June Meeting: It'll be Black and White

Retzer Nature Center

Camera Club

June 2016 Newsletter

June Meeting – Wednesday, June 1st, 2016, 7:00 PM 

This month we will explore the world of black & white photography.  Carl Hartt will present his program: Seeing in Black & White.  Learn how some subjects can make great black & white 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. 

If you were motivated by last month’s program on wildlife photography to shoot some wildlife, please send those images to share with the club.

The following members will be featured this month: Wayne Christensen, Dick Clark, Lisa Conley, Carl Courtois, and Jim Edlhuber. 

This month, please email your images to Tom Wright at thomas657@centurytel.net by Tuesday, May 31st. This will help to streamline the process of viewing member images. We look forward to seeing your images.

2016 Club Programs:

Our 2016 programs and meeting dates are listed below: 

           

July 6, 2016 – Macro shooting and focus stacking presented by Bob Wickland

August 3, 2016 – Selecting images for the PSA WI Club Showcase

September 7, 2016 – Zoo photography presented by Bob Wickland

October 5, 2016 – Image correction and enhancement presented by Tom Wright.  Members will receive images in advance and given an opportunity to show how they would improve them.

November 2, 2016 – Table-top hands on shooting opportunity

December 7, 2016 – Holiday Party with spouses invited.  Review of Scavenger Hunt images.  Member “Best of 2016” show

If you have any topics you would like to see presented at future meetings, please let Program Chair Elizabeth Whitcomb know.

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.  Our Outings Chairperson, Randy Scherkenbach, has scheduled a number of outings for this year.  Please consider attending as many outings as possible.  The more people attending, the more fun and the more you will learn!  If you have some ideas of where you would like to see us go, please let Randy 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 have the following outing scheduled for the remainder of the year:

June 20 - Lifestriders Therapeutic Riding Center

August 20 - Wausau Kayak Races (Midwest Freestyle Championships)

August 28 - Milwaukee Concours d'Elegance car show

September 17-18 - Doors Open Milwaukee October 15-16 - Open House Chicago

The following are additional outings for which we have not yet set dates:

Spring – Starved Rock in Illinois

Spring / Summer - Chicago Botanic Garden

Summer - Night Sky and Milky Way at Retzer

Summer - Wildflowers at Retzer

Summer - Downtown Milwaukee at Night

Summer- – Frame Park Flowers

Summer - Wind Point Lighthouse Tower Climb and Tour

Fall - Milwaukee County Zoo

Fall - Tiffany Bridge and Beckman Mill near Beloit

Fall - Barns and Rural Landscapes of Manitowoc County

Photographing Retzer Nature Center:

Caryl Sedushak has organized a group of club members who meet periodically to shoot at Retzer.  In addition to getting some great images, we will be putting up a display of some of the images as well as providing them to Retzer to use in their educational programs.  If you are interested in join the group, please see Caryl, or call her at 262-349-4592.

Photo Scavenger Hunt:

Our Photo Scavenger Hunt has become a popular annual event which we will be doing again this year.  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 Jill Arth for providing us with these topics for our 2016 Scavenger Hunt:

1. Music
2. Happiness
3. Flavor
4. Wind
5. America
6. Backlit
7. Geometric
8. Contrast
9. Sparkle
10. Texture

Future Events of Interest:

 

Summer Weekend of Photography – July 28-31, 2016.  This annual weekend, organized by the Southwest Michigan Camera Club Council (SWMCCC) is held on the campus of Hope College, Holland MI.  Numerous classes and workshops are held throughout the weekend.  Field trips include: Birds of Prey Photo Shoot, Nature Shoot, and several Model Shoots.  The featured speaker is George Lepp.  For more details and registration information go to www.SWMCCC.org  Several club members have attended in the past and some are planning to attend again this year.

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:

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/ 

Club Organization:

Our club officers are:

            President                     Rick Vollbrecht

            Vice President              Tom Wright

            Treasurer                     Jim Edlhuber

            Program Chair              Elizabeth Whitcomb

            Outings Chair               Randy Scherkenbach

Members should feel free to contact the officers with any questions and suggestions they may have for the club.

Club dues for the 2016 club year are:

            Individual - $15.00

            Couple / Family - $25.00

            Student (16-25) - $10.00

Please see our Treasurer, Jim Edlhuber, to pay your dues if you have not yet paid.