Our featured photographer for November is Jean McCracken.
Jean is an Honourary Lifetime Member of the Chatham Camera Club. Although not as active a shooter as she once was, Jean remains a skilled photographer who enjoys giving her husband, Les, advice on image composition and subject matter. Always warm and friendly, she is looked up to by many as a mainstay of our organization. To see a handful of pictures from her extensive back catalog, see our Photo In Focus page.
57 Chatham Camera Club members welcomed four guests and one new member to our October 28th Main Meeting.
• Club President Vince Gagnier informed us that our own Dave Paddick has had one of his photos selected for the cover of Canadian Geographic’s Wicked Weather calendar. The issue is available wherever calendars are sold. Congratulations Dave!
• Mike Moynihan was the featured photographer in this month’s segment of What I Shoot. Mike’s collection included several species of ducks as well as a Blue Jay, a Cedar Waxwing, a Hawk, an Eagle, a Red Breasted Grosbeak, a Robin and an Owl. Following his presentation, Mike explained that he obtains his difficult to capture birds-in-flight shots by using a Canon 7D with a Canon 400 prime lens, hand-held, and selects manual mode at a shutter speed of 1/2500 and an ISO between 800 and 1600. When possible, he meters off of grass, then checks the histogram and makes any necessary adjustments. We extend our thanks to Mike for his thoroughly entertaining show.
• Treasurer Carson Plant gave us a report on The Club’s finances, which was audited by Kathy Davidson, in accordance with our constitution.
• Dave Noordhoff requested that anyone who has pictures from our North Buxton Museum walk-about to kindly bring them to our next meeting so that they may be included in the DVD which we will present to museum officials.
• There are forms available at The Club’s registration desk where members can suggest what topics you are interested in learning about during future workshops.
• Dave continued his Tech Talk segment on Metering Modes with an explanation of Exposure Compensation. Below is a similar lesson on how and when to use Exposure Compensation.
• Paul Schmoldt reviewed our recent CAPA submission. Entries by Andy Stockdill, Carson Plant, Gavin Stuart, Jean DeBruyn, Keith Blackwell and Reagan Smolders were selected for the Digital Fine Art competition. Our entries in the Nature category were submitted by Dave Stewart, Keith Blackwell, Mike Moynihan, Paul Schmoldt, Reagan Smolders and Jim Pollock. After a review, Paul offered a critique on how some of these shots could have been improved with a more attractive crop.
• Judging for the CCC competitions in the Open category for the Novice group and Barns And / Or Silos for Intermediate, Advanced and Salon members was held, with several excellent images receiving high marks.
• Our next meeting is on Tuesday, November 11th when our guest speaker will be Ted Kloske from Henry’s Photo, who will discuss Urban Decay And More. Members are reminded of the opportunity to bring in one of your favourite prints for display.
Once you become fully aware of the quality of light around you, you will become more curious with your camera.
The term “Shutter Speed” is mis-leading. The shutter curtains never actually change speeds, the only thing that changes is the time between when the first one opens and the second one closes.
Our first meeting of the 2014 / 2015 season was attended by 57 returning members and 8 guests.
• President Vince Gagnier announced a Nature / Wildlife Photography Exhibition by Herman Giethoorn will be held at the Wallaceburg & District Museum, 505 King St, Wallaceburg on November 7th from 6 ’til 9 PM. Everyone is invited to attend.
• Vice-President Tere Deslippe reviewed our competition classes, noting that a new division called Salon Council has been added to our Novice, Intermediate and Advanced groups. The Novice group will have their competition entries judged separately, one month after the other three. All CAPA entries will be judged together. You can see what group you will be competing in on our Members page, which will be updated in the near future.
• Vince Gagnier reported that the Executive decided to sell the Club’s seldom used printer as the ink was due to be replaced at a cost of $680. The slide scanner was included in the sale, but we still have access to it should the need arise. Proceeds from the sale went into our general funds.
