The Photography Club

Ken Crites takes August DOF Challenge with "Monopoly Horse"

2010-08-26T23:05:00.000-04:00

What is it, this term "Depth of Field"? An artform? A technical term describing that part of the field of view, in photographic terms, that is considered to be in focus? Based on Ken's submission for the August challenge, we agreed it's an artform. Ken was able to completely elevate his subject (a gold monopoly piece) above the remainder of the frame by opening up his lens and then compensating for the full-open lens by shooting the image at a much slower shutter speed than would normally be required, if the lens had been set to a more "average" aperture, or lens opening size.

The resulting image has a very narrow distance from the lens at which the subject will be in focus. Ken was able to get that distance to be precisely the location of his subject, resulting in the winning image this month. Congratulations, Ken!

September Challenge: Abstract & Patterns
Technical Topic: Selections

Abstract photography is very much an artform. The September Challenge seeks those photos in which the photographer has recorded repetition, structure, or texture in something that occurs naturally or is man-made. Entries must be posted to the Club's Flikr site by the start of the next meeting, scheduled for 6:30 pm on Thursday evening, September 23rd.

The next technical topic will be led by Ken Crites. "Selection" is the process by which the photographer carefully removes a part of a photograph from the rest, either for use in another piece of work, or for the purpose of applying a special effect. Examples include the selection and removal of a building from a beach scene, or similarly, removal of a gray and lifeless sky with and replacement with a vibrant, blue sky with bright puffy clouds.

"Fireworks" and "Supersonic" take July Challenge Titles

2010-07-23T17:28:00.003-04:00

By Larry Rogers

Mark Prince and family took a hot July trip to St. Louis, and while there they attended a holiday fireworks celebration. Where Mark goes, so goes the Nikon. As he described his fireworks technique to us at the July gathering, Mark set his Nikon D40 on "bulb," the continuous-open shutter position. Using an aperture of f-8 to f-11, Mark then used a remote shutter release to open and close the shutter when he thought there had been an aerial activity worthy of capture. Mark told us he believes the shutter was open from two to six seconds at a time. Here is Mark's winning entry, "Fireworks," in the challenge category "Summer Celebrations."

Blind Squirrel finds a Nut!

Every once in a long while, opportunity and preparation meet. We call that "luck" in this business. I attended the Dayton Air Show on Sunday, July 18th along with members Mark Prince and Ken Crites. Rising at 4:30 a.m. on a non-work day in the summer is something so unnatural to me that even I am amazed that it happened. However, by the end of the day, even I felt it had been worth the early rising, the relentless heat, and even the 45-minute delay in the Navy Blue Angels show. The image to the right is my winning entry in the special "Air Show" category this month. When I first looked at my pictures back at home, I did not expect to find a shot like this one. I had not noticed the shock wave "vapor flash" which is the signature of a jet approaching and then exceeded the speed of sound (768 mph). But just as I saw this image in my Adobe Lightroom film strip, I knew that a special moment had occurred that day. I may change my mind on this one some day, but for now, I believe this is the shot of my life - so far.

Technical details: Shot with a Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200 mm f2.8 VR zoom lens, panning hand held, in NEF (raw) mode. Post-processing included Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop CS5, and Topaz Labs "Adjust" plug-in.

August Meeting Date > 8/26/2010 "Adobe Lightroom"

Next month's meeting will include an instructional topic, "Adobe Lightroom" led by Larry Rogers. We will demonstrate Lightroom's "organize" functionality, which enables the photographer to categorize photos by quality for later elimination of those that are not saved, as well as Lightroom's "develop" functionality which now has many of the features also found in the more expensive big brother, Adobe Photoshop. We will start promptly at 6:30 p.m. at MaxTrain in Mason, Ohio.

Bosque del Apache in December?

2010-06-05T15:40:00.002-04:00

I am contemplating a trip out there with the following workshops in mind. It is Dec 3-5 and includes some good sessions. Take a look and let me know if anyone else would be interested.

Naturescapes.net

May Challenge Reminder: Motion

2010-05-19T16:19:00.002-04:00

May: Motion

Since we should all be outside more, this should be a good chance to find some subjects that are in motion. This can be blurred motion, sports or action, or implied motion. Some ideas for this challenge are

2nd curtain flash to freeze action

Freezing action that still implies movement of the subject

Panning to blur the background

Good luck and see you at the meeting.
Ken

Dayton Air Show 2010

2010-04-11T21:34:00.003-04:00

The Dayton Air Show is going to be the weekend of July 17-18 this year and is going to feature the Blue Angels, my favorite. I am including the link to the photo pass form in case you might be interested. It was worth the money last year as the provide a ride to and from a special parking area, a sectioned off area for the photographers, and I believe water bottles. I am planning to go at least one of the days with my family and the other as a photographer. Anyone else interested?

Here is a link to my photos from last year

You should also take a look at Larry's!

Photo Pass Application

Calling All Birders: Flight Planning for ONWR Trip

2010-03-27T16:19:00.001-04:00

Anyone interested in participating in our Spring Birding Field Trip to the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (near Sandusky, Ohio) on the weekend of April 16-17, please contact either me (rogers.lj@fuse.net) or Ken Crites (critesk@yahoo.com).

I have made several trips up there, and my recommendation is to enjoy this immense nature preserve on one of the monthly "auto tour" days. Only on those days, will you be permitted to drive your car out onto the seemingly endless series of canals. In the spring, you will see many varieties of migratory birds. The bug population should be considerably lower now, compared to the coming months, which adds to the enjoyment of the place.

If you should decide to join us, plan to bring your longest lenses, at least one very stable tripod, and lots of data cards. We will most likely depart our area on Friday evening, and get rooms in a motel near the refuge. I will most likely shoot on Saturday from the early morning until late afternoon, and then head back home. The auto tour is limited to Saturday only.

