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President’s CommentsThat Time of Year
by Roz Kleffman
This is the time of year when I start think about all the stuff I have to do in my club life and personal life. Short term plans and long term thinking. Things completed last year and things still left to accomplish. Problems and solutions. This year’s goals and next year’s plans. It is a hodgepodge of stuff both old and new.
First on my list is paying my camera insurance and it’s due next week. I mention this because we all have some outrageous amount of camera gear. Outrageous in the amount of money we have spent on this hobby. If lost, stolen, or broken this would cost a lot of money to replace. This NEW YEAR get your gear catalogued and insured. It may take a few hours to get your gear together and your list tallied but the financial savings will be great. Camera gear can be added to most home owner’s policies (or renter policies) for less than one hundred dollars a year. I have $6,000 worth of camera gear insured for $60 per year. Get that on your list to do, too.
THE VIEWFINDER
BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
INSIDE Grant Award applications, page 3; Competition results, page 6; Competition standing, page 7; Antietam on Six Wheels, page 10
David Ebert’s Sunflower with Cricket was the 1st Place winner in the Advanced Color Print category of the January Flowers competition. See more winners on pages 6, 11, and 12.
FEBRUARY
2CompetitionTravel, Judge: Fran Stetina
9Photo TalkPoint & Shoot Secrets page 4
16ProgramChuck Bress: A Grate Life page 5
23How- ToAdobe Lightroom
2CompetitionAt Work; Judge: Tom Berault page 4
continued on page 3
Field Trip: Sunday, March 1Club to Get Exclusive Tour of Luray Caverns
by Vince Ferrari
How would you like to spend two hours in Luray Caverns, and be the only people there? Can we do it? Yes, we can! The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club has been offered an opportunity to have a private tour of the famous Luray Caverns, in Luray, Virginia. We can spend up to two hours there, take as many photographs as we want, use tripods, and the only other people in the cave will the the guide and other employees of the caverns. No crowds, no rushing from room to room. Just two splendid hours to make photographic magic. Luray Caverns is located just west of Shenandoah National Park, near the town of Luray, Virginia. continued on page 3
MARCH
1Field TripLuray Caverns this page
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEEPresident Roz Kleffman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301•464•1867 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
VP Programs Drew Kalocai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443-277-8591 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
VP Membership Frieda Weise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301-604-7772 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
VP Competition Wayne Bower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301•262•7257 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
VP How-to Janet Matthews . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301•341•3270 Richard Chomitz . . . . . . . . . . . . .410•721•5573 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
VP Photo Talk Steve Bruza. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410•247•5997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Treasurer Warren Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301•552•4129 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Secretary Joan Anne Dubbs. . . . . . . . . . . . .301•262•7105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
PSA Representative Dick Whitley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301•899•6457 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Newsletter Editor (also Immediate Past President) Jeff Kendrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410•796•7612 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
STAFFCompetition Assistant Thelma Loret de Mola . . . . . . . .301•474•4003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Database Manager Dick Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410•987•1471 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [email protected]
Field Trip Captain Vincent Ferrari. . . . . [email protected]
Webmaster George L. Smyth . . . . . . [email protected]
Web Editor Vincent Ferrari. . . . . [email protected]
GRANT PANELRoz Kleffman, Warren Wilson, Jeff Kendrick,
Appointed: Clarence Carvell, Elected: David Hornick
THE VIEWFINDER is distributed via e-mail early in the month and at the first meeting of each month during the club year. Contributions of articles of interest to photographers are welcomed.
The deadline for submitting articles is the first Monday of the month prior to publication (ie, articles submitted on October 1 will be published in the November newsletter).
Articles should be sent via e-mail to
[email protected] attachments as MS Word, .txt, or .rtf files. Photos and illustrations should be separate attachments
Photographs should be submitted electronically as JPEGs with a “high” quality compression setting. The optimal photograph will be no more than 800 pixels in its greatest dimension.
Do not submit copyrighted material unless you also supply written permission from the copyright holder.
Membership Rates
Junior (ages 12-17). . . . . $5.00 Individual . . . . . . . . . . . $25.00 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.00
Meeting Nights
The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club meets the first through fourth Monday nights of each month September through May in the Fellowship Hall of the All Saints Lutheran Church at US 301 and Mt. Oak Road in Bowie. Meetings begin at 7:30. Visitors are always welcome.
