Our February 23^rd meeting was attended by 38 members and 3 guests.

• Our main topic for the evening was Photo Equipment I’m Glad I Bought, where several of our members showed us photo accessories that have helped them achieve a desired result.

– Mike Moynihan has been very pleased with a monitor calibration tool called ColorMunki that has helped him make sure his colours are accurate and match his printer.

Another of Mike’s recommendations for outdoor shooting is a Pelican 1510 Carry-On Case. He uses his to carry and store his gear in cold weather and says it helps keep condensation to a minimum. The case, which sells for around $160, is water and dust proof and has adjustable dividers.

– Jim Pollock showed us two rain jackets for shooting in inclement weather: An economy model called an Op/Tech Rainsleeve that sells for around $10, and a more rugged Kata Rain Cover which retails for $49. Both of these products do an excellent job of keeping water and dust away from your camera and lenses.

Jim also gets good use out of his Chair Blind, which enables him to stay out of sight from wildlife and get close enough to photograph them. The Ameristep One-Man Chair Blind is available from Canadian Tire for $100.

– Chris Jorgensen showed a couple of after-market camera straps that replace the standard rough-edged straps that often dig into our necks and cause irritation. The first was a Black Rapid strap which allows the user to carry a camera at your side for quick access. The second was the very popular OP/TECH Pro Loop Strap that is used by many of our club’s experienced members.

– Vince Gagnier encouraged us to purchase a good quality tripod the first time instead of buying a cheaper model that usually proves unsatisfactory and often gets replaced at additional expense. Vince recommended a light weight carbon fiber tripod with a ball head as shown in these examples. If you need advice on buying your first tripod, Vince or any of our other senior members will be glad to help you.

To go along with your tripod, Vince also suggests getting a remote switch to trigger your shutter without touching the camera and causing vibration.

A photo vest is also on Vince’s list of preferred equipment. Large pockets give quick access to filters, triggers, spare batteries and other small items.
Vince likes to carry his gear with a Cotton Carrier system such as the ones shown HERE

• The results of this month’s CCC Photo Competition were reviewed with top marks in the Novice division going Jana Smith, Debby Venn, Barb Ferren and Danielle Gagnier, who all scored 23 for their Cityscape entries.
Linda Pepper (25), Jim Pollock (25), Chad Barry (24), Tere Deslippe (24) and Kellie Watson (24) received the highest scores in the Open: Colour category for the Intermediate, Advanced and Salon groups. Several others had scores of 23 and 22.

• A collection of printed photos were reviewed by Keith Blackwell and Vince Gagnier with several favourable comments being made. Keith also highly recommended Maple Art Gallery in Chatham for custom framing your larger prints.

• Jana Smith was our featured photographer in What I Shoot, where she impressed us with her work in Nature, Scenic and Landscapes. Her excellent composition skills have enabled Jana to compile a great collection of photos from across Canada and we look forward to seeing more in the near future.

• Keith Blackwell presented Twelve Photos In A Year Is A Great Crop, where he chose to display his fascinating People shots. Keith’s many years of experience and accumulated skills have helped him capture energy and emotion in his photos that compel the viewer to ask questions about the subjects. As always, his work has inspired us to achieve his level of excellence.

• Our next meeting will be held on March 8^th when our guest speaker will be professional outdoor photographer Ethan Meleg who will present “The Crazed Photographer.” There will be no extra charge to attend this meeting and all are welcome.

What type of camera one uses is irrelevant. It is how you use it that matters.

Before making an expensive photo purchase, seek the advice of an experienced photographer. Never rely on what a commission sales person tells you.

Inclement weather kept the turnout for our February 9^th meeting to just 33 members.

• Our main topic for the evening was Photo Equipment I Wish I Hadn’t Bought, where some of our members showed the rest of The Club items that either didn’t work as advertised or that are seldom used.

Jim Pollock showed a Better Beamer Flash Extender, which when used gives a “flashed” look to wildlife as opposed to more pleasing natural light. He also shared his experience with an expodisc, a device for helping to set a custom white balance, a process that Jim feels is too tedious and takes too much time when shooting on location.

Chris Jorgensen brought in a portable 40 Gig hard drive that still works well, but at $600 is vastly undersized by today’s standards. He also showed us a Canon 2x teleconverter that extends a lens to twice its length, but sometimes produces soft images.

Standing in for Dave Noordhoff, Vince Gagnier showed Dave’s set of neutral density filters that he bought but never uses because he finds them cumbersome to mount and fiddly to change.

