• 35 members, along with 3 new ones and 1 guest, attended our first meeting of 2020.

• President Jim Pollock introduced our guest speaker, Richard Beland, who spoke to The Club about Orchestrating The Big Shoot.

Richard’s informative and thoroughly entertaining presentation started off by listing the attributes needed to be a successful, full-time photographer. They included: – Relentless pursuit, Motivation, a daily drive for creative production, Minimal fear, Egocentricity, and Love. Richard went on to speak about production values, his process in setting up a photo shoot, the different styles of lighting he uses, and how he employs The Rule Of Thirds, leading lines and The Golden Triangle to arrange his subjects. Included in his show were many of his outstanding photographs of some of the world’s biggest music stars. The Chatham Camera Club thanks Richard for his outstanding show and for making the drive from Sarnia to Chatham. Plans for his return are already being discussed.
Richard made reference to The Inverse Square Law.
Watch this YouTube video for a review of how that works.

• Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 28^th when our own Dave Noordhoff will teach us all about memory cards.
– Chris Jorgensen will be featured in What I Shoot.
– We will review our January Photo Challenge submissions which are to be submitted by Sunday, January 19th at midnight.
The Novice topic is Crumbling Buildings and Ruins
Intermediate, Advanced, and Salon are submitting Windows and Doors.
– You are invited to bring a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion.

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” – Ansel Adams

6 Reasons You Should Hang Out With Other Photographers

• 42 members and 4 guests attended our December 10th meeting.

• The Club held its annual Buy/Sell night, where many pieces of photo equipment changed hands. Thanks to all of those who participated.

• Our other featured event of the evening involved our members bringing their cameras to the meeting and using provided props to learn about achieving a soft, blurry background. A special thanks goes out to Tere Deslippe and Mary Craig for putting this evening together. Their hard work and dedication makes our club stronger and their efforts are truly appreciated. Photos from the meeting can be found on our
Club Photos Page.

For a review of some techniques you can use to achieve an out-of-focus background, take a look at this YouTube video.

• Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 14^th when music photographer Richard Belland will be our guest speaker. Richard’s topic for this evening will be Orchestrating The Big Shoot.

• January Photo Challenge entries are to be submitted by January 19th by 11:59 PM
Novice – Crumbling Buildings and Ruins (The remains of a building, typically an old one, that has suffered damage or disintegration)
Intermediate, Advanced, Salon – Windows and Doors ( Interesting images of windows and doors, either in combination or individually)

The word “image” comes from the word “imagination.”
It doesn’t come from “lens sharpness” or “noise levels.”

How to Create a Delicious Blurry Bokeh Background in 4 Easy Steps

45 members and 1 guest attended our November 26^th meeting.

• The Club thanked Herman Giethoorn for making new name tags for us all.

• Enough members showed an interest in attending a Christmas breakfast. Arrangements will be made.

• Carson Plant explained when and how to use extension tubes.

You can review the lesson in this YouTube video

• Jim Pollock spoke about an easy way to whiten a subject’s teeth in Photoshop or Lightroom.

• Bill Godfrey was our featured presenter in What I Shoot

Bill showed a slideshow of his birds, nature, scenic and people photographs. Thanks Bill! Your photos were excellent!

• Entries from November’s CCC Photo Competition were reviewed with Bruce Hutson (23 and 22 pts), Jeff Dease (22 pts), and Pat Beaton (22 pts), getting the highest scores the Novice Division’s Perspective / Leading Lines category. Top marks in the Intermediate, Senior and Salon groups for Crumbling Buildings And Ruins went to Linda Pepper (24 and 23 pts), Tere Deslippe (23.5 pts), and Keith Blackwell (22.5pts). You can review the top scoring shots of the night on our Club Photos page.

• Dave Noordhoff and Keith Blackwell reviewed some of the prints that our members brought in. If you’d like to join in the fun, our next print display will be held on January 28^th. Remember, any size print, any subject is more than welcome.

• Our next meeting will be on December 10th when we will have two featured events.
– The first is our annual Buy/Sell night where you can bring in any surplus photo equipment to sell or trade. If you’re in the market for something, it might not be a bad idea to bring some cash along.
– We are also featuring a Bring-Your-Camera-To-The-Meeting event where will be able to learn about how to control Depth Of Field with several stations set up around the meeting room.

An expert at anything was once a beginner.

Be sure to check out Gavin Hoey’s lesson on How To Create Great Bokeh.

• 44 members, including two new ones, and 1 guest, attended our November 12^th meeting.