I hope many of you will be able to join us!

Ken Crites' Photo "Natural Light" takes March Challenge

2010-03-27T16:01:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Ken Crites for his inspiring photo, on winning the March Challenge in the category "natural light portraiture." To view the winning photo, please click here.

The club's newest member, Ed Barkley, was the judge and jury this month. Thanks, Ed, for making the selection of this month's best entry.

The decision would have been unanimous, I am fairly certain. Ken's photo used a technique called (I hope this is correct) "checker-boarding." As you view photo, notice that the lighting in the background is reverse to the lighting on Ken's subject - his very patient son. I have to try this out, now that I have seen it in practice.

Other Photo Clubs in Our Area - Events and Offerings

2010-03-27T15:40:00.000-04:00

Eric Curby has forwarded a link to an April event hosted by the Hamilton County Park District, and put on by the Tri-state Photographic Society. For more information, go to: http://www.greatparks.org/events/artintheparks.htm.

Another Club, the West Chester Photo Club, meets once per month on the fourth Tuesday. I have attended the last two events of that club and I have found their meetings to be inspirational in terms of new ideas to get me to go out and shoot. The WCPC typical meeting agenda is quite focused on photographic composition - members submit three photos to the club's coordinator a few days in advance of each meeting. Like our monthly challenge series, WCPC opus photos must comply with pre-set themes. For example, the theme for April is "red," and the rules are: photos must be taken in the past 12 months, have the color "red" as a theme, and flowers are not allowed. Anyone interested in hooking up for the next meeting of the WCPC, please contact me (rogers.lj@fuse.net) or Mark Prince (prince01@fuse.net) for the location, date and time.

Why join more than one Photography Club? From what I have seen so far, photography is such a broad and complex topic that it is seemingly endless in scope. Those of you who have attended our meetings or field trips know that we tend to focus on technology topics, like equipment, software, and post-processing techniques. The WCPC tends (in my experience only) toward artistic composition. I am quite certain there are other clubs out there which have their own unique ways to contribute to the hobby/profession.

Let's get out and shoot this spring!

Photo Challenges for April-June

2010-03-27T11:08:00.001-04:00

April: Green
Green as in spring time (plants or animals), your favorite car, or anything else that is or implies the color green. It should be interesting to see what interpretations we get from this challenge!

May: Motion
Since we should all be outside more, this should be a good chance to find some subjects that are in motion. This can be blurred motion, sports or action, or implied motion. Some ideas are 2nd curtain flash to freeze action or freezing action that still implies movement of the subject.

June: Animals
Well, this is pretty easy to interpret. There are plenty of options for this challenge, including pets, wildlife, or even zoo animals. The challenge will be to take a photo of an animal that is unique.

Once again, please post your entry to the Club group on Flickr before the start of the meeting for that month. Feel free to start a post on the Flickr site or a comment on the blog for questions or ideas.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/the-photography-club/
http://the-photography-club.blogspot.com/

Microsoft marks its own email as spam

2010-03-02T21:46:00.002-05:00

Funny thing today. I get this email from Microsoft in my MSN hotmail account and the MSN spam filter supplied by Microsoft blocks it for my safety.

The filter suppressed the attachments, pictures and links in the email.

Finally, Microsoft asks me if I know the sender and asks if I should mark the sender "safe" or "junk".

What should I do? I'm confused.

Rodel Aguilon Sweeps February Challenges

2010-02-28T23:06:00.000-05:00

Congratulations go out to Rodel Aguilon, for sweeping both of the February Challenge categories. His entries were "Still Life, Hong Kong" in the category "still life":

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodelaguilon/4381583606/in/pool-the-photography-club

and, "Leland, Northern Michigan" in the category "travel":

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodelaguilon/4381583246/in/pool-the-photography-club

Rodel was awarded a copy of "The Best of Photoshop User: The 11th Year" from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). Once again, congratulations, Rodel!

Strobist Meet-up

2010-02-12T19:26:00.003-05:00

I was wondering if anyone was interested in a strobist meet-up in Northern Kentucky? It is in April and would be focused on shooting models with hot-shoe flashes. Here is the thread for more information:

Ohio Strobist Flickr Group

and the source of it all for a better idea of what all of this means:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/

February Challenge

2010-02-12T19:11:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to remind everyone that the challenge for this month is Still Life and Travel.

Please post your entry pictures to the Flickr site before the meeting so that we can use that to show them all. It worked well to have a printed version last time as well, so feel free to do this as well.

For information on posting to the Flickr site (http://www.flickr.com/groups/the-photography-club/) take a look at the post on Oct 26, 2009.

Thanks - Ken

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge 2010 Auto Tour Dates

2010-02-07T17:58:00.000-05:00

For those who may not have experienced the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge near Sandusky, Ohio, we strongly recommend that you try a weekend when the "auto tour" is authorized. Approximately one weekend per month, this sanctuary's seven miles of trails are open to travel by car. Bring along your longest lenses, tripod, and gimbal head. You will see shore birds, ducks, and hawks of all kinds. Several club members are planning a trip there in March or April. Be sure to mention your interest at an upcoming club meeting. Here are ONWR auto tour dates for the next several months.

February 20, March 20, April 17, May 8 and 15, June 19, July 17. For more information about the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, click here.

Some useful sites

2010-02-01T20:22:00.003-05:00

I am still wading through the 1732 photos I took during Eagle Weekend part two, but I thought I might add some links to sites that I find useful.