Photographic Society of America (PSA)
The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club has been a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) since 1977. Dick Whitley, a PSA Region Director, is B-CCC’s representative to PSA.
For information regarding the benefits of a PSA individual membership and for PSA-sponsored events contact Dick Whitley (301) 899-6457 or e-mail [email protected].
BowieTown Center
Rip’s
PrinceGeorge’sStadium
To Annapolis
To Crofton
ToBowie /Laurel
To Washington
All SaintsLutheran Church
Allen PondPark
NORTH
Mitchellville Road
NorthviewDrive
Mt.
Oak
Road
Rout
e19
7(C
ollin
gton
Road
)
Rout
e50
Route 301 Route 301
Articles for The Viewfinder
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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President’s CommentsThat Time of Year
continued from page 1
Grant Award Applications Due in AprilPsst, Psst.... Did You Hear? The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club is Giving Away Money
by Roz Kleffman
YES, it is true. The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club is giving away money. You just need to follow a few simple rules to get in on the loot. First: Go http://www.b-ccc.org and click the tab called “About Us”. Details are found under “Grant Award”—interesting details like the grant was established in 1998 by a generous club member. To date, the club has given away $3500 for educational opportunities for our club members. Yes, you have to do a few things to get in on the grant award but the rules are fairly simple. Remember there ARE rules.
1. Go online to http://www.b-ccc.org. Click on the “About Us” tab at the top left. Go to Grant Award section.
2. READ the details. (Maybe that should be rule 2 and 3)
3. Complete the grant application. The grant application looks fairly simple but you really need to do your homework in this area.
Research classes and programs. Think about what you want to study. Here is your opportunity to explore some interesting photographic study. Workshops, seminars, classes. What do you want to learn? What do you want to teach club members? Be specific.
4. Get your written grant application to someone on the grant committee by April 15, 2009. Hey, do it NOW. The April deadline is rigid just like the IRS deadline. You miss it and you are out of the running.
5. Please note: The Grant Committee announces grant winners at the B-CCC June Dinner. grant recipients have one year to claim the grant money. This timeframe allows for class scheduling. Anyone not using the grant money during that time can reapply for funding in later years. Oh, there is a catch... grant award recipients must give a presentation to the club.
It may be hard to believe, but the club year is half over. The “To Do” list of this club president is always pages long: motivating club members to take an active role in photography, keeping up with the membership, hearing what members want and need from the club, preparing for exciting programs for next year, getting ready for executive board meetings, cleaning out the club closet, finding new ways to approach old problems. These are just a few of the many things on that list.
Please consider how you are going to help your club. The club needs members to assist in a variety of ways including setting up the room and putting the chairs away. Competition help
is always needed in many areas: collecting entries, passing prints, working digital and slide projectors. Executive positions need to be filled for the next club year.
Somewhere in this VF is a short funny help wanted article. Please find it and consider helping the club. American Express’ slogan is: “membership has its privilege.” I agree with that statement. Surely membership in the Bowie-Crofton Camera Club has its privilege, too: great programs, stimulating competitions, educational how-to’s, tantalizing field trips. The talents of a few people are not enough to keep YOUR club growing strong. Active members are our key to success.
Field Trip: Sunday, March 1Club to Get Exclusive Tour of Luray Caverns
continued from page 1
In order to have this private tour, we must be there and ready to enter the cave at 8:30 a.m. You can get up early and drive if you’d like (roughly about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Bowie), or if you prefer, you can drive to the area on Saturday, enjoy the scenery and local flavor, and stay overnight near the caverns. Several hotels are nearby, as well as camping, and maybe even a chance to stay in a rental cabin. More details about lodging will be worked out as the date gets closer. As usual, after our tour we will gather at a local eatery for a
friendly and enjoyable lunch. Admission price to the caverns for the tour is $21 per person.
You can learn more about Luray Caverns from their Web site at: http://www.luraycaverns.com/.
If you are interested in joining us, please contact me, Vince Ferrari, at 301-249-2210, or by e-mail at [email protected].
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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Competition Meeting: March 2Topic: At Work, Judge: Tom Berault
Thelma Loret de Mola, Competition Assistant
Our judge for March is a familiar friend. Tom Berault has done much judging for B-CCC and has always given us good insight to the up- and down-sides of our work.
