Candlewood Camera Club

Candlewood Camera Club Has Moved

2011-08-23T09:09:00.005-04:00

You have arrived at the old blog site of Candlewood Camera Club of Danbury Connecticut.

Candlewood Camera Club has recently created its new website here which we invite you to visit. If you are specificially interested in the Club's blog, it has been moved to its new location here where we are in the process of transfering this blog's content to. This blog site will no longer be updated and will eventually be taken down.

Our new blog will continue to bring you information about the Club but will be augmented by a full website that will provide you with Club events, announcements, photographic-related resources, samples of photos from the Club's photographers and more. At our new website, club members will enjoy a wide range of features to aid in the presentation of their work, participation in Club competitions and Club-related business.

In addition to the change of our blog location, the club's new Internet address is CandlewoodCamera.org which is where our new wesbite can be found.

We invite you to stop in and visit us at our new website where we will continue to work hard to aid photographers of all skills as we have done since 1948.

Are You Going To The Faire - Two Renaissance Faires In The Area

2011-08-07T06:42:00.000-04:00

It's not often we get a chance to take shots of King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, Merlin, knights, knaves, and wenches . From the end of August through the 16th of October you'll have a chance to do just that. The New York Renaissance Faire runs, on weekends, from now through September 25th. As that faire is ending the Connecticut Renaissance Faire opens and continues through October 16th. So, for the next 10 weekends there's something to do.

The New York Renaissance Faire takes place in Tuxedo Park, NY, about 1.5 hours (70 miles) from the Danbury area. The Connecticut Renaissance Faire is located in Hebron, CT, just about the same time and distance, but in the opposite direction. Both faires encourage attendees to join the fun and dress in medieval garb.

To avoid images with crowds in modern dress in the background, you might consider bringing some of your longer glass.

Another Photo Op Listed

2011-08-06T08:20:00.000-04:00

Down along the right hand column you'll find a listing of "Photographic Opportunities". The number of opportunities ebbs and flows depending on what information is found. As of today, there are more than twenty events listed. Everything from Revolutionary War re-enactments this weekend at Putnam Park in Redding Connecticut and in Sturbridge Massachusetts to an Air Show on the weekend of October 10-11. Take a moment, follow this link and see if there are any events that pique your interest.

One of the biggest club outings of last year was the BalloonFestival at Norton Park in Plainville Connecticut on the last weekend of August. More than fifteen club members attended the Saturday evening lift. The Balloon Festival will go on again this year.

If you know of any events or photo opportunities, make them known and they'll be added to the list.

Scott Kelby's 4th World Wide Photowalk Is Set For October 1-2

2011-08-04T14:05:00.000-04:00

Scott Kelby recently announced his 4th World Wide Photowalk. Last year, more than 30,000 photographer's around the world participated. Again this year Tom Peterson is leading a walk in western Connecticut. This year's walk will be in the beautiful town of Kent Connecticut. Last year's local walk in Danbury had more than 25 enthusiastic participants.

This year's Photowalk is a two day event, October 1st and 2nd. The Kent walk will be on the 2nd. If Kent isn't your cup of tea, there are numerous walks in the New York City area. Kelby's advice is to signup for your first choice in walks and, if a walk on the opposite day is not full within a couple days of the walk, feel free to join another walk.

If last year's walk is any indication, a fun time will be had by all.

The Circus Is Coming To Town

2011-07-23T07:12:00.002-04:00

Well, not exactly our town. But, if you were looking for things to combine to maximize photo opportunities, how about a circus and a train. This weekend and next (July 23-24 and 30-31) there will be "The Valley Railroad Circus Train & "Big Top Tent" Show" happening in Essex Connecticut. According to the "Essex Steam Train andRiver Boat" website:

The Ringmaster welcomes you aboard an authentic Circus Train ride from off-site parking to the event grounds at Essex Steam Train.
Experience the thrills of an Acrobat Show in the "Big Top Tent" and laugh along with a "Punch & Judy" puppet show.
Partake in the circus midway including amusement rides, clowns, a petting zoo, live entertainment and circus food.

Might be something to check out.

And A Good Time Was Had By All

2011-07-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy of Bill Lounsbury

There was a good showing of club members at the NECCC Conference (New England Camera Club Council), held at the UMass campus. Pictured are several attendees at the Saturday evening "Tether and Balloon Glow" held at the campus pond field. A couple highlights of the weekend were having Joey Lounsbury as the club's high school "scholarship" attendee and his dad Bill being the club's complementary first time attendee. Both are excellent examples of up and coming new club members.

As has been typical for the past several years, Candi and Rocco Valeri and Donna Coulture hosted a Saturday cocktail party at the North Dorms. The party has become so popular that it had to be moved to the "D" building lounge from their suite. It's just another example of the camaraderie of fellow club members. Photography is what brings us together, friendship is what the club is all about.

To all those who attended the conference. Don't forget to let new members, coming in this year, know what a great time the NECCC Conference is.

At Your Service

2011-07-14T11:33:00.002-04:00

Do you want to find out what's new at the club, but don't want to have to check every day just to find out nothing was added? On the top of the right hand column is a new applet to allow you to "Follow By Email". After you signup, every time new content is added to the club's blogsite you'll receive an email letting you know something has been added or updated. It could be a notification, like this post. It could be a "Photographic Opportunity" has been added to the extensive list found down along the right column. Perhaps a member's Blog or website has been added.

The nice thing about this new service is that it won't bother you. If nothing has been added, you won't be getting an email with empty promises. If only one thing is added during a particular week, you'll only get the one email letting you know that you want to check what's new.

This should make life easier for members and, hopefully, encourage comments and discussion.

Looking For Something To Do Next Weekend?

2011-07-10T08:31:00.001-04:00

If you're not going to the NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) conference on the weekend of July 15, 16, 17 and are looking for something photographic to do, how about an antique car show. Shows of this nature are always fun and a good source of interesting detail shots.

There's a show at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie New York on Sunday. Lorri Freedman has suggested this as a possible "thing to do". Information about Locust Grove, directions and a calendar of events can be found on their website.

Any club member (or friend of the club) who knows of an interesting photo ops is encouraged to send in an email and it'll be published here on the club's site.

Some Birds Fly In Rare Air

2011-07-06T17:47:00.003-04:00

The club's brightest rising star is making headlines again. This time Joey Lounsbury is praised by, none other than, world famous author, wildlife and aviation photographer Moose Peterson. Joey thinks of Moose as one of his photographic heroes and sent him a quick email saying how much he appreciated Moose's influence and inspiration. Apparently, Moose was touched by Joey's note and suggests, on his blog, that people should follow the link he provides and say hello to Joey. Chances are Joey's going to be swamped with emails and comments about his work.

After his excellent video presentation at our annual awards banquet the other night it seems likely that it won't be too long before Joey's teaching a class at Photoshop World. Congratulations to Joey for getting some well deserved recognition from a wildlife icon.

First Photowalk Of The Summer To Shoot Sky Diving And Motorcycle Racing

2011-07-02T10:09:00.004-04:00

Alex Lau is the first club member to find a couple of interesting photo ops for the summer recess. On July 10th (next weekend), there's a motorcycle dirt race scheduled for RiderPlanet USA in Modena New York and people are always sky diving in the same area at Blue Sky Ranch in Gardiner. Directions for RiderPlanet can be found here and for Blue Sky Ranch here. Blue Sky Ranch is open from 8:00 AM until dusk on the weekends.

This will be an informal get together, so just show up at either or both locations. Meet up with other members of the club and for those interested, we can get together for lunch or dinner in the area.

Anyone with an interesting photo opportunity in mind should send it in to the editor and it'll be put up on the site to let everyone know where you'll be.

Joey Lounsbury's Show To Highlight End of Year Banquet

2011-06-22T22:48:00.002-04:00

We, as a club, are very fortunate to have a young phenom as a member. Joey Lounsbury has shown the he is an outstanding young photographer and will be sharing some of his images and methods at our end of year (season) annual banquet on Tuesday June 28th. Joey has been featured in several shows in the area, had an article about his work in the local newspaper and took home a First Place B&W Print of the Year award at or recent EOY competition. Everyone should take a moment to congratulate Joey on his outstanding influence on the club this year.
Joey has a couple books and calendars available for purchase. Hopefully he'll have some at the dinner.

A Day in My Eyes (Video Presentation)!

Joey Lounsbury, a 14 year old nature photographer and Candlewood Camera Club member, will be offering a very unique video presentation. The video showcases viewpoints and techniques that he uses to create landscape and wildlife images that will pull on the viewers heartstrings. He visits local swamps in search of landscapes and wildlife to shoot and then ventures over to Tarrywile Park where he photographs the Tree Swallows that nest there. The video encompasses everything from the initial view of the scene, to taking the photograph, and finally finishing the image in the digital darkroom. The video will be compelling for nature enthusiasts and photographers alike.

NECCC Conference Schedule Has Been Posted.

2011-06-20T10:42:00.003-04:00

The image you see is a generally marked up copy of the 2011 NECCC Conference Schedule. It's available by following this link. There's a lot to the schedule and a lot to the conference. If you haven't been to the conference you'll find that you'll be kept busy from dawn to dusk and beyond.

If you want to take a quick look, just click on the image above and it'll open as a larger shot. To work with the schedule you'll probably want to print it out and mark it up. One of the things that happens to some people every year is that they find out about a stellar class and end up without a time slot to get to it in. You may want to pre-plan the classes you want to make sure you don't miss.

As an example: Joe and Bill Lounsbury will be going up this year. Joe might want to attend "Photographing Birds in Motion" and Bill might be interested in seeing "Low Light Photography". They happen at the same time on Friday and each might have other favorites they don't want to miss on Saturday and Sunday. To avoid as many conflicts as possible, looking over the schedules and making a plan would probably be helpful. It doesn't have to be "cast in stone", but mapping out what you'd like to catch is a pretty good idea.

Printing the schedule on an 8.5 x 11 sheet will make the print impossibly small. You probably want to print it out on, at least 11 x 17 to be able to read it.

Everyone should try to make the most out of the weekend and have the best time possible. The club will have a couple things going on. Be sure to check with the usual suspects.

Help With The Planning For Next Year

2011-06-16T08:34:00.002-04:00

The title of this post is a link to the ballet for voting on the Assigned Subjects for the 2011-2012 season. If you didn't get a chance to vote at the club meeting this past week, grab a copy and fill out a ballet. Then email your single ballet to our club president: mailto:GerardBianchi@charter.net. Gerard will be counting the votes and have the assignments at the End of Year Banquet on the 28th.

There are other ways to help plan what's going on at the club next season. You see the "usual suspects" announcing one thing or another at the meetings. Everybody started out as the new person in the club. If you've got ideas, speak up, rise your hand, take one of the positions that open up each year. There should ne no small group setting the direction of the club. Let your voice be heard, get involved.

End Of The Year Competition Results

2011-06-14T21:57:00.000-04:00

Well, the season is over and it was a very successful year. The End of the Year winners are:

The Patty Johnson Flower B&W Print - Don Brooks
The Patty Johnson Flower Color Print - Don Brooks

The George Huff Nature B&W Print - Don Brooks
The George Huff Nature Color Pront - Bob Fletcher

The Warren Johnson Color Print of the Year - Don Brooks

Black & White Print of the Year - Joey Lounsbury

Photojournalism Print of the Year - Don Brooks

Digital Projected Image, Open Category - Lorri Freedman

Digital Projected Image, Altered Reality - Lorri Freedman

Digital Projected Image, Flower - Lorri Freedman

Digital Projected Image, Nature - Carol Finley

Congratulations to the winners and thinks to all who competed. Assigned Subjects for next season will be announced in two weeks at the EOY Banquet.

Club Members Will Participate In Art Exhibit and Sale This Saturday

2011-06-02T07:59:00.001-04:00

Looking for something to do this weekend? Carol Gibson and Joe Lounsbury will have some of their work on exhibit and available for sale this June at the second annual Tarrywile Park and Mansion "Plein ir Festival. Tarrywile Park is one of Danbury's most beautiful parks and a great place to do some photography. All club members are invited to attend the reception.

The following is a short description credited to "Still River Editions" blog:

"There is a plein air art happening taking place from June 1, until Saturday, June 4, 2011 at Tarrywile Park and Mansion, 70 Southern Blvd., Danbury, CT. Artists will be painting and photographing en plein air (live from the landscape outdoors in the open air) from dawn to dusk June 1-June 4, culminating in the Plein Air Art Exhibit and Sale on Saturday, June 4, 2-6 pm, where over 100 paintings and photographs from local artists will be offered for sale.

Tarrywile is a beautiful park, and has a lot of trails to hike and explore as well as water features and open fields for observing birds and other wildlife. There is even a crumbling castle in the part of the park across the street from the mansion."

Sale on Adobe Lightroom Hot On The Heels of Wednesday's Program

2011-05-25T16:13:00.001-04:00

If the May 24th's Program night on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 piqued your interest in using the program, have we found a deal for you. B&H Photo in NYC has LR3 on sale for $179.95 rather than its normal $299.00. Any time you can get a $120.00 saving on an Adobe product it's undoubtedly a hot deal.

This is a link directly to the webpage for the sale.

