If You Missed Our May Session ...

The May meeting was another attempt to push the boundaries of our photographic exploits. For the first time, we addressed Flash Photography with an introductory workshop by Glen Dobson. We delved into the types of off-camera flash units and how they could be utilized in various lighting conditions. Glen got some assistance from Wile E. Coyote who aptly demonstrated the differences between front vs rear sync flash.

 

Our quick topic for the evening was Panning and members were asked to try the technique for the upcoming month's theme challenge which is Movement. Continuing with the evening's theme of “P” words, we delved into how to make a Panorama or Wide Format Photography. We discussed the difference between using horizontal vs vertical images for the stitching process. Then we demonstrated how easy it is to utilize a program from Microsoft called Image Composite Editor (ICE). It is freely available for Windows based machines and can be downloaded from this url: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/ice/ . Be sure to give it a whirl – it is very easy to use.

This month, we decided to break down the various individual composition elements and deal with them one at a time. Margaret kicked that process off with a discussion of Lead-In Lines as one key compositional tool to improve the overall imact of our images.

Of course, there was more to the meeting that work! We were entertained by Caspar's Wildlife slideshow, along with shows for the Trenton/Mt Pelion Club Outing and the April Theme Challenge of Perspectives – Looking at the World Differently. Images from these two member sllideshows have now been uploaded to our Facebook page for your viewing pleasure.

Our outing for May will be Chisholm Mills and the Vandermeer Conservation Area. It will be held on Saturday May 9^th  - we'll meet near the Mill at 2PM.

We plan to have a member Print Exhibit  at our July club meeting – each member will be asked to bring along two unframed prints of at least 8x10” in size. So please start looking through your collection – preferably taken within the past 2 years and not previously shown in “print” form at one of our club meetings.

Also want to remind everyone that the current month's theme challenge is Movement (images will be due in by end of May) and that the challenge for next month (June) will be Renewal.

April Meeting Set for the 12th

Our meeting this month is delayed by one week due to the long Easter weekend.  That has provided us with extra prep time for a very full and interesting agenda.  We are going to delve into the world of the Lilliputians - not as part of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels but rather into the fascinating topic of Macro- Photography.  We will be investigating useful equipment, techniques and complicating issues facing us when photographing tiny objects.

In addition, we will turn our attention to our artistic side with a refresher course on Photo Composition with ways of creating more compelling and eye-pleasing images.  Other agenda items include a short review of our March "hands-on" workshop on Portraiture and an exotic tour of the richness and diversity of India - in Living Colour.

Multi-member slideshows will also cover our March club outing at Barcovan Beach & Presqu'ile Park, along with the monthly theme challenge of Shapes & Shadows.

The meeting will be held on Sunday April 12th starting at 7PM in our usual location - Wellington Public Library.  Hope you can join us for this entertaining and educational event.

March 1st Meeting

Our March 1st meeting marked the start of our third year of operations. We had another good turnout and tackled some important photographic tools and concepts. We commenced the meeting with a quick overview of the White Balance function in our cameras. That was followed up with a Road Trip slideshow on the County and surrounding areas during a very cold and snowy January/February period.

 

Our first mini workshop of the night was spearheaded by Janice Ruggles-Bolton who introduced us to the basics of Adobe Lightroom. This is a software package that has elicited considerable interest from other members and it was great to see it finally demo'ed in our clubhouse.

Following our halftime break, we opened up the second half with an inspiring view of a far away portion of the North American continent with a new year's trip North to Alaska by Jan Swenson. What beautiful mountain scenery and the awe of the Northern Lights right on our screen!

 

Bert Jenkins followed up with a review of the upcoming 2015 edition of the CliC Photo Show soon to be held right here in Picton. Deadlines for submissions are May ^21st and you can go to the newly designed CliC website for more details (www.clicphotoshow.com) and entry instructions. One of our members was a major winner at that event last year and I am sure she is looking to repeat!

The next mini workshop of the night was handled by Ramesh Pooran who took us through a discussion and examples of Depth of Field and it's various considerations. Quite simply, the smaller the Aperture, the larger the depth of field (area in focus), while the wider the Aperture, the smaller the resultant DOF. Both shallow and large DOF's can be used effectively to enhance our photographic imagery.

Our last slideshow of the night was on our theme challenge – Thru the Looking Glass. We had some very creative and artistic interpretations of this theme. These images, along with the above mention Road Trip images have been posted to our facebook page (facebook.com/countyfotoclub) for viewing.

 

Upcoming Events:

We have a special hands-on workshop scheduled for Tuesday March 10^th from 7-9pm in the parish hall at the rear of St Mary Magdalene Anglican Church. This will be a follow-up to last month's portraiture discussion and we will have two studio lighting set-ups for anyone to use. Bring your cameras and tripods.

Our club outing for the month will occur on Sunday March 15^th at 2PM at Barcovan Beach which is located near Brighton. This will provide lots of bird/fowl feeding opportunities as well as a walk through a picturesque little village closeby.

The Theme challenge for the month of March is Shapes & Shadows while advance notice of the theme challenge for April is Perspectives – Looking at Things Differently.

Thanks to all those who attended and participated in the session.

