Friday, December 25, 2015

January Meeting Agenda Announced


Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
January 2016 Newsletter

January Meeting  Wednesday, January 6, 2016, 7:00 PM  

Our January meeting will provide an opportunity for us to judge the PSA Wisconsin Showcase images.  Camera clubs throughout Wisconsin (17 clubs this year) have each submitted seven images representing the best images from their clubs.  All clubs are now judging those images.  The judging results will be tabulated and the results announced in May.  Please bring a pen, a small flashlight to help you see your score sheet and something hard to write on.  

Following the judging we will review some of the competition images and discuss what makes a good image.  

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. 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: Terry Hughes, Richard Knisbeck, Jim Kurovsky, Kathy Lilligren, Pete Lilligren
Please email your images to Rick VollbrechtRvollb@wi.rr.com ) by Tuesday, January 5th. This will help to streamline the process of viewing member images. We look forward to seeing your images
 
2016 Club Programs:

We are currently working on our program schedule for 2016.  You are our greatest resource for ideas.  If you have any topics you would like to see presented, please let us know.  

Our 2016 programs and meeting dates are listed below:  
 
February 3, 2016
March 2, 2016
April 6, 2016
May 4, 2016
June 1, 2016
July 6, 2016
August 3, 2016
September 7, 2016
October 5, 2016
November 2, 2016
December 7, 2016


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.  If you have some ideas of where you would like to see us go, please let us know.  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.

We do not have any further outing scheduled for this year.  If you would be willing to organize a winter outing, please let us know.


Future Events of Interest:

Creating Art with Macro Seminar and Workshop with Mike Moat – March 5, 2016   Sponsored by WACCO, this event brings Mike Moats, a well known macro photographer, for an all day event.  The seminar is scheduled for 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM.  The hands on workshop will run from 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM.  The event will be at the Midway Hotel and Suites in Brookfield.  For more information go to www.wicameraclubs.org  

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:

5th Annual WACCO Exhibit – January 16 – March 12, 2016 at the Reuss Federal Building in Milwaukee.  See the WACCO web site to see a catalog of past entrants.  Details will be posted at the WACCO website(www.wicameraclubs.org) in the future.

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/  

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Holiday Party Slated for December


Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
December 2015 Newsletter

December Meeting  Wednesday, December 2, 2015, 7:00 PM  

December will be our annual Holiday Party!  Please invite your spouse or guest to join us.  This is a night to socialize and enjoy the photographs of our members.  Our program will consist of two parts
1. We will be viewing our Scavenger Hunt images 
2. We will share our member favorite images of 2015.
3.  
It will be a night to let our members and guests see some of our great images!

If you have not already done so, please send me your images now!  The more images we have to view, the better our program will be.  Send me five of your best / favorite images from 2015.  Any subject matter will do.  Also send me your scavenger hunt images.  The subjects are listed below.  Images should have been taken this year.  Please name your image file names to correspond to the scavenger hunt subject i.e. 01-Delicate, 02-Decay…  There is no need to resize any images.

The scavenger hunt topics are:
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

Member Image Sharing:

Because the program this month will keep us busy, we will not have any other individual image sharing.
 
2016 Club Programs:

We are currently working on our program schedule for 2016.  You are our greatest resource for ideas.  If you have any topics you would like to see presented, please let us know.

Our 2016 programs and meeting dates are listed below:  
 
January 6, 2016 – PSA Wisconsin Club Showcase judging
We will judge the annual Showcase of images from camera clubs throughout Wisconsin
February 3, 2016
March 2, 2016
April 6, 2016
May 4, 2016
June 1, 2016
July 6, 2016
August 3, 2016
September 7, 2016
October 5, 2016
November 2, 2016
December 7, 2016


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.  If you have some ideas of where you would like to see us go, please let us know.  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.

We do not have any further outing scheduled for this year.  If you would be willing to organize a winter outing, please let us know.


Future Events of Interest:

Creating Art with Macro Seminar and Workshop with Mike Moat – March 5, 2016   Sponsored by WACCO, this event brings Mike Moats, a well known macro photographer, for an all day event.  The seminar is scheduled for 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM.  The hands on workshop will run from 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM.  The event will be at the Midway Hotel and Suites in Brookfield.  For more information go to www.wicameraclubs.org  

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:

5th Annual WACCO Exhibit – January 16 – March 12, 2016 at the Reuss Federal Building in Milwaukee.  Deadline is December 19, 2015.  See the WACCO web site to see a catalog of past entrants.  Details will be posted at the WACCO website (www.wicameraclubs.org) in the future.

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/  

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Night Sky and Light Painting To Highlight November Gathering




Retzer Nature Center

Camera Club

November 2015 Newsletter



November Meeting – Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 7:00 PM 



Our November meeting will feature shooting the night sky and light painting.  We will venture outside to photograph the moon and stars.  Light painting will involve techniques to paint scenes with alternate light sources.  Of course, this is dependent on the weather, so we will need to be flexible.  If the weather does not cooperate, we will experiment with light painting inside.  Bring your camera, tripod and a cable release or wireless remote.  Also bring a small flashlight to help you see the controls on your camera, and a more powerful flashlight for the light painting. You should also familiarize yourself with how to get long exposures with your camera.  The “bulb” setting is handy for what we will be doing.  If you are not familiar with this function on your camera, it may be time to dust off the manual! This will be a night of creating some interesting images!