Long Time Club Member Recouperating After Back Surgery

2011-05-21T07:13:00.000-04:00

Long time club member and past President Jan Sansevera is recovering from recent back surgery. Please think of Jan and send her your good wishes. Members who know Jan and would like to visit her during her recouperation should ask for information at the next club meeting.

Jan: We all hope you're well soon.

May Program About Working Smarter, Using Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5

2011-05-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Tom Peterson will introduce his program "Partnering Smarter With Lightroom and Photoshop" to the club on Tuesday, May 24th. The focus of the program will be using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 and what can be done with it and where an editing program, such as Adobe Photoshop CS5 (or Adobe Photoshop Elements 9) might be needed. Tom will look into the strengths of Lightroom and the ease of importing, sorting, developing and various output options within Lightroom. He'll discuss why Lightroom is "the" application for photographers dealing with straight photographic work. He'll also discuss the limitations of Lightroom and where a pixel based editing program, such as Photoshop CS5 picks up where Lightroom ends. Tom will demonstrate the ebb and flow of intricate composite production between Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5.

Tom has been involved with photography since 1972, having served as the club's president from 1974 to 1977. Tom rejoined Candlewood Camera Club about ten years ago and serves as the club's representative to NECCC and PSA. Tom was a beta tester for the current version of Photoshop, giving opinions and suggestions to Adobe before CS5's release.

It's That Time Of The Year Again (click here for the link to the questionaire)

2011-05-14T13:52:00.004-04:00

Did you like every one of this year's Assigned Subjects? Yes! Great. No! Okay, let's do something about it. Here's your chance to put your two cents in. The header of this post is a link to a form asking for your thoughts on what the Assigned Subjects should be. Just remember, we have more than fifty members. If only one, or maybe none of your suggestions are selected for next season it doesn't mean you're being ignored. If everyone takes the survey and everyone has ten totally different ideas, we'll only have nine subjects from a pool of more than five hundred.

Chances are more than excellent that there will be overlapping suggestions and suggestions that are closely related. That's how we wound up with May's Assigned Subject of Rain/Mist/Fog. It's a mashup of at least three members suggestions. If you have a recommendation of Sherwood Island State Park and it ends up that we have Subject of beach/shore as we did this past year, consider that your input was counted. It might not be your exact phrase, but it'll be close enough that you'll be able to incorporate your particular slant on the subject and compete.

In the past five years, Assigned Subjects have included: Animals, Country Roads, Fire, Flowers, Painterly Quality, Winter Scene - Ice/Snow, Church Steeples, In The Woods, Eyes, In My Yard, Junk, Working People, Hands, Musical Instruments, An Unusual Viewpoint, Blue, Coastal Scenes/Beaches, Old Gas Stations/Pumps, "S" Curve, Blurred Action, Butts, Money/Coins, Wet, Monochromatic, Fences/Stone Walls, Numbers, Long Exposure, Abstracts, Night Photography, Steps/Stairs, Outside Looking In, Texture/Repetition, Beaches/Coastline, Carnivals, Antique/Vintage, In Motion, Abandoned Places/Things, On The Street/Street Scene/ Bugs/Butterflies, and finally Rain/Fog/Mist.

A Little Short Notice, But It Will Be Worth It.

2011-05-14T12:35:00.002-04:00

Ya looking for something to do this Monday evening? Well, Charter Oak Photographic Society is having "An Evening With Mark Bowie". Mark is a professional nature photographer and writer. He spoke at the NECCC Conference a couple years ago and was a big hit. His topic will be night landscape photography. The image showcased with this post is one belonging to Mark. To check out Mark's work and get an idea what he'll be discussing, take a look at his website (this is a link). The header of this post is a link to Charter Oaks invitation. It should be an interesting evening.

Freedman Sweeps Digital Competitions

2011-05-10T23:15:00.001-04:00

It was probably never in doubt, but Lorri Freedman led the way in each of the Digital Categories (Open, Assigned, Altered Reality) garnering first places in each. Just for kicks she also took a first for Color Prints Open and a second in Color Prints Assigned Subject. The rest of the contests were spread out among the rest of the club members.

A first time entrant, Ralph Baskin, took a first place in the monthly Digital Assigned Subject category. Look for big things from Ralph next season. Ralph's image, titled Coney Island Downpour accompanies this post. Ralph said he was there for the annual sand castle building contest when the skies opened and people started running. Way to go Ralph.

All scores can be found by going down the right hand column to the heading "Quick Tips About Competitions". The first topic is Current Competition Scores. As is always the case, if you spot any errors, report them for correction.

April Program Evening - Images of Bhutan by William B. Barnett

2011-04-14T16:39:00.001-04:00

Images of Bhutan: Photography in the Land of the Thunder Dragon explores the land, people, culture,and architecture of Bhutan. Approximately the size of Switzerland, Bhutan is a small Buddhist country located half way around the world in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas between India and China. Bhutan has long been isolated from the outside world, but it is now tentatively beginning to increase contact and move into the 21st century while still trying to maintain its traditional Buddhist culture. TV and Internet access have only recently come to Bhutan. Still images and video clips are combined with Bhutanese music to tell the story of this unique country.

In addition to showcasing Bhutan, the program also discusses the photographic techniques employed to capture the images and bring them to the screen. Topics include: planning for travel photography in a far off land; the equipment selected; and the digital techniques needed to capture and process the images on the trip and deal with the lighting conditions encountered. Unlike photography close to home, the travel photographer must deal creatively with the weather and lighting conditions that are present as the trip progresses; there is no alternative of coming back later when conditions are better.

Bill joined his first camera club (Stamford, CT) in 1969 and has been participating in photographic activities ever since. He has won numerous awards in local competitions as well as international competitions recognized by various divisions of the Photographic Society of America (PSA). He has received over 2500 acceptances which have earned him many stars distributed among five PSA divisions. He has been designated an Artiste by the Fédération Internationale de L’Art Photographique (AFIAP) for an outstanding record in foreign international photographic competitions. In 2010 PSA awarded him its Excellence distinction (EPSA) for his record of acceptances in international salons recognized by the various divisions of the Society.

Coming Down To The Wire And Some Races Are Tight

2011-04-12T22:37:00.000-04:00

Carol Finley's Digital Altered Reality image took
first place for the April Competition.

One more competition to go and some races are tight - others, not so much. The scores for the April competition and the cumulative totals for the year can be found by going to the link in the right hand column under the heading Quick Tips About Competitions.

The B&W Open battle is still up for grabs, Dennis Yates and Micheline Williams are tied for first. Don Brooks and Rick Tyrseck are nipping at their heels two and three points behind. In Class A Color Prints - Open there's a three way dead heat with Lorri Freedman an inch ahead of Bill Snellings and Don Brooks. It's anyone race to win. A few competitions are all but over. In the Digital Altered Reality Lorri could enter a hand drawn stick figure and still win. She's dominated the category all season long, having taken first place seven out of eight times.

Carol Finley took first place in the evening's Digital Altered Reality category with her image of Salisbury Cathedral. Carol explained how she created the effect after winning. Congratulations Carol.

Anyone Up For An Airshow?

2011-03-29T13:04:00.004-04:00

We started the month letting everyone know about an open house at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome on June 4th. We'll pretty much end the month on the same aviation note. Rhinebeck isn't the only opportunity to shoot aircraft. There's about a dozen air shows scheduled over the summer of 2011 within striking distance of the Danbury area. Some would be long days and all would cost a couple bucks in entrance fees, but there might be some chances for interesting images.

To find an air show, check in the right hand column under the heading "Photographic Opportunities". The list over the summer has more than twenty opportunities for photography. Anyone with any "Photographic Opportunities" should send a note to mailto:candlewoodcameraclub@hotmail.com.

That Was A Short Stay In NECCC Class B Prints

2011-03-28T16:02:00.002-04:00

The results for the final NECCC Print Competition of the 2010-2011 season are posted. Last year Candlewood Camera Club came in last in Class A B&W Prints. We were demoted to the second string, Class B. That was more than a little embarsassing for a club that used to be the beast of the east in Black & White Competitions.

Well, we're back. the results for the final print competition for NECCC can be found in the right hand column under the heading "2010-2011 Outside Club Level Competitions". The club ended the season winning the overall Class B category and has been "promoted" back to Class A.

Congratulations to all the Black & White printers in the club. It's a small but dedicated lot, and the few are keeping a dying piece of photography alive. Well done B&W printers.

NECCC Conference Registration Now Open

2011-03-20T07:55:00.007-04:00

Just a quick update on the post below. Registration for the NECCC Conference is now open. The early-bird price for the conference is $160.00 for the entire weekend, if the registration is made before June 25, 2011. This is a savings of $30.00. Room rate for the North (air conditioned) Dorm is $50.00 per night per person. For those brave enough to use the old dorms, the rate is $25.00 per night per person. The on campus meal plan is $65.00 per person for the weekend. (Dinner Friday, 3 meals Saturday, Breakfast & lunch on Sunday.) Registration can be either by check (print the registration form and send it in) or by credit card online.

There will be a matrix coming out shortly. It's worth it to download it and get a "game plan" going before the conference starts. Another note will be posted when it's available.

It's Time To Start Thinking About The NECCC Conference

2011-03-15T15:42:00.003-04:00

Spring is just around the corner. Thoughts of photographing high school baseball, track and tennis, the reawakening of the flowers and trees, getting out in the fresh air waft through the minds of photographers. Another thing to start bringing to the front of thought and action is the New England Camera Club Council's 66th Annual Conference. There will be a limited number of brochures available at the April competition night and members can always check the council's website for information. In addition to the link in this post a link can be found throughout the year in the right hand column under the heading "Useful Websites".

For those new to the club, the NECCC Conference is a three day weekend (July 15 - 17, 2011) educational experience beginning at 10:00 AM on Friday and ending early afternoon on Sunday. It'll keep you busy from 8:00 AM through 10:00 PM in the evening. Friday evening continues the day's classes and Saturday is the featured presentation. Saturday's show is titled "Balloon Inflations and Tethered Glow". After you've been inspired by Saturday evening program you'll be able to use that inspiration at a Balloon Launch Sunday morning.

In addition to the sometimes educational classes there'll be models around the center of the action , the Lincoln Campus Center. On the lower level of the Center there'll be vendors hawking a large assortment of photo gear, offering workshops, and demonstrating a variety of Adobe Photoshop plug-ins. While you're down there you can stop in at the Photo-Ops (formerly Photo Hi-Jinx) room and get a few shots using flash setups.

Other features of the conference are Pre Cons. Workshops on fashion photography and basic Photoshop techniques are offered Friday morning before the formal start. If you're a Nikon or Canon shooter, both companies will have "loaner equipment" available to conference attendees.

It's not available yet, but as soon as it opens you'll want to make a reservation at the air conditioned dorms.

Another Switch Up On The March Program Night

2011-03-12T13:47:00.001-05:00

It's unfortunate that Brad Stanton's studio had some water damage due to the recent rains. We won't be able to have the scheduled photo shoot there this month. The first thing Dennis Yates (Programs Chairman) did was ask Tom Peterson to switch giving his Adobe Lightroom/Photoshop presentation from May to March. Good plan, but...Hatter's Hall isn't available to us on the 22nd. So, club President Gerard Bianchi has been scrambling to come up with a "Plan C". He's come up with a heck of an idea. We're back to having a "photo shoot" , but this time it'll be at the Danbury Fire Department's Headquarters Building on New Street in Danbury. Club member Bill Lounsbury (aka Joey's Dad) is a member of the Danbury Fire Department and has arranged for us to shoot at and in the firehouse. Firehouses are magical places for photographers to shoot. Every inch, every corner, everywhere you look has possibilities. Seeing as our meetings are in the evening we will have to bring some lights. We can do some light setups, some HDR, some straight up dramatic portraits (if the firefighters aren't out doing what they do), some environmental portraits (firefighters and equipment), machinery shots, classroom shots or anything else that doesn't disrupt (too much - being there will be disruptive enough) the normal activities of a firehouse. The image on the left is a simple shot, composited to create an evocative story. It won "Print of the Year" at NECCC in 2003. It's titled "A Grateful Nation".

It should be one of the highlights of an already banner year's programs. You don't want to miss it. The "official" address of the firehouse is 19 New Street, Danbury, CT. If you get to New Street and can't find it, you may want to get your GPS recalibrated. It's the big building on the east side, about halfway down the street.

March Scores Posted

2011-03-08T23:23:00.002-05:00

The scores for the March Competition have been posted. They can be found in the right hand column under the heading "Quick Tips About Competitions". Doris Peterson took first place in the Digital Image Assigned Subject (Street Scenes) with her image titled "Sun Shower Walk". The shot was taken in Vermont along the Kelley Stand Road. Congratulations Doris.

There's been a scheduling change for the March Program Meeting. Brad Stanton has had some water damage to his studio due the heavy rains over the weekend. Tom Peterson's program on Adobe Lightroom 3.0/Photoshop CS5 will be given in place of the studio shoot. Hopefully the studio night at Brad's studio can be rescheduled for May. .

Individual awards from PSA and NECCC were given out at the meeting. Anne Eigen and Lorri Freedman received "Award of Merit" ribbons from PSA. In the Winter NECCC Print Competition Alex Lau garnered an Honorable Mention and our President, Gerard Bianchi went home with a Second Place ribbon.

Congratulations to all of this evening's winners.