Instruction is no stranger to Tom as he is on the photo faculty of Prince George’s Community College as well as Director of their Marlboro Gallery. His judging experience extends to many of the other local camera clubs as well as to the Eastern State Penitentiary Historical Site (PA), an interesting site you
should take a look at. Frank van Riper, our excellent judge for Experimental, extolled Tom’s available light studies of the historic Oella Mill.
The subject for entries, At Work, can be any person or even animal in the act of doing work; i.e., performing a task that, when completed, will be of some use or benefit.
The deadline for digital entries: Tuesday, February 24.
Photo Talk Meeting: February 9Point and Shoot Secrets: Acquiring and Using a Pocket Camera to Take Winning Competition Photos
Steve Bruza, VP for Photo Talk
And the secret is… well you will just have to show up on February 9 for Photo Talk to learn the secrets for acquiring and using a pocket camera to take winning competition photos. Until then you should challenge yourself to take that pocket camera (digital or film) with you on your daily commute or when going on quick jaunts to the store. On those journeys, be sure to look around for something to photograph. For example on my drive to work I started noticing how the morning light was making curious shadows and also how many people in the city are using especially bright colors to paint doors and windows. The images I took to document this were very instructive about how I could improve my composition and exposure. In short, I found myself experimenting more with new subjects and learning more techniques.
Therefore, by now you have probably figured out that one of the “secrets” is actually doing more with your camera during routine activities. In my opinion, you can open your mind to new things to photograph with self-imposed assignments like the one mentioned above. Think about it this way, what can you do to put yourself in a situation where you typically do not take photos? Here are some more examples. Go out on a street corner or sit on a park bench and do not move until you have taken at least 50 pictures. Take a walk down an unfamiliar street or visit a new neighborhood and take at least one picture every minute or after taking several steps. You get the idea. The goal is to impose some
sort of forced condition that will get you making more images. Besides being relatively inexpensive the other tangible benefit in using a pocket camera is it can be used less conspicuously in public places or when having to get a grab shot with one hand. My guess is we can all remember at least one time when we missed the perfect “decisive moment” photo because we could not get our DSLR or SLR camera ready in time. In addition, a small camera is an important advantage especially if you enjoy the challenge of street photography. I have all but abandoned my big cameras in urban areas. I find the small camera is a friendlier tool to use particularly when engaging people on the street. As you probably know, some of the newer digital pocket sized cameras are actually very sophisticated with many features found in a DSLR. Bottom line, the one secret that seems to be universal it to have a camera at hand at the moment you need it.
Because the goal of Photo Talk is to engage as many club members in talking about their images, we will have our regular review of prior week’s competition entries with the added feature of identifying how many were taken with pocket-sized cameras. Also, when we look at those images we will consider if there were other factors beyond the type of camera and its capabilities that contributed most to the photograph, for example time of day or subject. My guess is that you will be surprised that you do not need an expensive camera or additional lenses and equipment to take winning photographs.
Your club needs your help. Consider serving a two-year term as a club officer. B-CCC will hold elections for Secretary, VP Competitions, VP Programs. Contact Roz Kleffman or the current officeholder for more information.
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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Program Meeting: February 16Chuck Bress — ‘A Grate Life,’ Images of the Homeless in Washington, D.C.
Drew Kalocai, VP for Programs
I am often amazed by the skill level of the photographers who attend our weekly meetings. We see only a glimpse of the passion our members have on competition night. But, on February 16, 2009 we have the opportunity to see our own Chuck Bress’s project “A Grate Life”. Chuck’s project concentrated on the many homeless on the cold wintry streets of Washington, D.C. Chuck sought permission to photograph his subjects but chose not to pose them. This ensured a more
accurate documentary style that better depicts the harsh circumstances D.C.’s homeless live in. The only payment Chuck provided to his subjects were shoes, hats, blankets and coats. Chuck Bress made no judgments and offers no solutions but allows the viewer to come up with their own answers for those living on the streets of one of the toughest cities in the nation. Please join us when Chuck presents his heart filled project involving people who are often overlooked.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Photo Walk: April 18Join the Thousands of Photographers Who Have Participated in Successful Gatherings Around the World
Steve Bruza, VP for Photo Talk
A Photo Walk will be held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday April 18, 2009 at 10:00 AM. A Photo Walk happens when a group of photographers, many who only meet on-line via social networking Web sites or lean about it by email, gather at a specific time and place to take pictures along a planned route. This event is being led by a local group of photographers who want to continue the Photo Walk experience after participating in a world-wide Photo Walk last year. Author and Photoshop expert Scott Kelby organized the first such gathering last August and over 6000 people from 43 countries (41 states in the U.S.) in 421 cities registered to participate and share their images on line. More information about that first-ever historic Photo Walk can be found at http://www.photoshopuser.com/photowalk/
In recent months nearby Photo Walks were held in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Gettysburg. Over 60 people attended the Gettysburg Photo Walk last September and over 900 of their images can be found on the Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/groups/gettysburgphotowalk/. The November/December issue of Celebrate Gettysburg magazine featured this walk in an eight page article, complete with many photographs from the day. The same folks who organized the Gettysburg event are setting up the Harrisburg Photo Walk. More details on the exact route and details will be posted to the organizers’ Web site http://www.visualrealia.com/VR_Photowalks/Home.html and any additional information will be announced at our club meetings.
