January Photo Club Meeting

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and found photo equipment under their tree.

Our next meeting will be held on

Wed. January 4 2012 at 7pm. 

We will be meeting at the Squamish Arts Council building on Cleveland Ave. 

Agenda:

1.  Jim Hegan presents Sports Photography

I can’t think of a sporting event in Squamish / Whistler / Callaghan that Jim has not photographed - from Test of Metal through the Loggers Sports Show, ski jumping through wind sports.  Recently Jim was an accredited photographer at the Whistler Sliding Centre and had some unique experiences both preparing for a sport he had not photographed before and dealing with press photographers that were there to work.  Jim’s photos are always spectacular and he is a great resource for your questions on sport photography.

2. PhotoStory3 software

In preparation for our February meeting (details immediately below) I am going to be doing a short refresher on PhotoStory 3 software.  This is FREE software that you can download from Microsoft and it allows you to prepare slideshows of your photographs complete with music track, special effects and titles.  There are lots of slideshow tools available but if you have never used one then PhotoStory is a great place to start because it walks you through the process step by step.

At the February meeting we are inviting club members to prepare and show off their best slide show.  The slide show can be up to 5 minutes long and on any topic you choose.  We encourage you to include music but it is not a requirement.

On the February meeting night we will be viewing all of the slide shows that are submitted.

Photography Showcase - Quest University

What you Play

Where you Play

How you Play

The Right to Play Club at Quest will be hosting a silent auction with photos taken by the Quest Photography Club and members of the Squamish community depicting scenes of playing.  All proceeds from the event will go towards Right to Play - an international humanitarian organization based in Canada dedicated to empowering children through sport and playing.
7:30 - 9:30 December 10th 2011
Quest University Canada, 3rd Floor Library
for more details, contact Olenka at right.toplay@questu.ca

Light Painting

On Wednesday October 19   7pm at the Squamish Arts Council building be are going to try Light Painting.

You don't need much to experiment with this kind of shot, just make sure you have the following items:

1. A camera capable of long exposures - use a digital camera, you will be able to see the results in "real time" and make corrections as you go.

2. A tripod. Since you will be doing some long exposures you want to make sure your camera sits still.

3. A light source – flashlight, glow stick, sparkler, etc.

4. A dark location.

Here is how it's done:

Set your camera on the tripod and take a sample shot with the flash on. This will help you verify that your composition and focus is OK.

Set the exposure to a relatively long value (+1 sec. or ‘B’ if your camera has that).

Stop down the aperture as much as you need (f8 – f16).

Press the shutter. Once the shutter is open, move in front of the camera to the location you focused on and use your light source to "paint".

You can use the light source as a brush, and "smear" the light, just like you would have done with brush and paper. Or, you can use the light as a pen, and do precise work. Areas where you go slowly will be more lit then others.  

Inspect your image and make corrections.  

If your photo is too dark – increase your ISO

If your photo is too light – stop down your aperture (f16, f22 +) or decrease your ISO

Try spinning your light source on a string while you turn yourself in a circle – you draw a sphere.

Experiment!  Once you have the setting you like you can concentrate on your light painting.

What if my camera does not take long exposures?

Please come anyway.  We need both photographers AND light painters.  Team up with a photographer and do the in-front of camera painting.

At the end of the evening we are going to try a photograph that involves outlining a whole group of people standing around the park.

Need more tips, inspirations, great examples.  Google “Light Painting”

Vote for a new meeting date

Hi Everyone

We would like you to help us decide on a new meeting date.

The story so far ….

Early this year we settled on the third Thursday of every month as our meeting date.  This was done so that our meetings were predictable and everyone could write them on their calendars.  In the spring, the club joined the Squamish Arts Council (SAC).  Among the many benefits of this membership is the option for the photo club to use the SAC building for meetings once a month. While we meet outdoors for most of the year, we need an indoor location for the winter months and the SAC building would save us about $75.00 year even after the SAC membership fee.  Since we try not to charge our members ANYTHING, this savings is a big deal for us.

Here is the problem;  another group already uses the SAC building on the third Thursday of each month.  We need to pick a new date.

After a little discussion we are ruling out meeting on Mondays or Fridays because people are too busy on those days.  The options remaining are:

 

1.       First Tuesday of every month
2.       First Wednesday of every month
3.       First Thursday of every month
4.       Third Tuesday of every month

You can vote by replying to the email sent to club members on September 20th or send an email to SVPC@shaw.ca

Voting closes on Saturday October 1.  Thanks for your help

September Photo Walk - Thursday September 15 @ 7pm

West Coast Railway Heritage Park
Trains, machinery, flowers, insects, probably some fish.
Come and see what you can take a photo of.