Candlewood Camera Club Is Now On Facebook...Let's Be Friends

2011-03-06T09:56:00.001-05:00

With social media being the hot topic lately, it only makes sense that the club joins the fray and gets into the 21st century. If you're on Facebook you should be able to do a "search by name" on "Candlewood" and come up with the club's "wall". Put in a "Friend Request" and it's sure to be approved.

Among things that Facebook can be used for would be to find a shooting buddy. If you think you want to go on a photographic ramble on a particular day and want fellow shooters to join you, put a note up on the "wall" and see if anyone is up for a road trip. If you're doing a studio shoot and want a model or two, see if you can find one through a Facebook note. If you're having a problem with some gear, Photoshop technique, or inspiration, put something up and see who can help. It's all good.

The club's blog seems to be a one way street. There are very few comments ever posted, so it's become only an outbound flow of information. Facebook gives the club an interactive method for all club members to communicate. Let's use it.

Mark The Date

2011-03-05T05:16:00.001-05:00

The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome opens for the 2011 season on June 4th. The grounds and museum will be open and they're hosting a Community Open House. Admission for the day is free. There's no air show scheduled, but, if the weather cooperates, they will be practicing their flying events. Strangely enough, Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome is located in Red Hook, New York, about five miles north of Rhinebeck. The aerodrome is about 1.5 hours drive north of the Danbury area, up either the scenic Taconic Parkway or US-9 N. ORA opens at noon, so early risers may be able to stop on the way at Blue Sky Ranch in Gardiner New York to get some shots of sky drivers under canopy. Their website sort of sucks, so we'll have to check to see what time they start jumping. Probably as soon as the sun is up, but we'll talk about it. The BSR option would mean a trip across the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge and back to the east side of the river on the Kingston-Rhinebeck Bright.

Photographic opportunities are listed in the right hand column under the heading (...get ready for it) Photographic Opportunities. The list has been as high as twenty items and as low as one. Anyone knowing of an interesting place or event to shoot should send the link to Tom Peterson or talk to him at the club meetings to get something listed. Typically the upper limit of cost is set at about $500.00 (most are $100.00 or less). Anything over that and whoever's going will probably do their own research.

If you're going out shooting somewhere, let people know. It's always more fun and more laughs to have a couple friendly shooters along.

Winter NECCC Prints Are In.

2011-02-27T11:06:00.000-05:00

The results from the Winter NECCC Print Competition have been posted. They can be found in the right hand column under the heading of NECCC Competition Information. It's the topmost link in the list. The club was lead by our "fearless leader", club president Gerard Bianchi. Gerard received a 2nd Place for hi print titled "Prickly Porcupine". With a 2nd place the print is now up for the NECCC Interclub Print of the Year Competition. The results of that competition will be announced at the annual conference to be held at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Campus on July 15-17, 2011. Gerard joins Joe Loundsbury in the Print of the Year eligibility from our club.

Where's one more NECCC Print Competition to go. The Spring Competition will be held at the Norwalk Camera Club on March 14th. At our next meeting we can probably have a show of hands to see who's interested in going down. We'll figure out carpools from there.

Another Photo Op For Shooting Trains - April 30th

2011-02-17T07:54:00.002-05:00

For those who might have thought twice about a nine hour road trip to take part in an evening/night shoot of trains in Roanoke Virginia, another opportunity has come up. Instead of nine hours, this one is only a three hour drive.

Railfan & Railroad Magazine is having an event called "Spring Training" (clever play on words) in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The host for this event is Steamtown National Historic Site. This is a two part program and you can take part in either or both parts. During the afternoon there will be a series of Multi-Media Railroad Slide Shows. Scheduled to present are: Steve Barry, Andrew Blaszczyk, Christopher Blaszxzyk, Bob Eisthen, Frank Etzel, George Hamlin, Jerry Jordak, and Jeff Smith. The cost is $20.00 prepaid or $25.00 (in cash) the day of the show.

The big deal is the "Special Night Photo Session" with lighting provided by Lerro Productions. It should be a first class shoot. There's nothing that mentions anything about a limited number of shooters, so larger crowds than the limit of thirty at the Roanoke shoot (see post on this page dated Februray 8th). Cost to participate in the shoot is $60.00. A combination ticket is available for $70.00.

The field trip can be done in two ways. Run over, take part in the shoot and drive back (arriving home in the wee hours) or, stay over night. A quick check of Travelocity shows that there are hotels in the Scranton area ranging from $46.00 to $159.00. Anything from an Econo Lodge to The Woodlands Resort. Let's talk about it at Tuesday's meeting.

Don't Miss This Month's Program Meeting,

2011-02-15T21:25:00.001-05:00

Our next meeting, the Candlewood Camera Club will host as our speaker Steve Wronker. The meeting will be Tuesday, February 22nd beginning at 7:30. Steve is a successful entertainer (website link) and photographer. He has presented at many local camera clubs over the last few year are his success in photographing birds (link to images) in his back yard. In his program he promises to share many of his photographs as well as some of the secrets and techniques used in convincing birds to appear, pose and stay while he photographs them. This will be an excellent program.

All, members and visitors, are welcome to join us. Directions to the Club meeting venue can be found here: Candlewood Camera Club Blog.

February Scores Posted

2011-02-08T22:48:00.001-05:00

Micheline Williams Winning Image in Assigned Subject titled:
Roman Ruins in Morocco

Scores from the February competition have been posted and can be reached by following the link titled Current Competition Scores found along the right hand column. Micheline Williams clever treatment of a panoramic shot of "Roman Ruins in Morocco" took first place in the Assigned Subject Category in the Digital Projected portion of the competition.

In addition to the current club level scores, the NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) and PSA (Photographic Society of America) scores for the club's entries are on page 2 (NECCC) and page 3 (PSA) of the spreadsheet. Images and prints that are out representing the club in other competitions are listed as they go out. As soon as the scores are returned they are posted.

Bill Snellings Leading A Photo Shoot To Roanoke, VA

2011-02-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

Bill Snellings announced tonight that he and Tom Peterson are going to Roanoke, Virginia to take part in Lerro Production's April 8 - 9 Night Railroad Charter. Bill asked anyone who might be interested in joining the trip to go to Lerro Production's Website to check out some of the stunning images from past photo charters. The price for the photo charter is $80 for both Friday and Saturday evening's shoots or $45.00 for either single day. Lerro sets up shooting scenes with locomotives, a cast of characters dressed in vintage railroading and civilian clothes and automobiles from the golden age of steam trains.

In addition to shooting the scheduled charter the boys will probably do some shooting in the Roanoke area Saturday during the day and probably look for spring photo opportunities along a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway on the return trip home on Sunday.

Anyone in the club is invited to join Bill and Tom on what should be a fairly exciting field trip.

The Club's Help-Portrait Event Deemed 101% Success

2010-12-20T17:03:00.004-05:00

Above: A mother and daughter check out their finished portrait.
Left: An idea of the chaos in the "studio".

The club had its most successful community service project in recent memory on Saturday as part of the Help-Portrait Movement. Help-Portrait, according to its website is “is a community of photographers, coming together across the world to use their photography skills to give back to their local community.”

In December, photographers around the world grabbed their cameras, found people in need and took their picture. Our club, under Project Leader Donna Cloutier, partnered with another service organization, named Santa’s Workshop, and not only took family portraits of the Danbury area’s needed, but had them in the parents hand within ten to fifteen minutes. There’s a small video clip that will give an idea of the chaos involved. The entire registration, shooting, processing and delivery took place in a 15’ by 25’ room at the Dorothy Day Hospitality House in Danbury. Two stations, one at either end of the room, had a constant line of families wanting their portraits taken. Along one side of the room families were registered and given a simple identification number. On the opposite wall two laptops and two printers cranked out portrait after portrait of smiling folks. We had people outside letting people know what was going on and directing them to our post. Others were the delivery system, taking finished prints in presentation folders out among the crowds to find the family.

Our club President’s view of the day is: “I thought that the Help-Portrait event went incredibly well. The group worked together to overcome obstacles such as not having access to the room until late (and having it filled with tables and chairs that had to be cleared) and having to overcome technical issues with cameras, flashes, computers and printers that needed talk to each other. Yet we made it happen and were able to give more than 100 families their portraits for Christmas, far exceeding all of our wildest expectations of how much interest there would be in what we were doing. Each person did whatever was needed to make the event a success and I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of the group who was there to help. Of course, special thanks go to Donna Cloutier for her efforts in getting our foot in the door with the organization and finding a worthy candidate for our Help-Portrait efforts. The smiles from the families who received portraits made it all worthwhile.” Gerard Bianchi

The volunteers who made Help-Portrait such a success will be acknowledged at the holiday dinner on Tuesday. Don’t forget, the holiday dinner is tomorrow, a untypical night for us to meet. It also starts at 6:30 rather than the normal 7:30.

Congratulations to Donna Cloutier and her entire team for making Help-Portrait in the Danbury area an outstanding success and delivering 101 portraits to families in need.

Can Anyone Stop This Woman?

2010-12-15T01:17:00.002-05:00

So far we’ve had four competitions this season and Lorri Freedman has taken first place in Digital Altered Reality four times. Her image tonight, titled either “Sacred Pete” or “Scared Pear” (probably the later) was another of her fine manipulations. Lorri’s not only kicking butt in Altered Reality, but also has a reprise of her battle with Bill Snellings going in the Open Color Print category. Lorri and her shooting buddy Carol Finley are going toe to toe in the Digital Assigned Subject section of the competition.

There’s a saying that “a rising tide lifts all boats”. Lorri is the rising tide in our club and everyone will benefit from her fine example. Congratulations Lorri and keep going.

The latest scores can be found in the right hand column under the heading “Quick Tips About Competitions”. The most up to date listings for outside competitions can be found on sheet #2 (NECCC) and sheet #3 (PSA) of the scoring spreadsheet.

Another Volunteer Opportunity For Club Members

2010-12-14T05:16:00.003-05:00

Our club will be hosts for the NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) Winter Print Competition. The results for the Fall competition just came in and can be found in the right hand column under the heading “NECCC Competition Information”.

A couple statistics are included in the narrative portion of the report. There were more than 200 prints entered in the competition in three catagories: Black & White Class A Prints, Black & White Class B Prints and Color Prints. A team of 16 people were involved in the competition.

Candlewood Camera Club received a second place ranking in B&W Class B Prints due to the strength of Jow Loundsbury and Bob Fletcher’s prints. Ribbons will be coming soon for Joe, Bob and the club. As soon as they arrived they will be handed out out at the first available club meeting.

That leaves us with a call for volunteers for the January/Winter NECCC Print Competition. Anyone/everyone interested in participating in the work involved in putting on this competition should respond to this posting. Just a quick response saying “I’ll help” along with you name will work as a signup list. The biggest need is people to help with the cataloging of the entries. The deadline for entries is January 18th, so the work will most likely be done on Saturday January 22nd.

A Couple Of Reminders

2010-12-11T07:48:00.001-05:00

1. The deadline for submission of digital images for the December competition is Sunday, December 12th. That’s tomorrow evening if you’re reading this on the day it was posted. The digital competitions (Open, Assigned Subject and Altered Reality) are zero cost competitions. Once you’ve paid your dues there are no printing costs (ink, paper, printer purchase, or printing vendor) to be entered. It’s the free-est thing we have as a club. Everyone should take advantage of this club asset.

2. Nancy Jackson will have signup sheets for the holiday party at Tuesday’s meeting. The party will be held on Tuesday, December 21st. This is not our normal 4th Tuesday of the month, but is the 3rd Tuesday. The club will provide the main course and members attending should bring either a side dish or desert. The cost will be $5.00 to go toward the main course and a raffle prize of no more than $10.00 should be brought for the Yankee Swap.

3. Next Saturday club members will be taking part in a Help-Portrait event at the “Santa’s Workshop” community giving event held on Spring Street in Danbury. Anyone working at the event should bring the equipment to the meeting on Tuesday to do a dry run. Workers should come to the meeting early to do a full setup. We won’t have time to spare at the event, so a practice session is necessary.

Volunteers Needed For A Great Club Project

2010-11-23T09:30:00.001-05:00

As a club we do a good number of fun events and outings. Now we have something serious to work on. Donna Cloutier is leading an effort with a not for profit organization called Help-Portrait. According to H-P’s call to action it is “Help Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate. “ The club has partnered with “Santa’s Workshop” in Danbury to offer family portraits to people in the Danbury area who might not be able to afford professional portraits. Santa’s Workshop” hands out coats, toys and bicycles to as many as 300 children each holiday season.

Santa’s Workshop works out of a tiny storefront on Spring Street in Danbury. We’ll have a couple of portrait stations in the Dorothy Day Hospitality House right next door. Dorothy Day is a homeless shelter and soup kitchen that’s served the Danbury area since 1982. The people using DD are fellow human beings who may have had a bit of bad luck and are, at the moment, homeless. They have families, either close by or in other areas. To be able to offer family members a chance to have a professional quality portrait for the holidays is a gift we can give.

We need shooters, setup people, computer users, coordinators, hosts/hostesses and other volunteers. We will be doing our Help-Portrait event in coordination with Santa’s Workshop on December 18th. We’ll start set up at about 8:00 AM and be through with cleanup by 2:00 PM. The objective is to hand each family a print and a way to be able to get additional copies for their extended families. It’s going to require some “heavy lifting” (figuratively) and many hands make light work.