Meadowlark Nature Photography Expo2009 Edition Features Nature Photographer Bruce Dale
from www.meadowlarkphotoexpo.com
This year’s Meadowlark Nature Photography Expo will be held on March 7 and 8 at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia. A keynote address by photographer Bruce Dale will be held at the Tyson’s Corner Marriott on Friday, March 6.
The Expo offers visitors several unique activities: free portfolio reviews by a professional photography instructors and free camera cleanings by Strauss Photo-Technical Services. Another popular event provides photographers the chance to photograph hawks and owls. Thanks to the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, photographers can focus their cameras on these magnificent wild birds in a natural setting just outside Meadowlark’s Visitor Center.
At the Expo, visitors can purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win terrific prizes. Thanks to our sponsors and other generous donors, visitors spending a dollar have walked away with prizes worth hundreds of dollars.
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens is a gem awaiting discovery; visitors can stroll through the 95-acres of gardens. Be sure to return in April and May when the cherry trees bloom around the lakes and acres of brilliant tulips and daffodils mark the beginning of spring. With such beautiful scenery, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens has become a favorite spot for those interested in outdoor photography.
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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The January competition broke another B-CCC record. The total number of entries for this competition came to 252. The previous record of 244 was set back October of 2007. The judge for the evening was Tony Sweet. This was the first time the B-CCC has had Tony as a judge and hopefully it won’t be the last. He provided plenty of good comments and kept the competition running fairly rapidly despite the large number of entries.
Competition CornerNew Year Brings New Record for Competition Entries
by Wayne Bower, VP for Competitions
Novice Digital (66 Entries)
1st Pinkies-4434 . . . . . . . . . . . . Francine Bethea 2nd New Aged Flower . . . . . . . Dawn Fry 3rd Good Morning . . . . . . . . . . Jim Bolitho HM To the sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Weston HM Tulips in Amsterdam . . . . Miles Smith HM The Purple People Eater . . Miles Smith HM Sun Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Norton HM Poppy-4533 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Francine Bethea HM Pink Orchid . . . . . . . . . . . . Zolt Levay HM Orange Triple Day Lily . . . Gail Phillips HM Intruder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stanley Turk HM Flycatcher Flower . . . . . . . . Jim Norton HM Daisy & Bee . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Howard HM Couldn’t Get Out Even If I Tried . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warren Wilson HM Azalea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zolt Levay HM Bougainvillea on a Blue Fence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eric Fromm HM Lotus Light Play 2 . . . . . . . Beth Fabey
Novice Monochrome (24 Entries)
1st Tulips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Stern 2nd Queen Anne’s Lace . . . . . . Zolt Levay 3rd Moonflower . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zolt Levay HM Heavy Metal . . . . . . . . . . . . Theresa Harrison HM Orchid #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warren Wilson HM White Orchid . . . . . . . . . . . Zolt Levay
Novice Color Prints (49 Entries)
1st Purity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail Phillips 2nd A Bit of Sun on Earth . . . . Miles Smith 3rd Crimson Christmas . . . . . . Robert Weston HM Purple Perfection . . . . . . . . Dawn Fry HM Mrs Sewell’s Flower . . . . . . Bernard Gross HM Neon Flowers . . . . . . . . . . . Donna Neal HM Opening Lotus . . . . . . . . . . Debi Davidson HM Porcupine Flora . . . . . . . . . Jumoke Gross HM Staring at the Sun . . . . . . . Warren Wilson HM Tulips in Stone . . . . . . . . . . Paul Young HM White Phaelenopsis Orchid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth Fabey HM Prickly Pear Cactus . . . . . . Robert Howard
