a message from the president dates to remember · 2015-02-17 · the lake county camera club is a...

The Lake County Camera Club is a proud member of thePhotographic Society of America and the Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association.

Volume 3, Issue 5

Dates to RememberJanuary 6 Lightroom 3 presented by John

Williams, 7:00 p.m. January 8 CACCA CompetitionJanuary 15 Shutter Cafe, 8:00 a.m.January 22 Table Top and Model ShootJanuary 27 DPI Images Due for Interclub

Competition and Individual

January 31Assignment and Challenge Due

February 3 Competition Night, 7:00 p.m.3 total images, plus a 4th ifmonochrome, with no more than 2 images in one category

February 5 Sunrise Shoot at Simmons Island Park

February 12 CACCA CompetitionFebruary 17 Creating Special Effects Using

Photoshop presented by Bob Benson

February 19 Shutter Cafe, 8:00 a.m.February 28 DPI Images Due for Individual

DPI CACCA CompetitionsFebruary 28 February Assignment and

Challenge Due

Questions or comments, please contactMargie Hurwich, Newsletter Editor at [email protected] visit our club website at www.lakecountycameraclub.org.

January 2011

A Message From the PresidentHappy New Year LCCC club members. As we enter the New

Year it is customary to make resolutions for the upcoming year. Resolutions that

we typically view as most important often involve religion, family and health. The most popular resolutions often include goals to

improve health, finances, career, education, self or help others. Research suggests that resolutions are twice as likely to succeed when they involve goal setting with measurable goals.

Here are a few suggested goals that you may want to include in your New Year's photography resolutions:1. Learn how to use your camera. This means getting off the Auto setting and/or learning to use the various features of your camera.2. Get organized and backed up. Go through your photos, get rid of (or archive) ones you don't need and back up all of your images.3. Try shooting something new. Challenge yourself by using a different techniques, subject matter, perspective, or equipment.4. Improve your image processing. Upgrade to better software and learn how to use it. Learn how to make better prints and (if desired) learn to print your own.5. Share your work. Show off your images by posting in online galleries, entering them in competition and contests, and presenting your work for critique.6. Start a project. Find new and creative ways to use your photography. This can be anything from creating greeting cards to starting your own personalized coffee table book to getting a start in stock photography.7. Do some good. Donate old gear, volunteer your time and talents to help a good cause, teach others what you know.

I hope everyone has a happy and successful new year, whatever their resolutions may be.

Ron Meyers

Competition Results

Intraclub Print of the Month

Small Monochrome Award, Class A

Intraclub Image of the Month

DPI Award, Class B

© Bob Kruzic

© Mike Trahan

Exposures, January 2011 Volume 3, Issue 5

Competition Results

Intraclub Awards

Small Monochrome, Class B

Score 24

Small Color, Class A

Small Color, Class A

Intraclub Awards

Small Color, Class B

Small Color, Class B

Large Monochrome, Class A

© Mike Trahan

© Paul Kurek

© Egon Schein


© Tom Anderson

© Eric Knackstedt

© Bob Kruzic

Competition Results

Intraclub Awards

Large Monochrome, Class B

Large Color, Class A

Large Color, Class A

Intraclub Awards

Large Color, Class B-

DPI, Class A

DPI, Class B

© Stevan Tontich

© Linda Kruzic

© Quintin McGrath


© Tom Anderson

© Ron Meyers

© Birgit Tyrrell

Competition Results

CACCA Interclub Competition Awards

Small Monochrome Award

Small Monochrome Award

Large Monochrome Award

CACCA Interclub Competition Awards

DPI Award

CACCA Interclub Competition Honorable Mentions

Large Color

by Quintin McGrath

DPI

by Joe Herbst

CACCA Special DPI CompetitionAwards


© Linda Kruzic

© Ron Meyers

© Ken Johnson

© Stevan Tontich

© Mike Trahan

Competition Results

CACCA Individual Competition Best of Show

Photojournalism

Interested inAttending CACCA?Enjoy our club competitions? Then you should attend the January CACCA Competition on Saturday, January 8! Everyone is invited.

The meeting is held at The Palos United Methodist Church located at 121st and Harlem Avenue, Palos Heights, IL 60463.

If you are interested, a carpool can be arranged. Please contact Jim Ross at [email protected].