First is a new one that I just started looking at since it is new as well. Two great photographers with lots to teach, and they seem to be adding supporting bloggers from all areas of photography.

http://dpexperience.com/

The second is a site from a British photo magazine that I read regularly. This site has tons of video tutorials and stuff for all levels.

http://www.photoanswers.co.uk/

And finally one for the person whoe wants to see what a ton of photo blogs are talking about, all at once!

http://photography.alltop.com/

Hope these help!

Ken

January Challenge: Wildlife in Winter

2010-01-17T00:26:00.000-05:00

January's challenge subject is "Wildlife in Winter." Please post your entry (one please) on the club's photo sharing site:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/the-photography-club/

In your photo caption, please include the words "January Challenge Entry for [your name]."

I have seen a number of hawks near my house this winter. Ken tells me there are a number of cardinals near his house. Let's get out with our cameras and grab some shots of the beautiful wildlife all around us! To meet the intent of the challenge, your entry should depict both wildlife and a reference to the winter season (snow, leafless trees, frozen pond, etc). The January winning entry will be determined by highest total votes in a blind vote by all members present at the meeting.

Regarding the monthly photo challenge series, we will have an agenda topic at this month's meeting (January 25) to get your ideas about using the winning photos in a fund-raising effort, like a calendar, coffee table book, or something along those lines. Any profits could be used to pay for a booth at a fall craft fair - where club members could sell pictures. Please bring your ideas to the next meeting!

Next Club Meeting Date: January 25

2010-01-16T23:51:00.000-05:00

This is to confirm the next club meeting date of Thursday, January 25. On the agenda: 2010 Challenge Series (monthly photo contest), and Fund Raising Possibilities (calendar, coffee table book, etc). Please "comment" to this post if you have an idea for an agenda item.

This month, the meeting will be held in the break area at Max Train (there was a mix-up in room scheduling). Next month, we return to our training room.

Second Eagle Trip in the Planning Stage

2010-01-16T23:45:00.000-05:00

By Larry Rogers

Club members who particpated in the eagle trip this month (Ken, Larry, Eric) are already planning a return trip. Our undestanding of the migration habits of the birds is that mid-February is the beginning of attrition in total numbers of birds. Based on that understanding, we are thinking that the weekends of January 29, 30 and 31, or February 5, 6 and 7 are best. February 7 is Super Bowl Sunday, just in case that is a factor in your decision to particpate.

Please contact me, Eric, or Ken, if you would like to join us. As of now, the most likely weekend will be January 29-31. The preferred hotel is the Super 8 in Le Claire, Iowa. We will not reserve a block of rooms in advance for this trip - please call the hotel to book your room in advance.

We hope to see you there!

Eagles on the Mississippi: Day 2 Report

2010-01-11T19:46:00.006-05:00

By Larry Rogers

My alarm was set for 6:30 am CST. Last night, while dining at Sneeky Pete's in downtown LeClaire, we had all agreed to meet at 7:30 am for breakfast, and be ready to put the cars in "drive" at 8:00 am sharp. For some unknown reason (could it be the Bald Eagles awaiting us?) my internal bat-signal went off early. I used the extra time to make sure my batteries had completely re-charged overnight, double-check my camera settings, and just make sure I was ready.

Good thing I did all that. What a day we were about to begin! Why is it the sky is so much bluer in the winter? One of you physics or astronomy buffs, please weigh in on that - I really do wonder about it.

I don't recall a prettier day - or a colder one, for that matter. As I discussed in yesterday's post, the temperatures would lead a normal person to presume that it's simply too cold outside to get good photos. But, to the contrary, cold weather also means no humidity to cloud the air and far smaller numbers of people at the Lock & Dam.

We only had about two and a half hours to shoot. Checkout time was 11:00 am, and I still had to pack a few things, then load up the car for the drive back to Ohio. The outside air temperature indicator read -13 degrees F. When I say "I was not cold," I really mean it. The key is preparation - and I was prepared. My PolarTek thermals, Weatherproof outer coat, and air-activated heat pack in each shoe (just under the toes) and in each glove, really did the trick. I did not even return to the car to warm up during the entire two and a half hours.

Eric found some discarded fish off to the side at the boat ramp - all of which were frozen solid. At one point, Eric wondered if those frozen fish would attract any eagles. The birds had all gone into the trees for rest, we guessed. Eric tossed the first frozen treat into the river. Suddenly, like black helicopters in a spy film, two eagles popped up from nowhere and took up the attack on the new target. Dropping down to an altitude of about 10 (inches) just above the water, the first one suddenly went into a full stall with landing gear outstretched in front. He sank his talons into the frozen filet and up he went - but no filet. It must be difficult to grab. Not far behind, the wing man takes aim, and "pow!" Water droplets spray from the impact. Liftoff! And, this time, success!

Success can be short-lived for the bird that makes the catch. With his wing man nowhere in sight, this bird was under-equipped to defend his catch. A few skillful maneuvers, though, and he was safely on his way to the tree line. I watched him dine for a while on his delicacy. It is not often that an Eagle finds fresh-frozen shad hand-served by the poparazzi.

Like moths to a flame, Bald Eagles everywhere! I can't say for certain the number of birds overhead during the feeding frenzy - but I was able to count 12 right above me at one point. Adding the 5 or six in the trees behind the parking lot, two more in the trees near the lock - I'd estimate at least twenty at once. It was quite a show, and I am certain I will go back again some day soon.

Eagles on the Mississippi: Day 1 Report

2010-01-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

By Larry Rogers

LeClaire, Iowa, is a cold place in January. That fact is one of the factors that brings large numbers of bald eagles to the area. When we left the hotel this morning, the temperature gauge in my car read "-10 F." We had agreed in advance that we would not stay out in the cold for more than 30-45 minutes at a stretch. After all, none of us wanted to be a hero.