Novice Slides (3 Entries)
2nd Flower Wedge . . . . . . . . . . . Miles Smith
Advanced Digital (33 Entries)
1st Presence Of Mind . . . . . . . George Smyth 2nd Meadowlark Daisy . . . . . . . Bill Conway 3rd Unfolding Green . . . . . . . . Stephen Bruza HM Goats Beard . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Thomas HM Tulip & Moth . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Conway HM More to See . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Bruza HM Lily Stamen . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pete Banholzer HM Lupines and Poppies in Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pete Banholzer
Advanced Monochrome (22 Entries)
1st White Cactus . . . . . . . . . . . Chuck Bress 2nd Crimson Zen . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Weston 3rd Rose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pat Bress HM Blossum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Thomas HM Water Lily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sue Oberthaler HM Lotus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sue Oberthaler
Advanced Color Prints (40 Entries)
1st Sunflower with Cricket . . . David Ebert 2nd Chrysanthemum . . . . . . . . David Ebert 3rd Cemetary-Bona Vista . . . . Clarence Carvell HM Cosmo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pete Banholzer HM Yoshino Cherry . . . . . . . . . Zolt Levay HM Red Background . . . . . . . . . L W Hunter HM Lupines-Twillingate . . . . . . Clarence Carvell HM Composition: Red, White, Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chuck Bress HM 3 Lillys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Stern HM Orange Sprig #1 . . . . . . . . . Benson Simon
Advanced Slides (15 Entries)
1st Thistle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Clarence Carvell 3rd Flower Variation #11 . . . . . Chuck Bress HM Two Tulips . . . . . . . . . . . . . L W Hunter HM Sunflower Flowers . . . . . . . David Ebert
(Top to bottom) Goat’s Beard, HM Advanced Digital, Mike Thomas; Meadowlark Daisy, 2nd Advanced Digital, Bill Conway; Moonflower, 3rd Novice Monochrome, Zolt Levay; Unfolding Green , 3rd Advanced Digital, Steve Bruza.
See Page 11 for More Winners from the January Competition
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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October — Open Any subject, any time
November — Trees One tree, a part of a tree, a whole woods, a reflection of a tree. If you choose to have, for example, a bird in the tree, be sure it does not become the subject. You will find that photographing a tree more challenging than you imagine.
December — Experimental To quote last year’s description, “Use any of the tools at your disposal to create an image that is anything but a normal straight-on shot. The more unbelievable, the better. The work can be made entirely in-camera or created/manipulated in the computer.”
January — A Touch of Red As the photographer said of the surfer riding a great blue, gray and white wave with a gray shark, mouth open and ready to strike, “If only that surfer had worn red shorts!!” It’s true: just a point of red in a scene where there is none can stand out dramatically.
February — Travel Rules #1 and 2: the photograph must be taken more than 50 miles from Bowie and within the past three years. A stronger picture would be one that suggests a different culture or geography. The Ernie Nagy Memorial Travel Trophy will be awarded to the entry judged Best in Show
March — Old Old people or parts of people such as gnarled hands, old buildings with bleached wood and broken window, old clothes in a heap on the floor, ancient cars in full or in part. There is much drama in the “has been” aspects of life.
April — Nature More rules: all objects must be naturally occurring; no hand of man is allowed; and no domesticated plants/animals. Examples of “hand of man” would be such things as fences, wires, stone paths, vases, etc. The Novice Nature Trophy will be awarded to that judged best of all the Novice entries.
May — Open Any subject, any time.