August Photo Walk - Aug. 18 @ 7pm

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: To capture photographic evidence of climbers participating in the sport of bouldering with your guide Megan Booth.

A Brief History: Bouldering is a style of climbing undertaken with little to no equipment. A climber will practice agility and strength in a series of individual movements usually no more than 3-5 meters from the ground. Each route is referred to as a ‘problem’ as the nature of the climb is much like problem solving. Bouldering’s history goes back to the last quarter of the 19th century when informal bouldering challenges were a playful training
activity for climbers.

To succeed in your mission: Prepare yourself with a tripod, sturdy walking shoes, and possibly a screen for reflecting light – the Bouldering Forest is quite dense but late afternoon/early evening light does filter through the trees and light up the mossy rocks. Oh yes…and a camera or two…

Meet: In the parking lot on the right hand side of the highway going South. We will convene and cross the bridge together to the forest opening.
 
Due to the farther-than-normal-from-S​tarbucks nature of our photo walk, Megan will be bringing coffee, tea and treats for afterwards.
 
This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds. Good luck.

Thursday August 18   7 - 9 pm
Meet at the Malamute parking lot (south-bound side of the highway)
Everyone welcome!

I'm in heaven!!

Last week a friend gave me a 'Vest Pocket Kodak - Model B' circa 1906.  He knew that I collected old Kodak cameras and this had been his grandfathers.  I did not know much about the 'Vest Pocket' series so I thought I would troll the internet for information.  That is where I stumbled upon a gold mine.
The CAMERAPEDIA website is a wiki for camera information.  Any make, model and obscure version of camera you can think of is listed on the site along with information on how it worked, what type of film it used and trivia about its design, marketing etc.
If you are looking for information on an old camera or you just love to look up old camera models this is the site for you.
http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Camerapedia
Got'ta go now - I want to look up my old Pentax K2!

An opportunity to showcase your work!

Here is an opportunity for all of you to participate in the "Into the Woods with Red Riding Hood" exhibit, created by the Squamish Arts Council. It will coincide with the Squamish Days Loggers Sports Festival and will run for 3 months.

If you would like to enter some of your photos all you need is a SAC membership which starts at $15 for an individual. I know, we have a group membership with SAC now but this exhibit is for individuals only and is not representing any groups.

So it's a fantastic opportunity to showcase your work as a solo artist!

You can contact Petra at SquamishPhotography@gmail.com if you're interested.

Thanks and I hope to see a strong presence of our Club members!

New Photo Challenge - with prizes!!!

The Squamish Valley Photo Club will be 1 year old in June.

To celebrate we are running an anniversary photo challenge. The topic is "My Squamish".
Post an entry in the club's Flickr thread by June 10 and then we will send out an email so every club member can vote for the winner.

Did I mention there are prizes!!!

'Got five bucks??

Our club had decided to join the Squamish Arts Council (SAC) earlier this year and now Petra has done the ground work of getting all of the membership paperwork together.  The membership will cost $75 per year and covers everyone in the club.

For our club, there will be many advantages to being a member of SAC

• Inclusion on the SAC website;

• Broader audience for our photos, walks and events

• Use of the Arts Council building for meetings

• Eligibility for Arts Council grants and funding for special projects

We are asking every member to consider paying $5.00 towards the cost of membership.  Please bring your $5 to the May Photo Walk, Petra will be collecting the money.  If you are not attending the Photo Walk, send me an email and we will arrange to meet up with you and lighten your wallet a wee bit.

Doug

May Photo Walk on Thursday May 19

Join us on May 19th to explore the Squamish Estuary. We will be starting out from the parking area on 3rd Avenue just south of Vancouver Street at 7pm. There’s lots to inspire your photographic eye between the views of the harbour, the estuary and the mountains as well as wild-life including hatching chicks. New members are always welcome so bring your friends. As always, coffee and discussion following the walk.
Date: Thursday May 19, 2011
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Meet @: Parking area on 3rd Avenue just south of Vancouver Street
Theme: Water and Wildlife

A Day in the Life of Squamish - May 13

The Squamish Chief is running their “Day in the Life of Squamish” feature.  They are looking for photographers so they can have people photographing continually from 00:01 am May 13 to 11:59.  If you are interested, available and would like to take part, contact Dave Burke at The Chief

Dave Burke <dburke@squamishchief.com>

Teaser slide show for SORE

The Photo Club will be at the Squamish Outdoor Recreation Expo on Saturday April 30 3-7pm (see the post below).  Petra has put together a slideshow for display and this is a teaser.  Come out on Saturday and see the whole show.