Welcoming Manager Margaret Chrysler introduced 8 visitors to a gathering of 62 members at our first Workshop meeting of the season.

Vice-President Vince Gagnier reminded the Club that the Sarnia Photographic Club is hosting an event featuring nature photographer Chris Harris on Saturday, November 9th at the Sarnia Library from 9 to 5. The cost to attend is $50.

Executive Assistant Chris Jorgensen told us about a Nature Photography Day at the Circle R Ranch, 3017 Carriage Rd, Delaware on October 19th from 9AM to 2:30 PM. The cost is $12 each or $30 for a family of four.

Frank Vadovic introduced our guest speaker, Ted Kloske of Henry’s Photo in Windsor. Ted began by showing us What’s New in the world of photography by introducing some exciting new products, including:
• Super Wi Fi, which will allow cameras to connect with smart phones and home computers.
• GoPro Hero 3, a waterproof high-definition sports & helmet camera.
• Samsung Smart Camera, which features built-in Wi Fi.
• Mirrorless Cameras
• Micro Four Thirds cameras

Ted also presented a wonderful Nature and Macro Photography slide show which was highlighted by the many excellent shots he was able to obtain using a variety of Macro lenses, extension tubes and bellows. The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank Ted for his fascinating and informative presentation and we look forward to seeing him again soon.

Print Manager Les McCracken reviewed the prints set up for display and handed out many deserving compliments. Members are invited to bring in a print of any size and subject to the November 12th meeting and show the rest of the Club some of your favourite photos.

Reagan Smolders was featured in our What I Shoot segment, where she showed an eclectic collection of Portrait, Landscape, Scenic and Macro shots in a well organized slideshow. Well done Reagan!

Paul Schmoldt gave a presentation aimed at both Photo competition judges and participants. Here are some things to look for:

1. The Picture must fit the category
• if “so-so” or if “right on”, then the score must reflect it.

2. Wow factor
• look for good composition, cropping, leading lines, shapes, perspective and effective empty space
• Colour (or if B/W toning-grey scale)
• Distracting elements (light or dark spots), pleasing background, horizon straight if intended
• Is the image creative or a just a “record shot”

3. Centre of Interest / Focal point
• Is the photo telling a story!

4. Technical Aspect
• Proper exposure
• Pleasing contrast
• Good Lighting
• Sharp focus with blur intend / depth of field
(hint: animals and people – Focus on the eyes)
• Post processing that enhances the image

As a judge, don’t get influenced by:
• Unusualness of subject – if it is something not normally / often seen like “place on earth”, buildings or animals
• How long it took or how difficult it was to make or acquire shot
As a judge, TAKE YOUR TIME TO PROPERLY ASSESS THE IMAGE

ADDENDUM

Sizing 1400 x 1050 max. but recommended for full impact.
Email – as a jpg file to Paul at viking@mnsi.net no later than the Friday night before the competition date.
Naming must be correct. It has to be the actual jpg picture file that is named
For example: MaryB-Food1-2014-1-28.jpg for CCC competitions (second image to be named “Food2”) or
MaryB-CAPA-N-Hummingbird-2014-1-28.jpg for CAPA competitions (CAPA-O for Open theme).
Complete competition instructions further down on this page (posted September 15. 2013)

CCC members are encouraged to submit photos for our October 22^nd meeting. These competitions are designed to help expand our photographic experience by shooting things you may not have thought about previously.

• CAPA Judging: Open – 1 entry per per member
• CAPA Judging: Nature – 1 entry per member
• CCC Judging for Novice members: Open – B/W or Monochrome
• CCC Judging for Intermediate and Advanced members: Night

Seeing and composing beauty is what separates
a snapshot from a photograph.

Our Featured Photographer is Pat Beaton.

Pat was instrumental in setting up our 2012 Walk-About at Maple Leaf Cemetery. Her ability to find interesting subjects and her keen eye for composition and colour have enabled her to improve greatly as a photographer since joining The Club, as can be seen on our Photo In Focus page.

Our President, Dave Noordhoff, kicked off the Chatham Camera Club’s 78th year by welcoming a large contingent of familiar faces as well as eleven new ones. This Orientation Meeting was intended to explain some Club competition procedures as well as reviewing our Summer activities and upcoming events.

Bob Allen confirmed this year’s Christmas Breakfast at the Links Of Kent golf club on December 7th at 9 AM.

An explanation of some minor changes to our Constitution concerning the duties of the Treasurer and the Club’s fiscal year was presented by Executive Assistant Chad Berry. We will vote on those changes at our October 8th meeting.

Vice-President Vince Gagnier informed the Club that the Sarnia Photographic Club was hosting an event featuring nature photographer Chris Harris on Saturday, November 9th at the Sarnia Library from 9 to 5. The cost to attend is $50.

Dave Noordhoff passed on a note from the London Camera Club that award winning professional photographer Deborah Sandidge will be their featured speaker on Thursday, October 10th from 7:30 to 9:30 for a fee of just $5. Anyone interested can contact Dave for more details as several of our members are going to attend.

The Club was treated to an excellent slide show featuring photos taken during our Summer Walk-Abouts in Ridgetown, Bothwell Oil Museum / Oakdale gas station and Erieau. It brought back a lot of good memories of three great outings. Ya shoulda been there!

Chad Berry gave an excellent presentation aimed at introducing our new members to our CAPA and CCC photo competitions. We were all reminded that these competitions are aimed at improving our photo techniques and to provide us with some fresh inspiration to get out and shoot.

Patricia Kral was featured in our What I Shoot segment, where she showed us her wonderful shots from both the present and the past. Well done Patricia!

Our next meeting will be held on October 8th when Ted Kloske of Henry’s Photo in Windsor will present a seminar on Macro Photography. Our members are invited to bring a print of any size, any theme, for display.

They told me it’s the photographer, not the equipment,
that makes a good picture, so I sold my camera.

This month’s featured shooter is Andy Stockdill.

Andy is an enthusiastic member of our club who is always willing to share his knowledge and experience. He participates in our photo competitions and walk-abouts and enjoys taking candid shots of other members. Andy also excels in nature and scenic photography, as shown by the examples on our Photo In Focus page.

Thanks to all of those who participated in our gathering on Friday, August 16, at Erieau. It proved to be our most popular outing of the summer. Photos from all of this year’s Walk-Abouts will be shown at an upcoming meeting.

Our featured photographer is Sherrie Johnson.

Sherrie is a former professional photographer who specialized in school photos, sports and weddings. Her main interest has been portraits, but she has recently become interested in Nature photography as well. A member of the Chatham Camera Club for the past two seasons, Sherrie has also started to participate in Club Competitions, achieving several high marks. You can see a brief sample of her work on our Photo In Focus page.

Always strive to be the kind of photographer you’d like to meet.

OurJuly 21^st Walk-About at The Bothwell Oil Museum and Wayne Chapman’s restored gas station / garage was a huge success. Those who participated found a large number of interesting things to photograph.

Our next outing will be held in Erieau on Friday, August 16^th at 8 PM, when we will have multiple opportunities to take “Night Shots”. Members and guests are encouraged to join us. Details to follow.