Friday, December 28, 2012

January Newsletter




Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
January Newsletter

January Meeting - January 2, 2013, 7:00 PM

At our January meeting we will be judging the PSA Region 21 Club Showcase images.  There will be seven images from each of 13 camera clubs in Wisconsin to evaluate and score.  All participating clubs will be judging these images over the next several months and results will be tabulated and returned to our club in Spring.   This is an excellent opportunity to see great images from some of the best photographers in Wisconsin and see how our club compares to other clubs.  Members should bring a pen or pencil for marking ballots and a small flashlight would help you see your ballot in the darkened room.  You may also want to bring a notebook to give you a sturdy writing surface.

Following the judging we will use some of the images a for critiquing and as a tool for helping us understand what makes a strong image.

Members are also encouraged to submit several images to share with the club for gentle critique.  Newer members are especially encourage to share images.  This is a great way to get suggestions for improving your images and developing your photographic skills.  We would like to encourage members to submit images for sharing in advance by email to Rick Vollbrecht at Rvollb@wi.rr.com.  This will help to streamline the process of viewing member images.  Image submitted by email will be given priority.  Images brought to the meeting on a thumb drive will be viewed if time permits.  We look forward to seeing your images.

2013 Club Programs:

A group of members met recently to develop our programs for 2013.  We are currently working out the details of the program schedule and speakers and will have a list of programs available shortly.  A special thanks to Terry Molter, Elizabeth Whitcomb, Roy Schneider, Tom Wright, John Hasse, Jim Edlhuber and Rick Vollbrecht for their efforts in the program planning.

Future Events of Interest:

January 27, 2013 - PSA Wisconsin Chapter Meeting 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM  Waukesha State Bank, Lower Level.  Take I-94 West, exit 282.  Go North on Hwy 67.  The bank is on the left
Showing of 2012 PSA Chapters Showcase
Selection of 12 images for 2012 PSA Chapters Showcase.  Each member may bring 2 digital images.
Members may bring images for a Bring-Your-Own show
Afternoon program - John Rummel and Mark Weiter will discuss their methods of photographing the Milky Way and lighthouses at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

March 9, 2013 - WACCO Photography Seminar  Door County Photographer Dan Anderson will be the featured speaker.  A brochure is attached.  For more information about Dan, check his web site: www.danielandersonphotography.com

March 10, 2013 - PSA Wisconsin Chapter Meeting 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM  Waukesha State Bank, Oconomowoc, Lower Level.  Take I-94 West, exit 282.  Go North on Hwy 67. 
Business meeting and election of officers. 
Region 21 Individual Showcase - PSA members may bring two images (print or projected) for consideration for the Showcase. 
Members may bring images for a Bring-Your-Own show, 
The afternoon program will feature Jim Cowell with a program on Natural Element Photography.

May 4, 2013 - WACCO Photography Seminar  Fuzzy Duenkel, a well known local portrait photographer, will conduct an afternoon program.  A registration brochure will be available soon.  Check the WACCO  web site for further updates.  To see some of Fuzzy's work, check his web site:  www.duenkel.com

May 17 - 19, 2013 - PSA Wisconsin Chapter Photo Outing to Door County.  PSA members will meet in Door County for a weekend of photography

August 1-4, 2013 - Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs (SWMCCC) Summer Weekend of Photography The Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs invites you to attend the 39th annual SWMCCC Summer Weekend of Photography and Digital Imaging. Whether a beginner or an advanced photographer, you will find instructional opportunities and shooting sessions designed to enhance your creative skills and knowledge of photographic tools. Join us for a weekend of photographic learning, fun and fellowship.  A number of our members have attended this event in the past and have found it very educational and enjoyable.

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 them 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 

If you are aware of other photography classes or seminars, please forward the information to Rick Vollbrecht

Photo Contests:

Old World Wisconsin Foundation 2013 Photo Contest - Deadline August 30, 2013
For more information go to the Foundation web site:  www.friendsofoww.org

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

Future Meetings:

February 6, 2013               
March 6, 2013
April 3, 2012
May 1, 2012
June 5, 2013
July 3, 2013 - No Meeting
August 7, 2013
September 4, 2013
October 2, 2013
November 6, 2013
December 4, 2013

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Rick's Newsletter Debuts on the Web!




Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club

November Meeting - November 7, 2012, 7:00 PM

Our featured speaker will be Chris Jourdan, a well know local photography instructor.  Chris will talk about current trends in photographic equipment.  He will discuss new equipment and features that are available on new cameras and future trends in equipment.

2013 Club Programs:

It is once again time to plan our meeting programs for next year.  Over the last several meetings we have received ideas from many of you.  If you have any additional ideas that you feel would make interesting programs, please forward them to Rick Vollbrecht.  You are the best source of ideas - these are your meetings and we want to make them interesting and informative for you.  We are also looking for some volunteers to meet for a few hours to take these ideas and work on creating a program schedule for next year.  If you are willing to help, please let Rick know.  We will probably meet at the end of November or early December.  This is an opportunity for you to help keep our club strong!

Future Events of Interest:

November 3, 2012 - WACCO Fall Competition.  Waukesha State Bank, Oconomowoc, Lower Level, at 11:30 AM.  Take I-94 West, exit 282.  Go North on Hwy 67.  The bank is on the left. The deadline has passed for entering the competition, but you are invited to view the judging.  This is a good chance to see some great images and see how the judging process is done.