Member Image Sharing:



Because the program this month will keep us busy, we will not have any image sharing.

           

2015 Club Programs:



Our 2015 programs are listed below: 

           

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.  If you have some ideas of where you would like to see us go, please let us know.  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.



We do not have any further outing scheduled for this year.  If you would be willing to organize a Fall or Winter outing, please let us know.



Photo Scavenger Hunt:

UPDATE:  We will be viewing member scavenger hunt images as part of our December program.  You may begin to email your images to Rick Vollbrecht (Rvollb@wi.rr.com) as soon as you have them ready.  The images should be named with the appropriate number and name (i.e. 01-Delicate, 02-Decay, etc.)  This will allow them to be projected in the proper order.  Please send your images all at one time.  You may need to send them in several emails because of file size.  Images should be sent as JPEG attachments.  We look forward to seeing your creativity at the December meeting.



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





Future Events of Interest:



The Chicago Area Photographic SchoolThe Chicago Area Camera Club Association is sponsoring a two day program November 21-22 in Elgin Illinois.  Featured speakers are Tim Grey and Jennifer Wu.  Various programs will be held during the two days.  For more information go to www.caps.caccaweb.com . 



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:





Friends of Retzer Nature Center Annual Photography Contest – The deadline for contest submissions has passed, but you may still be interested in attending a reception on Sunday, November 1st 1:00 – 3:30PM to view the photographs and hear the announcement of the winning photos.



WACCO Fall Competition – The deadline has passed for contest submissions, but you should consider attending the competiton judging on Saturday, November 7th at 11:30 AM.   The judging will take place at the Waukesha State Bank, Lower Level, I-94 and Hwy 67, exit 282 ( turn north) Oconomowoc, starting at 11:30.  This will be an opportunity to see many excellent photographs from Wisconsin photographers.  You will also be able to see how the judging takes place.  This year our club is also expected to provide several members to assist in the preparation and showing of the images for judging.  If you are willing to help, please let me know.



5th Annual WACCO Exhibit – January 16 – March 12, 2016 at the Reuss Federal Building in Milwaukee.  Deadline is December 19, 2015.  See the WACCO web site to see a catalog of past entrants.  Details will be posted at the WACCO website (www.wicameraclubs.org) in the future.



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 Spring 2016 classes have just been announced and registration starts November 17th.



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/ 

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

October Meeting to Feature Strategies to Display Images: Books and Montages


Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
October 2015 Newsletter

October Meeting  Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 7:00 PM  

In previous meetings we have looked at ways for you to display your images including digital “slide” shows and matting and framing prints.  This month we will look at two additional ways to show off those great images.  Karen Geisel will show us how to create hard cover photo books and various options available to get your books printed.  Rick Vollbrecht will demonstrate how to create a photo montage incorporating multiple images.  Montages can be another way to create photo scrapbooks or incorporated into photos books.  They are also suitable for framing.  Join us at the October meeting to learn about these methods for displaying you images.

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. 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:
Pan Greuttner, Tom Grzesiak, Rick Heinze, Kurt Heubner and Jim Hobbick
Please email your images to Rick Vollbrecht(Rvollb@wi.rr.com ) by next Tuesday. This will help to streamline theprocess of viewing member images. We look forward to seeing your images.

2015 Club Programs:

Our 2015 programs are listed below:  

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.  If you have some ideas of where you would like to see us go, please let us know.  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.

We do not have any further outing scheduled for this year.  If you would be willing to organize a Fall or Winter outing, please let us know.








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


Future Events of Interest:

John & Barbara Gerlach Photographic Seminar – Saturday, October 24th, Midway Hotel, Brookfield.  Sponsored by Unlimited Vision Photo Club. This is an all day, intensive photo seminar from which you will come away with new tools and ideas to improve your photographic skills.  It is appropriate for all skill levels from beginner to advanced.  The Gerlachs are well known in the photographic community and present a very informative program.  This is an opportunity not to be missed!  A brochure with registration information is attached.

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:


Old World Wisconsin 2015 Photo Contest – Due date: October 16, 2015.  Photos must be taken at Old World Wisconsin.  Categories include: Pionee Life, People, Ariculture, Nature, historic Structures.  For more information go to: http://www.friendsoww.org/photo_contest.htm

Friends of Retzer Nature Center Annual Photography Contest – Due date: October 28th, 2015  Photos must be taken at Retzer Natue Center.  Categories include: People and Activities, Plants, Scenery, Wildlife, and Black & White.  There will be a reception on Sunday, November 1st to view the photographs and awards prizes to the winners.

WACCO Fall Competition – Due date: October 17, 2015  For further details and submission requirements, plese see the WACCO web site: www.wicameraclubs.org.  

5th Annual WACCO Exhibit – January 16 – March 12, 2016 at the Reuss Federal Building in Milwaukee.  Deadline is December 19, 2015.  See the WACCO web site to see a catalog of past entrants.  Details will be posted at the WACCO website (www.wicameraclubs.org) in the future.

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/