Newsletter

Vol 35 Issue 9 September 2013

In this Edition Coming Club Events

Member Shows 2 See the Events page or Event Calendar on our web site for August Competition Winners Tell Us How They Did It 3 updates or further details.

Meet Pat Puder, Print Assistant 7 Saturday, September 7, 2013 11:30pm Projected Image Key Contacts 8 Entry Deadline , Monochrome, Reminders Monday, September 9, 2013 Too Many Image Entries 5pm Online Print Entry In the last competition, there were some members who entered too many Deadline images. The statement below is included in each Competition Definition. 7:15pm Print Entry Deadline Media are defined as Digital/Projected and Print. Categories are Color (Pictorial), Monochrome, Creative, Travel, Nature, and Photojournalism. Competition: Color, Monochrome, Members may enter a total of four images into a monthly competition with a Photojournalism maximum of three images in any one category and a maximum of three Judge: Hal Geren images in any one medium. Sequences of up to four images are allowed in Digital/Projected and only count as one image, provided you follow the Refreshments: Harry instructions on the website for submitting a sequence. Glatstein, Harvey Gold, Alex Goldberger Photojournalism Definition Monday, September 16, 2013 Journalism entries shall consist of pictures with informative content and Program: Member Shows. emotional impact, including human interest, documentary and spot news. See the next page for details. The journalistic value of the shall be considered over pictorial quality. In the interest of credibility, which misrepresent the Refreshments: truth, such as manipulation of the image, or situations which are set up for Sherman Golub, Joseph the purpose of , are unacceptable in Journalism competition. Grapa, Barry Grivett

No manipulation or modification of Journalism images is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of Saturday, October 5, 2013 original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be applied. No 11:30pm Projected Image elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged or combined. Entry Deadline Any sharpening must appear natural. Color, Monochrome, Nature

Member Shows

The current plan is for the show to take place on Monday, September 16, 2013. Note that this is only one week following the September competition night, which has been scheduled on Sept. 9, 2013 to avoid interfering with people’s Labor Day plans. It is possible, but unlikely, because of uncertainty about the outcome of invitations to some potential speakers, that the Members Night could wind up being postponed to the October program night, but please assume it will happen on Sept. 16 for the purpose of organizing your program!

In the past, up until year before last, the show was limited to 15 or fewer images. The point of this was to assure that the programs did not take too long, and each would be concise. The purpose of the Members Show is to allow each member to show a number of related images, rather than just the single or few images that are shown in competitions. The way the Members Show works nowadays to achieve the same general goals is that each member can select any number of photographs you would like everyone in the club to see, so long as they can be shown, and any commentary related to them completed, in approximately five minutes or less.

Again, you can show as many images as you would like, and are able to during the allotted time, but If you plan on talking a lot during your show, you may turn out to only have time to present five to 10 images; if you are not going to talk at all, you can probably show up to around 20 or 30 images in that time. Please practice your program before presenting it, so you know that you can finish in the allotted time. Up to an additional five minutes will be allowed after your presentation for the audience to ask questions.

The subject of your show can be just about anything, but the idea is to make it cohesive in some way. The program should have a theme, and a beginning, a middle, and an end. The theme can be anything you choose – a collection of a type of images, a subject, about a place, an event, types of people, a story, etc. The photos should be related, and the final photo should be an appropriate one to end your presentation. You can choose to narrate the images, put them to music, or just let the audience enjoy them in silence. The images can be accompanied by a set of comments, explanations, or observations, and/or recorded music, so long as the entire program remains within the approximately five minute time limit.

Some technical details: The pictures should be formatted for the projector, SRGB , JPG format. It should also be possible to show a PDF slide show or video presentation, but Lightroom or other specialized display software like ProShow Gold will not be available. You can use file formats that can be displayed with Microsoft Windows Media player or Apple QuickTime, for example a movie presentation using MOV or MPEG format.