A dense fog lay over the water, like an eery scene from a horror film. When we reached the parking area, I fully expected to be back in the car in a relatively short time. That is, until I looked up. The tree line that forms a boundary around the parking area had at least six large adult bald eagles in it. Instead of parking at the end closest to the dam, I decided to drive down to the opposite end, where several of the eagles were perched in trees right at the edge.

We stopped and stepped out of the cars. The eagles were screeching at each other in their unmistakable tone. Looking through the trees, I could spot 4-5 more eagles in flight just around the bend in the river to the right. About that time, one of those came around to parking lot side, soared overhead, obviously checking us out. I knew at that point, today would be a good day for eagle viewing.

Photos in this article are courtesy of Eric Curby (Nikon D-80 DSLR, Nikkor 70-200 VR f2.8 lens).

Here we Go! Eagle Trip 2010 is Under Way!

2010-01-08T18:18:00.001-05:00

By Larry Rogers

This year's Eagle Trip story begins on Thursday morning, January 7th. I met up with Ken Crites at his house at around 11:00, but that is only part of the story. The legendary "white death of winter" rolled into the Tri-state over night. The first inch was on the ground, and there was a lot more on the way, according to local weather sources.

"Much ado about nothing," was my description as we packed Ken's items and closed the rear hatch door on the Yukon. We stopped for a burger, then headed down to I-275 West at state road 747. I tuned the radio to WLW for their "news and traffic together" every ten minutes on the "tens," as they say. A few minutes later, we got this news... "We have one car off on the right shoulder on 275 westbound at Colerain, and we just got a report of a jack-knifed semi on westbound I-74 at the Indiana state line."

My heart sank. "What are our options?" I wondered. We could have driven north, up to Dayton on I-75, then taken I-70 across to Indy, and pick up I-74 West there. But, there is still a lot of construction along that route, and who is to say we won't run into the same thing up there. I will cut to the chase - it was Friday morning before this year's Eagle Trip really got under way. But, we are here! We arrived late afternoon today - a little bit late to see much flying. But, there were two adults in a tree near Lock 14, two more in the air, and five more in a tree along the road back to the Super 8. A total of nine adult sightings late in the afternoon - I'll take it...and hope for more tomorrow. Stay tuned for an update.

Eric and his Mom (we call her Mrs. Curby) will be here real soon, and then we are off to the Bierstube (a local German restaurant) for dinner. More tomorrow!

Photo Shoot Checklist

2010-01-04T12:30:00.000-05:00

As I prepare for the club's Bald Eagle field trip, once again I will make use of a personal equipment checklist that I have been using for the past ten years or so. My checklist is created in Microsoft Excel, and I have three "worksheets" in one file - one is for camera gear, one is for clothing items, and one is for things that I need to get done before I leave, such as making the house payment, or stopping by the ATM for some cash.

Another thing I do before a traveling shoot is to make sure my plastic parts trays are stocked up with such things as extra AA batteries, extra lens caps, and so forth. I have found that carrying along these parts trays pretty much assures me that I won't forget anything that is really critical. Most other things can be purchased at a local Wal Mart store.

Want to take a look at my checklist? Please post a reply to this message, or send me an email message and I will gladly send it to you.

Bald Eagle Trip is Just Around the Corner

2009-12-17T15:03:00.003-05:00

Wow - how time flies - and, so are those Bald Eagles! Eagle migration should be under way, as temperatures have been falling over the past month. Several club members will be making the 2010 trip to LeClaire, Iowa. This post will explain a little more about what to expect.

The first thing to understand is the weather. While it will most likely be very cold there during the first week of January, we are not going to try to be heroes by staying out in it for extended periods of time. Last year, I made the trip in February. I recall my first thoughts, upon arriving at the site (Corps of Engineers Lock #14 on the Mississippi River), as something like "Holy cow, there isn't this much camera gear in the end zone at the Super Bowl!" There were more 500mm and 600mm lenses there at one time than I had seen collectively in a life time. One guy I met there had flown in the night before from Maryland.

But, I digress...back to the topic of weather. I recommend that you bring along a comfortable winter coat with a hood, if possible. That way, even if we have some wind, you will stay warm longer. I also like to put one of those little disposable heat packs in each glove and each shoe or boot. A head sock is also recommended. I'm not a real cold-weather endurance person - so, my average stay at the site was about 45 minutes to an hour. That's enough time to capture 400-500 shots of the raptors swooping down for a fish, frequently followed by an aerial dogfight and sometimes even a mugging in the trees by a jealous female (those are the really biiiiig ones).

As far as preparations are concerned, the eagle trip is just like most photo shoot outings. Bring every data card you own, a back-up hard drive, and your post-processing laptop. If you have a strong flash unit and "better beamer" bring those along also. A flash unit is not absolutely necessary, but those really impressive eagle shots you see in magazines are almost all shot with a flash + better beamer combination. Bring the longest lens you own and your teleconverters, too. We will be closer to the birds than most have ever been, but nonetheless, size does matter when shooting birds. I will have my 500 f4 and my 200-400 f4, and you Nikon shooters are welcome to put your camera bodies on them and see if you can track an eagle in flight with a long lens - it's a hoot when you first start out. I have lots of shots with nothing but sky.

Feel free to post your questions as responses to this post. I'll check back every couple of days and answer what I can.

Utah Trip Daily Photos are on my Apogee Site

2009-10-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, from sunny Utah! Actually, it has been a bit overcast so far, but very pleasant. Because of the issue I referenced in my prior post (faded colors in photos posted to this site), please check out my Apogee Imaging webiste for a Photo-of-the-day from the trip. When you mouse over a photo, note the flyout menu with options to view the image at a larger size.

To view the gallery, click here.

