Photojournalist Bill Meyer to Present May Program

Retzer Nature Center

Camera Club

Wednesday, May 4th, 7:00 PM

Our May meeting will feature a presentation by Bill Meyer who has had a long career as a photojournalist with the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel. His presentation, "Photojournalism: From Darkroom to Digital at the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel" will include photographs that are story-telling - showing people in action. He will also show some travel and flower photos. Bill has led photo workshops, and will share some information on his upcoming workshop in California this September.

Join us for a very interesting and informative program.

Future meetings: June 2nd, July 6th, August 3rd, September 7th, October 5th

See you next week Wednesday.

Rick

Retzer Friends Announce Photo Contest Details

Today the Friends of Retzer Nature Center sent out details about this year's photo contest.  Below are some of the highlights from their announcement.  You'll note the deadline for submitting photos is November 2, 2011. 


Contest is open to any amateur photographer.
 Photographs must be taken at Retzer Nature Center.
 NUMBER OF ENTRIES: Contestants may submit up to
five entries in each class.
 ENTRY FEE: General Public: $3.00 per photo
Friends Member: $2.00 per photo
Students (12 and under): $1.00 per photo
Checks payable to: Friends of Retzer Nature Center.
 ALL ENTRIES:
1. Photo Size: No smaller than 5” x 7” or larger than 81/2” x 11”.
2. Must be individually matted or mounted on a heavy
medium. (NO FRAMES PLEASE)
3. Photos may not have been previously entered in a
Friends contest.
4. The following information must be noted on the top of the back
of each photo:
Name, address and phone number
Where photo was taken at Retzer
Class entered
Top of photo
5. Deadline for entries:
4:30 PM Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Some thoughts from John Hasse...

I don’t BLOG.      

At least until today when I viewed Retzer Camera Club’s new Blog Site and wonder if I got inspired, what could I contribute?  I’m a bit older so inspiration comes a bit slower these days, but eventually I thought:

Photos: Actually I saw that a few other members had some up already so this probably wasn’t a very original thought.  With my images I might tell why and how I took an image.  I’d try not to shamelessly promote myself.

Insights: Have I discovered something photography-related that might be of interest to others?

Reviews: I bought entry-level digital equipment waiting to see if I missed film too much and go back to it or could I venture into stepping up to better equipment.  I read interesting reviews of equipment, photography books and places to visit.  I attend photography seminars and conferences. Maybe others would benefit from shared information.

Make a List:  I make lists of what camera equipment I might want to buy the-next-time-around; I make lists of my favorite photographers; I list favorite photo websites.  Maybe I just made a list of lists.

Ask a Question:  Do I need an answer to a problem or situation? Could I poll other blog readers’ thoughts, insights?

Today I eventually came around to thinking that if I ever did blog photography, I’d pass on a quote I recently saw attributed to professional photographer DeWitt Jones: “You miss 100% of all photographs you don’t take.”     ---John Hasse

From Terry Molter...

I was at this show last night at the opening and it is, in my opinion truly outstanding.  Featured are over one-hundred photographers, all of whom are, as far as I know, local.  There is a good mix of pros and amateurs, and a broad range of subjects.  Worth seeing for anyone with an interest in photography.  Free admission.

--Terry Molter

Pasque Flowers are in Bloom!

Barb Rasmussen reports that the Pasque flowers are blooming at the preserve off of Piper Road.  Thanks to Barb, below are directions to the Pasque Flower Preserve.  Also, check out Barb's Pasque photos on the gallery (See upper right for Gallery tab).

Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest – Pasque Flower Preserve.  Pasque Flowers and Prairie Smoke can be found in April / May.

 From I-94 west, take Hwy 67 south.  Just past the Ottawa Lake area, turn left on Piper Road.  Just before you get to Ulrickson Road there will be a metal gate on the right.  Park along the side on the road (not in front of the gate).  Walk along the horse trail back into the prairie area.  These flowers can be found a short distance off the horse trail to the right in a large depressed area.

Sharing Images at Meetings?

If you would like to share your images at future meetings and subject yourself to some "gentle critique," here are a few suggestions that will help Rick find and display your images efficiently:

1. Use a USB / thumb drive rather than burning a CD.
2. Dedicate your USB drive to the photos that you plan to share at the meeting.  In other words, don't include any other images on the drive. 
3. For any photos that need to be rotated, make sure you take care of that task before saving your images onto your USB drive.
4. Images should be in JPEG format, and, if possible, resized to 1024 pixels on the long side. 

Finally, remember that 2 and 4 GB USB drives can be purchased for less than $10 at Radio Shack and Office Depot.  In addition, Best Buy is offering a 2 GB drive for $5.99. Do you know of another good deal for USB drives elsewhere?  If so, please contact Frank Remfrey (fremfrey@yahoo.com) with the details.

Scavenger Hunt Details Announced at April Meeting

If you missed the April meeting, below are the details regarding the Retzer Camera Club scavenger hunt.   You'll note that the 10 images should be ready for the September meeting.  Since the April meeting covered the topic of saving images to a USB drive, we expect all members to follow the suggested protocol for saving images to a USB drive, aka "thumb drive."  (See the post which discusses USB  / Thumb Drives).

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011

The rules are simple:.

1.  Submit one image of each topic listed below.

2.  Be creative - Think of a unique way to express the topic.

3.  Images should be taken between April 1st - September 7th, 2011.

4.  Bring your 10 images to the September club meeting to share with the club members.

5.  Have FUN!!!

Find an image that represents:

1.  Night life

2.  Reflections

3.  Buildings

4.  Humor

5.  Water

6.  Tall

7.  Curves

8.  Old

9.  Signs

10. What is it?