This month’s subject for Photo In Focus is Laura Jasper

To find out more about Laura and her photography, see our Photo In Focus page.

Back after another unplanned interruption, 40 members, including 3 new ones, and 1 guest attended our February 27^th meeting. Our room access problems appear to have been solved.

• Vince Gagnier introduced long-time member Nelson Harrison who presented an excellent tutorial on How To Photograph Butterflies.

The key points from Nelson’s presentation were provided to those in attendance in the form of a hand-out. The Club wishes to thank Nelson for his time and efforts and we look forward to more in the near future.

• Pat Beaton was featured in our What I Shoot segment where she showed us some of her favourite photographs. Her collection of landscape, nature, scenic, architecture, flowers and people photos revealed just how accomplished Pat has become in just a few short years. Congratulations Pat! We loved your show.

• Scores from our latest CCC Photo Competition were announced, with the Novice group showing their Rack The Lens creations. The top scoring shots were entered by Wendy McDonald (23.5 pts), Jeff McDonald (22.5 pts) and Bill Henry (22 pts). The Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members competed in a category called Give Me Space where Paul Schmoldt (24 pts), Jim Pollock (24 pts), and John St. Pierre (23.5 pts) were given the top marks. Tere Deslippe (23 pts) Carson Plant (22.5 pts) and Gavin Stewart (22.5 pts) also scored well. You can see these photos on our Club Photos page.

• With only nine prints brought in, our discussion about them was brief, but favorable. Our next print display will be held next March 27^th. Remember, prints can be of any size and subject and we’d love to see one or two of yours. As our most senior member, Les McCracken is so fond of saying, “It’s not a picture until it’s printed.”

• Our next meeting will be held on March 13^th when Dave Noordhoff will present Understanding The Exposure Triangle. Mostly aimed at newer shooters, this tutorial will also be of interest to the more experienced photographers as well.

Ansel Adams may have said it best,
“The whole key lies in first visualizing the image you want,
rather than just snapping away.”

If you need to focus closer to your subject, try Extension Tubes

This month we shine our spotlight on Dennis Mackness.

To learn more about Dennis and his photographic interests, take a peek at our
Photo In Focus page.

Facing yet another night of poor driving conditions, 55 members and 2 guests attended our meeting.

• President Carson Plant introduced our own Mike Blazek, who spoke to us about How To Rack The Lens. Mike began his presentation by showing a collection of images that he made using zooming techniques, an area of photography that he excels in. He then went on to explain some of the different methods he uses.

– Zoom Effect – where you use a long exposure while manually zooming the lens.
– Zoom And Rotate – a method that involves rotating the camera while manually zooming the lens.
– Vertigo Effect – a technique where you physically move closer or further away from your subject while zooming the lens in or out.

For more information, check out Joe McNally’s YouTube video on

• Jeff McDonald was featured in our What I Shoot segment where he showed a slideshow of some of his favourite images taken in 2017. Jeff’s collection of landscape, portrait, scenic, macro and nature shots were both entertaining and inspiring. Many thanks, Jeff, for a job well done!

• Scores from our third CCC Photo Competition of this season were announced, with the Novice group displaying their My Canada entries. They were led by Catherine Dawson (23.5 pts), Jana Smith (22.5 pts) and Wendy McDonald (22.5 pts). The Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members, entering Rack The Lens pictures, saw Keith Blackwell (23 pts), Paul Schmoldt (22.5pts) and John St. Pierre achieving top marks. You can see the top scoring pics on our Club Photos page.

• Carson Plant reviewed some of the two dozen prints brought in for display, and thanked the membership for their efforts. It was great to see so many participate. Our next print display will be held on February 27^th and we’d love to see a couple of yours.

• Keith Blackwell showed us a print that he had made by a Canadian company called Canvas ‘n’ Décor, who specialize in high quality canvas prints. Thanks for sharing this resource, Keith. Many of our members were very interested.

• The Club held a Buy/Sell event where several pieces of photo equipment changed hands. If you’re still looking to gain or divest yourself of some gear, check out our Buy/Sell page.

• Our next meeting is slated for February 13^th when Dave Noordhoff will present Using The Exposure Triangle To Shoot In Manual Mode. Not just for newer shooters, this in-depth tutorial will also be of interest to the more experienced photographers.

Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see, and everything to do with the way you see them.

• After a six week hiatus, 55 members and 3 guests gathered for our first meeting of 2018.

• President Carson Plant welcomed our guest speaker, James Cowie of PhotoTourTrekkers.com who presented a program called The Art Of Observation.

After showing the photos that he and some of the members of his tour group captured in the American South-West, James spoke about how we can improve our powers of observation by showing examples of these steps.
– Keeping it simple.
– Frame the shot in your mind.
– Step outside of your comfort zone.
– Study some of the great names in photography.
– Don’t worry about what others say about your work.

James concluded his portion of the evening by showing more of the outstanding pictures he and his groups have taken in their travels around the world. The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank James for his excellent show and for making the trip from London to Chatham in less than ideal conditions.

• Our next meeting will be held on January 23^rd when
– Mike Blazek and Carson Plant will show the Novice members how to Rack The Lens in preparation for our Zoom Burst competition.
– We’ll have a Used Equipment Buy And Sell period. (Bring in the stuff you don’t use anymore. It may be just what others are looking for.)
– Jeff McDonald will be featured in What I Shoot.
– We’ll review the results of our latest CCC Photo Competition
* Novice – My Canada
(open to anything you feel means / represents Canada to you)
* Intermediate, Advanced, Salon – Rack The Lens
(this topic requires you to take a picture with a zoom lens and adjust the zoom mid picture, while the shutter is open. See This YouTube Video for examples.

Note: Competition photos are to be submitted to Gavin Stuart at: gcstuarts@yahoo.ca by Midnight, Sunday, January 14th

– Print Display. We invite all of our members to bring in a print of any size, any subject, to be viewed before the meeting begins and during the break

“Embrace your failures and understand that they are your path to better photography.” – Joe McNally

As our nasty Winter weather continues, we’ll take a look at
How To Shoot Winter Sports

Our first featured photographer of the new year is Theresa St. Pierre.

To learn about Theresa’s photographic interests and skills, see our Photo In Focus page.

Our December 12th meeting had to be canceled as for the second time in just over two years Club members were locked out of our usual gathering place. The activities planned for the evening have been rescheduled for January 23rd, 2018. Our apologies to the fifty people who braved the snowy roads to attend the meeting. Club executives are currently seeking a remedy to the situation.

• For those who have yet to prepare their images for the January 23rd competition, Rack The Lens, this YouTube video may be of some help.

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• Due to the Christmas break, our next meeting with be held on January 9^th when our guest speaker will be pro photographer and Photo Trekkers host James Cowie who will speak to us about The Art Of Observation.

It can be a trap of the photographer to think that his or her best pictures were the ones that were hardest to get.

With family and friends visiting over the holidays, now is the time to capture
The Perfect Family Portrait

This month, Photo In Focus highlights Keith Chandler.

To see what kind of photography Keith excels at, check out our Photo In Focus page.