Club Meeting of Friday February 9

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The sound of twenty cameras clicking away was heard at our last meeting. We practiced steadying the camera for sharper, better focused shots by using our bodies as tripods.

A few technical questions were raised from the group and discussed. We then proceeded to review the thirty-plus flower shots submitted. Great work, everyone! The pictures were outstanding and participation was lively. We had alot of fun, along with receiving constructive advice we can use on our next assignment.

Our club will ‘rise to the challenge’ with next meeting’s assignment, “Wallet Shot”. Think in terms of a picture we carry in our wallet. The difference is that this picture will have our subject doing something that will give us a clue about their hobby, job, sport or pastime. We will spend some time critiquing the technique, but we will have a lot of fun identifying the hobby and discussing the photo, too. The sky's the limit, so Neil says, “Use your imagination!”

Next meeting, we will see a short video on the “Rule of Thirds” and Barry will review important Picasa picture techniques (loading/saving/emailing). We will critique our ‘wallet’ pictures, and discuss our next photo shoot and assignment. In order to finish up within a sixty minute (or close to it) timeframe, we will endeavor to follow the 20-20-20 minute rule (twenty technical/twenty assignment review & new assigment/twenty open questions from the group).

Our next meeting is Friday, March 16 at 1:30PM in the clubhouse. Join the Harbor Hills group visiting the Appleton Museum on Friday, February 23. Contact Rose at the front desk for more info on the trip. And don’t forget to check out our new Harbor Hills Photo forum at HHPC.
Happy Shooting!

Notable Links:
Sasha Nialla, daughter of Bob and Monique Brownfeld is a professional photographer.
Sasha's link
Interesting black and white photography with an Asian theme.
Jon Morgan
Two fun links submitted by Debbie Bradley:
Comcast photo
Woophy Map

Thanks to Natalie Win (feature photo on very top of column) and Monica Carleson (feature photo just above) for their colorful flower photos.
To view the club's entire flower collection, click
HHPC Flower Collection. Don't forget to run the slideshow option. It's a visual treat!

Photo Shoot to Marion Market!

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Calendar:
Jan 26: Trip to Marion Market, Meet in front of Clubhouse at 8:30 am.
Feb 9: Meeting, Friday 1:30 pm at clubhouse.
Feb 23: Trip to be discussed this Friday. Maybe Homosassa or the Appleton Museum.

Our first meeting of the New Year was attended by a record-breaking fifteen members! We announced contest winners (below) and talked about our next ‘assignment.’ We decided on the theme, FLOWERS. This will be an assignment, not a contest. Members are urged to follow good rules for picture taking. Email submissions to Nikki and Barry. Three pictures max will be accepted from each member. I have already received pictures from five members. The more the better, so get shooting!

We reviewed the last field trip to Alexander Springs. Several photos are displayed on our community Channel 20.

Barry demonstrated some important editing techniques in Picasa, Adobe Photoshop and the new Photoshop Elements. Click here to take a free tour of Photoshop Elements 5.0. Use your browser's back arrow to return to the blog.

Neil Toulch led the review and critique of our Holiday Photos. The group discussed ways to improve our picture-taking skills. Many of these elements can be found in the twelve judging criteria used by the ‘Professional Photographers of America.’ Contact Nikki if you need a copy.

Reminder: Our next group photo shoot will be on January 26 to the Marion Marketplace in Summerfield. Meet at 8:30AM in front of the clubhouse.

Our next meeting is Friday, February 9 at 1:30 in the clubhouse.

Contest Winners by Popular Vote:
First Place: Holiday Table, Nikki Hoffman
Tie for Second Place: Holiday Forest, Bob Brownfeld and Dog With Toys, Lew Jones
Third Place: Holiday Dog at Gate, Linda Trahan

Notable Links:
1. Carol & Tiit Gentalen's son Kirk is an avid photographer and naturalist.
Click here to view Kirk's web site.

2. New Member Dave Elle’s trip to Austin Park resulted in these fabulous shots.
Click here to see Dave's Austin Park photos.

3. Kodak maintains an informative website. Check out this month's article on the importance of lighting. Kodak's site/Consumer Products/Taking Great Pictures.

Congratulations to Natalie and David on the purchase of their new digital camera! We can't wait to see you two out and shooting some great pictures.

Thanks to Barry Pressman for our feature photo, a beautiful example of the impact of black and white photography.

Our Holiday Photo Contest is here!

Below are eight entries for our first themed competition, 'HOLIDAY'. Please click directly on each entry for the larger view. Use the back button (arrow pointing left) on your browser to return to the blog.

Once you've made your selection, please email me with the number and description of your selection and copy Barry. Voting will be open until noon on Thursday, January 11. The winner will be announced at our meeting on Friday, January 12. Good Luck!!

Entry No. 1 - Holiday Scene


Entry No. 2 - Holiday Forest


Entry No. 3 - Holiday Cat


Entry No. 4 - Holiday Cake


Entry No. 5 - Holiday Dog with Toys


Entry No. 6 - Holiday Dog at Gate


Entry No. 7 - Holiday Table



Entry No. 8 - Holiday Child


Nikki's email: thehoffmans@harborhillsgolf.com
Barry's email: tamalemolly@gmail.com