Vince brought in an extra large backpack that turned out to be extremely heavy and difficult to carry when filled. He also showed us his Canon 50mm lens, which although produces sharp results, loses out in favour of more flexible zoom lenses. An Arctic Butterfly sensor cleaner was also on Vince’s list of seldom used purchases. His wet swab sensor cleaners have also been retired.

*Note* The best sensor cleaner that we have found is a Sensor Gel Stick
.
* We must note that all of the above products work well under the right conditions and our members’ only real complaint was that they bought these items but seldom use them. Links are provided for reference only.*

• During the break we were treated to an on-screen display of some of our member’s favourite digital photos as assembled by Dave Noordhoff.

• Chad Barry presented an excellent tutorial on Converting Photos To Black And White using Nik Silver Efex Pro, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom.

• For those using Adobe Photoshop Elements, Tere Deslippe showed us some of the methods she uses to change a colour photo to black and white.

For review, have a look at this page on Black And White Conversion Techniques.

Thanks to all of our presenters who took the time to assemble informative and well thought-out presentations for this evening. The membership appreciates your efforts.

• Our next meeting will be held on February 23^rd when our main topic will be Useful Equipment I’m Glad I Bought, where some of us will share what has worked for them in our efforts to take better photos. Also on tap will be the CCC Competitions for the Novice group (Cityscape) and the Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members (Open in colour). Jana Smith will present What I Shoot and Keith Blackwell will be featured in Twelve Photos In A Year Is A Great Crop. We also invite all of our members to bring in a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion. If you haven’t participated in the print displays before, now is the time! C’mon, show us one of your cool prints.

 
“The term accessories has come to include a host of photographic gadgets of questionable value…” – Ansel Adams

When you take a picture, don’t jab at the shutter button. Squeeze it gently and evenly, eventually getting a feel for exactly when the shutter will trip. This helps reduce camera shake.

Our featured photographer for February is Jacquilne Gruszka

To learn more about Jacquilne’s photographic journey,
see our Photo In Focus page.

54 members and 1 guest were on hand for our January 26^th meeting.

• Sonya Blazek presented a volunteer opportunity at the Thames Art Gallery for those who are interested in emulating the work of Quebec photographer / artist Holly King. The Gallery is looking for one of your landscape photos that will be turned into transparencies. You would then work with other artists who would use miniature sets to create a second scene. Your group would collaborate on the lighting and the picture style and you would take a second photo to produce the final image. Printing and framing costs will be covered by The Gallery. If you would like to participate in this event, contact Sonya at: sonyab@chatham-kent.ca. The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank Sonya for her presentation and we encourage our membership to take advantage of this chance to spread your creative wings and be a part of something special.

• Long time member and seasoned photographer Nelson Harrison was featured in our What I Shoot segment where he showed his fine collection of photos that covered virtually every genre. He also explained his process, locations and equipment used to produce his excellent images. At the conclusion of his presentation, Nelson received several compliments from the group. Well done Nelson! Thanks from all of us.

• The results of this month’s CCC Photo Competition were revealed with those members competing in the Novice group showing their Sill Life / Table Top shots. The top scores were given to Barb Ferren, Debbie Venne, Glen Spooner, Mary Craig all with marks of 21. Bob Miller and Danielle Gagnier both had two images that scored 21.
Cityscapes from the Intermediate, Advanced and Salon groups produced scores of 22 for Tere Deslippe, Dave Noordhoff, Angel Webster, Keith Blackwell, Linda Pepper and Carson Plant. Doug Woodman and Jim Pollock had two scores of 22 and John St. Pierre had the top mark of the evening with a 23.

• Several of our members brought in some of their prints for display, followed by a brief discussion led by Vince Gagnier and Keith Blackwell. If you would like to show The Club some of your favourite prints, your next opportunity will be on February 23^rd. Any size, any subject is more than welcome. Remember, an 8 x 10 print is available from Shoppers Drug Mart on St. Clair St. and from Wal-Mart for around $4. Books and binders to keep them in are also readily available and will provide a lasting memory of the work you’re currently doing. Don’t be shy. Show us what ya got.

• Mike Blazek presented Twelve Photos In A Year Is A Great Crop, where he displayed examples of some of his finest Nature, Abstract, Table Top and Portrait work. As always, Mike provided motivation for us all to try to achieve his level of excellence.

 
Before heading out to shoot photos, have a plan. Hoping to have luck is a lousy method of photography.