The title of this posting is a link to CCCDanbury’s page on the Help-Portrait site. Go there, sign up and give back some of your expertise during the season of giving.

A PSA Conundrum

2010-11-13T09:35:00.001-05:00

Temple In South Korea (C) Micheline Williams

Conundrum – a Rogets Thesaurus says synonyms would be puzzle, mystery, challenge, poser, problem, or riddle. That’s what Micheline Williams image titled “Temple In South Korea” would be thought of by the PSA (Photographic Society of America). The club might consider entering it into a couple PSA Division competitions, except for the rules. Darn rules! Always getting in the way. It’s a natural for PSA’s Photo Travel Division’s competition, but for the fact that it appears to have some HDR Toning done to it. According to the Photo Travel Division’s Competition Director, HDR can be used on an image as long as it appears natural. Micheline’s image, while quite striking and very lovely, seems to be slightly toward an “altered reality” view of the temple. Possibly a little too much for the Photo Travel folks. They’ve tightened up their definition of what is acceptable for the 2010 season.

Okay, so if it’s too much toward the “altered reality” side of HDR, what about submitting it to the PSA’s Color Projected Image Division’s “International Creative Club Competition” (ICCC). Well, the rules for the ICCC say an image with only HDR done to it isn’t sufficiently “altered” to be entered in the ICCC . It seems HDR has become too “main stream” for a creative competition.

So, we indeed have a conundrum as to what to do with an image like Micheline’s. There are a couple competitions in the PSA that would accept an image with an HDR effect applied. In the Color Projected Image Division’s straight competition, the “International Club Image Competition “ (ICIC) it would have a home. In the Electronic Imaging Division’s “Digital Inter-Club Competition” (they don’t reduce the name down to initials) it would be okay. In Photojournalism – not so much. In Nature – not a chance.

So, the moral of the story is that we have to be aware of the rules as we enter digital images in PSA competitions. Some images just don’t fit where you might think.

November Competition Scores Posted

2010-11-09T23:12:00.002-05:00

Carnival Wheel (C) Doris Peterson

Another competition is in the books and some yearlong races are tightening up and others are starting to become runaways. To find out where you or your favorite pixel jockey stand, the scores can be found in the right hand column as “Current Competition Scores” under the “Quick Tips About Competitions” header.

A new member of this year’s winner’s circles is Doris Peterson, who’s print (accompanying this post) titled “Carnival Wheel” came in first in the Assigned Subject category. Doris says her print was finished entirely in Adobe Lightroom 3.2. She feels LR3 is much superior to Adobe Photoshop CS5 for straight prints. In addition to using the Basic Panel, she also used the HSL, Details and Effects Panels to suck any noise out of the image. Congratulations Doris on a fine print.

Some people are still having problems sizing their digital images. Two tutorials on an easy method of preparing image for digital competitions have been put on under the header “Quick Tips About Competitions”. There’s one for Photoshop CSx and one for Photoshop Elements. Both show how to get full control over your entries.

Judging Symposium, Saturday, November 6, 2010

2010-10-31T18:09:00.002-04:00

The New Haven Camera Club is hosting a “Judging Symposium” on
Saturday, November 6, at the United Methodist Church, 811 East Main Street,
Branford, CT, from 9A.M. to 12 noon. Note: This is a different location from
where the club normally meets. Directions are included at the bottom.

Why are we doing this? Camera clubs depend on good judges to critique the work of their members. These days, clubs are finding it harder to get good qualified people who are willing to go out and serve as judges. We thought that perhaps bringing a number of interested people together to discuss the issue of camera club judging would be beneficial to all. Even less experienced photographers, not ready
to become judges, may benefit from this symposium.

Paul Peterson will begin the morning with his updated program “Judging Photography In The Digital Age.” After the program, we will engage in a free-flowing discussion in which the participants are invited to share their ideas for improving the quality and number of camera club judges in our area.

Here are some of the questions we may try to answer:
What should judges look for in judging a photograph?
How do clubs go about getting good judges?
What makes a person qualified to be a judge?
Is it more difficult to judge digital photography?
What are the pet peeves that clubs have about judges and judging?
Are there concerns that judges have about camera clubs?
Can area clubs get an up-to-date list of camera club judges?

These are just some ideas for questions. We will discuss whatever the people in attendance want to discuss. If there is enough interest in this symposium, perhaps it can serve as a springboard for further discussions in the future.

Anyone can attend. You do not have to be a judge.
There is no charge for the symposium.
We hope to see you there to share ideas and learn what others are thinking.

Light refreshments will be served.

An RSVP is not absolutely necessary but would be appreciated so we can determine the number of attendees. Email Paul Peterson at the following address: mailto:NHCCwin@yahoo.com or call 203-488-0267.

Directions from New Haven: I-95 north (east) to exit 56 Branford. Turn left.
Go past Stop & Shop to Route 1 (Chowder Pot Restaurant will be across the street.)
Turn right onto Route 1 (east). Follow one mile to the United Methodist Church,
811 East Main St, on the right (white church). Park anywhere in the lot.

Tom Curley To Discuss Panoramic Photography At Tuesday's Meeting

2010-10-21T20:04:00.001-04:00

Tom Curley is a photographer with a background as a marketing executive for over 25 years with Fujifilm USA where he managed the full line of professional photography products, digital lab printers, pro lab workflow solutions, as well as Xerox printers for the imaging market. Tom is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology and has served as a member of the Industry Advisory Board for Professional Photographers of America, the International Center of Photography Presidents Council, and the industry advisory board of the McGhee Distinguished Professor chair for RIT's Imaging Technology curriculum.

He is a member of the Cameracraftsmen of America and the Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance. He has served on the board of advisors for the Natures Best Foundation, and as a volunteer for the Arts Council of Westchester County, NY and the Maria Ferari Childrens Hospital art committee in White Plains, NY.

His photographic work features panorama format landscape images. He is represented by Danita Delimont Stock Photography. Tom has been a member of the International Association of Panorama Photographers since 1999. He lives in New Milford.

Program brief:

Panorama Imaging: A look at panorama photography, including equipment and process for capturing panoramic images with film, as well as scanning and printing. Examples of work will be presented, and discussion of practical uses for panoramic images.

Carol Finley Leads The Way At PSA

2010-10-20T15:53:00.002-04:00

The first results from the club’s first PSA (Photographic Society of America) competition are in and we didn’t do too shabby. PSA scores on a fifteen point system and a club can enter as many as six images in each competition. Three judges score each entry from one to five within the context of images received. The maximum score possible for a club is eighty points. CCC came in fifth place out of twenty-five clubs in Group D of the October ICIC (International Club Image Competition). Group D is for clubs new to PSA competitions.

Carol Finley lead the club’s scoring with a score of thirteen for her image titled “NY Brooklyn Bridge”. The complete scoring by club members can be found on the third page of the “Current Competition Scores” found in the right-hand column under the title “Quick Tips About Competitions”.

For this first competition, entries were chosen from digital images entered in either last season or this year’s first competition. This limits us in the selections to pick from. If your print came in either first or second and you’d like to have it considered for PSA competitions, please get an electronic copy of your print in to the club’s email account. mailto:candlewoodcameraclub@yahoo.com Mark it “Print Image for PSA Competitions”.

Help Portrait - A Good Way To Give Back For What You Have

2010-10-15T17:52:00.002-04:00

Last year a group of club members, led by Donna Cloutier, did something nice for the community by shooting portraits of seniors in New Milford. It was part of a much larger, world wide effort to bring some cheer to people during the holiday season.

To give you an idea of what Help-Portrait is all about, here’s a link to a Scott Kelby blog post from last year. It has a short video from Jeremy Cowart, the founder of this movement. He can tell the story better than anything that can be written in this post. Take a look at the video, just remember that it refers to last year’s event. This year’s date is December 4th.

One of the key concepts discussed in the video is that “it’s not about you. It’s about people in our communities” less fortunate than members of the club. Possibly a homeless mother or someone who’d like their family to know they’re doing okay.

We’ll need people who have a knack as portrait shooters, good organizers, possibly hair and makeup people, a setup and teardown crew, gofers and others. This is a “check your ego at the door” type of outing. You’ll feel good about what’s being done no matter what job you handle.

To signup, go to http://community.help-portrait.com/ . The club is currently on the splash page of the site. If it’s no longer there, do a search (upper right hand corner) on CCC Danbury CT. It’ll get you to our page. Signup from there.

We Have A Problem With The Digital Image Competitions

2010-10-13T09:13:00.002-04:00

Last night’s Digital Image Competition pointed out the fact that many club members don’t know how to setup images for optimal viewing. We had an image submitted that was a 6.24 MB file and one that was a 30 kB file. The “standard” for file size for club, NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) and PSA (Photographic Society of America) competitions is 350 kB.

The “Digital Competition Rules”, found in the right hand column under “Quick Tips About Competitions”, spells out the details of what the rules are. Its 1024 pixels in the horizontal dimension or 768 pixels in the vertical dimension (whichever is largest) and a max file size of 350 kB. That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t tell anyone how to get to those parameters. Two tutorials have been added to the “Quick Tips About Competitions” header to help members set up proper entries. One is for members using Photoshop CS4 and above (below CS4 has not been tested) and the other is for members using Photoshop Elements. (PSE 8 is the only version tested.) Following the appropriate tutorial should result in your turning in properly dimensioned and sized files.

If any members are using other photo finishing programs, please indicate and we will attempt to create a tutorial for your specific application.

Season's Second Perfect Score Goes To Carol Finley

2010-10-12T23:33:00.001-04:00

It was sort of a wild and wooly night for a competition, with many club members being lost trying to find the Elks Club. Candi Valeri and Tom Peterson stood outside by the side of the road being human signposts to flag down members. The meeting was one of the best attended despite being held at an “alternate” location.

But, the night was a success, especially for Carol Finley who received the first perfect score of thirty for her digital image titled “Osprey”. According to Carol the image was captured at the J. N. Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida. Carol and shooting buddy Lorri Freedman took a highly productive trip down to Sanibel Island and shot up the place (photographically of course). Congratulations Carol on a great winning shot.

>>Image size is due to the small file size submitted<<

Another Photowalk Lined Up. Get Ready For November

2010-10-09T08:27:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Allison Hansen, we are set for a photography field trip to the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy on Saturday, November 6 from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Here are the details:

• They are located at 10 Duck Pond Road, Litchfield, CT 06759. Phone is 860-567-2062.

• Their website is http://www.lrwc.net

• Directions (from their website): LRWC is located on Duck Pond Road in Litchfield, which is in northwestern Connecticut. From Litchfield Center, take Rte 202 west towards Bantam. Travel 0.8 miles to the traffic light (just past Stop & Shop on left) and turn right on Milton Road. Take third left onto Duck Pond Road, a small dirt road. Proceed 0.5 miles, crossing a small bridge, to the LRWC driveway on the right marked with a wooden sign.

• In the event of bad weather the tour will need to be rescheduled for later in the Fall or Spring.

• The charge will be a $10 per person donation to the Conservancy. They ask that photography groups compile a club CD of photographs (1 - 2 images from each photographer with photographer name) for use in LRWC newsletters and website (with proper credit to the photographers of course). They have a photography form that outlines the rules of photographing at LRWC. They ask that all photographers read and sign the form prior to arrival. Please find form attached.

• The LRWC will allow us to go into the penned aviaries to take photos and the tour is private for our group. The plumage is expected to be good since we are going later in the season.

• For those who are interested (and this is completely optional), the nearby White Memorial Conservation Center (www.whitememorialcc.org) may be of interest prior to going to the LRWC. It is located about a mile from LRWC. The grounds are open all of the time and are free of charge. The museum is open on Saturdays from 9 – 5 for a fee of $6 for adults and $3 for children 6 – 12 years old.

IMPORTANT!!!!! – To be considered “signed up” for the LRWC photo shoot (contract link), we must have your $10 and completed form no later than our October 26 meeting. You may pay Kathleen and turn in your form at either the October 12 or October 26 meeting. If you would like to attend the photo outing and are not able to make the next two camera club meetings, simply reply to me and I’ll give you instructions for submitting your $10 and completed form.

Remember, The Meeting Has Changed Locations For Tuesday, October 12th

2010-10-07T09:39:00.005-04:00

The Tuesday, October 12th meeting will not be the normal place. Don’t go over to Hatters Park unless you’re interested in playing Bingo.

Tuesday’s meeting will be at The Elks Club, located at 42 Shelter Rock Road, Danbury, CT. The address is a link to Google maps. To create a custom set of directions, click the link and enter your starting point in the “From” field. If you’re using a GPS, just enter the address and listen to the voices. If you don't have a GPS and you're still hearing voices, it's probably best to use a map.

The meeting will start at the normal time of 7:30 PM, with the doors open at 7:00 PM. Come early and help setup.

Fall Foliage Is Almost Here. It's Time For A Photowalk

2010-10-03T09:37:00.001-04:00

Anyone interested in photography shouldn’t miss fall foliage time in Connecticut. More specifically, northwestern Connecticut. One of the nicest areas is the Litchfield hills. On Saturday October 23rd we’ll have another of our informal photowalks, in Litchfield. The Green there is pretty apparent and a good place to meet. Since some club members don’t believe that the sun actually rises (Alex), we’ll shoot (bad pun) for late afternoon sun going into sunset. The good news is that the sun sets at 6:00 PM on the 23rd in Litchfield. The bonus is that the moon rises at 5:59 PM there and is one day past the full moon. The recommendation would be to scout some locations for the ideal spot to get a low moon over a great scene.

