com or Tere @ slipp@ciaccess.com

• Club President Jim Pollock presented a slide show that explained the importance of our monthly photo challenges as a learning tool. He also informed us that we should only lighten, darken, sharpen, straighten, adjust the saturation and remove distractions to all of our challenge entries. The exception to these rules is the Open category, in which any adjustment, including adding elements, is allowed.

• CCC Photo Challenge managers Helen Heath and Jana Smith announced this season’s award winners:

SALON
1) Keith Blackwell + 6 HM + 2nd runner up-Photo of the Year
2) Jim Pollock + 4 HM + 1st runner up-Photo of the Year
3) Dave Noordhoff + 2 HM

ADVANCED
1) Linda Pepper + 6 HM + Photo of the Year
2) Tere Deslippe + 2 HM
3) Mary Craig + 2 HM

INTERMEDIATE
1) Jana Smith
2) Reagan Smolders
3) Bill Henry + 1 HM

NOVICE
1) Wendy McDonald + 1 HM
2) Jeff McDonald + 2 HM
3) Kathy Burke + Most Improved + 1 HM
Al Little – Highest scoring new member 2019

Photo of the Year 2019 – Linda Pepper – Frog in Pond

Photo of the Year 1st runner up 2019 – Jim Pollock – Mennonite Farmers

Photo of the Year 2nd runner up 2019 – Keith Blackwell – Pink Gerber Daisy

Honourable Mentions (for scores of 23 or better)

1 HM 2019 Butch Dompierre
1 HM 2019 Debby Venne
1 HM 2019 Janet Fraser
1 HM 2019 Jean DeBruyn
1 HM 2019 Rochella Mulhern
1 HM 2019 Martha Gillier

Photos of Award Recipients are on our Club Photos page.

• Club officers for the 2019 – 2020 season were announced as:
– President: Jim Pollock
– Vice-Presidents: Ric Aarssen
– Treasurer: Julie Fass
– Secretary: Barb Ferren
– Executive Assistants: Tere Deslippe and Mary Craig
– Competition Managers: Helen Heath and Jana Smith
– Welcoming Manager: Catherine Dawson
– Facebook Page Co-ordinator: Kathryn Parent
– Website co-ordinator: Jim Pollock

44 members attended our April 23^rd meeting.

• Ted Kloske of Henry’s Camera in Windsor will be running a Speedlight Basics course called Show Me The Light on June 2^nd in Chatham. Some of us have attended Ted’s programs in the past and we can guarantee that you will come away a much more knowledgeable photographer.

• Club President Jim Pollock reminded the membership that there will be Club executive positions open at the end of next season. The current executive will be stepping down, although they will still be available to help anyone interested in filling these positions. If you’d like to see The Chatham Camera Club continue, please consider helping out next year. We need folks to help plan our meetings, contact guest speakers, get the coffee ready, and run the meetings. If you have even a little time to spare, kindly let us know. We’d love to have your help.

• Ric Aarsen was featured in our What I Shoot segment, where he talked about his methods of taking some of his favourite photos. Thanks Ric! We loved your unique approach to this project.

• Competition manager Jana Smith showed us the entries from out final Photo Challenge of the season. The scores and final results with be revealed at our May 14^th meeting.

• Jana also announced the Photo Challenge categories for next season. In no particular order, they will be:

Macro
Long Exposure
Ruins/Crumbling Buildings
Perspective/Leading Lines
Windows/Doors
Open Black and White

• Mike Blazek and Keith Blackwell commented on some of the excellent prints that were brought in for display and discussion. Thanks to all of those who participated in this series over the course of the past season. We saw some wonderful images and we look forward to more next year.

• Mike Blazek presented an excellent tutorial called Demystifying Flash where he showed the group some on-camera flash basics. After Mike’s lesson, we broke up into small groups and tried out some of our new skills. Great job, Mike! We all took a giant step forward in our photography journey.

For a review, check out this YouTube video on Speedlight Basics

• Our final meeting of the season will take place on May 14^th when our annual Photo Challenge Awards will be announced. Those finishing first, second or third in their division will be presented with a certificate. Awards for high scoring photos and Photo Of The Year will also be handed out.

Beauty can be seen in all things. Seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph.

• 54 members attended our meeting.

• President Jim Pollock introduced our guest speaker, Neil Ever Osborne, who spoke to us about how he uses photography to promote awareness of environmental issues. His short film presentation encouraged us all to respect nature when we go out to photograph birds and wildlife. A question and answer period cleared up some of the challenges that Neil faces in his never-ending quest to advocate for real conservation outcomes. The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank Neil for his entertaining and enlightening presentation.

Neil Ever Osborne

• Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 23^rd when Mike Blazek will present Demystifying Flash. Members are encouraged to bring their cameras and flash units to this meeting. If you do not yet own a flash, some will be on hand for you to use.

• Ric Aarsen will be featured in What I Shoot.

• We will have our final Print Display of the season, so if you have a print you’d like to share, any size, any subject, we’d love to see it.

• CCC Photo Challenge images will be reviewed.
– Novice – Interesting furniture
– Intermediate, Advanced, Salon – Open

Cameras don’t take great pictures any more than typewriters write great novels.

Jared Polin explains The Secret “MATH” of Photography

We regret to announce that former Chatham Camera Club member Fred Schaller has passed away in his 81st year. For over ten years Fred served as Treasurer of The Club and is remembered for keeping track of our records with an adding machine and paper and pencil. Although he seldom entered photo competitions, Fred rarely missed a meeting until stepping away in 2012 due to health reasons. He will be fondly remembered by all who knew him.