Photo Excursions

Christmas at Kemper andGallery of Lights

The displays were beautiful and the scenery was stunning when we visited Christmas at Kemper and the Gallery of Lights. To see photos from our excursion, please visit our website.

From left to right: John Williams, Paul Kurek, Cathy Nestor, Mike Jordan, Sue Baron, Linda Kruzic, Margie Hurwich, Rick Myslinski, Bob Kruzic, Jim Ross. Not pictured: Luanne Kowalke, Jeff Bott.

Table Top and Model Shoot

Get experience shooting models with natural light and studio lights as well as shooting objects with a light table.

We will be meeting at the Community Protestant Church, 418 N. Prairie Avenue, Mundelein, at 10:00 a.m. Please bring any flowers, objects, family member or friends that you would like to shoot. Models will also be obtained for the morning. You will want to bring model releases if you intend on shooting the models.

All attending are responsible for liability and travel arrangements. The photo excursion is subject to weather, no rain date. If you will be attending, please contact Michelle Cox at [email protected].


© Bob Kruzic

© Jim Ross


Back to the BasicsExposure Informationby Margie Hurwich

There are two ways to look at exposure information and learn from them. They are EXIF Data and Histograms.

each month in this newsletter, you would

stands for Exchangeable Image File Format and is also known as Metadata. Still not making sense? Basically speaking, it is the embedded information on your camera about a particular image. Your camera automatically captures the aperture (f-stop), shutter speed, ISO, flash mode, file dimensions and format, color profile, focal length and what camera was used to make the photo.

Years ago a photographer would need to record in a notebook the settings of his or her camera when making an exposure in order to determine if the creative choices of the settings worked. Having the camera record this information automatically saves us digital photographers time.

But where do you find the EXIF Data? The answer is right on your camera. Most cameras have a different way to get to the EXIF Data, but it can usually be shown on the LCD panel of your camera. Check

display this information on your camera. As well, this information can be found in most image editing softwares File Browser feature. In the Example 1 to the right, CS4 was used to find the EXIF Data. The information can be found under File/File Info. Click on the Camera Data tab and a box will appear with the EXIF Data.

Example 1

Example 2

There may be other ways your image editing software can show this data. In Example 2 above, I was able to find the same information using Bridge.

The other aspect of exposure information can be found on your Histogram. Usually found with the info button on your camera, the histogram is an important feature that looks like a bar chart and lets you see how much light is in an image.

The height of each bar what is important, but where the height is, is important. Where the height is will indicate if you have an underexposed (too dark) or overexposed (too bright) image. Images that are underexposed will have a vertical bar on the left of the histogram and images that are overexposed will have a vertical bar on the right end of the histogram.

Back to the BasicsExposure Information continued

Example 3© blog.epicedits.com

As you would expect, an image where the peaks are in the middle is usually a perfectly exposed image. If you look at Example 3 above, you can see examples of the various histograms.

There are exceptions to this and that is when you intentionally expose your image to be high key (bright) or low key (dark).

High Key Low Key© Margie Hurwich

After the photo is taken and you download your image to the computer, you can also see the histogram in your photo editing software under Levels. When using Levels, you can move the left, center and right arrows at the bottom of the panel to adjust how your image looks. Be sure not to cut off any of the ends of your histogram or you will cutting off portions of the light in your image.

Whether you find your histogram in camera or in your photo editing software, learn to love your histogram. It will truly help you understand your exposure and have you taking better photographs.

Your challenge:

determine how to find the EXIF Data of your

the EXIF Data in your photo editing software, go to Help in your software and determine where to find it.

Now, keeping your camera on either Av, Tv or Manual, use your Histogram to make adjustments, all the while checking your EXIF Data and learning from the results.

And lastly, find Levels in your photo editing software and test out how the sliders make your image look different.


Tips, Tricks and IdeasSome Travel Tipsby Mike Jordan

Travel: What a thrill tosee new places and people! And how nice it is to capture the moments, sights and

people you experience on your adventures!Here are a few ideas to better 'capture the memories' and, perhaps, come up with a great image or two in the process.

A good way to start planning for your photo activities is to do a little 'homework'. Go to stock photo websites or sites like flickr.com or smugmug.com, etc. and do a search for images of your destination(s). See what's been shot, when it's been shot, and how it's been shot. This will give you some 'intel' on the sites you'll be visiting. On the stock photo websites you should also be able to see what the better selling images are. Now you can develop a 'shot list'. Professionals often use such lists to be sure nothing is missed.