Litchfield is a town that’s been around since before the Revolutionary War. Many of the homes and buildings predate the war. As another “bonus” (still TBD) we have contacted a couple groups of Revolutionary War reenactors and have invited some of their members to join us during the walk. The promise to them is TFP (trade for photos), meaning: in exchange for their participation they will get a few copies of your best shots (of them) for their use.

As has become a tradition on this type of outing, we’ll figure out somewhere to grab a light meal after we’ve finished shooting. This is separate from the photowalk and participation is not a requirement. It’s just a fun way to end the shoot.

We're Off And Running At PSA

2010-09-30T08:59:00.003-04:00

For the first time, Candlewood Camera Club is competing on an international level through the Photographic Society of America (PSA). PSA has a variety of divisions and all but the Pictorial Print Division have electronic, projected image submission.

The first competition out of the box is in the Color Projected Image’s International Club Image Competition (ICIC) coming up in October. To give an idea of what’s coming up, here’s a list of the competitions we’ll be entering:

International Club Image Competition (ICIC) – Color Projected Image Division
International Creative Club Competition (ICCC) – Color Projected Image Division
Digital Inter-Club Competition – Electronic Imaging Division
Club Digital Competition – Nature Division
Interclub Digital Competition – Photojournalism Division
Interclub Digital Competition – Photo Travel Division

Each group has either three or four competitions during the camera club season. Luckily, the competitions are blind to each other and the same image could, theoretically, end up being entered (once) in every separate event.

To keep track if and which of your images has been sent forward to a PSA Competition you can check sheet three of the Current Competition Scores spreadsheet. The link can be found in the right hand column, under the heading of Quick Tips About Competitions.

Good luck to everyone.

A Big Thanks To Frank Navone

2010-09-29T15:42:00.001-04:00

The club has had it’s share of professional photographers come in and “talk” about what they do and what it’s like to be a pro and show the end result of their labor. Last night’s meeting with Frank Navone stands out from the rest. Not only did Frank share some of his professional work, he also let us in on his personal work. The art of photography rather than the business of photography. Along with some very impressive images, he shared the work process he goes through to create a final image. He broke down a number of images, showing his layer by layer manufacture of the final composition. He demonstrated how he makes one final composite image of dozens of individual images that come out of the camera. He presentation was not only of eye popping images, but was also eye popping insight into the construction of a commercial image.

Anyone interested in checking out some of Frank’s work can use this link for Novone Studios. Thanks Frank for a great program.

Photo Op This Weekend

2010-09-29T15:12:00.003-04:00

We’re in for a little rough weather for the next couple of days, but the weekend is supposed to be another great weekend for going out shooting. Saturday is going to be sunny and 62 degrees. Sunday will be the same temperature and “mostly sunny”. It should be a couple of great days to shoot some horses. Okay, that probably sounds bad. No horses will be harmed in the photographically taking of pictures. So, where is this great op? There’s going to be a show of jumping horses at the Old Salem Farm, 190 June Road, North Salem, NY 10560. It starts at 7:30 AM on Saturday and goes all day. It’s back again on Sunday at the same time. There’ll be all sorts of age groups and types of horses, so something for everyone.

The name of the farm is a link to their website. The address is a link to Google Maps to be able to get yourself a custom set of directions.

New Rules Jumpstart First Competition Of The Season

2010-09-16T09:07:00.003-04:00

Lorri Freedman’s winning Assigned Subject (Nature) image titled “Song Birds” was one of the highlights of the club’s first competition of the season. One of the key aspects of a good nature image is the interaction between animals or their environment. Lorri’s winning image is a great example of the type of interaction that wins awards at the club, at NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) and PSA (Photographic Society of America) Nature Competitions. Lorri also had first place wins in the Digital Open Category with “Red Tulip” and the Digital Altered Reality Category with “Cracked”, completing a sweep of the digital side of the evening’s entries. Nice going Lorri. Nice to see you haven’t lost a single step over the summer.

The latest scores and standing can be found in the right hand column under the heading "Quick Tips About Competitions"/Current Competition Scores. The spreadsheet will have three pages this year. To keep up with what is being sent to NECCC and PSA, check out the second and third pages of the spreadsheet.

Several changes to the competition rules seem to have energized members into competing. B&W (Black & White) prints in both Class A and Class B have suffered for the past several years. At several competitions it would come down to “a winner” and “the other guy/gal”. The number of B&W prints being entered got to the point of have so little competition that members just stopped bothering. With this season’s new “combined” B&W Print classes, instead of having a total of ten to twelve prints spread over four categories there was a total of twenty prints entered in two categories (Open and Assigned Subject). I made for a much livelier competitive environment. They say “success breeds success”. Let’s keep the flow of B&W prints going and rebuild the excellence Candlewood Camera Club has enjoyed in the category in the past.

Color prints filled score sheets top to bottom with more submissions than the club has enjoyed in many years. Another good call by the newly elected leadership of the club. Keeping separate Class A and Class B options insured a high level of reasonably matched entries in the color space. It looks like this will be the most hotly contested color print season in many years.

It’s sort of interesting to see the digital projected image side of the completion not having as many entries as the print side. Something to keep in mind is, unlike prints, once you’ve paid your dues you really don’t have any additional cost to entering the digital categories. With prints, you have the cost of paper and ink of processing at a lab. With digital, the investment is strictly your time. The deadline for submission has been pushed back from Thursday until Sunday evening. What has to be done to prepare images is spelled out in the immediately previous post. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that the digital competition is free, free, free (once you’ve paid your dues).

Important Information For Our First Competition

2010-09-08T14:45:00.003-04:00

Here’s a couple of things to remember about entering competitions. The full rules can be found on the right hand column.

Digital

The new deadline for getting digital images in is Sunday evening

Images are to be emailed to mailto:candlewoodcameraclub@yahoo.com

Digital images must be no more than 1024 pixels along the horizontal axis
Digital images must be no more than 768 pixels along the vertical axis
Files should not be more than 350 KB in size
There will be three digital categories at each competition

Open
Assigned Subject
Digital Altered Reality

Images should be named as follows:

For the Open Category --- O_Member First Name_Last Name_ Title

O_Dave_Jones_Beautiful_Sunset.jpg

For the Assigned Subject --- A_Member First Name_Last Name_Title

A_Jane_Doe_Boat_In_The_Harbor.jpg

For Altered Reality --- D_Member First Name_Last Name_Title

D_John_Smith_Far_Out_Cat.jpg

Prints

Prints must be entered on competition night before the start of the meeting

Categories will be clearly marked
Print maker does not have to be in attendance

Prints must be clearly identified

Print entry label is available in the Right Hand Column
Label must be in the upper left corner, indicating orientation

Invitation To Oxford Greens CC Photo Exhibition

2010-09-01T16:09:00.002-04:00

If anyone is looking for something to do on September 11 – 12, 2010 you might want to take a ride up Route 84 to Exit 15. Oxford Greens Camera Club is holding their annual Photo Exhibition from noon until 4:00 PM.

After viewing the expo it’ll be prime time to do some shooting. The Woodbury/Oxford area is a highly wooded area with farms, state parks, small New England towns and any manner of Photowalking opportunities.

It’ll be kind of “neighborly” to stop in at the Ridge Club and show some support to fellow photographers.

Click on the flyer to enlarge to get the details.

Up, Up, And Away This Weekend

2010-08-25T09:08:00.001-04:00

There will be four chances to get some shots of a balloon lift this weekend at the Plainville Hot Air Balloon Festival. Two are at 6:00 AM and two are at 6:00 PM. If you’re into getting up for those 6:00 AM shots, have fun. They’ll be on Saturday and Sunday mornings. If you prefer to sleep in, the evening lifts will be on Friday and Saturday evenings. One of the biggest things to take into consideration is: if the lift is scheduled for 6:00 AM or PM, preparations will probably start at about 4:30 AM or PM. The place is Norton Park in Plainville CT, about 45 minutes up Rt. 84 from the Danbury area. So, if you’re thinking of the morning lifts, here’s a recommendation. Forget about sleeping the night before. Go out clubbing, have a good time and be there bright and early. On the other hand, if you have your wits about you, Alex Lau is organizing a field trip on Saturday for the evening lift. If you’re interested in car pooling, people will be meeting at the commuter parking lot off Exit 9 of Rt. 84 (Rt. 25 exit) in the Hawleyville section of Newtown at 3:30 PM. Members living east of that point (Newtown, Woodbury, etc.) may want to make their needs known and arrange pickup points. Leave a comment to this post and we’ll do whatever matchmaking is necessary.

Norton Park in Plainville (between Waterbury and New Britain) is located at 72 Norton Trail. Head up Rt. 84 to Exit 32, RT. 10 (Queen Street). Right (north) at the end of the exit and left on Rt. 177 (South Washington Street). Norton Trail is a left off of Rt. 177 (about 1.0 mile NNW of the intersection or Rt. 10 and Rt. 177).

The weekend is supposed to be one of the top ten weekends of the summer (aren’t they all???), so you might want to put it to good use photographically.

Sweeping New By-Laws Passed At Kickoff Meeting

2010-08-25T08:12:00.001-04:00

If you missed last nights kickoff meeting you missed voting on the most sweeping changes to the club’s by-laws in the past ten years. The newly adopted by-laws can be found low down in the right hand column of this site. Several items were changes in symantics. i.e. The old version said a copy of the By-Laws would be “given” to every member. The new wording says the By-Laws will be “available” to all members via this site.

The biggest changes are to the rules and methods of competitions. The club has followed the rules of NECCC (the New England Camera Club Council), which in turn uses the rules of PSA (the Photographic Society of America). A major change has been to the definition of the Nature category. The old wording said their could be “no hand of man”. The new definition makes exceptions for the “natural environment” of animals. An example would be “barn owls” or “barn swallows”. Their “natural environments” would be “barns”. Under the old definition, no portion of the barn could be should in the image. The new definition would allow for a beam in the barn to be included. Chances are, a moose sitting back on a man made rock wall, smoking a cigarette would probably still be disqualified.

Another change is in the Photojournalism category. It’s still a very tight (as it should be) definition, but it says “no alterations (cloning or other manipulations) that “alter the truth” of the image (other than cropping) are allowed. An example would be having a shot of three brightly colored kayaks. Two red and one yellow. You feel the shot would have more impact if all three were red. Changing the color of the yellow kayak to red would be a no-no. It would change “the truth” of the image.

A “new” category of Assigned Subject, Digital Projection has been added. This is a direct replacement of what used to be Assigned Subject Slides. The hope here is to foster greater participation in the Assigned Subject Category. There is a cost associated in competing in the Assigned Subject Print category (printing, matting, mounting, etc.). Having an Assigned Subject, Digital Projection Category eliminates those costs and will produce a great number of entries.

Due to low participation rates, the Black & White A & B Classes have been combined. Having a “competition” with two entries wasn’t much of a competition. Combining the classes should produce a more lively competitive atmosphere.

The apex of change, for our club, is the use of any digital tools being allowed in all categories other than Nature and Photojournalism. In the past, replacing a blownout sky with a sky full of big, puffy clouds would relagate the image to the Digital Freestyle Category. Now, depending on the other content, it will be permitted in Open and Assigned Subject Categories. A “new” category is to be called “Altered Reality” to have a place specifically for the more farout manipulations. That will not prevent a highly manipulated image (HDR, solarization, cross proccesing , added or subtracted eliminated elements, etc) from being eligible for the Open or Assigned Subject categories, just that there will be a place for “Altered Reality” to compete against one another rather than in the general population of images.

Everyone is encouraged to read through the new By-Laws. This post has given the highlights of the changes. To be able to compete at a maximum level (enter eight images per month) everyone should make themselves aware of the new regulations.

Get Ready, Get Set...

2010-08-21T17:42:00.001-04:00

Tuesday is the kickoff meeting for the 2010 – 2011 Candlewood Camera Club season. The first meeting of each year is one of the most important to attend. Any changes to what, how or why something will be done this year will be discussed and voted on. Several changes to the By-Laws have been formulated by our incoming president to bring the club in line with both NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) and PSA (Photographic Society of America) standards.

As a presentation for the meeting we’ll have Harold Sisken, MNEC (Master Member, New England Camera Club Council), Color Print Circuit VP of NECCC, in to discuss what judges would be looking for during competitions. Everyone is invited to bring in one or two prints to be “judged” and critiqued by Harold. During the year’s competitions we get too much of “it’s a nice print, I like it” for comments. Harold will bring the jaundiced eye of a seasoned judge and give good, critical assessments of the images before him. This is not meant to denigrate anyone, but to give an honest commentary that the club member can take home to, hopefully, help improve their work.

It is anticipated that we will have an influx of new members this season. If you’re a current member (even of one year), make an effort to welcome everyone who might be a visitor or member joining for the first time. Everyone should be made to feel welcome and know that this is their club.

Try A 300' Photo Walk On August 19th.