Bring your presentation either on a thumb drive or CD. Those that use Apple PCs must be careful about the formatting of the media. If you format the drive on your Apple computer, you must choose the FAT format or it will not be readable by the club’s laptop

Presentations made up of single JPEG files should be named with the following convention so that they will display in the correct order:

name_number.jpg name = your name: first_last number = 01, 02 … in the order which you want the pictures shown.

Other file formats should be named starting with your name. In case there is a problem with the new sound system playing music from the computer, if you want to use musical accompaniment for your presentation, you should plan on bringing a music player with speakers.

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August Competition Winners Tell Us How They Did It We asked the makers of the August first place images to send stories about what their subject was, when and where the image was taken, how it was created (photographed and/or processed), and why they created it.

August 2013 First Place Travel Digital Projected Image - Basic During our recent trip to London, my wife, Sharon, and I were in the Underground, I think it was Leicester Square, and we thought it would be a neat picture to get someone rounding the corner and have their reflection in the mirror. We liked the parallel lines of the tile and the , the lighting and the general feel of the location. We waited for several minutes and no one obliged. They were either traveling in clumps, or walking too fast. So she said "why not me?" It took several attempts to get it right.

One of the hard parts was getting me out of the mirror image!

Reflection in the London Underground David Kirsch

August 2013 First Place Monochrome Digital Projected Image We were visiting the de Young Museum December of 2005 and wandered into one of the smaller galleries which was for modern types of sculpture.

I was just dazzled when I saw this display, an array of blown glass finished in perfect mirror forms…scattering light in all directions. I like to catch reflections of all kinds, sides of buildings, water in ponds, show windows etc.

This was right up my alley, and my little Lumix FZ30 was up to the job. I set it on auto and let the camera go to work, with settings of ISO/160, 7.4 mm, f/2.8 at 1/30. Looked good on the screen, saved it and headed home.

Downloaded the card onto my 27" iMac into iPhoto for first viewing, then using the adjustments for levels and other editing tools, I Shiny glass sculptures at the DeYoung saved a copy of the image and opened it in Photoshop for final Museum tweaking and preparation for presentation in the club web site. Gene Faucher

This is my basic method of capturing and processing of all my images.

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August 2013 First Place Monochrome Print Last January I took a workshop with American called Winter in Yellowstone. I have taken quite a few workshops but this was the best one I ever attended. Tom Bol and George Theodore took us to places in Yellowstone I didn’t even know existed. Every morning for 5 days we would get picked up by a small yellow school bus with tank treads. The days were long but worth it and I took over 1400 photographs. The goal was to find and photograph wildlife and landscapes. We were very, very lucky with the wildlife. I have photos of the canyon wolf pack, coyotes, bobcat, red fox, bison, trumpeter swans, goldeneye ducks, eagles and otters.

The landscape opportunities are too numerous to mention. Lewis River and Falls - Yellowstone One thing about snow landscapes I will mention is you really John Perry need to watch your histogram to get the snow white without being blown out. We even did some of Old Faithful. The Lewis River is south of Old Faithful and just off the main road so we didn’t have to hike very far.

For this photo I used my Nikon D800E and 24-70mm f/2.8 lens on a . The shot is a color HDR of three images taken at f/11. I processed the images using Nik’s HDR Efex Pro 2 and then converted it to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2. The final image was flipped horizontal 180 degrees to get the effect I wanted.

August 2013 First Place Travel Print My photograph was taken in March 2011 while I was on my way to photograph “The Racetrack” in Death Valley. The 30- mile drive to the racetrack is on one of the worst gravel roads that I have ever driven. If you need a kidney stone loosened up; this is the road to take. The park rangers warn you not to go unless you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and at least 2 spare tires. Well I had a 4 wheel drive vehicle and only 1 spare tire but I decided to risk it anyway. Apparently if a tow truck has to come and get you it can be $1000-$2000 for a tow.

Teakettle Junction is six miles from racetrack playa. People bring the teakettles with them and either write stuff on the outside or put a note on the inside. It is supposed to be bad luck if a person drives past and doesn’t hang a teakettle on Kettle Messages Left At Teakettle Junction- the sign. Death Valley John Perry To get this shot I used my Nikon D700 on a tripod, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 200, f/10, and 1/125 sec. No special processing.