January 27, 2013 - PSA Wisconsin Chapter Meeting 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM  Waukesha State Bank, Lower Level.  Take I-94 West, exit 282.  Go North on Hwy 67.  The bank is on the left
Showing of 2012 PSA Chapters Showcase
Selection of 12 images for 2012 PSA Chapters Showcase.  Each member may bring 2 digital images.
Members may bring images for a Bring-Your-Own show
Afternoon program - John Rummel and Mark Weiter will discuss their methods of photographing the Milky Way and lighthouses at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

March 9, 2013 - WACCO Photography Seminar  Door County Photographer Dan Anderson will be the featured speaker.  Mark your calendar - details will follow.

March 10, 2012 - PSA Wisconsin Chapter Meeting 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM  Waukesha State Bank, Oconomowoc, Lower Level.  Take I-94 West, exit 282.  Go North on Hwy 67. 
Business meeting and election of officers. 
Region 21 Individual Showcase - PSA members may bring two images (print or projected) for consideration for the Showcase. 
Members may bring images for a Bring-Your-Own show, 
The afternoon program will feature Jim Cowell with a program on Natural Element Photography.

May 17 - 19, 2013 - PSA Wisconsin Chapter Photo Outing to Door County.  PSA members will meet in Door County for a weekend of photography

Photographic Society of America (PSA):

We talk a lot about PSA , so I thought it would be a good idea to give a little explanation of the organization.  According to the PSA web site: "The Photographic Society of America (PSA) is a worldwide organization for anyone interested in photography. The society includes casual shutterbugs, serious amateurs, and professional photographers. Founded in 1934, PSA has members in over 70 countries. Individual, Club, and Council memberships offer a wide variety of services and activities: a monthly magazine; online photo galleries, image evaluation, study groups, and courses; competitions; an annual conference; recognition; and discounts on photography related products and services."

The Retzer Camera Club is a member of PSA.  In addition, a number of us are individual members of PSA.  Annual membership dues are $45.00.  There is also a Wisconsin Chapter of PSA that meets four times a year (note schedule above).,  Annual membership is $5.00.   One must be a member of PSA to be a member of the Wisconsin chapter.  The Wisconsin Chapter has an open invitation to non-PSA members to attend its meetings as a way of introducing you to PSA and the local chapter - so please feel free to attend one of the chapter meetings to find out more about PSA.  It is expected that after you have attended several meetings and you find them interesting that you would then consider joining PSA and the Wisconsin chapter.  If you have any questions, please contact Rick. 




Photo Contests

Friends of Retzer Nature Center Annual Photography Contest:
See the contest brochure for details.
Entries are due Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Reception and announcement of winners  - Sunday, November 4, 2012 , 1:00 - 3:30 PM

Old World Wisconsin Foundation 2013 Photo Contest.
See the contest brochure for details
Deadline: August 30, 2013

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

Future Meetings:

December 5, 2012
January 2, 2013
February 6, 2013               
March 6, 2013
April 3, 2012
May 1, 2012

Friday, September 7, 2012

September Meeting Highlights Photo Resources

Below is a list of resources that were shared at our September meeting.  Thanks to Rudy Willis for compiling this list and making the main presentation at the meeting.  In addition, we also want to express our appreciation to the other contributors.  -FDR

From Rudy Willis: 

Shawn Hibbard provided a list of her favorite sites:

500px.net
DIYPhotography.net
Golden-hour.com
Bluehoursite.com
Strobist.com
Pixiq.com
Digital-photography-school.com
Flickr.com
Cmphotography.com
Jaymaisel.com
Joelgrimes.com
Daveblackphotography.com
Versachephotography.com
Moosepeterson.com
Laurieexcell.com

Additional sites mentioned during the presentation:

Google Reader

Equipment Review:

dpreview.com
steves-digicams.com
fredmiranda.com

Tutorial sites:

Lynda.com
Steeletraining.com
KelbyTraining.com
Cambridgecolor.com/tutorials.htm
Petapixel.com
ePhotozine.com
photographyblog.com
onestopunder.com
picturecorrect.com
retzercameraclub.blogspot.com
tv.adobe.com

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Milwaukee Photo Shoot a Success


12 individuals participated in the Milwaukee photo shoot on August 22nd.  The group had a perfect night to stroll along the riverwalk beginning at the west end of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. 

Below are a pair of links to images by Jim Edlhuber and Frank Remfrey.  When you see the small thumbnail images, double click and you'll see a larger version of the photos.

Jim's:   https://picasaweb.google.com/109038919513758014473/RetzerCameraClubMilwaukeeShoot8252012

Frank's:   https://picasaweb.google.com/fremfrey/MKESHOOT?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKLo5cCZ1ZmaPQ&feat=directlink


Saturday, August 4, 2012

Retzer Camera Club Photo Shoot Scheduled for August 22nd


The Retzer Camera Club will be conducting a photo shoot along the Milwaukee River on Wednesday, August 22nd.  The purpose of the event is to share photo techniques and discuss equipment as we shoot photos along the Milwaukee Riverwalk.  All ranges of expertise and equipment are welcome.  If you have a tripod, it may be a good idea to bring it. 

We will depart at 6:30 pm from the Park and Ride lot off of Highway G (Pewaukee Exit).  If you would like to meet us along the river, we will look for you near the entrance to Vogel Hall, across from the parking structure of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts around 7 PM.  Carpooling passengers should expect to make a nominal contribution to the drivers for gas and parking expenses. 

Please email or call Frank Remfrey if you are able to join us.  Here is Frank’s contact information:  fremfrey@wi.rr.com, (262) 542-0176. 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wildflower Shoot a Success

A nice showing of members from the Retzer Camera Club met on Tuesday July 17th at Retzer Nature Center for the wildflower shoot. Despite the drought conditions, the nature center had an abundance of wildflowers to photograph. At least 15 different species were photographed there near the main entrance west to the butterfly garden. Members had a great time sharing ideas and tips on what will make a great photo. At a later club meeting, yet to be announced, members will be able to show case a few of their prize images taken at the event.