2010-08-10T10:30:00.004-04:00

A lot of club members participated in Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk on July 24th. The walk wandered for about two miles through Danbury and a good time was had by all. Last fall we did a club Photowalk in downtown Bethel. The total distance covered on that one was probably less than three hundred feet. Which one was better? It’s hard to say. So, to celebrate World Photography Day, we’ll have another three hundred foot Photowalk. This time we’ll descend on Main Street in Newtown on Thursday August 19th for a early evening/twilight shoot. (Bring your “sturdy” tripod.) Chances are the distance covered by club members (and any guests who would like to come along) will be a little longer than three hundred feet. Photo opportunities range from the Cyrus Booth Library up past Edmond Town Hall. There are churches, a general store, historic homes, the movie theater (you might want to click on the image that goes along with this post and check the marquee), fences, flowers, weeds and all manner of things to shoot.

This outing will be a good “warm up” for our first meeting of the season on August 24th. It’ll get you rev’d up for shooting some winning images. No need to sign up, just showup near the Town Hall any time after 6:30 PM.

Another Photowalk is in the works. The next one will be a night Photowalk (be prepared to stay up late) to do some night photography. More details on that one to come. Stay tuned.

Come See Your Neighbor's Lighting Seminar (this is a link)

2010-08-08T14:32:00.003-04:00

If the title sounds a little strange, don’t let it throw you. World famous photographer Joe McNally is a resident of Ridgefield Connecticut. Any club member who has been to the NECCC Conference for the past few years might remember Joe as the best Saturday evening keynote speaker in recent memory. He’s an excellent photographer, great speaker, absolutely ~~insane~~ funny and a font of knowledge.

Kelby Training is bringing Joe to Hartford to give his one day seminar titled Location Lighting Techniques (this is a link). Here’s Kelby Training’s description of what you’ll learn:

Joe McNally (regarded as one of the world's best shooters and author of the ground-breaking smash best-selling book The Moment it Clicks) launches a nationwide lighting tour uncovering the secrets to using off-camera flash and on-location lighting to create the look you see in professional publications. You'll see the whole process unfold right there in the class, as Joe shows you how to set-up, position, and control simple lighting that has a huge effect.
You'll learn the step-by-step process of going from bad to good light with just one flash, then working your way up to two or more flashes. You'll see the dramatic difference taking your flash off the camera makes. Then you'll learn the difference between the quality and quantity of light when using small flashes and studio lights. Joe will take you through a variety of lighting set ups with live demonstrations and you'll see first-hand how improving your lighting techniques takes your photography to a new level.
Joe teaches small, intimate workshops around the world for just a handful of people, but now you too will have a rare opportunity to learn from one of the most talented, engaging and creative photographers and educators working today, and you don't want to miss it.

Another Opportunity To Dash For The Cash

2010-08-07T08:35:00.001-04:00

The ShootQ Grant is a $12,000 grant given to a photographer to fund a project that raises public awareness about an important social, environmental or economic issue.

The grant will provide photographers the opportunity to work on a meaningful project, unencumbered by daily work, with the creative freedom and financial support necessary to produce photographs that raise public awareness about important issues.

ShootQ's goal is to provide tools for photographers so they can be both profitable and purposeful. With ShootQ Grant, our mission is to empower photographers to invest time in personal projects.

Get Your Piece Of $35,000.00

2010-08-07T06:33:00.003-04:00

Click any header for more infomation.

What is Lux?

The Lux Photography Awards is the newest and coolest photography competition around. We seek to find the best photographers in a variety of genres, and reward them with some of the best photography related gear from an amazing set of companies and individuals.

Who Can Enter The Lux Awards?

For 2010, the Lux Awards are open to anyone in the United States or Canada. We hope to have an international competition with equally great prizes in 2011!

Who is Behind Lux?

The Lux Photography Awards were developed at the Eclipse Photography Institute, the place for serious photographers to learn more about the business and art of photography all online and in High Definition Video. Learn more about Eclipse Here

What Can I Win?

Our goal is to make this the most unique photography competition around. You can win everything from new cameras to trips, bags and more. For the most up to date listing of Prizes and Sponsors, visit our Prizes page.

Are there different Categories? What about Entry Fees?

No matter what category you enter, the entry fees are the same: $12.00 per image for everyone! There is no limit on how many photographs you can enter.

Categories:

The Natural World (Wildlife and Nature Images) **Everything Wild, No Man-Made Objects**
Bodies in Motion (Sports)
The Urban Landscape (Travel)
Universal Faces (Portraits)

Who Has An Idea Of A Place To Go Shooting?

2010-07-31T10:28:00.001-04:00

Here's another reason to get together to go out and do some evening shooting. August 19th is a Thursday, so evening is probably the best time for the majority of club members. As soon as someone comes up with a place to go we'll put up a signup sheet here on the site to get a gauge of how many are interested. If you have an idea of a place to go, email Tom at mailto:tom@kayviewgallery.com.

World Photography Day originates from the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic processes developed by Louis Daguerre. On January 9, 1839, The French Academy of Sciences announced the daguerreotype process. A few months later, on August 19, 1839, the French government announced the invention as a gift “Free to the World.”

Another photographic processes, the Calotype, was also invented in 1839 by William Fox Talbot (it was announced in 1841). Together, the invention of both the Daguerreotype and Calotype mark 1839 as the year that photography was invented.

If you’re interested in learning more about the history of photography, take a look at the following article on Wikipedia: History of Photography

Good Turnout For Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk

2010-07-24T16:37:00.000-04:00

The day was hot, but pockets of shade, a slight breeze and good company made Scott Kelby’s 3rd Annual Worldwide Photowalk a good time for all. A mix of walkers, from teenager to retirees walked about two miles around downtown Danbury on Saturday July 24th. As an example, one of the teenagers took almost 400 shots in the two and one half hours of the walk. She had the camera set for single shots, so that was a lot of clicks. Of the twenty seven participants, approximately half were club members and the other half potential members. People came from as far away as Cheshire and Salem NY.

There were old friends and new friends making up our merry band. People driving by stopped and asked what was going on. Interest ran high as to what a group of photo enthusiasts were doing wandering White Street, Patriot Drive, Keeler and Main Street. After the walk, about 70% of the attendees stopped in at Two Steps Café in the Danbury Dining District. Each table shared shots and experiences over lunch and recounted the fun of the day.

One of the photographers on the walk was Joey Lounsbury, who is currently having a one man show (one thirteen year old man show) at Wild Birds Unlimited in Brookfield, Connecticut. Check out Joey’s work at http://www.jlounsburyphoto.com/ .

It"s Time For Photography

2010-07-08T07:58:00.006-04:00

All Assigned Subjects are available in the right hand column under the heading of Club Events.

The voting is closed and counted. The results are in. Several topics for Assigned Subjects were no brainers. Just about half (17 of 37) of those who voted checked off the button for “On The Street/Street Scene”. The club will have several outings this year and at least one (The Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk on July 24th) will be an urban photo shoot.

You probably want to get out (right after this heatwave) and head for your local “Carnival”, November’s Assigned Subject. We have the Danbury City Fair right over at the mall running through the 16th of this month, so we’ve (us, what did we do ???) provided another great opportunity to do some shooting.

It looks like we’ll have something for everyone. Some of the possible subjects voted on were so close in theme that they were combined. Rain and Fog/Mist were two choices during the voting. Each received a number of votes. Because of the similarity the May Competition will be Rain/Fog/Mist to make the subject as broad as possible. Another combined vote getter is Beaches/Coastline. Lighthouses almost made the top ten, but lighthouses are found along the “coastline”, so would be fair game for entry.

Assigned Subjects are a big part of club life. They are meant to be a challenge and to possibly get members out of their comfort zone. You probably joined the club to increase your photography skills. Doing each month’s Assigned Subject is a great way to push yourself, improve your talent and show your personal flair.

NECCC Conference Schedule Now Available

2010-07-06T15:10:00.003-04:00

The schedule for this month’s NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) Conference is now available. You can look through the Conference Program Descriptions by clicking on this link and then map out your weekend using either the PDF SCHEDULE or the XLS SCHEDULE. In either case you can be sure to catch all the classes you have on your “A” list. Of course nothing has to be cast in store and once you get to the conference and hear the buzz (or maybe the vuvuzelas) about some outstanding class you can switch courses.

Every year people miss a class they really wanted to see by waiting until Sunday morning and finding out either that there is no Sunday morning class for the subject or that there’s two classes at the same time that are “can’t miss” selections. Spending a couple minutes during the next two weeks can save you some heartache on Sunday July 18th.

This post is full of links. Click on any of the links to take you immediately whatever you want to see. Good luck mixing and matching your favorites.

Big Year For Outside Competitions Coming Up

2010-06-29T11:32:00.001-04:00

The club recently joined the PSA (Photographic Society of America) and to take full advantage of some of the things PSA has to offer, will be entering club level PSA Competitions in the 2010-2011season. This will be in addition to the NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) competitions we’ve been entering for years. It seems like every PSA Division has its own digital club competition, so we have multiple opportunities to have the club shine.

A listing of outside competitions the club will compete in can be found down along the right hand column of the blog. All of the PSA competitions are digital, which does make it easier to submit entries in several competitions at once. One club member’s digital image may fit into several competitions and be judged in two, three or four competitions in one month.

As we track how we are doing in various competitions (club, NECCC and PSA) the images being sent out will be able to be found through our competition link. In addition to the first page being our club level individual standing, the second page will have what’s going on at NECCC and a new, third page will have all the data on the PSA goings on.

Hopefully this will add a new level of excitement to everyone’s participation in club life. The categories of PSA club level competitions are: Photo Travel, Photojournalism, Electronic Imaging, Color Projected Creative, Color Projected Open and Nature. You can see we’ll need a wide range of club members putting in digital images. Most of the PSA competitions are looking for six entries from a competing club.

You can click on this link: PSA to be taken to PSA’s splash page. From there, click on the “Divisions” tab and then any of the division links. Each step along the way has a slideshow featuring winners in the various categories. Use the shows to get a little inspiration for your photography and to see the level of competition we'll be facing.

Make Your Voice Heard - Vote For Next Season's Assigned Subjects

2010-06-27T17:31:00.002-04:00

Did you hand in your “top ten” ideas for what you feel the ideal Assigned Subjects are? There’s more than one hundred unique ideas people in the club put in. Now is the time to vote for your favorites. If your passionate about the ones you thought of, great. Vote for your suggestions. If you see something someone else thought of and feel it would be a challenging assignment, put a checkmark next to it. If you didn’t submit any ideas, but see a few that tickle your fancy, make your voice heard now.

You can get your voting form by going to the right hand column. Down just a little you’ll see the heading “Club Surveys”. Click on the link under the heading and it will bring you to your copy of the vote list. Check off your top ten and hit the “Submit” button found at the bottom of the page.

There are a couple things to keep in mind as you are voting.

First: Please limit yourself to ten picks. If you submit more than ten, only the first ten will be counted. This has the potential to skew things against suggestions further down the list. You can scroll up and down as many times as you like. Once you click on the “Submit” button your vote will be recorded.

Second: Keep in mind the potential of using Assigned Subject prints and digital images in outside competitions. This coming season we will be competiting in NECCC and in various PSA Club Competitions. Choosing too narrow an assignment may limit the field of choices for these outside competitions.

Voting will close at 11:59 PM on July 6th. Results will be tabulated and reported to the President on July 7th. Gerard will poll the board to get down to the final Assigned Subject and the months in which they will occur. (It would be sort of silly to have an Assignment of “Snow Shoeing” before we have the possibility of getting any snow.) Seasonal vagaries may dictate when the assignments appear on the calendar.

The Year End CompetitionWas A Big Night For Micheline Williams.

2010-06-08T22:05:00.004-04:00

One of the judges for the end of the year competition, Mike Thomas (who else???) couldn’t help but make a comment. He was very complimentary with his enthusiasm for the quality of images put before the trio. Dick Maggs and Brad Stanton being the other two judges.

Micheline Williams waltzed through the night, winning four times. Her print “These Boots Were Made For Walking” received the Warren Johnson Color Print of the Year Award in Class A, her print “Squirrel in the Snow” took the George Huff Nature Award, “In Honor Of Art Anderson” was the winner of the Patti Johnson Color Flower Award, and her “The Jazz Player” garnered the Class A B&W Print Of The Year Award. Congratulations Micheline.

Several club members struck gold in other multiple categories. Dennis Yates received a first for “Spring Time” in the Class B B&W Print slot and his ticket was punched again with “On The Way Up” as the Warren Johnson Class B Color Print of the Year. Nice end of a very good year for Dennis.

Don Brooks proved his metal with firsts in The Patti Johnson B&W Flower Award with “Ranunaclus” and “Safe At Third” in the Photojournalism grouping. The only “old guard winner of the night. Thanks for showing we’re still alive.

Lorri Freedman kept her streak of wins going with a first in the George Huff Color Nature Award spot with “Tufted Titmouse” and finished the season with her eleventh win in a Digital field with her “Cat” taking the Digital Freestyle Award. Great, dominating performance Lorri.

Carol Finley rounds out our cast of winners with her “Heron Catching a Meal” (the image accompanying this post) for the Digital Open Award. Shows that working for a few hours at taking just the right shot can pay off. Great capture of the right moment Carol. Well done.

If everyone can get digital copies of their winners in to the blog we’ll do a “highlight reel” of all the top images of the year. Congratulations to everyone who took part in this season’s competitions. Hopefully everybody had fun and learned a little something along the way. Competition starts back up on September 7th. Don’t let your cameras gather dust during the summer. Get out there and shoot.