As an exercise in seeing (and practice for an up coming trip), you might select a destination within, say, 30 miles and spend some time 'seeing it with new eyes' (as you would a far-off destination) and capturing your impressions with your camera. Practice makes perfect! Experience is the best teacher!

When I got back from my first trip abroad (Italy), I had 599 images on my memory cards. I culled these to 300, printed 150 and only showed about 25 to friends. When I would trot out more than this I was generally

while to figure out that even my best friends

only had the patience for a few of the best images. These were the images that summed up my experiences of the trip. So a good idea (and a secret of the pros) is to edit lots and only show your best.

A dilemma you'll often face is: Do I stand at the "Photo Spot" and take the standard shot that tends toward cliche or try to make the ordinary extraordinary? One solution is to quickly get the standard shots out of the way, then get down to the real shots. A little creativity goes a long way towards making the image one that will get people to ask to see more.

Three important times of day are: Sunrise and Sunset (and the hours around these events), and after dark. There is a reason the hours around Sunrise and Sunset are called the Golden Hours -- the light is unlike any other found during the day. After dark the camera can work its magic to create spellbinding images. Remember you'll need a tripod or some other support when light levels are low (don't forget to try boosting your ISO, too). Don't let your trip pass by with out taking some time to shoot at these important times of day.

I hope these ideas help bring your travel photography to the next level and beyond; that your trip(s) will be more fun and productive of the kinds of images that will do well in our club and CACCA competitions!

For more information, please visit:http://www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Photography-Tips/Travel-And-Adventure.page.



Tips from Bill BrownLayers and Layer Masks

Photoshop layers are like sheets of stacked acetate. You can see through transparent areas of a layer to the layers below. You move a layer to position the

content on the layer, like sliding a sheet of acetate in a stack. You can also change the opacity of a layer to make content partially transparent.

Work Nondescructively

content. For example, an adjustment layer holds color or tonal adjustments that affect the layers below it. Rather than edit image pixels directly, you can edit an adjustment layer and leave the underlying pixels unchanged.

Layer MaskA layer mask in Photoshop is applied to an individual layer, and is visible in the layers palette as a thumbnail which is linked to the

What is a Layer Mask?A layer mask is a grayscale bit image. The pure white areas in the image represent the portions of the image that will be 100% protected. The pure black portions of the image represent the areas of your image that are completely masked out, or erased.

The levels of gray in between allow your image to be partially protected.Pure White = Portion of layer is 100% visible.Pure Black = Portion of layer is 100% invisible.Degrees of Gray = Different opacities, depending on the percentage of gray used.

How to Create a Layer MaskLayer masks are accessible in Layer/Add Layer Mask/Reveal All or Layers/Add Layer Mask/Hide

mask, and thus reveals everything. Choosing

everything by making it transparent. You may also apply a layer mask by clicking on the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers Palette (see Red square in previous example). Simply clicking on it creates a mask that reveals all. Alt clicking creates a black mask that hides all. If

create a layer mask the portion of the layer you have selected, will be white on the mask (reveal all), and the portion not selected will be black (hide all).

How to Change a Layer MaskYou can actually paint black and white onto the layer mask (make sure you are painting on the layer mask not the image), and it will act as

off and on. Make sure your brush is set to -edge brushes,

and lowered opacity brushes; doing so will allow -

The below example shows where wallpaper was added behind the basket of yarn with the use of a layer mask. The mask is painted over the basket and yarn, as shown in the previous example.

© Margie Hurwich


Places to Shootby Michelle Cox

Welcome to the New Year! We have a whole new year for photography. What do you want to do with your photography this year? Learn a new technique, use

new equipment or force your reluctant relatives to model for you? You have a new chance in 2011. Call a fellow club member and get together to take photos.

We are in the coldest part of the winter. Many of us start to hibernate and stop using our cameras. If you are one of those, get some items and do a small photo shoot on your kitchen table! A sheet or blanket could be your backdrop. You can learn to use your flash, practice with natural light and use f-stops.

