The executive of The CCC has been busy all Summer, getting ready for our 86^th year as a camera club. Knowledgeable and interesting guest speakers have been booked and new tutorials on equipment and post-processing techniques have been prepared. As well, this year’s competition categories have been designed to challenge and stimulate your imagination. Our first meeting is set for September 22^nd at 7 o’clock at our usual venue, Evangel Community Church, 76 Sandys St. Chatham (come to the back door where the Chatham Camera Club sign is). Guests and new members are always welcome. You may attend two meetings without charge so you can see if we’re a good fit. Seasonal dues are $40 for a single membership and $60 for couples. If you’re interested in becoming a more proficient photographer, whether your interests are nature, landscape, portrait or just family snapshots, you’re bound to come away with a wealth of photographic knowledge. It doesn’t matter what kind of camera you have or what your level of experience is. We’re all here to learn. We look forward to seeing you on the 22^nd.

Approximately 30 members of The Club met at Maple Leaf Cemetery to photograph four models provided by Patricia M. Productions. Instruction was provided by Chad Barry, Keith Blackwell, Vince Gagnier, Dave Noordhoff and Jim Pollock about lens selection, aperture and shutter speed settings, and how to photograph people under various lighting conditions. Thanks to Jayden, Sam, Mikayla and Skyar for providing such excellent posing skills and for being so very pleasant to work with. A good time was had by all.

The following are the competition themes and definitions for the CCC 2015 – 2016 season. The dates are for the Intermediate, Advanced and Salon Council divisions. The Novice division will start on October 27, 2015 with the theme “Open”: Anything you would like in colour, black and white or whatever you want. The novice division will then do the same competitions below but delayed by one month.

NOTE: Remember, photo competitions are meant to challenge our creativity and inspire us to move out of our comfort zone and into places we’ve never ventured. They are in no way a reflection of your ability. If someone else doesn’t see your vision, accept it and continue to learn and grow as a photographer at your own pace.

• October 27, 2015 – Flowers (not artificial): The main character of this competition must be a flower or flowers. No artificial flowers such as silk, plastic etc. They may be in a vase, a field, a garden or whatever. Dried flowers will be allowed as long as they are real and were alive at some point in their existence.

• November 24, 2015 – Still Life / “Table Top”: Generally a still life would contain a small grouping of inanimate objects arranged in a pleasing composition. The platform for this topic does not have to be a table top but should not exceed the size of a table top (not the Tabletop Mesa or the periodic table). The main character/s cannot be flowers since we did them last competition.

• January 26, 2016 – Cityscape: A cityscape is like a landscape where a city or section of a city is the focal point.

• February 23, 2016 – Open Colour: Anything goes but it must be in colour (no black and white or sepia).

• March 22, 2016 – Fill The Frame: This picture can be of anything that you would like but it must fill a large percentage of the frame (75 -80% minimum). This can be a close up or macro shot or just a very large subject that fills the frame. Colour or black and white etc. are acceptable.

• April 26, 2016 – Open Black And White: Anything goes but it must be black and white and shades of grey (no colours or sepia tones).

Our Buy / Sell page gets results! We’ve helped sell a lot of cameras and lenses and there are still lots to chose from. Check it out today!

Our WPW Committee has now finished planning the Summer’s Walk-Abouts.

Check out the dates, times and locations on our Meeting Schedule page.

As The Chatham Camera Club’s 80^th year came to a close, 40 members were on hand for our annual Elections And Awards night.

• The results of our elections were announced with the following outcome:

Executive:
President – Vince Gagnier
Vice-Presidents – Tere Deslippe and Gavin Stuart
Secretary – Barb Ferren
Treasurer – Carson Plant
Executive Assistants – Shannon L’Ecuyer, Reagan Smolder, Chad Barry
Immediate Past President – Dave Noordhoff

Officers:
Margaret Chrysler – Welcoming Manager
Herman Giethoorn – CAPA Co-ordinator
Les McCracken – Print Manager
Kathryn Parent – Facebook Page Co-ordinator
Jim Pollock – Web Co-ordinator
Dennis Skipper – Slide Projector and Film Manager
Competition Manager – Gavin Stuart
Paul Schmoldt – Physical Print Manager

• The winners of this year’s Club Photo Competitions are:

Novice Division:
1^st place: Reagan Smolders
2^nd place: Steven Taylor
3^rd place: Wendy Beasley