2009-10-27T00:53:00.002-04:00

Utah Trip - Day 1: Valley of Fire

The outbound trip began today at 5:30 EDT with a wake-up call. A quick shower, a drive to the airport, and we were in the air. We arrived at Las Vegas McCarran Airport on schedule at around 9 am local time, picked up the rental car (a Ford Escape 4WD), and then drove about 40 miles northeast, to one of the most interesting, most ancient sites I have ever photographed.

The Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada contains artifacts from civilizations dating back to 2,000 AD. In fact, visitors who are very lucky may find sites there with petroglyphs, pictograms, and even footprints from civilations as much as 1,000 years apart - all in the same space. Let me explain one site (not the site pictured). I have one photo in which you will see an ancient footprint from around 2,000 AD along with carved petroglyphs from around 900 AD. I have to ask myself, what would bring people to an area, over such a long period of time.

We are told the answer is that hunting was (at one time) good in the area where Valley of Fire is located. As you can see in photo above, there is also ample shelter from weather in the many rock formations, overhangs, and cave-like structures in the sandstone. I wish web publishing did not wash out the colors in photos so badly - the posted photo simply does not do justice to the site. Valley of Fire is composed of fiery red sandstone cliffs and outcroppings in an otherwise bland landscape of gray sandstone. Driving in the from the highway, you will come up over a rise, and all at once - wow!

Tomorrow, Escalante, Utah, where I am writing this summary from today. Escalante is the region of southern Utah where you will find Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase National Monument, and many natural slot canyons. Time permitting, I will try to post a photo-a-day from the trip.

Flickr is OPEN for business

2009-10-26T15:43:00.001-04:00

OK, the Flickr photo group is open.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/the-photography-club/
I've posted one picture to get us started. Not sure if it will be my final entry in the contest for November.
If you have any questions about using Flickr, I'm no expert, but I can sure get you started.
It's a beautiful day here in Ohio, wonder how Larry's doing on his photo shoot out in Utah??
Regards, Karl

Photo Club pictures

2009-10-23T22:27:00.001-04:00

Today I set up an account on FLICKR and sent invites to Larry and Ken. Based upon their response we will complete the FLICKR site and publish more info for all.

October Meeting Highlights (22 October 2009)

2009-10-23T20:33:00.005-04:00

Welcome New Members

We are pleased to welcome Earl King, Rob Dreyer, and Dennis McGrath to the club. Earl is an avid photographer recently converted to digital; Rob is an artist and photographer, currently shooting with a point-n-shoot but thinking about moving into a digital SLR camera; Dennis just recently moved from a Nikon D70 to D700 full-frame digital SLR. Welcome guys!

We had a really great session, with some great ideas about re-formatting the club by engaging members via contests, outings, and guest speakers. A full set of meeting notes will be sent to members soon.

November Challenge

The first of our photo contests will be on the theme of "Fall Colors." A valid entry will be any photo that you take with a digital camera, between now and November 16th, that meets the criteria of "fall colors." In order to have your photo reviewed and voted upon, please post it to the club's new photo sharing site on Flickr. The name of the sharing site on Flickr is "the-photography-club." If you do not already have a free Flickr account, please click here to register and obtain access. There is no requirement to make a print of your entry, but we encourage you to bring a print to the November meeting. We will vote on the entries at the meeting, and the winning photo will be featured here in the blog. Good Luck, everyone!

November Meeting Topic: Low Light Photography - basic settings to get you started

Several members shared experiences, mostly bad, with situations where the lighting was too low to get good focus and proper exposure. The discussion next month will feature the experience of Karl Monk and other members who have developed effective techniques in challening lighting situations. The objective of the discussion is to provide members with some of the basic settings for point-n-shoot as well as digital SLR cameras, to start out with when encountering this situation.

Sponsorship Drive

We are actively seeking sponsors for our club meetings. We would like to be able to offer a light dinner prior to the meeting in the Max Training lunch room - pizza or sandwiches, and a drink. Also, we would like to be able to offer a door prize to attending members at each meeting. In exchange, we will feature the sponsor's business prominently in our Blog, meetings, brochures or any materials that we distribute. Please let a member know of anyone who may be interested.

The Photography Club Joins the Max Family

2009-10-16T11:53:00.002-04:00

We are pleased to announce that we have joined the Max Technical Training family! Max, a premier provider of on-site instructor-led technical training, will begin hosting our monthly meetings in Mason, Ohio, on Thursday evening, October 22, 2009. Our first meeting at Max will begin at 6:00 pm, at 4900 Parkway Dr Suite 160, Mason OH 45040-8429.

For more information about the location, including driving instructions from just about any direction, please click here.

Max has a wonderful setup for club meetings. I'll start with their convenient location, which is less than one mile north of I-275 at the Fields-Ertel exit. Max has a break room with drink machines and snacks, and classrooms with high resolution overhead projection. We'll be able to share tips and tricks in Lightroom, Photoshop, and all of your personal favorite photo processing software.

The October meeting will be a formation meeting, in the sense that our partnership with Max opens up new opportunities for the group. We will talk about what our members most want to do in the coming months - field trips, contests, workshops, street walks - every idea is a good one. We look forward to seeing you at our first Max meeting, on Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:00 pm. We will continue to meet monthly, on the fourth Thursday of each month. See you there!

