April Meeting to Feature Close-Up Photography Techniques

Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
April 2014 Newsletter
April Meeting – Wednesday April 2, 2014, 7:00 PM
Program: Portraits – Macro and Close-up Photography.
Terry Molter will discuss the equipment and techniques used for successful close-up photography. He will also talk about a technique called focus-stacking which allows for greater depth-of-field. This will be a good program to get us ready for Spring wildflower and other close-up photos.
Member Image Sharing:
Members are encouraged to submit several (up to five) images to share with the club for gentle critique. 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. We look forward to seeing your images. In order to give everyone a chance to share their images during the year, we will select several individuals who will be featured at each meeting. Other individuals may also provide images which will be shared as time permits
The following members will be featured this month:
Debby & Jim Donner, Jim Edlhuber, Elizabeth Filippo, Foat Family
We have also challenged members to use some of the portrait techniques we learned in March to shoot some portraits. If you have some interesting portraits, please send them in so we can review them at the meeting.
2014 Club Programs:
We have developed a tentative program schedule for the rest of the year. Additional information will be provided as speakers and program details are confirmed.
May 7, 2014 – Architectural photography – Photographer Paul Bialas will discuss his experiences shooting architecture, especially old building. He will include the process he used to publish books of his works.
June 4, 2014 – Favorite Places – Tom Wright will talk about some of our member’s favorite places to shoot locally and throughout the state. You don’t have to go on long trips to get some of your best shots. Members are requested to send Tom some of their favorite local locations, including photos of what they shoot. This will serves as a resources for club members.
July 2, 2014 – Presenting your Images Part I– Rick Vollbrecht will demonstrate how to create dynamic “slide” shows from your images.
August 6, 2014 – PSA Wisconsin Showcase Image Selection - Members will select images for the 2014 PSA Wisconsin Showcase. We will also spend some time critiquing member images.
September 3, 2014 – Composition – What makes a great image? The elements of composition will be discussed.
October 1, 2014 – Internet Resources for Photographers – Tom Wright will discuss how to find the most helpful photographic resources on the internet and how to get them to feed automatically to your computer.
November 5, 2014 – Presenting your Images Part II – Rick Vollbrecht will demonstrate how to cut mats and frame your photos. There will also be a presentation on creating canvas prints.
December 3, 2014 – Holiday Party! – We will wrap up the year with a gathering including your spouse or guest. We will view the results of our scavenger hunt. A program will show our guests some of our best images from the year. More details will follow as we get closer to the end of the year.
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 again coordinate some field trips for the club.
The following field trips are being planned with specific dates and details to be announced later:
May – Parfey’s Glen, Pewitt’s Nest and the International Crane Foundation. Elizabeth Whicomb will coordinate.
June – Downtown Milwaukee at night including the rooftop garden at the MSOE Museum, downtown building details and the Milwaukee skyline from Lakeshore State Park (Summerfest Island). Rick Vollbrecht will coordinate.
July – Wildflowers at Retzer nature Center. Jim Edlhuber will coordinate.
Summer – Chicago including Millennium Park (The “Bean”) and Navy Pier. Rick Vollbrecht will coordinate.
Summer – Chicago Botanical Park – Elizabeth Whitcomb will coordinate.
Summer – Frame Park Gardens – Frank Remfrey will coordinate.
We could use some volunteers to coordinate future trips. If you are interested please let Frank know. If you have some additional 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.
Scavenger Hunt:
Following on the success of last year’s scavenger hunt, we are announcing the 2014 scavenger hunt topics. 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.
Thanks to Elizabeth Whitcomb for coming up with the following topics:
1. On the waterfront
2. Repetition
3. Unique
4. Celebrate
5. Time
6. Reckless
7. LOCAL (day trip) landscape
8. Challenges
9. Framed
10. Next to something
Start shooting and be creative!
Future Events of Interest:
May 17th, 2014 (Saturday) – Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Birds of Prey Shoot
This photo shoot will run from 9:00 AM – Noon at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Brown Deer. It will give you a great opportunity to get close-up shots of birds of Prey. The fee is $45.00 for adults and $20.00 for students. (Save $5.00 if you are a Schlitz Audubon member). For more information go to www.sanc.org and check the calendar.
June 14th, 2014 (Saturday) - Wehr Nature Center Camera Club 2nd Annual Seminar
Jennifer Wu, a Canon Explorer of Light, will present “Nature’s Elusive Beauty” at the Milwaukee Art Museum from 12:00 Noon – 5:00 PM. The fee is $15.00 for the first 100 registrants, $25.00 after the first 100. Jennifer will cover composition and share her techniques for getting great shots. She will also share some of her night sky time lapse photography. Jennifer is a very dynamic and energetic presenter. Please see the attached information or go to www.wnccccevents.com for more information.
July 31st – August 3rd – Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs (SWMCCC) Annual Weekend of Photography and Digital Imaging.
This annual event provides an extended weekend (Thursday – Sunday) of programs, workshops and tours. It is based at Hope College in Holland MI and provides some good educational opportunities at a reasonable price. For more information visit their web site and www.SWMCCC.org
September 27th – October 3rd, 2014 – PSA 76th Annual Conference of Photography
The annual conference in Albuquerque NM provides a full schedule of programs, photo tours and workshops. It is also the week before the annual Albuquerque Balloon Festival, so why not extend your trip! For more details, go to the PSA web site: www.PSA-photo.org
Photo Contests and Exhibits:
Monona Terrace Photography Contest – Deadline September 1st, 2014
Sponsored by the Monona Terrace in Madison. The contest includes photos taken on the grounds of the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison. Please see the attached information flyer.
Old World Wisconsin Photo Contest – Deadline October 17th, 2014
This contest is for photos taken on the grounds of Old World Wisconsin between August 31, 2013 and October 12, 2014. Categories include Pioneer Life, People, Agriculture, Nature and Historic Structures. For more information go to: www.friendsoww.org/photo_contest.
If you are aware of other 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 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
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/