Intermediate Division:
1^st place: Chad Barry
2^nd place: Jason Cooper
3^rd place: Butch Dompierre

Advanced Division:
1^st place: Lori Cooper
2^nd place: Tere Deslippe
3^rd place: Melanie Denis

Salon Division:
1^st place: Carson Plant
2^nd place: Mike Blazek
3^rd place: Dave Noordhoff

Honourable Mentions
1 Award – Jean DeBruyn, Diane Donkers, Margaret Manson,
Nicole Maynard, Paul Schmoldt, Dave Stewart,
Andy Stockdill, Larry Taylor, Debbie Venne
Mike Blazek, Lori Cooper

2 Awards – Keith Blackwell, Larry Kearns, Gavin Stuart
Steven Taylor, Butch Dompierre, Chad Barry

3 Awards – Jim Pollock

4 Awards – Carson Plant

5 Awards – Reagan Smolders

Most Improved Photographer
Reagan Smolders

Picture Of The Year
Carson Plant – “Jenny”

• The WPW Committee is currently planning some photo get-togethers for the Summer. If you have an idea for an interesting place to take pictures, let Vince know at vgagnier@mnsi.net

Things that are easy rarely make you successful.

Some thoughts about composition:

1 – There are no rules, just guidelines.
2 – Check the corners of the viewfinder to avoid distractions.
3 – Don’t shoot everything from a standing position.
4 – Try to find lines that lead the eye into the picture.
5 – Use your feet. A few steps to the left or right can radically change images.

Our next to last meeting of the 2014 / 2015 season was attended by 36 members and 2 guests.

• Club President Vince Gagnier reminded us of a get-together at Smitty’s Restaurant on Saturday, May 23, from 12 ’til 2. If you plan on going, kindly let Vince know.

• We were also reminded of a photo-op on May 30th when a gathering of Gray – Dort antique car enthusiasts will meet in front of the Chatham Cultural Center from noon until 2 PM.

• The Club’s planning committee is currently looking for suggestions for this Summer’s Walk-Abouts. If you have an idea for an interesting place the group could go to take pictures, send Vince an e-mail at: vgagnier@mnsi.net So far, we are looking at going to Ojibway Park in Windsor at a date yet to be determined.

• Elections Officer Chris Jorgensen is still seeking nominations for next year’s executive, specifically Secretary and Executive Assistants. If you’d like to run for office or nominate someone, contact Chris at chrisj@mnsi.net

• Carson Plant spoke to us on How To Make Something Out Of Nothing, a tutorial on how to find interesting things to photograph when nothing seems apparent. In his tutorial, Carson taught us to look beyond the obvious, look up, down and behind. Zero in on small details and to shoot things from a different perspective than we usually do. We want to thank Carson for sharing his knowledge and experience and for putting his show together. The next time we’re stuck for something to take pictures of, we’ll ask ourselves, “What would Carson do?”

• Jim Pollock gave The Club his thoughts on How To Avoid And Eliminate Distractions. By taking the time to notice distracting elements in our photographs, we can avoid objects that compete with the main subject for attention. When distractions do show up in our shots, we can use a post processing program to clone, crop or desaturate those little annoyances to greatly improve our final image.

• Vince and Carson reviewed about a dozen of the prints that our members brought in for display and gave several favourable comments. We hope that our members have enjoyed this segment and we encourage everyone to participate next season.

• Keith Blackwell presented a slideshow of photos that he took from a recent trip to Guatemala with a YMCA Youth Group. Although he was forced to shoot photos under severe time constraints and difficult circumstances, Keith still managed to return with a vast collection of fascinating images of the scenery, the people and life in general in this impoverished Central American country. The Club wishes to thank Keith for sharing his experiences.

• Our final meeting of the season will take place on May 26^th, when we will host our annual Elections and Awards night. We want to urge all members to attend this important meeting which will help determine the direction of The Club next season. Remember, this is your club. It can’t function without your participation.

If at first you don’t see, look and look again.

Anticipating where the light is going to be can catapult your images to another level.

Our final Featured Photographer of the season is Janet Fraser.

Janet first took up photography to advance her interest in painting. Now in her seventh year with The Club, she has developed an interest in photographing landscapes, nature and people. She is retired after owning the electronics store APW for 31 years and keeps busy in both the Muskoka and Sydenham Field Naturalists clubs as well as the Chatham-Kent Amateur Radio Club. Have a look at a few on Janet’s favourite pictures on our Photo In Focus page.