Largest Global Social Event For Photographers Coming To Danbury

2010-06-04T12:34:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, July 24, 2010, the whole world will be walking again with Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and #1 bestselling computer and technology book author, in the Third Annual Worldwide Photo Walk™.

Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk is the world’s largest global social photography event in the history of photography itself. It takes place on the same day around the world where photographers of all walks of life and skill levels gather together, usually in downtown areas to socialize, learn new tips from each other, and explore their corner of the world through photography.

“In 2008, we had 241 walks,” said Scott Kelby, founder of NAPP, editor-in-chief of Photoshop User magazine, and president of Kelby Media Group. “Last year, we had over 900 walks with over 32,000 photographers participating. We did the math… your average photographer will take upwards of 300 photos during a photo walk. That means that nearly 10 million pictures were taken in that one single day that may never had happened otherwise. I think that’s pretty cool and we all can’t wait to see what happens this year.”

There is no fee to participate but pre-registration is required. Just go to the Worldwide Photo Walk site, find a walk near you, and join in on the fun.
Anyone can participate too. All you need is a camera. It doesn’t even matter what kind of camera either. People have showed up with disposables in the past, had a blast, and left with a new appreciation for photography.

Graff To Be Featured This Tuesday

2010-05-22T08:44:00.001-04:00

Kenneth Graff has spent the last half century as a photographer. His first job as a professional photographer was for a portrait studio, and his career took him to the staff of the District Attorney of New York City as a crime scene photographer, and eventually as the chief staff photographer at Union Carbide Corporation, a job that lasted more than three decades and took him to every corner of the globe, from Armenia to Zimbabwe.

After over 30 years at that position, Ken decided to retire. But retirement did not mean putting down the camera - it meant picking up the computer and exploring digital fine art printmaking. Ken created and sold many original works of art - limited edition prints. Over the next several years, he learned the art of digital imaging and printing. Ken began to consult with photographers to teach them how to use the technology to make good quality prints.

Ken now has his own consulting business where he assists photographers and enthusiasts in the art of digital imaging. He has been a speaker at photographic and computer groups throughout the country, showing the advantages of digital imaging.

Presentation: "The Elements of Photoshop Elements"

The orphan of Photoshop has matured into a very capable tool for the photographic community. Elements has the same DNA as Photoshop. The price point is what dictates the capabilities: Photoshop at $700.00 and Elements at $79.00. If you are a professional that uses Photoshop for work, buy it. If you're a home user fixing your digital files, try Elements first.

The presentation will walk you through the steps used in processing a photograph in Elements and some of the special effects that are just a few clicks away.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Something Different Is Coming

2010-05-21T07:43:00.001-04:00

Over in the right hand column is a segment titled “Photographic Opportunities”. Listed, at this time, are more than twenty different opportunities to either take a course, join a group outing or otherwise do “something” photographically. One (or three) that were just added are happening right here in the Danbury area (actually in Danbury to be specific). The Southern Connecticut Renaissance Festival will be going on for the next three weekends. May 29 – 30, June 5 - 6, and June 12 – 13.

The Danbury News Times has an article about it this morning. Link to article. You can also find information on what’s going on at the festival at their website. Link to website.

This is a great place to get some interesting shots of colorful characters. Now, if we can only get Bob to dress in costume.

Deckmejian Takes Another First

2010-05-14T12:52:00.001-04:00

Some people are willing to get up early, hike the trails, fight with the other photographers to get just the right spot to set up the tripod and then hope you’re there on a day when the photo gods are smiling. The gods were definitely smiling on Diran Deckmejian the day he got his winning shot of Bryce Canyon. But, the photo gods can only help a photographer so much. Without an eye for “seeing” the image before snapping the shutter you might be just as likely to be looking in the opposite direction. Diran’s shot shows a great sensitivity to the subject and conditions. Congratulations Diran, really nice image.

In Diran’s words: “. At Bryce Canyon May 22/08 at 6AM, mist clearing after evening snow & frost. F8, 1/200, ISO 200, lens at 30mm w/ Canon 30D”.

Globe Trotter Wins Again

2010-05-14T07:37:00.002-04:00

There’s an old story about a young, fresh faced photographer lamenting his lack of success to an older, more seasoned colleague. His question was “how do I get more interesting photographs?” The grizzled veteran thought for a moment and replied “go to more interesting places”. There is some truth to that statement. Seems like it’s become the running joke for Dennis Yates to win each month and explain which far flung corner of the globe his image was taken in. The reality is that it’s the photographer’s “eye” and not the location that makes the difference between a winning image and a snapshot.

Dennis Yates’ B&W Assigned Subject winner in the category of “Texture/Repetition” shows a good “eye” for an image. As a result of Dennis’ being able to spot a potential winner he has blown away the competition in B&W Class B, winning more than half of the years contests.

Congratulations on another winner Dennis.

In Dennis’ words: “This was taken in 2007 in winter season in Taormina Sicily. What you see are individual hotel room balconies extending from rooms on floors below mine. The hotel is built on a very steep hill giving rise to this scene. There was an enormous amount of repetition and a variety of textures that I felt belonged in a photograph and it fit the category perfectly -- especially in B&W.”

May Competition Scores Posted

2010-05-11T23:02:00.006-04:00

Carol Finley took a double win in the Digital Projected portion of the May competition. In the Open category, her image titled “Heron Catching A Meal” (on the right) was praised by the judges for its action quality of getting the bird in mid splash. In the Freestyle Category, her image titled “Street Scene Circa 1930” showed a deft touch at under saturating the image to reflect the subject, giving the image a truly vintage look. Nice job Carol.

To find the scores, follow the link in the right hand column titled "Current Competition Scores"

Last month’s write up about the tight race in the Class A Color Print categories (both Open and Assigned Subject) talked about Lorri Freedman and Bill Snellings being one point off from each other. Well, Bill bested Lorri in the Open category resulting in an overall tie for the year. Not to be out done, Lorri beat Bill by a point to create another tie. This time in the Assigned Subject category. If we were to go for “tie breakers”, first place wins wouldn’t help. They both had the same number of firsts each way. Going to the number of second place finishes would give Bill the crown in Open and Lorri the crown in Assigned Subject. The overall scoring for the year doesn’t get any tighter than that. Congratulations to both Lorri and Bill on an outstanding battle throughout the season. The club looks forward to seeing the battle continue next season.

Anyone with a first place win for the May competition is encouraged to send in a digital copy of your winning entry along with a write up about the circumstances surrounding the image. That way they can be featured on the blog.

Carl Hebert, Friend Of The Club, Has A Show At White Silo

2010-05-05T18:13:00.003-04:00

You are invited to attend a photographic art show at the

WHITE SILO FARM & WINERY
featuring photographs by

Carl Hebert & Jason Hipp

Opening reception:
Saturday, May 8th, 2010, 1-3 pm

Show Hours

Saturday, May 1st, 11am - 6pm
Sunday, May 2nd, 11am - 6pm

Friday, May 7th, 11am - 6pm
Saturday, May 8th, 11am - 6pm
Sunday, May 9th, 11am - 6pm

Friday, May 14th, 11am - 6pm
Saturday, May 15th, 11am - 6pm
Sunday, May 16th, 11am - 6pm

White Silo Farm & Winery, 32 Route 37, East Sherman, CT 06874

Phone: 860 355 0271 Website: http://www.whitesilowinery.com/

I also have all the photos up on my website White Silo Show 2010

Carl Hebert Photography

www.carlhebertphotography.com

By-Laws Revision

2010-05-04T16:08:00.001-04:00

From time to time the by-laws of the club need to be looked and and possibly revised. The last revision was a couple years ago, before we dropped the slide competition and at the start to our having a digital projected competition.

Candi will be bringing up the by-laws at the next club meeting (May 11th). In order to be prepared to discuss the by-laws and possible amendments or corrections you may want to read through the annotated version. A copy of the by-laws with the porposed changes can be found by clicking on the title of this post.

This is your club. Your input is important. Be an active member.

There's A Seat Waiting For You At The NECCC Conference.

2010-04-29T14:56:00.001-04:00

Are you going to the NECCC’s (New England Camera Club Council) 65th Annual Conference in July? Have you made reservations yet? Do you need a ride? Are you staying on campus? Do you have roommates in mind? This year, again, the club will try to coordinate whatever is needed by our members.

Clicking on the title of this post will bring you to a short questionnaire about going to the conference. It asks about your plans. If you need (or can offer) a ride, we’ll try to hook you up with someone. If you’re looking for a roommate from the club we’ll try to do some matchmaking.

The suites in the North Dorm have four single bedrooms, two bathrooms and a common/kitchen – living room area. If you register for the North Dorms without specifying roommates, they will be randomly assigned by the UMass Conference Services folks. You can either be there among friends or make new ones.

Check out the post dated April 18th for links to the conference highlights and the UMass reservation site. Each year close to twenty club members attend the conference. It’s an informative and fun weekend that should not be missed.

April Program Is About Shooting In Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons

2010-04-26T06:49:00.000-04:00

Bob Berthier, Bill Marcy, and Frank Gardner will share their expertise on landscape and nature photography this coming Tuesday April 27. They will present a slide show from their photo trips to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, providing ongoing instructional comments and opportunities for plenty of questions. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this area of photography. Come to learn and be inspired.

Time To Register For The NECCC Conference

2010-04-18T12:22:00.001-04:00

The NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) Conference is coming up in July and now would be the time to start making your plans. You can find information about the conference by clicking this link and go directly to the registration website by clicking here.

The conference is a good time with programs for just about any level of photography. Each year about fifteen to twenty members of the club attend. Most stay in the North Residence Hall because it is air conditioned and an easy walk to the conference sites. There’s a meal plan, so you can make the weekend self contained on campus. “Most” hotels in the area are already booked, so the on campus optional is your best bet.

Registration for the three days (Friday afternoon and evening, all day Saturday and Sunday morning) is $154.00 per person and the three day meal plan is $63.00. The room rate for the North Residence Hall is $50.00 per night. Room rates for the non air conditioned dorms is $25.00 per night (go for the air conditioning, it is July ya know).

The conference consists of about thirteen sessions and the speakers are for as far away as Florida and California (so they must be good, right?). In addition to the lectures there’s also models to shoot, set ups to shoot and get ideas from and a generally beautiful college campus.

The Battle Is On In The Class A Categories

2010-04-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

The year long winners in the Color Class A categories are still up for grabs in most cases. One point separates Bill Snellings from Lorri Freedman in the Open segment and Frank Gardner is lurking close by, ready to pounce. In the Assigned Subject category the roles are reversed, with Bill having a one point lead over Lorri.

In Photojournalism we have the same condition, with the combatants being Don Brooks hunting down Rick Tyrseck. A stumble by the leaders could open the door for Bill Snellings to waltz in and scoop up another win. It’s that close.

One of the most interesting aspects of club life is trying to produce images at a consistently high level throughout the year. Winning the season long award demonstrates a high level of proficiency. That is the goal of each of the top competitors in the club. Good luck to all.

Birds Take First Spots in April Class A.

2010-04-15T08:39:00.002-04:00

Birds were popular winners in the April Class A categories . Diran Deckmejain and Lorri Freedman both had outstanding images for the club. Diran’s winner, titled “Collared Aracari” (left) came in the Color Print portion of the evening and Lorri took home another winner, titled “Egret with Fish” (right) in the Open Digital Image category. Both image show excellent sharpness and a very nice touch handling the bokeh.

A good “lesson” for all the newer club members can be learned from both of these images. In each case the EV (exposure value) was set to a minus one third stop bias. Both Diran and Lorri recognized that the camera’s metering systems would produce a slightly bright image. In order to insure good detail in the whites they made the decision to alter the camera’s setting to slightly underexpose the scenes. Today’s metering systems in cameras are pretty amazing, but should not be the basis of your creativity.

Congratulations to both Diran and Lorri.

In Diran’s words: “The bird a Collared Aracari was shot in the Sarapiqui area (Rain Forest) of Costa Rica. I used a 30D Canon w/70-200 lens w/1.4 extender. The exposure was f5.6, speed1/25 w/-1/3 exposure comp. at ISO 250, at 229 mm.”

In Lorri’s words: “This photo was taken on Sanibel Island in Florida. The Egret had a fish that took him quite some time to get down. It was a lot of fun running after him on the beach. It was a sunny day in the mid afternoon. I used a Nikon D2Xs, 1/800 @ F11 the ISO was 320. I also used a Nikon CP-14 polarizer.”

Class B Year Long Competitions Are Pretty Much Over

2010-04-15T08:12:00.000-04:00

All of the competition categories in Class B have been decided as far as the year long totals are concerned. The leader in each category has a large enough lead that they cannot be caught with only one remaining competition. Only the Assigned Color Print category “could be” changed and that would be if the current leader doesn’t show up. One thing to keep in mind is that entering consistently is the key to taking home the title of Best of the Year.

Dennis Yates B&W Print, titled “Spring” is shown along with this post. Looks like Dennis captured the blossoming tree at just the right moment. Good printing technique lead to another winner for Dennis. He used his Canon EOS 5D Mark II set at F7.1 at 1/320 second with his ISO set to 250. In finishing the image he brought down the color temperature and increased tint, brightness, contrast and blacks in Camera Raw. Nice work Dennis.

