51 members, including 7 new ones, were joined by 4 guests at our October 11^th meeting.

• President Carson Plant introduced our guest speaker for the evening, Russ Salamon. Mr. Salamon, who has been a commercial photographer since 1988, introduced The Club to his light painting technique, which produces very pleasing still life images. To accomplish his results, Russ uses a Canon 5D MkII paired with a Canon 100mm macro lens and employs several different types of flashlights and modifiers such as copper elbows, toothbrush holders, straws and coloured gels. His common settings include ISO 160, f/18 for 10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds and sometimes up to 2 minutes. You can see some of the results that Russ has been able to obtain on his website.

The Chatham Camera Club wishes to thank Russ for his time and his extremely informative and entertaining presentation. Our members are very anxious to try this fascinating type of photography.

There are very few good YouTube videos about light painting with a flashlight, but below is one we managed to find.

• Carson Plant reminded The Club that Herman Giethoorn will present Natural Treasures Of Southwestern Ontario on November 12^th at the Jeanne Gordon Hall, 505 King St. in Wallaceburg. For more details, see their website.

• Our next meeting will be held on October 25^th when representatives from the Chatham-Kent Library will be on hand to tell us how to access free photo magazines on line. Les McCracken is sure to entertain as our featured speaker, and our first photo competition of the year will be reviewed.

The more passionate you are about photography,
the better your results will be.

When shooting with a medium-quality lens, try to optimize the aperture to create the sharpest photos possible. Many “kit” lenses are typically sharpest from about f8 to f11.

October’s featured CCC member is Linda Pepper.

Learn more about Linda and her passion for photography
in our Photo In Focus section.

Our September 27^th meeting was attended by 43 members and 14 guests.

• Standing in for our Club President, Carson Plant, Tere Deslippe introduced our 2016 executive and committee members. You can review the list on our Executives page.

• Reagan Smolders read the auditor’s report on The Club’s finances which came with a recommendation that we be more prudent in our spending on expensive guest speakers.

• Gavin Stuart presented a competition orientation that showed how to enter our monthly Club photo competitions, which included how to size our pictures and where to send them. The instructions can be found on The Club’s Photo Competition Instructions page.

• Jim Pollock thanked those who brought in a print for display and encouraged the rest of the membership to take part in the monthly event. Jim went on to explain the scoring guidelines set out by CAPA (Canadian Association for Photographic Arts) and showed some examples of pictures and the scores they should receive.

When judging or preparing a photo for competition, consideration should be given to:
– Technical (is it properly exposed and in focus) 0 to 3 pts
– Composition (was it taken from a unique perspective) 0 to 3 pts
– Achieving Purpose (does it fit the category) 0 to 2 pts
– Visual Impact (is it appealing to the eye) 0 to 1 pt
– Subject Matter (is it an interesting subject) 0 to 1 pt

Overall scoring should fall within these guidelines:
– Poor to Extremely Poor: (with serious faults) 1, 2, or 3
– Fair: (with possible minor faults) 4 or 5
– Good: 6 or 7
– Excellent: 8
– Outstanding: 9 or 10

• Tere Deslippe informed The Club about the digital magazines that we’ve agreed to sponsor at the Chatham-Kent Public Library. With a library card, you can download them from the library website at www.CKPL.ca. A library representative will be on hand at our October 25^th meeting to explain how to access these magazines on-line.

• Several of the printed pictures that were brought in for display were discussed, with some of the makers explaining their process. Your next opportunity to show one or two of your favorite prints will be on October 25th. We encourage everyone to participate.

• Linda Pepper treated those in attendance to an entertaining slideshow of her photos from Antarctica and the Norwegian Arctic. Great job Linda! We loved it.

• Entries for our first photo competition of the year are to be sent to Gavin Stuart by midnight, Sunday, October 16^th.
The categories are Black And White for Novices and Clouds and Waves for Intermediate, Advanced and Salon

• Our next meeting will be held on October 11^th when our Guest Speaker will be Commercial And Fine Art Photographer Russ Salamon

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep.

A “‘fast” lens (one with a wide maximum aperture) is called so because the wider aperture allows for a faster shutter speed. Stopped down, it will let in the same amount of light as any other lens.

The Chatham Camera Club is currently gearing up for our new season, with several exciting guest speakers lined up and many new in-house tutorials planned.

We Meet at Evangel Community Church, 76 Sandys St. Chatham from September through May, on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 7 pm. Enter the meeting room through the back door of the church, marked by our Chatham Camera Club sign. Guests and Visitors are always welcome!

The Chatham Camera Club is a great place to learn from fellow photographers or from the professionals that we bring in as guest speakers.

Our workshop topics for the season include: How and when to use mirror lock-up, Painting with light, How to clean your camera’s sensor, Off-camera flash and several others.

Our Main Meetings include Travelogues, Photo Competitions and Critiquing.

Seasonal dues are $40 for a single membership and $60 for couples, which covers all meetings, including Workshops with guest speakers. You may attend two meetings without charge to see if you are interested in joining. Membership for students currently attending high school, college or university is free.

If you want to become a better photographer, we invite you to come and join us on September 27th at 7 PM.

Two dozen CCC members gathered at Wes Thompson’s garage on Talbot Trail to photograph his wonderful collection of antique fire trucks, cars and other memorabilia. We would like to thank Mr. Thompson for his hospitality and Barb Ferren for setting up the event. Be sure to check out some of the photos we took that night.

