Thursday, April 30, 2015

Table-top Activities Planned for May Meeting




Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
May 2015 Newsletter

May Meeting – Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 7:00 PM 

Our program will give members an opportunity to practice some table-top photography.  Elizabeth Whitcomb will have a set-up that will allow you to photograph objects through water drops.  Rick Vollbrecht will have some other set-ups for shooting object using a variety of lighting and backdrops.  If you have some objects you would like to shoot, please bring them along.  You can keep it simple or be creative.  This is the time to experiment.  Bring your camera and tripod.  If you have a macro lens that might be useful.  Other equipment that might be useful includes an off-camera flash and cable release.  This will be a night to try some new and fun things.    

Member Image Sharing:

Because of our program this month, we will not be doing any member image sharing.  Image sharing will return in June.
           
2015 Club Programs:

Our 2015 programs are listed below: 

June 3, 2015 – Guest speaker: Brian Havican, forensic photography
July 1, 2015 – Shooting and creating panoramic images
August 5, 2015 – Selecting images for Wisconsin PSA Showcase.
September 2, 2015 – Creating images using HDR
October 7, 2015 – Creating digital slide shows with Lightroom.
            Creating photo books
            Creating photo montages
November 4, 2015 – Shooting the night sky, painting with light (outdoor shoot at Retzer)  
December 2, 2015 – Holiday Party.  Review Scavenger Hunt images and member’s favorite 2015 images.  Spouses and guests are invited.

Field Trips:

Photo field trips are a great way for us to share our common enjoyment of photography, learn some new techniques and share in camaraderie while getting to know our fellow club members.  Frank Remfrey has agreed to coordinate field trips for the club.  If you have some ideas of where you would like to see us go, please let Frank know (FRemfrey@wi.rr.com).  Better yet, why not offer to coordinate a field trip.  It's not hard - find a place you would like to go, pick a date and we can announce it to the club.

The tentative schedule for photo outings:
            June 21 – Bike races in Waukesha
            Spring – Evanston, Illinois lighthouse and Bahai Temple
            Summer – Downtown Milwaukee night shoot
            Summer – Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford
            Summer – Tiffany Bridge and Beckman Mill in Beloit
            Summer – Chicago Botanical Gardens
            July – Wildflowers at Retzer
            August – Frame Park flower gardens
            August 15-16 – Midwest Freestyle Kayak Championship in Wausau
Photo Scavenger Hunt:

We will once again be conducting a photo scavenger hunt!  Photo scavenger hunts are a fun and challenging way to get your imagination and creative juices flowing! The rules are simple:
1.    Capture one image of each topic.
2.    Be creative - think of a unique way to express the topic. 
3.    Images should be taken between now and December 1st.  We will review them at our December meeting
4.    Have fun!
Here are the topics for our 2015 Scavenger Hunt:
  1. Delicate
  2. Decay
  3. I can’t believe I captured that!
  4. Graffiti
  5. Doorway
  6. Bloomin’ Beautiful
  7. Stormy
  8. Shadow
  9. Bridge
  10. At night

Club Logo:

We would like to design a logo for our club.  This would be something we could use on our Newsletter or other communications.  We are also considering offering members the opportunity to purchase club apparel (shirts, jackets, etc) that would display our logo.  So, dust off your design skills and let us see what you can design!  Even if you are not good at drawing, just give us a rough sketch or a description of what you have in mind.  Get your ideas in to Elizabeth Whitcomb or Rick Vollbrecht.

Future Events of Interest:

Out of Chicago Photo Conference, June 25-28:  The conference is based at The University Center in Chicago and offers a variety of seminars and workshops at the Center and other downtown Chicago locations.  For more information go to: http://outofchicago.com/conference/

Summer Weekend of Photography July 30th-August 2nd Holland, MI:  Sponsored by the Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs (SWMCCC) the weekend offers a variety of presentations, workshops and field trips.  For more information go to http://www.swmccc.org/2015-weekend-of-photography-and-digital-imaging.html

If you are aware of any events of general interest, please let us know so we can share them with the club.


Photo Contests and Exhibits:

WACCO Spring Competition – Saturday, May 2, 2015.  The deadline has passed to enter this competition but you can attend the judging.  Judging will take place at Waukesha State Bank, 1227 Corporate Center Drive, Oconomowoc (I-94 and Hwy 67, Exit 282, north on Hwy67) in the lower level starting at 11:00.  This is a good opportunity to see some great images and observe how judging is done. 

If you are aware of any photo contests, please forward the information to Rick Vollbrecht at Rvollb@wi.rr.com


Photo Ops:
As a club, our members have a wide variety of subjects that we enjoy photographing.  This newsletter can serve as an excellent way to share various photo opportunities with club members.  If you know of interesting subjects or events that may interest other club members, please forward those to Rick Vollbrecht so they can be included in future newsletters.  If you are interested in having others join you, that information can also be included.  It is fun to shoot with a group.

Photography Classes:

A variety of non-credit, reasonably priced classes on photography and Photoshop are available at Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) and UW Waukesha.  Check their web sites for more information.

WCTC:  www.wctc.edu
UW Waukesha:  www.waukesha.uwc.edu

Art’s Cameras Plus has an extensive list of classes covering everything from camera basics to photographing in a variety of situations and use of Photoshop Elements.  Check out their web site:  www.Artscameras.com .  If you are aware of other photography classes or seminars, please forward the information to Rick Vollbrecht
Websites of Interest:

Retzer Camera Club blog: www.RetzerCameraClub.blogspot.com
WACCO (Wisconsin Area Camera Clubs Organization): www.wicameraclubs.org
PSA (Photographic Association of America): www.PSA-photo.org PSA Wisconsin:  www.PSA.wisconsin.org
Friends of Retzer Nature Center: www.FriendsofRetzer.org
Jim Edlhuber’s blog: http://www.windowtowildlife.com/