Nikon Announces New Products for Fall 2009

2009-07-30T22:55:00.002-04:00

Several long-expected and at least one long-awaited product announcements came out today. Posted with thanks to Thom Hogan, www.bythom.com:

D3000. This new entry level DSLR basically is an updated D60, not a cut-down D5000 (it uses the D60's 10mp sensor). It does get the D5000's focus system, though, but not the video or Live View. Available August 28th, US$599 with kit lens.
D300s. A modest update to the venerable D300, adding video, 7 fps, and an SD slot (in addition to the CompactFlash slot) to the mix. Available August 28th, US$1799 (but dealer margins were cut!).
18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G DX VR AF-S II. This revised version of the popular Nikon superzoom gets a fix for zoom creep and a zoom lock switch and improved coating. Available September 4th for US$849 ($60 increase).
70-200mm f/2.8G VR AF-S II. The long-expected update to the mainstay pro telephoto zoom. Surprisingly slightly heavier, yet slightly shorter and simpler in optic design, we get Nano coating and better FX edge performance. Available in November for US$2399 (also an increase).

Capture Cincinnati 09

2009-06-30T19:47:00.002-04:00

In case you haven't seen it yet, Capture Cincinnati 09 has a web site where you can post your photos of local subjects and potentially make it into the book that is published each year. I have a couple from the zoo that I have posted already.

Here is the link to get started

Understanding Histograms

2009-06-21T19:25:00.004-04:00

Just when I thought I knew a thing or two about histograms, along comes a post on dpreview that opens my eyes to new possibilities. To read the post, click here. I think I will print this out and put a copy in my bag for future reference.

What is a histogram? It's that graph thing that is overlaid on your photo in playback mode (depending on your playback settings). On the Nikon system, the histogram is one of several options in the playback menu. On my D3, I can display a single histogram, or separate red-green-blue channel histograms. Before reading this post, I knew it was good to avoid hitting either end of the spectrum, to avoid loss of detail in the blacks (left end) and highlights (right end), but that was about it. Now, when I look at a histogram, I see much more information. Check it out.

June Meeting Summary and July Meeting Date

2009-06-20T12:52:00.002-04:00

Thanks to everyone who attended the June meeting at Barnes & Noble on June 17th. We had a good discussion about support systems - monopods, tripods, ball heads, connection systems such as the Arca-Swiss standard, and techniques for connecting to a monopod.

I also demonstrated the blog to those who had not seen it yet.

The July meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15, at 7:30 pm. The location is Barnes & Noble on Union Center Blvd in Butler County. I need a volunteer to stand in for me on that night, as I am scheduled to be on call for a work-related project event that evening, and I may not make it there on time. Please post a reply if you can do that for me.

Thanks!

Before You Take a Camera to a Reds Game - What you Need to Know

2009-06-20T12:23:00.006-04:00

It seemed like such a great idea at the time - let's take out the toys and see an inter-league game at Great American Ball Park (GABP). So, let's check the Reds website in advance to learn about any potential issues with a camera in the ballpark. Click here to go there now. My problem was that I read the policies, but I forgot one small part - camera support systems are not allowed - no tripods, no monopods, no support systems of any kind. As far as the camera itself, as long as it is within these dimensional restrictions, it should be allowed inside: 16x16x8 inches.

Now, here comes the fun part. Eric Curby and I bring the toys to the game. Eric has his D80 with 70-200 mm zoom (well within the size limts), and bring my D300 with 200-400 mm zoom, which is, let's say, subject to interpretation at best. If I were to disassemble it, the component parts would fall within those size limits. Also, I am bringing in my monopod, which I had forgotten was against the policy. But, hey, we got in and no one at the ticket or admission area said anything.

We get to our seats in the Blue section. I am sitting in an aisle seat, and there is no one in front of me or behind me. There were some people next to Eric, who was seated to my left, but they were illegal, and we knew this because we had to ask them to move when we arrived (they were sitting in our seats). After about twenty minutes, a security guy approaches. "Sir, you cannot use that camera. It is against the regulations," he tells me. "Which regulation?" I ask. "Tripods are not allowed," he tells me. So, now that I have re-read the policy, I know that he was technically correct, but he didn't explain it correctly to me. He motions to one of the other security guys to come over. He tells the second guy, "The customer here tells me this gear is allowed according to the web site." To which his buddy replies, "Yes, monopods are allowed." He very graciously tells me he is sorry for the inconvenience, and goes back to protecting the public from terrorists with cameras.

I guess it was about ten minutes later (the game had not started yet), when he came back. "Sir, the Chief of Security just informed me that you cannot use that camera. A customer has complained." So, I ask, "What was the complaint? No one has complained to me," "I think someone complained that the guy next to you bumped into them," he said. The guy next to me is Club member Eric Curby. "You can take your camera up to the "top deck" if you want to use it," he continued. So, I look back to see what he means and I notice the last 10 rows or so of the Blue section are empty. "How about we move back a few rows in this section?" I asked. "Yeah, OK, do that and I think that will be fine," he said.

My point in writing this post is that, even when an organization such as the Reds posts a policy about cameras, it is not certain that their security staff will have a consistent understanding of that policy. Next time, I will do two things differently. First, I won't take my monopod, which means I also won't take my 200-400 zoom. Second, I will print out the policy statement from the Reds web site and have that with me. This is also a good idea for any public event. Good luck and good shooting!

Ottawa NWR Trip?

2009-06-06T13:24:00.009-04:00

I was wondering if we should start thinking about a trip up to Ottawa NWR this summer? I spent a couple of hours there back in the spring during a family trip to Sandusky and got some of the best juvenile eagles pictures I have even taken.

Since the best time seems to be early morning and late afternoon, I was thinking of a drive up in the evening, staying over at a local Hampton Inn or something, and then spending the next day chasing birds. Maybe coming back that evening.

What do you guys think?

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/ottawa/

The Art of Art

2009-06-03T22:39:00.002-04:00

For those of us that are into nature/wildlife/outdoor photography, there are a couple of resource that I have been using that are targeted right at us. I could spend a large portion of the day reading posts, looking at photos, and trying to understand how these experts got "the shot", but since I have to work too I target the most informative and useful sites to return to on a regular basis. I would like to share a couple with you.