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August 2013 First Place Pictorial/Color Digital Projected Image - Basic This image was taken when I attended a workshop at the Erickson Ranch which is next to Yosemite National Park. The ranch was established in the 1880's and continues to be run by each new generation of the Erickson family.

There were lots of opportunities to photograph various ranch activities, but I really loved the play of light in the dust as the cattle were herded.

This image was taken with my Nikon D7000 with an AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm lens. The camera was set to f10 with an ISO of 400. I waited till the one rider looked back to shoot. I

especially wanted this image as the two riders showed the current and future generation of Erickson ranchers.

End Of A Long, Dusty Ride, Working Ranch Having been a film shooter for years I don't like to do a lot of Near Yosemite Peggy Patterson post processing and try to capture the image I want in camera. The only changes I made were to slightly burn in the upper right corner where there was a little too much light in the dust and do a slight crop.

I received sad news from workshop leader Renis Harvey. He had received an update that the area of the ranch that was used in the photography workshop was in grave danger from the Yosemite fire. The Erickson Family Cattle company has their cattle in the fire zone as they graze in the forest during the summer months. It’s not safe to be in the area and now the Forest Service has locked the forest down. So no updates on losses.

August 2013 First Place Color Print Not much of a story here. It was a two hour hike in blazing heat with no shade to get to the caves where the pictographs were located. We had to have a guide and pass through a locked gate. The pictographs were about 5000 years old, if I remember correctly, and in astonishingly beautiful colors. I took a series of pictures of them. After getting them to my big screen, I had a couple I liked, of them this one was the best.

Canon 7D 15-85 EFS Lens ISO 200 F 5.6 1/80 sec

Handheld. Love that image stabilization! Sans People Pictograph - uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site, Kamberg, South Africa Susan Dinga

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August 2013 First Place Pictorial/Color Digital Projected Image - Advanced Inspired by similar images, I’ve been looking and hoping for this shot/opportunity for years.

A wild Cactus Wren, Arizona’s state bird, on Ocotillo photographed in Saguaro National Park at Tucson.

We visit southern Arizona almost annually during winter–like ‘Snowbirds’; except we visit family and only stay briefly.

Shot January 6 at 9:30 AM MST using my wife’s Canon 40D (because it already had our 100-400 lens on it; as is my custom, I had our 28- 135 lens on my 7D). Captured handheld at 1/2500 sec, ƒ/7.1, ISO 500 & full 400mm extension.

In post-processing, this image benefitted, in my opinion, from: • Slight noise reduction • Cropping • A horizontal flip Delicate Balance • Overall adjustment of -0.05 EV (stop) & an additional Barry Grivett -0.7 EV for the sky • Opening of the shadow areas • Sharpening of the subject only & additional sharpening of the subject’s eye • A nearly imperceptible black vignette [25% opacity (my usual starting point) with a 60px feather].

In my photography, I strive for (1) make no more boring art; (2) impact/startling; (3) different & better.

August 2013 First Place Travel Digital Projected Image - Advanced Ornate Walls and Roofs of San Xavier del Bac Mission, Tucson, Arizona Sherry Grivett

Having shot “The White Dove of the Desert” several times with modest success, I decided to shoot the back which was different & best (this time)–a good example of ‘working the subject’.

Captured on January 10 at 4PM using my Canon G12, handheld at 1/640 sec, ƒ4.5, ISO 80 & 30.5 mm using Evaluative metering.

Post-processing is minimal; it isn’t even cropped.

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Meet Pat Puder, Print Assistant I first took photography classes and learned how to use a in high school. This was all work, and my ranged from a pin-hole camera, I made myself, to a Mamiya Sekor SLR that my parents bought me. (I currently work with a Nikon D300.) After high school, I no longer had access to a darkroom, but my interest in photography continued unabated. A camera went with me on most all trips, including backpacking. I have always found inspiration in nature, and pictures help me to hold on to and focus on those important experiences.