If you are ready to follow the cold weather procedures previously outlined in the

12th Annual Polar Bear PlungeJanuary 1, 9:00 a.m.Waukegan Municipal Beach201 Seahorse Drive, WaukeganFor more information call (847) 360-4700

Tis the season for freezin'! Join the Waukegan Park District and the City of Waukegan as they host the 12th Annual Polar Bear Plunge at the Waukegan Municipal Beach. Start the 2011 New Year off with a splash or watch from the sidelines! The first 500 taking the plunge will receive an event shirt. Food, hot chocolate, and Polar Bear Hats will be sold on site. This could provide some interesting photography moments! Let me know if any club member plans on taking the plunge, it would be a wonderful event for us

LOVES the cold.

Frosty Fest at Viking ParkJanuary 21, 5:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m.4374 Old Grand Avenue, GurneeFor more information call (847) 623-7788

Get out and enjoy fun activities during Frosty Fest including Dog Sled Demonstrations, visits with Frosty the Snowman, Carriage Rides, Ice Sculpting, Snowman Building Contest, Music and Crafts in the "Snowflake Village", and Marshmallow Roasting. This is an evening event which always affords the use of many different techniques.

events, the City of Chicago has given us a great opportunity for photography.

Snow Days ChicagoJanuary 28 - 30 (11:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m. on the 28th and 29th and 11:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. on the 30th)

Navy Pier (Gateway Park)600 E. Grand Avenue, ChicagoAdmission is free; For more infohttp://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/things_see_do/event_landing/special_events/mose/snow_days_chicago.html

The 2011 festival will now be held at Navy Pier. You can see 15 teams of professional sculptors creating their masterpieces at Gateway Park located just west of the entrance to Navy Pier. The teams of professional artists have been selected based on their pencil sketch drawings that they submitted. This year, in addition to teams from Chicago and our neighboring states, teams will head to Chicago from Canada, Mexico, Bulgaria, China and Russia.Schools will also be at Gateway Park.

Other entertainment includes Dog Sled Racing Demonstrations and Weight Pulling by Green Valley Dog Drivers; a Snowboard Rail Jam Competition and family entertainment at the Family Pavilion inside Navy Pier.


This month we put the

only photographic subjectwas the unimaginativestreet view of houses that were for sale. As a real estate agent armed with a point and shoot film camera, places like Walgreens made a whole bunch of money

or less. These bland, repetitive photos were used to promote properties for sale in real estate listing books, on brochures or flyers, and on literature used to sell those houses.

The process of making a flyer in those

mouse. The photography has also come a long way from her start in real estate some 25 years ago.

Carolyn was born and raised in the Bay Area of California, and it is where most of her family lives. It was during a visit to her Mother back in 2001, that her real interest in photography was born. Carolyn was having lunch with an old grade school friend and she was showing Carolyn

camera. Her friend was transforming her pictures into amazing greeting cards. She showed Carolyn how she did it using a simple program, a color printer, and some blank card stock. That was all it took Carolyn was hooked!

Lunch dragged on for hours as Carolyn interrogated her friend, eager to learn everything she knew about this fascinating hobby. Carolyn discovered that she had just received a new Kodak Easy Share

camera as a gift, and she was going to sell her older Easy Share LS443 to a friend. Carolyn was able to convince her friend that she was a friend of equal standing, and she had cash. Plus, Carolyn agreed to throw in a cup of coffee to sweeten the deal. And so, Carolyn bought her first digital camera. She

taking pictures of everything in sight.

In 2005, Carolyn had a wonderful photo-shoot opportunity. A couple of her cousins were taking a trip to Denmark, the place where their grandparents had immigrated from. Not only was it a wonderful chance to

th

birthday celebration of Hans Christian Anderson. When asked to come along,

their twelve day trip, they visited many locations in and around Copenhagen. Their family name is Nielsen, which is about as common in Denmark as Smith is here. It seemed they were related to half the country, as they ran into one Nielsen after another! Lots of hugs to go around.

camera was her constant companion. She had never looked at so many details before door knobs, windows, bricks in a wall, a single flower in a field, the way water danced on a fountain, a ships mast against the sky.

looked at something but have not really seen it. She views the world very differently since getting that camera. And she learned you can actually wear out a camera.