• President Jim Pollock introduced our guest speaker, Alayne Brisson of Ingersoll, Ontario.

Alayne spoke to The Club about Long Exposure Photography and a bit about Macro Photography. During her presentation, she talked about neutral density filters and how to use them, as well as the variety of equipment she employs to capture her marvelous macro photographs. The Chatham Camera Club extends a sincere thank-you to Alayne for making the trip from Ingersoll to Chatham, especially considering the current winter weather.

For more, check out this YouTube video on Long Exposure Photography Guide and Tips

• We watched a short video about The 25 Most Dangerous Photographs Ever Taken, which showed pictures of daredevils and adventure seekers taking extraordinary risks.

• Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 26^th when our own Carson Plant will teach us about extension tubes.

• Jim Pollock will show us a quick way to whiten teeth in post processing.

• Black And White Photography specialist Bill Godfrey will be featured in What I Shoot,

• We will review our November Photo Challenge submissions.
(to be submitted by November 17th 11:59 PM)
Novice – Perspective / Leading Lines
(the appearance of viewed objects with regard to their relative position and/or distance from the viewer; often has a vanishing point in the image)
Intermediate, Advanced, Salon – Crumbling Buildings And Ruins
(The remains of a building, typically an old one, that has suffered damage or disintegration)

• You are invited to bring a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion.

The camera’s only job is to get out of the way of making photographs.

Lenses 101 – An Introduction to Camera Lenses

47 members and one new member attended our October 22^nd meeting.

• Our guest speaker this evening was Ted Kloske from Henry’s camera store in Windsor.

Ted showed the membership the advantages and disadvantages of using a continuous light set-up. The Club wishes to thank Ted for his informative presentation and for making the trip to Chatham. As always, we learned a lot!

Here is a brief explanation of continuous lighting vs flashes and strobes.

• Glen Spooner was featured in our What I Shoot segment, where he showed us some of his favourite photos of birds, time lapse, astronomy and a wide variety of other subjects.

Thanks Glen! We all enjoyed your show.

• Entries from our first CCC Photo Challenge of the season were reviewed, with Bruce Hutson ( 24.5 pts), Barb Delanghe (22.5 pts), and Roberto Haveroth (22.5pts), getting top marks for the Novice Division’s Open category. High scores in the Intermediate, Senior and Salon groups went to Linda Pepper (24.5 pts), Mary Craig ( 23.5 pts), Jana Smith ( 23.5 pts) and Jim Pollock (23.5 pts) in the Perspective / Leading Lines challenge. Thanks to all who participated. Your images were excellent!

Here is the top scoring shot of the night by Bruce Hutson in the Open category.

The highest scoring images from the CCC October Photo Challenge can be seen on our Club Photos page.

• Keith Blackwell and Dave Noordhoff reviewed some of the fine prints that were brought in for display, with several positive comments being made. Our next print display will be held on November 26^th and we would love to see some of your work, any size, any subject.

• Our next meeting will be in three weeks, on November 12^th, when Alayne Brisson of Ingersoll, Ontario will teach us about Long Exposure photography and A Bit Of Macro. Both of these subjects are on this year’s Photo Challenge list.

Don’t worry about your failures.
Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.

How Cropping in Post-Production Can Improve Composition

• 53 members and 4 guests attended our meeting.

• President Jim Pollock introduced our guest speaker, Sherry Butts, who presented a tutorial on How To Get The Most Out Of Macro Photography.

Sherry showed us her wonderful collection of Macro shots of flowers, insects, water drops and other objects that seem to take on new life when photographed up close. The Chatham Camera Club would like to thank Sherry for her wonderful presentation. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended.

For those interested in Macro photography, check out this Tutorial

• The Club was treated to a slide show of some of Paul Schmodt’s favourite pictures.

Paul, a former President of the CCC, showed us what experience and technical knowledge can do for our photography. Thanks Paul. Your show was great!

• Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 22^nd when Ted Kloske from Henry’s in Windsor will speak to us about the advantages of continuous lighting.
– Glen Spooner will be featured in What I Shoot.
– We will review our October Photo Challenge submissions.
(to be submitted by October 13th by 11:59 PM)
Novice – Open (anything goes)
Intermediate, Advanced, Salon – Perspective / Leading Lines (the appearance of viewed objects with regard to their relative position and/or distance from the viewer; often has a vanishing point in the image)
– You are invited to bring a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion.

You are responsible for every part of your image,
even the parts you’re not interested in.

8 Tips to Avoid Becoming one of ‘Those’ Photographers

• 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.