February 2005 Roll 69, Exposure 2 Editor: John Opie Associate Editor: Dennis Mally Website: http://www.members.aol.com/tccameraclub/ E-Mail: [email protected]

Next Competition Night: Monday: March 14 Subject: Portrait: A photographer’s attempt to capture a person’s mood and/or personality under controlled conditions. Backgrounds and lighting should compliment the subject.

It’s important to remember the written guidelines for select subject on competition nights: The written guidelines that describe what qualifies an image for the particular month’s select subject category are not being followed – either by the members or the judges. Competitors are asked to review these guidelines before submitting their entries and Ken will be more explicit when lining up the judges at future meetings. Gorson will also attempt to get the select subject description as well as the overall judging guidelines to the judges before the meeting whenever possible.

Think Ahead: Future Competition Nights: April: Night photos May: Architecture June: Nature

Reminder: Spring 2005 SWMCCC Competition photos due April 25 The Spring conference of SWMCCC will be held June 3-5 at the Jackson Community College, Jackson, Michigan. The conference theme will be digital photography and processing. Representatives of Adobe, Epson and others will be on hand to offer workshops and presentations. (Film shooters: don’t be alarmed. You aren’t being excluded; digital is just the theme. Film entries for the competitions will undoubtedly outnumber digital by a large margin.) Don Vander Molen will need your entries by the April 25th program meeting, so he can organize and submit them to the competition chairs at the May 1 Board Meeting. Judging will take place on May 31. More information, including a list of area motels, will be in a forthcoming issue of the SWMCCC Counsellor.

Four TCCC Members Participated in 48 Hour Twin City Photo Project: Results to be at Box Factory It’s name is “Two Cities: 48 Hours,” a photo project involving 20 photographers taking over 8000 images in the twin cities in 48 hours. It is terrific to report that four TCCC members were invited to join up with mostly professional photographers: Ken McKeown, Len Anderson, Paul Hicks, and Colleen Lawrence. The Box Factory will display more than 200 selected images. The show runs from March 11 to April 18, 2005, with the opening reception on Friday, March 18, 2005, at 6:30. The images will be printed on an Epson printer with Epson papers and ink. Epson will also have printers on display and will be printing prints. A great event to attend and also support our TCCC representatives!

The Digital Corner, by Dan Penrod: Important Reminder on Digital Slide Submissions Please remember that the deadline for digital submissions is the Monday, seven days before competition night. This month it will be especially important since I will be on vacation the week of competition, but I will still be putting together the program.

Name your submissions. For instance, one of my entries for February was called "Angles in Blue". The way to format the name is “Dan Penrod-Angles in Blue.jpg" Makers name first, a dash "-" then the title of the image. This helps a great deal in assembling the show since I use the file name to announce the acceptances and honors. Also, please in the body of the e-mail, state if the item is in the "Select" or "Open" category. Most of the time I can guess, but I don't want to make a mistake.

TCCC Annual Business Meeting Highlights by Dennis Mally

Following is a summary of noteworthy information reported at the annual business meeting held on February 28, 2005.

Financial and Membership Report

Howard Nahikian reported that, excluding the purchase of our new digital projector and notebook computer, income approximated expenses for the year, leaving the Club’s bank balance at about the same level as when the year started. Conclusion: TCCC is financially solvent. The Club is also flourishing. Many new members have joined and attendance at last season’s banquet was up 40% versus average attendance for the past several years.

Judges Needed for Competition Nights

Finding competent judges for the monthly and year-end competitions continues to be a challenge. Gorson Drake would greatly appreciate any leads you might have on prospective judges. Please call him with sources or names at 463-7333.

Future Programs (Fourth Monday of Each Month):

A good line-up of programs is scheduled for the remainder of this year. Dean Pennala who teaches at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts will present a program on March 28th on nature/landscape photography. (Dean takes great photos and has an unusually good way of explaining why and how he took them.) The April 25th program meeting will feature a video by Jim Brandenburg. (It will be projected on the big screen by our new digital projector!) You might know Jim as the guy from Minnesota who is famous for his photos of wolves. Jim’s video in April will feature his “one photo per day series.” Victor Coar will present another Photoshop and PS Elements mini-tutorial at the meeting on May 23rd. Victor plans to cover layers and sharpening. His tutorial last year was well done and members found it helpful. This one promises to be the same.

Special Outing Proposed

Len Anderson proposed that the Club plan a multi-day outing to a photo-rich location like Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Len made a good case that such an outing would provide a nice opportunity for members to get some good shots, socialize and get to know one another, and pass on tips and techniques (perhaps especially to newer members). Len made it clear that he is not locked in to the Smokey mountain area alone, but it would be a good choice because of it’s proximity to many non- photographic attractions (shopping!) that might be of interest to spouses and companions who aren’t photography addicts. Len welcomes any member thoughts or suggestions on the idea in general, and any suggestions of other good locations as well. Len offered to head up organizing and arranging such an outing. To get the ball rolling he will investigate the costs and logistics for a Smokies trip and report on it at a future meeting.

Film vs. Digital Slides

The much-debated issue of film and digital slides was again discussed at the meeting. Some members feel that, because digital images can be adjusted and manipulated more easily and much more extensively than film slides, it is unfair to have them scored in the same category. Following much lively discussion it was decided to tap into the opinions of the general membership on this issue. Please complete the attached survey and return it to Ken McKeown. The Board will review the results and decide what will be done for next season.

Notice for the June Slide-or-the-Year Competition: For ease in winnowing down entries for the June slide-of-the-year competition, it was decided by a consensus of those in attendance that both digital and film slides will be presented via the digital projector (i.e., Film slides will be scanned). This means you will have to get your slides in earlier. Dan will have more about the due date as we come closer to the June competition. Digital SLR Camera for sale by Dan Penrod ([email protected]. 683-4764 461-6993) For Sale. Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro (body only). Asking price $1000. Price new $2250. Everything works on the camera. Low Mileage, under 6000 images. Will include 1GB Microdrive. FinePix S2 Pro Features: 6.17-Megapixel Fujifilm Super CCD (12.1 MP output). Uses F-mount lenses (with 1.5x focal multiplier). Program AE w/Shift, Shutter priority, Aperture priority and full Manual. Shutter speeds from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds plus Bulb. Continuous drive at 2fps up to 7 frames. ISO sensitivity from 100 to 1600. For a highly-detailed and comprehensive review of the camera with pictures from all angles go to: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/s2.html

The Club has a 17” color TV for sale. (No remote.) If interested, make an offer to Ken McKeown.

Three Websites for Terrific Camera (35mm & Digital) and Digital Printing Reviews: Dan’s reference reminded me that great up-to-date information can be found on the following: http://www.steves-digicams.com/ (tests cameras and lenses—really great reviews) http://www.fredmiranda.com/ (tests cameras, lenses, accessories & displays photographers) http://www.wilhelm-research.com/ (tests archival durability of printers and papers) ______

Remember, Please Fill out the attached survey on the separate sheet – Film vs. Digital Slides