Our second Summer Walk-About was held at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Chatham and featured group lessons on How To Take Better Out-door Portraits. Assisted by five models provided by Patricia M Productions, our gathering of about thirty members split into groups and received instruction on How To Pose Couples by Mike Blazek, Getting Proper Exposure by Dave Noordhoff, Getting The Most Of A Reflector and Using Off-Camera Flash by Jim Pollock. Several of those in attendance commented that the event was very informative and worthwhile and we look forward to hosting a similar event next year. You can see some of the photos from that night taken by Chris Jorgensen.

Our first Summer Walk-About was held at RM Auto Restoration, who hosted an event they call “Cars And Coffee.” Fifteen Chatham Camera Club members showed up to shoot classic, antique and vintage cars which were on display both outside and inside RM’s facility. Have a look at just a few of the photos taken at the Cars and Coffee event.

Plans for our second Walk-About are still in the works, and members will be notified by e-mail when the details are complete.

Our final meeting of the season was attended by 43 members.

• Outgoing Club President Vince Gagnier thanked last year’s executive group for all that they have done for us this past season, including: Vice-Presidents Tere Deslippe and Gavin Stuart, Secretary Barb Ferren, Treasurer Carson Plant, Executive Assistants Shannon L’Ecuyer, Reagan Smolders, and Chad Barry and Immediate Past President Dave Noordhoff. We are also indebted to Welcoming Manager Kathy Gagnier, Print Manager Les McCracken, Facebook Page Co-ordinator Kathryn Parent, Competition Manager Gavin Stuart, Archivist and Alternate Web Co-ordinator Paul Schmoldt and Web Co-ordinator Jim Pollock. Vince also acknowledged the help he received from Chris Jorgensen and Dennis Myers.

• Mike Blazek invited everyone to attend the opening of the Imaginarium exhibition at the Thames Art Gallery on Friday, May 13 at 7 PM to view the contributions made by the Chatham Camera Club. Our pictures will be on display between May 13 and June 10 2016.

• Tere Deslippe, Gavin Stuart and Vince Gagnier presented certificates of achievement for this year’s CCC Photo Competitions.

Honourable Mentions (for scores of 23 or better)
Lorie Cooper – 1
Melanie Denis – 1
Bill Henry – 1
Larry Kearns – 1
Paul Schmoldt – 1
Dave Stewart – 1
Steven Taylor – 1
Kellie Watson – 1
Catherine Dawson – 2
Jean DeBruyn – 2
Debbie Venn – 2
Jana Smith – 4

Novice Division
3rd place plus 1 Honourable Mention – Danielle Gagnier
2nd place plus 1 Honourable Mention – Barb Ferren
1st place plus 1 Honourable Mention – Bob Miller

Intermediate Division
3rd place – tie between Patricia Kral and Angel Webster
2nd place plus 2 Honourable Mentions – Linda Pepper
1st place plus 2 Honourable Mentions – John St. Pierre

Advanced Division
3rd place plus 2 Honourable Mentions – Gavin Stuart
2nd place plus 3 Honourable Mentions – Tere Deslippe
1st place plus 3 Honourable Mentions – Chad Barry

Salon Council
2nd place tie plus 1 Honourable Mention – Carson Plant
2nd place tie plus 3 Honourable Mentions – Mike Blazek
1st place plus 4 Honourable Mentions – Jim Pollock

Most Improved Photographer (according to last year’s vs this year’s scores)
Barb Ferren

Best Photo Of The Year
Chad Barry

Thanks to all who participated in the photo competitions this year. We hope it was a valuable learning experience and one which helped you grow as a photographer.

Pictures of the Awards Presentations are now available on our Club Photos page.

• Club members were treated to slideshows of the top scoring pictures from this past season as well as the best of Twelve Photos A Year Is A Great Crop.

• In recognition of his years of service to The Club, Vince Gagnier presented Dave Noordhoff with an Honorary Lifetime Membership. Congratulations Dave! You earned it. Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for your leadership, your wonderful tutorials and your organizational skills. The Club is a far better group with you in it and we’re very glad you’re here.

Dave Noordhoff

• Club officers for the 2016 – 2017 season were announced as:
– President: Carson Plant
– Vice-Presidents: Tere Deslippe and Gavin Stuart
– Treasurer: Reagan Smolders
– Secretary: Barb Ferren
– Executive Assistants: Shannon L’Ecuyer, Mary Craig and Jim Pollock
– Competition Manager: Gavin Stuart
– Welcoming Manager: Dave Noordhoff
– Facebook Page Co-ordinator: Kathryn Parent
– Web Co-ordinator: Jim Pollock
– Alternate Web Co-ordinator: Dave Noordhoff

Club President Carson Plant

• Club members would like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing President Vince Gagnier for his dedication and hard work. We all sincerely appreciate your efforts. You did a great job!

Vince Gagnier

• The Chatham Camera Club is currently organizing some group outings we call Summer Walk-Abouts. Members will be notified by e-mail or check our Meeting Schedule page for details.

Photography is the easiest medium with which to be merely competent. Almost anybody can be competent. It’s the hardest medium in which to have some sort of personal vision and to have a signature style.

Photographing the same scene in both portrait and landscape formats will increase your chances of finding the best composition.