• Helen Heath presented an opportunity to travel to Guatemala with a youth group from the YMCA as a project documentary photographer. Anyone interested can contact Helen at helen@uwock.ca
• CAPA Competition Manager Paul Schmoldt explained how to properly title and size competition entries. Complete instructions can be found on the CCC website at Instructions For Submitting Photos For Competitions.
• Dave Noordhoff requested that anyone interested in having a particular subject covered in our Technical Challenges segments, fill out a request form that he has made available. If you missed the forms, you can e-mail your suggestions to Dave at dnoordhoff@cogeco.ca
• Dave’s first Tech Talk of the year covered Metering Options And Exposure. You can review a similar lesson on the YouTube video below.
• Filling in for Print Manager Les McCracken, Carson Plant and Dave Noordhoff reviewed the fine group of prints that were brought in. We invite all of our members to take advantage of this opportunity to show their work by bringing in a favourite picture for the Club to enjoy. Prints can be of any size and if you wish, can be mounted on the cardboard sheets provided free of charge by Maple Art Gallery. See Dave to obtain them.
• Paul Schmoldt offered a critique of some of last season’s pictures by suggesting how they could have been improved with a more attractive crop. He pointed out how some shots can be made more interesting by eliminating distracting elements and dead space.
• We have now added a page for Photographers For Hire to the Club’s website. The link can be found under the Links section on our Home Page or by clicking the Contact Us button. Club members’ business cards and contact information will be displayed in alphabetical order according to the photographer’s last name. To have your information included, give your card to Jim Pollock or scan it and e-mail it to Jim at jim@jamespollock.com
• The evenings activities were capped off with Dave Noordhoff’s slide show of shots from last summer’s Walk-Abouts at Maple Leaf Cemetery, Keith McLean’s farm and the Buxton Museum.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, it’s all part of the learning curve.
Just don’t keep making the same ones.
If you need to know how many RAW or JPG files your memory card can hold, you can find out at MemoryCardCalculator.com
As the Chatham Camera Club enters our 80th year of operation, our current membership of over 75 of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet would like to invite anyone interested in photography to join us on Tuesday, October 14th at 7 PM at Evangel Community Church, 76 Sandys St. Chatham. (across from Sarah’s Market)
Regardless of your experience level or what kind of photo equipment you have, if your interest is better pictures of family, nature, sports or vacations, our instructional workshops and guest speakers will help you change your snap shots into great shots.
Check out our Meeting Schedule for more details.
Our featured photographer for October is Collin Cooper.
Although his job in Niagara Falls has kept him from attending all but a few CCC meetings a year, Collin is a regular contributer to CAPA and CCC competitions. His main photographic interests are Nature and anything outdoors. His vivid imagination and eye for the unusual helped him finish 3rd in the CCC’s Intermediate Division last year and as his experience mounts, he is sure to continue to advance.
For a brief look at his fine work, see our Photo In Focus Page
Around 30 members and 10 guests attended our third and final Walk-About of the summer at the North Buxton Museum. We had full access to the church, schoolhouse, barn and log cabin, which provided many unique photo opportunities. Special thanks to Patricia Kral for setting up our visit and to our hostess, Shannon Prince.
Photos by Carson Plant
Photos by Dave Noordhoff
Our friend and active CCC member Noel Courtice passed away on September 4th, 2014 at the age of 83. Noel, a retired pharmacist who joined us five years ago, was an accomplished nature and scenic photographer whose trip to Africa provided him the opportunity to capture a series of once-in-a-lifetime pictures which he proudly shared with The Club. Always quick to make new friends among his fellow members, he will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege to know him.
About 20 members of the Chatham Camera Club gathered at the former Keith McLean residence to photograph the lotus ponds, water lilies and wildflowers.
Our third and final outing of the Summer season will take place on September 9th at the North Buxton Museum. See the Meeting Schedule for details.