2009-10 Competition Themesby Thelma Loret de Mola, Competition Assistant
Advanced Color Prints
George Smyth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Clarence Carvell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Ed Stern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Chuck Bress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Novice Color Prints
Robert Howard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Robert Weston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Dawn Fry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Beth Fabey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Advanced Digital
Bill Conway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Pete Banholzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Vincent Ferrari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 George Smyth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Novice Digital
Donna Neal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Zolt Levay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Theresa Harrison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Mark Laster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Advanced Monochrome
Robert Weston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Pat Bress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Sue Oberthaler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Jim Oberthaler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Novice Monochrome
Zolt Levay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Robert Howard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Paul Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Oscar Hernandez. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Advanced Slides
Chuck Bress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Pat Bress. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 L W Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 David Ebert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Novice Slides
Miles Smith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Competition StandingsThrough the February Competition
by Wayne Bower, VP for Competitions
Help WantedExciting opportunities available for club year 08-09 in EXECUTIVE positions.
Working with a LARGE well-established photography club in the Bowie-Crofton area Part-time commitment only. No experience needed. On the job training offered.
Good working conditions. Friendly environment. Team oriented approach. Cookies provided. Fabulous benefits to many satisfied members. Opportunity include:
Secretary, VP for Competition, VP for ProgramsMembers are encouraged to apply. Interested club members contact Roz Kleffman.
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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Results of Photographic Society of America (PSA) Competition for December 2008Donna Neal Earns Honorable Mention; Club Scores 67 Out of a Possible 90 Points
by Roz Kleffman, President
The second PSA Digital Competition (held in December) results are final. Thanks to: Beth Fabey, Bill Conway, Donna Neal, Frank Lee, George Smyth, Ann Krumrein,
Mike Thomas, Mark Laster, Pat French, Robert Howard and Theresa Harrison for submitting entries for this interclub competition.
More than six folks submitted entries in to this competition, but the rules stipulate that only six entries are allowed per club. Six entries were selected, including: Liquefied Mums by Theresa Harrison; Tropical Bird by Mark Laster; Scenic Western Maryland Railroad by Mike Thomas; Neon by
Donna Neal; Edinburgh by George Smyth and Thor’s Hammer by Bill Conway. These six entries were chosen for overall appeal.
PSA competitions are judged by a 3 person panel of judges from camera clubs in other divisions of PSA. The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club competes in Division D. Our entries were judged by folks in Division B. All entries are previewed. The voting is done numerically, with 3 to 15 points awarded, with 15 being the highest score. Any entry receiving a 15 is given an Award of Merit. Lower scores may also receive an award of merit if no photo scores a 15. Donna Neal won an Honorable Mention ribbon for Neon.
Club numbers were fairly high for this competition with an overall score of 67. This is our first year competition in the PSA digital competition and we are quickly becoming a high scoring club. The next competition will be held in February.
Neon by Donna Neal
Have you noticed these photos at the bottom of the B-CCC Web site (http://b-ccc.org/)?
This is a profile widget that summarizes the B-CCC Flickr Group. At present there are 34 members and over 500 photographs. If you click on the widget it will take you to the B-CCC Group on Flickr.
The best way to learn about Flickr is to upload some photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/upload/), explore the site (http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/), join some groups (http://www.flickr.com/groups/) and make some friends.
Membership Levels — There are two membership levels. There is a Free account with limitations and a Pro account for $24.95 per year — around $2.00 per month.
Free Account: With the free account, you’ll only see the most recent 200 photos displayed and your upload limit is 100MB per month. With a free account, you can upload files up to 5MB in
size. If you have a free account, no one (including you) can access your original file. If you have a free account, you can have up to three sets.
Pro Account: The Pro account provides unlimited storage, uploads, sets, bandwidth, permanent archiving of high-resolution original images, and ad-free browsing and sharing. If you have a Pro account, you can upload files up to 10MB. For pro accounts, your original files are available for download. I personally tried out the free account and quickly upgraded to the Pro account.
Organize Your Photos — Flickr provides lots of tools for organizing your photos including sets, collections, geotagging, and tags (i.e., key words).
Sets: You can organize your photos into sets. Free accounts are limited to three sets. Pro accounts are unlimited. Sets are useful for grouping photos. For instance you can create sets for each club field trip. I have sets for my various vacations, etc.
Collections: A set contains photos. A collection can contain sets (or other collections). Collections are available for pro account holders.
B-CCC on FlickrCamera Club Members Post, Comment, and Discuss Photos
by Mike Thomas
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Map — You can geotag your photos by using the organizer to place photos on a map where they were taken.