Always use your lens hood. Besides protecting the front element of your lens, they keep out stray light and improve the contrast of your photos.

Despite the inclement weather and poor driving conditions, 44 members and 5 guests attended our first meeting of the new year.

• Jim Pollock kicked off Flash 101 by showing how portraits can be greatly improved by using a Hot-Shoe Flash that swivels as opposed to an on-board Flash or an economy unit that does not turn. We also saw how flash modifiers, such as a Rogue Flash Bender, a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce and a Gary Fong Lightsphere give different lighting effects.

After a break in which members experimented with different flash techniques, Dave Noordhoff instructed the group on how to darken the background and highlight a subject using Manual Mode and Flash.

Special thanks goes out to Jacqueline Gruszka for serving as our model during our flash demonstration. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

You can review Dave’s notes on Flash 101 and Read More About Flash by clicking the icon and choosing to Open or Download these PDF files. They are well worth the read.

Check out this Review of Flash Modifiers.

For more about flash photography, read this page on Getting To Know Your Flash

• Printed photos were on display before the meeting and during the break, with some interesting work being shown. We invite all of our members to take advantage of this opportunity to show the group what you’ve been shooting in a non-competitive environment. Your next opportunity will be on January 26^th

• Our next meeting will be on January 26^th, 2016 when Sonya Blazek will present a volunteer opportunity at the Thames Art Gallery, Nelson Harrison will present What I Shoot and Mike Blazek will be featured in Twelve Photos In A Year Is A Great Crop. Also on tap will be our first Photo Competition of the calendar year, with the Novices showing their Still Life / Table Top shots, and the Intermediate, Advanced and Salon groups displaying their Cityscape photos.

If you haven’t mastered light, then you’re doing it wrong.

The sunnier the day, the more you need flash. Not for necessity, but for creativity.

January’s featured photographer is the late Margaret Chrysler.

Learn more about our friend and former Welcoming Manager in our Photo In Focus page.

• Our December 8^th meeting will surely go down in Camera Club history as one of the most challenging we ever faced. Locked out of our regular meeting space, 58 members and 2 guests drove across town to St. Paul’s Congregational Church on Park Ave. West, where we were kindly invited to use their beautiful auditorium. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to church officials for their hospitality and to our own Doug Woodman for making the arrangements. You saved the day, Doug!

• President Vince Gagnier invited the membership to submit photos that would be used as the banners you see across the top of our web pages. The pictures should be sized 1000 px wide by 288 high and e-mailed to Jim Pollock at Jim@JamesPollock.com

• Les McCracken repeated the thoughtful eulogy he gave at Margaret Chrysler’s funeral earlier in the day, giving us some insight into the life of this fascinating lady. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to her memory.

• Our guest speaker, Michigan area nature photographer Dale Vronch gave a presentation he called Intent and Capture, where he showed the group how he goes about shooting his beautiful Abstract Macro photos. He also explained how he takes advantage of the Five Types Of Natural Light: Twilight Before Sunrise, Sunrise And Morning Light, Mid-Day Light, Overcast Light and Sunset Light. Dale not only encouraged us to venture into a new and exciting area of photography, but he left us with these inspiring words: Let your intent determine your subject. Let your subject determine your capture. The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank Dale for his excellent tutorial and for being so gracious under challenging circumstances. We look forward to seeing him again.

• Printed photos were on display before the meeting and during the break, with some interesting work being shown. We invite all of our members to take advantage of this opportunity to show the group what you’ve been shooting in a non-competitive environment.

• Our next meeting will be on January 12^th, 2016 when we will take part in Flash 101. Bring your camera and your hot shoe flash and we’ll learn flash basics as well as some advanced techniques. We’ll have extra flashes to lend for those who don’t yet have one.

Don’t compare your photos to those taken by other photographers. We see all of our own shots, but only the best of theirs.

Light is everything in photography. Spend your time looking for light, even if you aren’t taking photos. Look for sun beams and breaks, reflections, shadows, natural light and artificial light. See how light interacts with the environment. See light.

Our long-time welcoming manager, Margaret Chrysler passed away on December 4th at the age of 87. Although she never made the jump to digital, Margaret continued to be an active member of The Club, making sure that new and prospective members felt at ease in a room full of strangers. She also took on the considerable task of handing out and collecting our name tags. In her traveling days, she captured excellent images from far away places and was proud to show them to her fellow Club members. We will always remember Margaret for her great organizational skills, her warm smile and her dedication to The Chatham Camera Club. She will be missed.