My first recommendation is to look through Arthur Morris' web site Birds as Art and his new blog http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/. This guy tells it like it is and gives you so much information about how he did what he did that you really start to understand the process. He sells some guides for Photoshop, books on bird photography that are excellent, and location guides for some pretty great locations. I find his advise to be first rate and his willingness to share the amount of information that he does amazing!

He also supports a web site that I have been going back to again and again. It is birdphotographers.net which is a forum based site for Bird and other types of photography. The posts are typically very good and there is a lot of good information for those beginning to post-process their photos. I have been doing this for a little while now and still have learned a ton from this site. Arthur and others give critiques that are fair and honest, and I have yet to see anyone provide any "abusive" comments. They also have an e-zine with good articles on a variety of nature photography topics.

Finally, I wanted to mention NatureScapes.net which is a forum/store/information site on nature photography. The person who runs the site is a former student of Arthur's and has collected a great set of articles on topics from night photography to printing at home. I am planning to take a trip with these guys in early December to Bosque del Apache. I can't wait for that!

These are just a couple of the resources that I have been using to enhance my skills in wildlife photography. I hope you find these sites as useful as I have and can use them to get the most out of your photography. The "other" way to do this is to get out and shoot, which is why we are planning these club trips and events!

Post-processing (or, why don't I like my digital RAW photos?)

2009-05-31T22:35:00.003-04:00

If you are new to digital (huh?? new to digital?? it has been around for ten years or longer now!!), meaning new to DSLR photography you may be less than thrilled with some of those shots coming out of that beast. I find that many Club members either resist, or have no current intention, getting involved in post-processing.

Well, friends, you will get involved in post-processing one of these days. How do I know this? That was me, about five years ago. I made the transition from film to an early Nikon digital compact camera - one of those that shoots only jpegs with in-camera settings that amp up the saturation and sharpening so everything coming out of it "pops." I thought I was happy. That is, until I read up on "raw" photography and used all that new knowledge to study up on the best equipment out there which led me to the purchase of my first DSLR.

Let's just say that my first experience with raw photos left me with that nauseated, "What the .... !!" feeling. Those shots just plain sucked...I thought. So, I went right back to that article which had sent me into the store to purchase my first DSLR in the first place, and there it was - the techie talk near the end - and it went something like this... "Every digital SLR raw photograph requires post-processing." What the heck? I read on. "RAW photos are akin to what we called "negatives" in film photography." Then, it struck me - many of my film shots went into the waste basket. Why was that? Because the lab just printed what I sent in...bad as it might have been. The lab could have dodged and burned my shots, making them much better, but they didn't. If I had wanted every shot to best the best it could be, I would have had to purchase darkroom equipment and chemicals - and even then, I probably would not have been good at it.

It's much the same in the digital world. Only now, the darkroom is called "Photoshop," or "Capture NX2," or a host of other hot post-processing titles. If (when) you decide you want to get the most out of your photography, you will take the plunge into RAW and then, by definition, you will have plunged into the world of post-processing. I have yet to take a RAW photo that did not require some degree of post-processing (PP) work. The good news, unlike the darkroom and chemical days of film, computers present us with many opportunities to set up repeatable processes, or "shortcuts" that were simply not possible with film.

We'll dive much deeper into this topic at our meetings, I'm quite sure.

Would You Like Some Training on Adobe Products?

2009-05-31T22:15:00.002-04:00

If you are at all like me, Adobe products can be intimidating...all those controls and buttons! What do they all mean?

I have two recommendations. The first one is a recommendation based purely on training curriculum and my perception of "value" - - lynda.com. I was first introduced to Lynda.com when I purchased the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection. Adobe offered me a "free gift" of my choice...and one of the options was a free month of access to lynda.com. I thought, "Why not?" I was amazed at the volumes of content in their library of flash movies, and when I actually watched the first one (I chose the introduction to Adobe LightRoom 2) I was blown away at the presentation. So...you guessed it, I purchased a subscription for $25 per month, which gives me full access to the entire library of training. Lynda.com has not only Adobe titles, but pretty much anything I could ever imagine wanting to know more about. They have additional subscription levels, too. Check them out!

My second recommendation is really a no-brainer for any photographer - - membership in the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, or "NAPP." Membership costs $99 per year, and also grants members to full access to a plethora of reference materials. But, here is the best part about NAPP - free shipping on all orders from B&H Photo-Video (my personal favorite supplier of everything photographic and computer related). Those of you who know me best will know that I recouped my NAPP membership fee in about three months. Check NAPP out by clicking here.

Those are my two hottest tips for training, tips and tricks, and more.

June Model Shoot in planning stage

2009-05-26T22:19:00.003-04:00

Ken Crites reports that the young lady who attended one of our early B&N meetings has confirmed that she is interested in working with us. Ken is planning on the weekend of June 6, but still needs to confirm with her (Zarina). If you are interested in participating, please fill out a "comment" below. Note that you must be a registered user of the blog to post comments. Registration is easy and free.

Working with Zarina may not be free - Ken will let us know. She will most likely require an electronic copy of all photos, however.

Dayton Air Show Dates and Sign-up List

2009-05-24T21:26:00.002-04:00

The Dayton Air Show will happen on the weekend of July 18-19, 2009, at the Dayton International Airport. We are planning to car pool to the event. If you are interested in joining us, please add a "comment" to this post, indicating how many in your party and which day you prefer.

Ticket prices range from $12 (senior) to $16 (regular adult) at local area Kroger stores. At the gate, prices ranges from $15-$19. See the web site for additional pricing options for photographers.