Meeting This Sunday - March 1st

Yes the Ides of March are almost upon us and I'm pleased to say that we will be commencing our third year of operation with this Sunday's meeting.  We have an interesting agenda planned to cater to both the artistic and the technical aspects of photography.  At last, we are going to tackle Adobe Lightroom with Janice Ruggles-Bolton providing a workshop primer on that very useful program/system.  In addition, Ramesh Pooran will explain the concept and uses of Depth of Field to improve our photographic pursuits.  Bert Jenkins will tell us about the 2015 version of the Clic Photo Show & Sale which will soon be upon us.  Jan Swenson has a special slideshow for us documenting her recent trip to Alaska and we will also have club slideshows on the month's theme challenge - Thru the Looking Glass and one entitled Road Trip - County & Surrounds.  Hope you will be able to join us - 7 pm Sunday March 1st in the Wellington Public Library!

Review of our February Meeting

Even going up against the mighty Super Bowl and the ominous threat of an on-coming snow-ma-geddon, we had a full house at our meeting. The weather man cooperated with snow delayed til long after all were safely home.

Our meeting started with a rollicking display of images from our Hockey Night in the County outing at which our beloved Dukes fell to the mighty Golden Hawks of Trenton. We even summoned up the voice of Foster Hewitt and the hockey songs of Stompin' Tom himself!

We were next treated to a dazzling display of the world of Underwater Photography from Jeff Evoy - our guest speaker and amateur scuba diver. Jeff is also the owner of our local Japan Camera Centre in Belleville. He, along with his wife Debbie, brought along a sizeable display of underwater photographic equipment that spanned the ages, from large fully enclosed housings and lights, all the way up to today's small water-proof cameras that are great for snorkling activities. They provided a lot of useful tips for anyone interested in such activities on upcoming southern vacations.

The second half of our meeting was opened up by a “cheeky” slideshow from David Gilbert which featured one of his favorite southern destinations – Daytona Beach. It was then time to get serious and learn something about Portrait Photography and lighting techniques from Robert Logan. Robert demonstrated some of his lighting equipment and showed us some great images from his many portrait sessions with clients. In each case he discussed his lighting and camera settings and took us from dual flash, through flash and LED, all the way to his use of natural light with reflectors.

We ended the meeting with a fine display of images interpreting this month's theme challenge – Winter Wonderland. These images have now been uploaded to our Facebook site.

This month's theme challenge is “Through the Looking Glass” due in prior to the end of the month.  The March theme challenge was also handed out - “Shapes & Shadows”, which will not be due in till late March.

Our outing for this month will be a winter's hike along the shoreline at North Beach Provincial Park. It will be held on Sunday Feb 8^th at 2 PM - we'll meet at the park's front gate

Thanks for all those who attended and participated in our on-going activities.

Looking Forward to February 1st Meeting

Our meeting on Sunday Feb 1st at 7pm in the Wellington Public Library will feature a special guest speaker - Mr Jeff Evoy - who will provide us with his unique perspective on Water Photography.  Jeff is an experienced outdoor photographer and also owns the Japan Camera Store in Belleville.  He is very active in the local photographic community and has assisted a number of other clubs and events in the area.

The second half of our meeting will focus on Portrait Lighting and all things necessary to get that great studio head shot.  Robert Logan will be demonstrating his lighting set-up and techniques with lots of images to document his results.

To warm us up from the cold weather outside, David Gilbert has put together a short slideshow on his favorite southern destination - Daytona Beach.  We will also have shows from the recent club outing to the Duke's Hockey game and one for our Winter Wonderland theme challenge.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

January's Meeting & Upcoming Events

 

We started the New Year off with a colourful slideshow from Janice Ruggles-Bolton entitled - La Magie des Lanternes. It was taken at an annual lantern festival in Montreal's Royal Botanical Gardens – a great event for photography. We followed that with our Theme challenge slideshow of Fun with Friends & Family. Bert Jenkins then put on a stimulating discussion and display of images on the topic of Black & White Or Colour – a constant dilemna for today's photographer. Luckily, it's now one that we can make in our post digital editing process rather than a prior commitment as in the analogue days of film photography.

 

 

Our second half commenced with Tina Konecny's documentary on the architectural magnifence of Prague. After a short review of feedback from members at our December meeting, we had a short Show & Tell which featured everything from a $8 substitute for a neutral density filter (welding mask lens) to various lens & attachments for macro photography and all the way to a new wifi operated camera demo'd by Ramesh. The meeting concluded with a Five Favorites member slideshow (these images have now been uploaded to our Facebook account).

 

   

Our Theme challenge for January is Wonderful Winter. The February Theme Challenge was handed down – namely Thru the Looking Glass - essentially anything with glass in it, is fair game. 

The club outing for this month will be a Duke's hockey game on Friday January 23^rd. The game starts at 7:30, but you should probably get to the Essroc Arena (111 Belleville St, Wellington) by shortly after 7 to get some early shots and to check out the vantage spots. We have some preparatory work for you all by going to the following website which explains in relatively simple terms how to take good shots at a hockey game.

http://shutterspeak.net/everything-you-need-to-know-about-shooting-ice-hockey/

As our next meeting is on Sunday Feb 1^st, we will need your 10-15 best shots from the outing submitted by the following Wednesday in order to allow time to put together the slideshow – Hockey Night in the County! And remember the images don't just have to be of the game – they can be of the crowd, arena, structures, emotions, etc.