October 27 2020

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

In Memory Of Margaret DeClerk

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.

October 13 2020

Our guest speaker this evening was London Camera Club president Harry Cartner, who presented a series of themed photographic slides that featured Colour, Urban Art, Monochrome, Architecture, Landscapes and Night. These were followed by slide shows titled Franklin Island, Following Colour, Graffiti, Morning Has Broken, Imperfect, Impermanent, Incomplete and Sounds Of Silence. Each of these provided some much needed photo inspiration during these difficult times as Harry revealed that he took these pictures with various inexpensive cameras and cell phones. The members of The Chatham Camera Club would like to thank Harry for his entertaining and inspiring presentation. He has shown us that great photos can be found in a wide variety of urban and rural locations if we just take the time to see what is around us.

Our next ZOOM meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 27th at 7 PM when Russ Chandler will provide us with Tips On Bird Photography. Our own Martha Gillier will be featured in What I Shoot and we will review our October Photo Challenge.

ImJustSaying2

“You don’t need great gear to take great photos, but you do need certain gear to take certain photos.” – Harry Cartner,

QuickTip

DSLR or Mirrorless Cameras. Which is Right for You?

September 23 2020

Kicking off our 85th year of existence, The Chatham Camera Club held their first ZOOM meeting of the season with 28 members logged in.

Club Secretary Julie Fass facilitated the meeting and gave us an outline of how the program works.

Club President Jim Pollock explained that although virtual meetings are not always comfortable for everyone, they are really the only viable option at this time. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Evangel Church is not allowing anyone to use their meeting room. Other clubs in Southwestern Ontario are also using ZOOM, but some have suspended their meetings altogether. The CCC executive has decided to carry on as best we can.

Julie Fass read Rick McArthur’s audit of The Club’s finances and reported that all was in order.

Photo Challenge Manager Jana Smith presented an excellent slide show of the photos we took at our outing at Petrolia Discovery a few weeks back. It was fascinating to see the different perspectives that our members came up with. Hopefully we can enjoy another event like that next Spring.

Jana also revealed the final Photo Challenge standings from the 2019/2020 season. They are as follows:

Novice
1st Place – Debby Venne
2nd Place – Erica Spotton
3rd Place – Al Little

Intermediate
1st Place – Julie Fass
2nd Place – Wendy McDonald
3rd Place – Butch Dompierre

Advanced
1st Place – Linda Pepper
2nd Place – Tere Deslippe
3rd Place – Mary Craig

Salon
1st Place – Jim Pollock
2nd Place – Keith Blackwell
3rd Place – Carson Plant

Picture Of The Year
Linda Pepper

Jana also reviewed the competition categories for the 2020/2021 season.

Theme

Description

Intermediate, Advanced Salon
Due Date

Novice Due Date

Open Black And White

Anything goes, but image must be your own
– Image must be black and white

 

18 October 2020

Looking Up

Change your perspective on your photography, and look up!
– Capture interesting and thought-provoking images while looking up and challenging our perspective.

18 October 2020

15 November 2020

Perfect Timing /
Frozen Motion

This competition is to test your skill in either capturing the perfect image, relative to the situation, or freezing motion, or both.
– You can submit one for each topic above;
– Or simply choose one and submit two images to one topic, the choice is yours.

15 November 2020

17 January 2021

Silhouette

Again, this competition theme is to help us play with light, but this time, the light is the critical part of the image, while the subject is nothing more than a silhouette.
– Note the background that is illuminated may be the challenge.

17 January 2021

14 February 2021

Sunrays

This photography theme is designed to test your skill at capturing light (sunrays) while still keeping the rest of the image both in focus and with clarity, (you can see or determine what the image is).
– Although I could not find any examples, the sunrays could be through a window into a room, etc.

14 February 2021

14 March 2021

Ice / Frozen Nature

This may be a challenge if we do not have a cold enough winter, but the challenge here is to capture images of ice or frozen nature.
– May consider ice crystal formation, icicles, frozen rain-enhanced nature, etc.

14 March 2021

18 April 2021

Open

Anything goes, but the image must be your own

18 April 2021

 

Jim Pollock explained that The Club is still sponsoring on-line photo magazines that are available through the Chatham-Kent Public Library. Instructions on how to access them will be e-mailed to Club members.

Our next ZOOM meeting will be held on October 13th when guest speaker Harry Cartner will present “To See is a Continuing Gift”. Our members will be notified of the access code a few days before the meeting.

ImJustSaying2

If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.

Exposure Lock Button – What is it and How to Use it?

May 4 2020

The top scoring shots from all divisions for our April Photo Challenge have been added to our Club Photos page.

Thanks to all who participated. All things considered, we had another great season! Let’s hope we can get together for a Walk-About soon. In the meantime, we hope that you will continue to photograph what you can, keeping the safety of you and others in mind.

Jim

2019 / 2020 Season Cancellation

Due to the ongoing situation with Covid-19 virus, the Chatham Camera Club executive has decided to cancel the rest of the 2019 / 2020 season. If things improve, we may be able to get together for a Walk-About or two during the summer. If not, we plan on regrouping next September if we are able.

Jim

The top scoring shots for the March 24th CCC Photo Challenge have been added to our Club Photos page.

Did you know that there is a pretty good photo editor included with Windows 10?

10 Things You Can Photograph in Your Home