Tags — Tags are like keywords or labels that you add to a photo to make it easier to find later. You can tag a photo with phrases like “Nikon D80 Renaissance Portrait Monochrome” Later if you look for pictures taken at the Renaissance Festival, you can just click that tag and get all photos that have been tagged that way. Another way to find photos is by surfing tags such as “me” or “selfportrait”. Or look for specific tags such as “neon” or “sunset”. You can also surf the “most popular tags” on Flickr, or run a search there for any tag you like.
Favorites — Favorites are photos by other people that you want to bookmark in Flickr, so they are easy to find later. You can add any photo that you can view to your favorites.
Comments – One of the great things about Flickr is your ability to leave comments and annotate photos. Even better is receiving comments from others. It’s always nice to log in and see someone marking your picture as a favorite or leaving a nice comment on it.
Upload – Flickr provides uploading tools (http://www.flickr.com/tools/) for both Windows and Mac that will help you get your photos on Flickr. Flickr provides you with your own unique email address so that you can email photos to upload photos to your Flickr photostream and automatically post them to your blog. You can also use a web form to upload your images.
Image Types — Flickr officially supports JPEGs, non-animated GIFs, and PNGs. You can also upload TIFFs and some other file types, but they will automatically be converted to and stored in JPEG format.
Licensing — You can select what licensing is associated with your images. I have selected the default which is “All rights reserved ©” I don’t know much about the other licenses but you can read about them in the Flickr online help. Other licenses available include a variety of Creative Commons options.
If you’ve attached a Creative Commons license to your photo indicating you’re OK with sharing the photo, the original image is available to anyone to download. You can use the global setting in your account to specify who can download originals: The choices are: Only you; your friends and/or family; your contacts; any Flickr user; or anyone.
Groups — You can also create public or private groups. Private groups are good for small groups of friends, or for events such as weddings. You can post photos to a group photo pool so everyone can see them in one place! You can also join an already existing group. For instance I have joined the “Imagery of Maryland Renaissance Festival” and the “Strobist” groups.
Group Types — There are 3 types of groups on Flickr: Public, Public (invitation only), and Private.
Public: Public groups are useful for discussion and content about general subjects like landscape, or still life to Share, or geographical locations, like Baltimore. The group page is public and anyone who wants to can join instantly. Admins can choose to show or hide discussions and/or group pools from non-members.
Public (invitation only): Invite-only public groups are useful for small groups who wish to focus on a particular theme, but want to maintain control over membership. Anyone can view the group page, but the only way to join the group is by invitation. Admins can choose to show or hide discussions and/or group pools from non-members.
Private: Private groups cannot be made public later. Private groups are useful for families or groups of friends. Only group members and those who have been invited will be able to view the group page. Private groups are completely hidden from group searches, and don’t display on people’s profiles amongst groups they belong to. The administrator can make a public group private, but a private group cannot be made public.
Administration — When you create a group, you are automatically made its first administrator. As administrator, you can also promote members to help you run the group. You can promote your members to either moderator or administrator status. A group admin can:
1. Modify information about the group
• Create or change the group name
• Create or change the group description
• Associate the group with an external URL
• Create a personalized URL for the group (like your photostream, this URL can only be set once so choose wisely)
B-CCC on FlickrCamera Club Members Post, Comment, and Discuss Photos
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• Determine whether or not your group topics or pool can be viewed by non-members.
• Create a group icon
2. Determine group moderation rules
• What kind of content can be added to the group pool (photos, video or both)
• Set frequency of group pool submissions
• Determine what safety level of content is appropriate for the group (“safe”, “moderate” or “restricted”)
Please note that if “moderate” or “restricted” content is allowed, then the group will be flagged as 18+ and only members over the age of 18 or those who can see “moderate” or “restricted” content will be able to participate in the group.
3. Create group participation rules
There’s no limit on the number of admins a group can have, although you should be aware that once someone becomes an admin, they can never be demoted.
Though there is no limit on the number of admins, we suggest you limit it to those you feel you can trust to maintain the integrity of the group because of the tools available to change group features. Flickr staff won’t step in and remove people from your group if someone is abusing their admin privileges.
A group moderator can:
1. Approve or remove photos from the pool 2. Moderate group discussions 3. Remove or ban members
Well that’s a good summary of Flickr much of it pulled right from the Flickr help pages. Since accounts are free, give it a try. Join the B-CCC group. Post some photographs. Start a discussion. Comment on club member photos.
Mike Thomas’ photos can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bmthomas.