In Dennis’ words: “The image was taken this April near the Hollow Park in Woodbury. It was mid-afternoon and the barn face you see is facing due west so it was in the sun as was the tree so exposure was reasonably balanced between the two. I used a polarizer. The image was turned to B&W in Camera RAW with the blue and green contributions reduced significantly resulting in a very dark sky and grass areas. The final image was sharpened with a high pass filter."

April Competition Scores Are Posted

2010-04-13T23:05:00.001-04:00

The April Competition scores have been posted. If you wish to see how you or your club mates are doing you can find the scores in the right hand column by clicking the “Current Competition Scores link listed under the heading “Quick Tips About Competitions” . By the way, sheet two has the club’s final scores for the NECCC Competitions for the year.

Carol Findley’s winning Digital Freestyle Image titled “New York Brooklyn Bridge” accompanies this post. Carol was able to bring out details of the scene. The original image was shot at 1/200 second at F16 with an ISO of 400. She manipulated the image in Camera Raw by increasing the temperature, tint, exposure, blacks, brightness and contrast to achieve the final outstanding result.

Very nice image Carol. Congratulations.

Spring NECCC Electronic Image Scores Posted

2010-04-11T21:08:00.000-04:00

The results of the NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) Spring Electronic Image competition have been posted in the right hand column under the heading “NECCC Competition Information”. The club wound up about “middle of the pack” in both Pictorial and Nature Categories. The selection committee did have a shortened window to pick entries form, as the deadline was the same night as our March competition. This eliminated using March club competition images. The selectors were Bill Snellings, Diran Deckmejian, Doris & Tom Peterson. Anyone interested in helping out with the selections next season (September 2010 – Spring 2011) should express their interest and you will be included.

The image accompanying this post was our highest scorer in the Nature category, titled “Pacific Sunset, Costa Rica” by Diran Deckmejian. It was particularly hard to find good electronic images in the Nature category. To be entered in the Nature category at NECCC we can’t deviate from the description of what makes up a Nature entry. When entering images, keep in mind the need for good, solid Nature images .

Warren Johnson, Club Stalwart, Dies

2010-04-05T20:06:00.002-04:00

Stalwart, the Thesaurus says synonyms are “staunch, unfaltering, determined and steadfast” along with several other equally descriptive terms that applied to Warren Johnson. Warren was frail for the past few years, so those new to the club didn’t get the benefit of his willingness to share. Those members who have been in the club for a number of years are but some of those touched by Warren’s tutelage. He welcomed everyone to share the knowledge he earned over the years in our club. It says a world of things that our year end flower print is called the Patti Johnson Award and, as of a couple of meetings ago, the Warren Johnson Color Print of the Year Award. Warren brought color print competition to the club in the early 1970s. He and a couple others asked if there could be a color print category added to the monthly competitions. The “hot” color printing at that time was done with the Cibachrome technique. “Cibachrome is a dye destruction positive to positive photographic process used for the reproduction of slides on photographic paper.” (Wikipedia).

Warren welcomed anyone interested in color printing to his darkroom and shared his time, enthusiasm, talent and fellowship. He was one of the “stalwarts” of the club until he became too ill to attend meetings this season. Warren will be missed by everyone in the club, those who knew him well and those who did not have the privilege of knowing a kind and giving human being.

The club expresses its sympathy to his children and friends. PLease feel free to leave your comments and memories of Warren in the comments section of this post.

Spring NECCC Print Scores Posted

2010-03-29T11:34:00.003-04:00

Scores for the Spring NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) Print Competitions have been posted. You can find them in the right hand column under the heading of “Quick Tips About Competitions” – Current Competition Scores – Sheet number two. If you’d like more detailed information on how the club did, the report from the NECCC Print Chairman is available under the heading of “NECCC Competition Information”. The entire report is posted there.

Bill Snellings joins Frank Gardner as the clubs two hopefuls in the NECCC Print of the Year Competition. Frank took a third place in the Fall competition and Bill has a third in the Spring competition. Good luck to both.

Bill Snellings print “Shanghai All Lit Up” is shown with this post. Nice capture Bill.

In Bill’s words”

City is Shanghai in China. Picture taken along the bank of Huangpu River. Night view of Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the buildings around. Exciting architecture at a different time of day (night) made the picture more "alive". No tripod, but had the camera resting on a wall. Canon XTi 1/30 s at 2.8 ISO 800 (with luck, the boat was not moving much)

March 23rd Meeting Presents A Program By Carl Hebert

2010-03-15T15:30:00.001-04:00

A little background on Carl:

Carl Hebert started photographing 20 years ago and has constantly improved through practice, school and on the job training.

A 2007 Magna Cum Laude graduate from Western Connecticut State University's art program with a specialization in photography. He graduated at the top of his class and made the Dean's List every semester. He credits being a non-traditional student as his biggest help in school.

"Being an older student, I believe, allowed me to stay focused on my classes and not become distracted... It also helps that I was paying for it out of my own pocket!" Carl Hebert

During his studies at WCSU Carl saw an opportunity to help his fellow students and make a little income to help pay for his camera equipment. He started offering his services to the MFA Graduate students to shoot their artwork portfolio's. Some of those initial images are posted in the gallery section.

Carl has not stopped with his personal passion of photographing artwork and is constantly looking for more fine art clients.

Carl Hebert will present a program titled:

“...Years After
A trip visiting hurricane destruction along the gulf coast.

Carl envisioned a personal photography project of recording the vestiges of Hurricane Katrina a few years after the event. And so he traveled along the gulf coast, with his inspiration resulting in a series of photographs which were exhibited at the White Silo Farm in Sherman, CT this past Summer. His photographs are not merely a recording of the aftereffects of Katrina as seen today. These images express beyond words Carl’s perspectives and connections with what he saw through the lens.

Carl picked up a camera in 1988, and never looked back. He continued to learn through experience, school, and assisting professional photographers. He currently works as a professional commercial photographer on his own while continuing to assist with Brad Stanton and Robert Grant.

Do not miss the opportunity to experience this extraordinary program.

Yates Rolls Along In Class B Color And B&W Prints.

2010-03-13T16:54:00.001-05:00

Dennis Yates had a couple more winners in the March Competition, taking the prize in both color and B&W Assigned Subject prints. The assignment for March was “Steps or Stairs”. Dennis was able to capture unique images twice.

In Dennis’ words:

The B&W was taken on a free afternoon during a business trip to Sicily. The town is built on various ledges and you find many of these stairways leading up or down. This one led up from my perspective and I thought was rich in various textures and would make a decent image. The light at the top of the stairs leads you up which the judges seemed to appreciate.

The color image was taken at MOMA in NYC. I was opposite the stair case you see on an upper level and saw the stairs framed by the wall and thought it would make a good image. The solo person going up only helps. The judge comments centered around a need to burn the white are at the top of the stairs which I have done in the image you see here. This image scored a personal best for me so I was pleased to say the least.

Congratulations on a couple of fine prints Dennis.

March Competition Scores Are Posted

2010-03-12T06:50:00.002-05:00

Simplicity and composition are two key elements for many first place images. Such is the case of Micheline Williams’ winner in the Digital Open category in the March 2010 competition. A sharply focused silhouette of a tree contrasted by the soft, ethereal background of other trees in the fog.

Great image Micheline, nice job.

Scores for the March Competition have been posted to the site. In the right hand column, under the heading of “Quick Tips About Competitions”, the first link is to the score sheets for both club and NECCC (NECCC is “sheet two”). You can find both, this month’s scores and how the “race” for the cumulative prize is coming. Be sure to check it out.

Prints Will Be Returned This Tuesday

2010-03-08T07:19:00.000-05:00

If you’ve had any prints retained by the club because they were winners (first or second place) during the competition season, they will be returned at this week’s meeting. One kaveat, if any of your prints have been sent to NECCC for the Spring Competition they’ll be returned at the April meeting. To find out if your print has been sent up to the competition, check the second page of the spreadsheet titled “Current Competition Scores” found in the right hand column of this site.

All prints should be taken home after each competition from now until May. The NECCC competition season ends with the Spring Competition and the club will not be collecting winners until the 2010 – 2011 season begins in September. Thanks to all the competitors and winners who have allowed the club to hold their prints for possible selection for NECCC.

NECCC Winter 2010 Print Scores Posted. CCC Comes In Dead Last???

2010-02-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

The report of the Winter NECCC Print Competition is posted and can be accessed from the right hand column under the heading "NECCC Competition Information".

For the first time ever the club came in dead last in a Black & White competition. A club that submitted only three prints outscored our club and we submitted four prints. The scores in general were lower than a typical competition, but "we was robbed". This should serve as a wakeup call for the club to either step up with some of our better shooters entering the Black & White category or, perhaps, dropping out of interclub B&W competitions altogether.

This deserves some discussion by the membership.

We fared much better in the color portion of the competition, placing in the mid-range area.

Opportunity Is The Key To Winning Images

2010-02-23T07:35:00.002-05:00

Being in the right place at the right time is the key to good photography. How would you know where the right place is? Check the right hand column of our blog. Under the heading of "Photographic Opportunities" there are more than thirty "opportunities" to hone your photographic skills in some way of another. Lorri Freedman just sent in a note about a "Birds of Prey Day" at Green Chimneys in Brewster, New York. Anyone who sees or hears of an event, class, workshop, or tour involving photography should send an email to Tom Peterson (mailto:tjtomik@hotmail.com) for inclusion in the Photographic Opportunities column.

As an example of a few of the opportunities we have: an open cockpit day at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT, the PEEC Digital Weekend in the Pocanos, a lighthouse tour of Massachusetts, photography along the Rhode Island coast, several fall foliage tours, and many more. The cost on most items has been kept under $500.00 with the occasional tour or workshop topping out at $1,000.00. The cost of one of the events is $64.00.

Every listing is a link to the website describing the particular workshop, tour, outing, or event. If you're interested in checking out any of the details, just click on on any item.

Who's Up For Winning A Photography Trip To Yellowstone?

2010-02-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

We've had a couple members putting in some pretty great shots of the National Parks lately. Here's a photo contest that might is going to win someone a guided trip to Yellowstone NP with a guide to show the winner the great places to make some tripod holes.

The title of this post is a link to the contest. It would be something if one of our members won.

As they say "take a shot".

Tuesday's Meeting Is A Studio Night At Brad Stanton's Studio

2010-02-22T04:53:00.001-05:00

First things first. You can click on the map to make an enlargement and print it out if you need it. Several "landmarks" (Applebee's, Best Buy, Chili's and Bertucci's) have been noted on the map to orient anyone who might not be familiar with the Berkshire Industrial Park area of Danbury. The big thing to remember is that it's off Exit 8 of Route 84 if you're coming from either the east or west. Brad's studio is at 18 Finance Drive. It's an industrial building on the west side of the street. The name is clearly visible (Brad Stanton Photography) on the front of the building. It is a shared building, so you might see a second name.

A studio night is a fun night for club members. Anyone interested should bring their camera to take advantage of the setups that will be provided. There will be models, table tops, props, flowers and more. There have been several shots from the last studio night (most notably are portraits of Bob Fletcher) entered in our monthly competitions.

If you've never been to a "studio night" you might pick up a couple new tricks or styles of photography. Last year there was a setup using Mylar(tm) to get some unique abstract images. You might learn how to use some of the functions on your camera you may not have known you had.

It's a fun, relaxed night and everyone should try to make a special effort to be there.

NECCC Winter 2010 Print Raw Scores Posted - Look Sub-Atomic

2010-02-16T13:39:00.000-05:00

Not too much can be read into the raw scores from the Winter NECCC Print Competition, but the scores are pretty low. It could be that all the scoring for the competition was on the low side. Based on the quality of entries sent to NECCC, that must be the case. As soon as the report comes through, another post will be put up on the club's blog giving the full view of what happened.

The scores can be found in the right hand column, under "Current Competition Scores", sheet 2 in the heading of "Quick Tips About Competitions".

Let's not get too wound up until the final report is sent out.

NECCC Winter 2010 Electronic Image Competition Scores Posted. CCC Takes 1st Place

2010-02-13T10:48:00.003-05:00

It's true that there's no "I" in team, but if a team pulls together and everyone does real good the team can come out a winner. That's what happened in the NECCC (New England Camera Club Council) Winter Electronic Image Competition. We didn't have any "winners" but every entry was consistent, with no single image, in the Open Category, being a "clunker".

Carol Findley's image, titled "London Street Scene" garnered an Honorable Mention, as did Lorri Freedman's "Land of the Zebrawing". Combined with close scoring images by Micheline Williams and George Ursitta, the club wound up in first place in the winter round. So far, we're in fifth place for the year, six points out of first. Making up six points in the one remaining competition is a long shot, but one in which we'll give our best attempt.

Lorri Freedman score twice, with another Honorable Mention in the Nature portion of the competition with her image titled (Eagle Owl".

Congratulations to Carol, Lorri, George, Micheline and Diran Deckmejian for the strong showing at the NECCC Winter Competition.

For all the scoring for the club's entries you can look at "Sheet 2" of the "Current Competition Scores" found in the right hand column under "Quick Tips About Competitions". The entire report of the NECCC Competition can be found in the right hand column under the heading of "NECCC Competition Information".