Career-wise and academically I've gone some different directions. Following a BA in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz in '77, I worked with emotionally disturbed children at Ming Quong Children's Center for three years, then returned to UCSC for a BA in Art and started my own stained glass business, Clearly Beautiful Stained Glass, in '83. My father, William R. Puder had taught me the basics of stained glass production and using the principles of color and design from my Art degree, I produced glass art for homes and churches in the area. I found photography essential for this work from beginning inspiration to recording the finished product. My glass work can be seen publically at the Saratoga Federated and Prince of Peace Lutheran Churches, both in Saratoga.

In 1993 I helped to found Aegis Gallery of Fine Art in downtown Saratoga. This artists' cooperative has shown many fine photographers' work including our fellow LG/SCC members: Mel and Ronnie Rabedeau, Rick Whitacre and Randall Harrison.

Photography was also vital for my work with students as the Lutheran Campus Minister for UC Santa Cruz (1991-98 & 2001-07). The use of photography helped me to foster a sense of community with pictures of fellowship activities; vision with images of shared community service and of adventure with photos of upcoming opportunities. And in 2004 Lutheran Campus Ministries afforded me the opportunity to travel for a two week tour in South Africa and Namibia. I got some great shots in both countries, but the camera was not high quality so, unfortunately, many of the pictures do not enlarge very well.

My academic work has enabled me to take some wonderful trips. While I was working towards a MA in Biblical Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, I took a course on China from Dr. Phillip Wickery, who took us on a two week tour of mainland China. And then I stayed for an additional two weeks to do research in Hong Kong. China is a delightful place to photograph with its varied landscape, its millennia of cultural artifacts and diverse peoples!

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I also studied Spanish in Guatemala and in Morelia, Mexico. The highlands of Guatemala are green and beautiful, particularly Lake Atitlan which is formed by a volcanic caldera and is surrounded by a number of indigenous villages. The indigenous peoples carry on many of their cultural arts of weaving, ceramics, beads and masks. All are wonderful photographic opportunities!

However, the country is very poor and its infrastructure is not good - it can be difficult to stay healthy there. Morelia shows its Spanish influence in its architecture: churches, aqueduct and fountains. And there is a strong crafts culture in some of the nearby towns where ceramics and copper work are the towns' livelihoods.

In 2007, the year when my Campus Ministry position was defunded and when my mother had her first heart surgery, I decided to take a more professional approach to my photography. With the advancements in I was able to once again do darkroom-like work on my photos. I purchased decent camera equipment (I recommend buying used through KEH.com and Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto); I took Photoshop courses and bought PhotoShop CS3; spent time learning from and photographing with Dwight Caswell in Oregon, and I joined LG/SCC.

When I felt my photos had reached a decent quality, I juried into Aegis Gallery to display my photographs (in addition to my glass art). Domestically, my favorite places to photograph have been deserts like Death Valley and Joshua Tree in CA and Arches and Canyonlands in UT; mountains like Mt. Shasta and in the Sierras; coastal and river locations like the northern Oregon Coast, the Columbian Gorge, OR and Pt. Reyes down to Morro Rock on our California coastline. One of the good and bad things about photography is that there is no end to the learning of this craft!

I want to mention my deep gratitude to fellow photographers for their instruction, insights, and interest in my work! In particular to Dwight Caswell, now plying his trade in Astoria OR, and to the late John Howard. Members of LG/SCC have been extremely helpful to me with all their work providing field trips, workshops and individual help and advice! Thank you, one and all!

Please come visit my current exhibit, "A Closer Look, A Broader View: Panoramas & Portraits In Nature" at Aegis Gallery, 14531 Big Basin Way (corner of Big Basin Way & Fourth Street), Saratoga from August 28 through September 29, 2013.

There is a Reception 4-6 PM on Saturday September 7, 2013.

Key Contracts President Membership Webmaster Newsletter Official publication of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Camera John Perry Gary Marcos Jim Katzman Airdrie Kincaid Club, a club member of the 408-370-7229 408-741-5712 408-867-6810 408-247-3743 Photographic Society of America

Copyrights of all photos in this publication are retained by the photographers credited.

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