The demise of the little Kodak created an

late uncle loved to research things he was going to purchase. He would always help her and her brother find the best product at the best price. Before computers, this would


involve visiting a dozen stores, gathering information and determining who was giving the best deal. The research became more important than the purchase itself, often leading to no decision and no purchase at all. The curse of over analyzing has plagued her and her brother for years.

a new SLR. No, she scoured magazines, looked online, went to eBay and Amazon and visited camera stores. Gathering more and more information, so much so that it began to get a bit confusing. During a research session on eBay, Carolyn was reading a sellers description when she

Ooops. Decision made, just like that. Carolyn ended up with a Canon XT SLR, not the perfect choice, but a great first camera to learn with. When she finished

mishap, Carolyn may move up to a better camera. But who knows how long that will take.

Remember the trip to Denmark? During that visit, Carolyn took 1,030 pictures. So did her cousin. Unfortunately, her cousin somehow wiped his SD card clean and lost all of his shots. Carolyn was able to share hers with him and help save his memories of their amazing trip together.

shoot? My world plain and simple.

GlossaryJust what is all of the terminology used in

month new terms will be shared.

INTERCHANGEABLE LENS - One of a system of detachable lenses of different characteristics, generally focal length variety, each of which fits a given camera body. INTERNAL FOCUSING - Lens in which internal lens groups shift during focusing so that the external length of the lens does not change. INTERPOLATION - Adding new pixels to a digital image between existing pixels. Interpolation software analyzes the adjacent pixels to create the new ones when enlarging an image file.

For more definitions, you can visit www.photographytips.com.

© Carolyn Lewis


Accomplishments and AccoladesEach month members are highlighted for their exciting photography news. This can be anything photographic related like getting a new camera, lens or photography toy; making the switch from automatic to manual; having one of your photographs published; selling a photograph; displaying your work in an upcoming show...the list goes on and the sky is the limit.

Mike Jordan has decided to concentrate on shooting more with his Prime lenses(35mm F/2, 50mm F/1.4, 85mm F/1.8); especially at wide aperture. December's Assignment and Challenge (Shallow Focus) was somewhat of an inspiration for going this route.

Birgit Tyrrell has recently purchased a few -300 VR AF

zoom lens and a Sigma 105 macro lens. Additionally, she purchased the complete edition of the Nik Color Efex and LOVES it!

Bill Jackel has four images in an all media show at the Norris Gallery, 1040 Dunham Road, St. Charles. The show opens January 15 and the reception is February 13 from 2:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m.

Don Chen, Linda Kruzic, Monica Ninnamen and Jim Ross all had photos accepted by CACCA to be displayed at an art show in the Chicago Culture Center. The show opens on February 18 and runs through March 27. There

2:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m.

After 5 ½ years of shooting photography, Margie Hurwich is now in the black. With her latest payout from Arcangel Images for the use of her images, Margie has paid off all equipment, props, classes and other miscellaneous expenses related to photography.

At the Libertyville Fire Station photo excursion, Michelle Cox photographed Fireman James Fogg11x14 oil on canvas portrait based on

is being entered into the "Members Exhibition

displayed in the Wright Gallery at CLC from January 14 - February 20. An opening reception will be on January 14 from 7:00 p.m.

9:00 p.m.

Congratulations to everyone!© Bill Jackel

© Don Chen© Linda Kruzic

© Monica Ninnamen© Jim Ross


2010-2011 Board and Committee MembersWithout the efforts of the people listed below,

Board MembersPresident Ron MeyersPresident Elect John WilliamsSecretary and Vice Margie HurwichPresident, Communications

Vice President, External Jim RossOperations

Vice President, Internal Bill SullivanOperations

Committee MembersCACCA Representatives Jim Ross

Ron MeyersBill SullivanJohn Williams

Competition Chair Bob KruzicContinuing Education Jim RossDPI Coordinators John Williams

Mike TrahanFacilities Coordinator Bill Sullivan Hospitality Desk Margie Hurwich

Linda KippesGina Borkowski

Internet Coordinator Owen FoxJudge Procurement Mike JordanMembership Coordinators Terry Ferguson

Margie HurwichNewsletter Contributing Bill BrownColumnists Michelle Cox

Newsletter Editor Margie HurwichPhoto Excursion Coordinators Michelle Cox

Margie HurwichCarolyn Lewis

Programs Coordinator Paul KurekPSA Representative Michelle CoxTreasurer Jim RossWebmaster Don Chen

If you are interested in helping the club continue to be successful, please see any of the board members.

a message from the president dates to remember · 2015-02-17 · the lake county camera club is a...

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