B-CCC on FlickrCamera Club Members Post, Comment, and Discuss Photos
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The next chapter in my continuing saga on “Six Wheels” took me closer to home but was just as exciting as my jaunts further afield. (See The Viewfinder January 2006 and September 2008 issues) The field trip, lead
by Vince Ferrari, took us to the most unique and humbling experience, the Illumination at Antietam.
Vince arranged for a park pass so we had access to the park on foot with tripods in hand. During the actual Illumination only cars, in single file and with only parking lights to “illuminate” the way, were allowed in the park. ABSOLUTELY NO STOPPING !
Bob Elkin and I decided to go for the day instead of meeting at the appointed time of 4PM. We thus were able to live the whole experience of this memorial to the fallen soldiers of the September
17, 1862 battle in what would become known as the single bloodiest day of carnage of all time.
When I pulled into the Visitors Center I began to realize the magnitude of the endeavor. There were very few parking spots left so my handicapped tag proved useful. This is the twentieth year volunteers have amassed to place 23,000+ luminaries, each of which memorializes a soldier killed or wounded at Antietam. Over 1300 volunteers reported for duty and were dispatched throughout the Battlefield to place, in dignified straight rows, a bag filled with sand holding a candle. Long orange cords, held by volunteers, assured the rows were straight in all directions.
It was very evident the process has been refined over the years as every
Antietam on Six WheelsPhotographing the Illumination, a Memorial to More than 23,000 Soldiers Killed or Wounded at Antietam
by Pat French
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volunteer knew what their duty was.
Everywhere you went there was activity towards establishing a fitting memorial to all the men who fought so bravely on both the Union and Confederate sides.
The day was dull, gray and very cold (thank you Leslie for the hand warmers) creating a somber and befitting mood. The sun made a brief appearance as a red glow at the horizon line before setting. By this time the army of volunteers were back in action lighting the 23,000 luminaries and we waited in awe for the memorial to unfold. With each passing minute the straight rows of luminaries became more and more evident. The site affected everyone there differently and I remember thinking what a wonder way to memorialize those who gave so much.
Antietam Battlefield is maintained by the National Park Service and there is a small entrance fee charged. The park rangers were extremely well informed and all were anxious to make sure we left with a better understanding of what happened on September 17, 1862.
Befitting my “Six Wheels” saga, I did not leave Antietam without some incident(s) occurring. I am sure you can all relate to camera batteries in the cold and my chair battery behaved no better. I remember looking down at my battery indicator and seeing only one green light
where there should have been four. I did make it back to the car and onto the restaurant but there was some apprehension on my part. I also was vaguely aware of something dragging as I motored down the road in front of Dunkers Church. The church was so named because the religious sect “dunked” parishioners being baptized. I had set my tripod up for “the shot” and reached for my remote cord. The cord was still connected to my camera but I had managed to run over the remote with my wheelchair. I was fortunate it had not gone on strike.
As the cold took over our bodies and with visions of hot drinks in our minds we headed for the restaurant Vince had picked out for us. Ask anyone there how the food was and to describe the homemade pies. I still get shivers thinking about that day. I plan to return in early summer but it will somehow not be the same.
Antietam on Six WheelsPhotographing the Illumination, a Memorial to More than 23,000 Soldiers Killed or Wounded at Antietam
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More Competition Winners
Azalea HM Novice Digital Zolt Levay
Presence of Mind 1st Advanced Digital George Smyth
Pink Orchid HM Novice Digital Zolt Levay
See Page 12 for More Winners from the January Competition
THE VIEWFINDER • BOWIE-CROFTON CAMERA CLUB VOLUME 28, NUMBER 6 • FEBRUARY 2009
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The ViewfinderBowie-Crofton Camera Club P.O. Box 515 Bowie, Maryland 20718-0515
www.b-ccc.org • [email protected] Photographic Society of America since 1977
More Competition Winners
(Top, left to right) More to See, HM Advanced Digital, Steve Bruza; Blossum, HM Advanced Monochrome, Mike Thomas; Sunflower with Cricket, 1st Advanced Color Prints, David Ebert; (Bottom, left to right) Chrysanthemum, 2nd Advanced Color Prints, David Ebert; Tulip and Moth, HM Advanced Digital, Bill Conway; Queen Anne’s Lace, 2nd Novice Monochrome