Lord Canon - Luminous Landscape

2009-05-23T20:28:00.002-04:00

Luminous Landscape has gone through several stages of transition over the years. At one time entirely dedicated to Canon, the site is currently more of a generalist. I have found it to be a great resource for most things digital, especially so for Canon afficionados. To go to Luminous Landscape, click here. Please let us know what you think of this site.

Lord Nikon - Thom Hogan

2009-05-23T20:17:00.002-04:00

The Nikon community has annointed Thom Hogan as its resident expert, for the Americas, at least. Thom writes the best technical reference manuals available anywhere. Nikon no doubt recognizes Thom's contributions, too, because Thom will have his technical manuals available shortly after a new DSLR comes to market. I'm sure Nikon is making their new gear available to Thom waaaaay before the rest of us. To go to Thom's web site, click here.

I have purchased Thom's e-books since the D-200 came to market. With his e-book, you will receive a CD in the mail (no downloads), which you can load onto your computer or have printed at your local Kinko's. Personally, I like loading the pdf file onto my field laptop computer. The pdf is searchable, which makes it truly a quick-reference for the field, where you need information fast, in most cases. Thom also includes a printed quick-reference guide that is just slightly larger than pocket-size.

Lastly, Thom's blog on the front page of his website is a good place to learn what is going on in the digital imaging world at any given time. Check it out!

Action Central - For Photoshop Actions

2009-05-23T19:44:00.003-04:00

This is one of my personal favorite resources for Photoshop actions. For those new to Photoshop, an "action" is a third-party plug-in that must be installed on your computer. Actions work like macros in other applications - think of them as "recordings" of steps that have been created by other Photoshop users for a given effect.

Action Central Link

Open Topic Thread

2009-05-23T13:13:00.001-04:00

Until I figure out how to set up everyone so you can start new threads, please use this topic to suggest new topics.

January 2010 Bald Eagle Trip

2009-05-23T12:21:00.004-04:00

The bald eagle trip is now being planned for January 2010. We will stay at the Super 8 motel in LeClaire, Iowa. LeClaire is the location of Corps of Engineers lock number 14 on the Mississippi River. Migratory bald eagles gather near the locks during the coldest part of the winter, because undercurrent flows in the river break up the ice covering and make for good fishing for the eagles Here is a link to some of my photos from my 2009 trip.

Please post a comment here if you are interested in the January 8-10, 2010, bald eagle photography trip. In your post, please indicate the number of rooms you will need. I will assume one room per poster if you do not indicate otherwise. Last year, I paid about $60 per night. Once I have an approximate number of rooms needed, I will try to get a special rate for the club.

I will drive up to LeClaire on the morning of Friday, January 8th. I like to set up and shoot for about an hour at a time, then return to the room to look at my photos on the computer and warm up for an hour or two, then repeat the process until dark. I'm looking forward to the trip and I hope many of you can join us!

Dust Bunnies? Arctic Butterfly Available to Members

2009-05-23T11:32:00.004-04:00

This is to let everyone know that I have purchased the Arctic Butterfly Professional sensor cleaning kit from Visible Dust Technology. The Arctic Butterfly is generally considered to be the best product in the industry for dry cleaning of digital camera image sensors.

For those of you who are new to digital photography, you may have noticed those irritating little "smudges" on your photos. They usually show up in the "sky" portion of outside photos, and you know if these are dust bunnies when they are always in exactly the same place on your photos.

Personally, I recommend removing them first by blowing air into the chamber - be sure to follow your manufacturer's recommendations for locking the mirror out of the way. The best air blower is the "Rocket Blower" by Giotto's ($12.95 from B&H). Only if that doesn't work, move to step 2 - dry cleaning - with the Arctic Butterfly. The Arctic Butterfly basic set is available directly from Visible Dust for around $150 (Canadian). Link to Visible Dust website. In the event that dry cleaning does not solve the problem, wet cleaning is the last resort. I recommend sending your camera in to the manufacturer's maintenance facility, or using a reputable local shop, for wet cleaning.

For anyone who would like to try dry cleaning, please let me know and I will bring the Arctic Butterfly to our next meeting. If you are not confident about trying it yourself - I will clean your sensor for you in return for a small contribution to The Photography Club in the amount of $10 per sensor cleaned. Please contact me in advance to set it up.

Links to Capture NX2 Video

2009-05-23T11:04:00.002-04:00

While browsing dpreview today, I discovered a discussion about Nikon Capture NX2 that contained a video showing some of the cool features. The two links below represent a combined total of 12-13 minutes of tutorials on great features, most of which were not known to me until I watched it. Check it out.

Nikon Capture NX2 - part 1

Nikon Capture NX2 - part 2

A Link to DP Review - one of the best resources for photography tips

2009-05-23T10:52:00.002-04:00

I discovered dpreview.com (Digital Photography Review) several years ago, as I was just converting from film to digital. I have found this site to be my "go to" source when I have a question and I need a reliable answer. The site has thousands if not millions of regular participants, and many of those are earning a living from photography. I encourage you to check it out, and even set up a membership account there. It does not cost anything to join.

DP Review was an independently-owned enterprise until about a year ago, when it was purchased by Amazon.com. Despite the fact that it is now owned by a large enterprise, I continue to find it to be one of the better resources for honest, independent exchange of ideas. If you decide to post a photo there for comment, be advised that you may receive "honest" comments! Don't have thin skin!

Here is the link: http://www.dpreview.com

Be sure to check out their "Discussion Forums"

The Photography Club blog is Open!

2009-05-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

A big "Hello" to our members! I have been searching for a better way to share ideas, tips and tricks on photography between meetings. I hope this blog meets our needs in that area. Please feel free to begin posting here, and let's see how this works out.