Retzer Nature Center
Camera Club
June Newsletter
Program – Sunil Gopalan – Wildlife Photography:
Our program will feature wildlife photographer Sunil Gopalan. He is a Madison based photographer who has had his work appear in national publications. Sunil writes about his photography:
I was interested in birds long before I photographed one. The challenge of observing a small and wary creature with the capacity for flight is only compounded many times over when one is also attempting to obtain a good photograph of it. This challenge has driven me to various corners of the globe, spending significant amount of time to not just photograph the birds, but to understand them and capture their essence on camera. I have photographed birds on five continents.
Regardless of the nature of the species, and whether they are a relatively common one from my Wisconsin backyard or an exotic one from Africa, I hope my photography highlights something unique about it and leaves you inquisitive to know more and keep your eyes and ears open the next time you take a walk outside.
My work has been published in features including National Geographic, Audubon, Birding, and National Wildlife. Besides being in several private collections, it has been exhibited in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, the Somerset House in London, and upcoming exhibits include the Overture Center for the Arts in my home town of Madison, Wisconsin. Notable awards include recognition in Nature’s Best Windland Smith Rice Awards, Sony World Photography Awards and the North American Nature Photography Association Showcase.
Plan on seeing some spectacular images that should motivate you to expand your photographic experiences.
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.
This month we are asking those who joined us in the recent Manitowoc outing to submit two of their favorite images from the outing. We want to let the club members see what you were able to capture.
In addition, the following members will be featured this month: Brian Sprague, Kevin Thomas, Pat Toicen-Dyceeand Paul Underwood.
Please email your images to Tom Wright ( TomWrightwi@gmail.com ) by Tuesday, June 5th. New: when submitting your images, please change the file name to include your name as the first information in the file name. This will help to streamline the process of viewing member images. We look forward to seeing your images.
2018 Club Programs:
Our 2018 programs and meeting dates are listed below. We are always looking for ideas for future programs that are of interest to our members. If you have any ideas for speakers or program topics, please forward your ideas to Randy Scherkenbach ( rscherkenbach@gmail.com ).
2018 Program Schedule:
• July 4, 2018 – No Meeting
• August 1, 2018 – Ed Deiro – Water Drop Photography
• September 5, 2018 – Kurt Huebner – Macrophotography: Hunting and Imaging Dragonflies and Damselflies
Selection of images for PSA Wisconsin Showcase.
• October 3, 2018 – Jim Kurovsky – Mirrorless Cameras
• November 7, 2018 – Caryl Sedushak – Photographing with Lensbaby
• December 5, 2018 – Holiday Party - Member Scavenger Hunt and Best of 2018 Images.
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 Co-chairs, Elizabeth Whitcomb and Caryl Sedushak, are working on a schedule that will include some of our traditional outings plus a few new ones. They are always looking for your ideas of some places you would find interesting for a club outing. If you have any ideas of places you would like to have us shoot, please send your ideas to our Outings Chairperson, Elizabeth Whitcomb (lizannwhit@gmail.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. Perhaps you have a favorite place for fall colors or winter scenery.
2018 Field Trips:
• May (TBD) – Chicago Botanic Garden – Led by Caryl Sedushak, we will photograph tulips and other spring flowers.
New Members: We had several new members join our club at the May meeting. Please welcome Becky Retzer, Stacey Pigeon and Chris Braker. Look for them at the meeting and introduce yourself. Welcome to the club Becky, Stacey and Chris
Facebook: Our camera club now has a Facebook page! If you are on Facebook, simply put Retzer Nature Center Camera Club in the search box and you will find us. Click on the Join button and Elizabeth or Randy will approve you. This is a Closed Group and open only to club members. This means that anything posted here can only be seen by members of the group. You can feel free to share your work here without fear that someone outside the club will have access to it. Anything posted here is private, so feel free to ask questions – don’t be embarrassed or shy about it. The monthly Newsletter, meeting topics and outings will also be posted here. Check it out!
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 in 2018.
Your scavenger hunt images will be shown at our Holiday Party in December.
The topics for our 2018 Scavenger Hunt are:
1. Angle
2. Awakening
3. Close encounters
4. Delicious
5. Depth
6. Electric
7. Eyes
8. Patience
9. Play
10. Work
Future Events of Interest:
SWMCCC 2018 Summer Weekend of Photography and Digital Imaging - July 27-29: This annual event, organized by the Southwest Michigan Camera Club Council, is held in Holland MI. It features speakers Joe and Mary Ann McDonald, as well as more than 25 classes with an additional 12 presenters. For additional information, go to www.SWMCCC.org.
WACCO Birds of Prey Workshop – September 8, 2018: This workshop will be held at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. Approximately 14 different birds including Bald Eagle, Snowy Owl, and Great Horned Owl will be posed in outdoor natural settings. Early registration fee is $49.00 (before August 18th). After that the fee will be $69.00. For more information, go to the WACCO website: http://www.wicameraclubs.org/programs/
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 or exhibits, please forward the information to Rick Vollbrecht at Rvollb@wi.rr.com
Lake Country Photo Contest: Deadline June 16, 2018. Images must be taken of the natural lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and waterways in Waukesha Lake Country between June 17, 2017 and June 16, 2018. For more information, go to the Pewaukee Area Arts Council: http://www.pewaukeearts.org/photo-contest
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 (Rvollb@wi.rr.com) 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. The new UW Waukesha catalog is now available. Check their web sites for more information.
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:
WACCO (Wisconsin Area Camera Clubs Organization): www.wicameraclubs.org PSA (Photographic Association of America): www.PSA-photo.org PSA Wisconsin: www.PSA.wisconsin.org
Club Organization:
Our club officers are:
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President
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Tom Wright
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Vice President
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Jim Hobbick
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Treasurer
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Jim Edlhuber
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Program Chair
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Randy Scherkenbach
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Outings Chair
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Elizabeth Whitcomb, Caryl Sedushak
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Members should feel free to contact the officers with any questions and suggestions they may have for the club.
