Sept. 19, 2016 Meeting Minutes

The September 19, 2016  meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club was attended by 16 people, including 3 new members.

Treasurer DeWayne Beecher is accepting annual dues, which are only $20. You can  join or renew during a meeting, or mail in the membership form.

Benefits of being a member: You are eligible to submit to the monthly N4C photo competition and participate in exhibits.

Art Museum exhibit now ended

Our exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art, “Dubuque Architecture from a New Perspective,” closed on Sunday, September 25. Photo pickup info went out in an email to those exhibiting.

Club president Ron Tigges gave an informal gallery talk about the exhibit in September to a photography class from Northeast Iowa Community College.

“People were pretty impressed with the installation,” he said. “I heard so many positive comments about it.”

Photography events

Five of our club members went on the Wisconsin Landscape Photography Workshop that was sponsored by Everything Photography on September 17. Dave Smethers talked about some of the photos he took during the event. He also shared the refractography technique behind the unique images he posted to the Dubuque Camera Club group on Facebook.

Another upcoming event that may be of interest to nature photographers is the annual Dubuque Audubon Society Hawk Watch on Sat. Oct. 1st at 10:00 a.m. at the Balltown overlook. The advantage to photographing migrating raptors with birders is that you know what you’re looking at. Take binoculars and a tripod.

Do you have a photo shoot idea?  Mention it during a meeting or post it on our Facebook group.  If only 5 or 6 people attend, it can be a successful and enjoyable experience.

Monthly photo competition

If you want to submit to the monthly competition, have your images turned in to Cara by midnight on Sunday, October 2nd (the day before the next meeting). Members may submit up to one image per category, and you must follow the submission rules.

If more than 8 photos are submitted per category, we’ll narrow them down during the meeting. “The goal is to make sure the club does as well as possible,” explained Ron.

At our October 3 meeting, we’ll hear a report on the annual N4C convention in Fargo. Find out which of our fantabulous local photographers won recognition this year!  

N4C sends out a monthly newsletter that is available on their website   and emailed to club members. If you’re not currently on the N4C email list but you’d like to receive their newsletter, contact Cara, our N4C liaison.

Everybody with a member number should be on the Dubuque Camera Club email list. If you’re not, contact Jennifer or Pamela.

To conclude the meeting, after Ron made a quick tour of the N4C website to look at the caliber of photos that are selected as winners, Lori B. led a Lightroom Q&A technique workshop. As always, the meeting was fun and interesting. Join us next time!

Next Dubuque Camera Club meeting: Monday, October 3 at 6:30 p.m.  Agenda: Submissions and returns. N4C convention review.

 

 

Sept. 6, 2016 Meeting Minutes

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Membership

The first meeting of the season for the Dubuque Camera Club was attended by 20 current members and 4 visitors. Treasurer DeWayne Beecher reports that the club had around 50 total members last season, and it looks like our membership will be about the same this year.

Annual dues are only $20, and they are due now. If you can’t make it to a meeting, another option is to mail in the membership form.

Paying members are eligible to submit photos to the monthly N4C competition and to participate in exhibits and other events. Members also receive the official Dubuque Camera Club patch to sew on a jacket or camera bag.

There will be an update to the contact information in the membership folder. If you would prefer to be unlisted, you may contact DeWayne or Eleanor.

Camera Club News

Club president Ron Tigges said there’s been a lot of positive feedback about our exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art. People enjoy the metal prints. The last day of the exhibit is Sunday, September 25, so see it while you can! For those who have pictures in the exhibit, they may be picked up on Tuesday, September 27.

The topic of post-processing was briefly discussed, and with very intense feelings by several people. Be aware that it is acceptable to use Photoshop or plugins to alter photos that are submitted to the Creative and Pictorial categories only. Cara shared a good example of a Venice gondola scene with a sky from Cascade, Iowa.

Ron discussed the monthly competition: the different contest categories, what photos can be entered in each N4C category, how the file naming works, what happens if there are more or less than our club limit of 8 entries per category, and so on. If you have any questions, ask, or check the official N4C website for complete rules.

The annual N4C convention is coming up in Fargo, ND. All photos that have earned 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or honorable mention in a monthly contest are entered in the final competition. Last year, our club had 4 medal winners. We may have more this year, thanks to the awesomely talented photographers in our club!

General Bob Felderman shared his impressions of the 2016 Iowa State Fair photography contest. Out of 3800 entries, only 500 were chosen for display. He noticed that many showed evidence of extensive post-processing, and most were from the Des Moines area (probably because you have to deliver actual prints).

Only one Dubuquer was represented: club member Ken Kiss, with a photo of a fox. If you’re interested, next year’s theme is “What’s Up.” Other photo subjects may also be entered in a variety of categories. More information is on the Iowa State Fair website.

Area events

  • Photographer Mark Hirsch will lead a free smartphone workshop at the Peosta campus of Northeast Iowa Community College on September 18. The event runs from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. This is part of the annual “Nature Trek” in the Outdoor Learning Lab, which is a prairie/wetland area that is being established next to Hwy 20.
  • Photographer Steve Gassman will lead a Wisconsin landscape excursion workshop for the Everything Photography store on September 17. They will carpool to Pewits Nest near Baraboo, Mid-Continent Train Museum in North Freedom and the old Hyde’s Mill near Ridgeway, Wisconsin. Contact Nate or Sean at Everything Photography for more info.
  • Steve Gassman is also leading a “Painting with Light” class on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 22. This is a UW-Platteville continuing education enrichment class. Cost is $35, and as of two weeks ago, Steve said were still openings. Registration info here.

Next Meeting

Next Dubuque Camera Club meeting: Monday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Agenda: Small group workshops discussing Lightroom techniques. If you have a laptop with Lightroom, you may bring it along. Bring your camera and/or new photography gear if you want to show off . $20 annual dues are due now if you didn’t pay at the first meeting. You can also mail them in.  New members are welcome to join us at any time.