A Great Start to the 2011 - 2012 Club Year! a Message from President Ron Meyers

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November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3

A great start to the 2011 - 2012 club year! A Message From President Ron Meyers

Lake County Camera Club (LCCC) membership continues to grow. We are at an all time high for the start of a new club year. I wish to extend a hardy "Welcome" to the new members and look forward to the value that their talents and participation bring to our club.

The October 2011 internal club competition was a good example of how we have grown in both talent and participation. With a number of members competing for the first time, both the quantity and quality of competition images was very impressive with 163 images entered by 55 makers. That's a 19% increase in image quantity and a 17% increase in makers from the October 2010 competition.

LCCC also continues to do well in the Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association (CACCA) competitions since being promoted to an "A" class club. In the October 6th CACCA competition LCCC earned 3 Honorable Mentions, 2 Awards, and a "Best in Show". In CACCA's recent DPI Special Category "Artist Escape" competition, LCCC accounted for nearly half of the images and awards. LCCC had 20 members participating with 8 members earning recognition. Overall LCCC claimed 3 of the 7 Awards and 6 of the 12 Honorable Mentions.

The 2011-2012 agenda for program nights and excursions looks to be very promising. I anxiously anticipate these events and expect that they will be heavily attended. The LCCC Long Term Planning Committee was also kicked off on October 12th. The Long Term Planning Committee has already developed a very aggressive agenda for both future events and club improvements. I was extremely impressed by the attendance to the kick off meeting and look forward to the additional member participation to generate and implement ideas.

The continued increase of membership, talents and member participation is exactly what our club needs moving forward. It provides the Lake County Camera Club firm footing to provide a platform of learning, networking, events and activities to area photographers.

Dates To Remember Inside This Issue October 29 CACCA Individual Creative DPI Due

October 29 CACCA Individual “Video Clips” Due Mick’s Picks 3

October 31 LCCC Leaves Challenge Due 4 Rules of Composition 4

November 3 Program Night - Mounting and Matting It’s OK to Break the Rules 6

November 5 Photo Excursion: Sunrise Shoot Visual Balance in Composition 7

November 5 PSA Photojournalism and PSA Travel DPI Due Competition Winners and HM 9

November 19 Shutter Café Please joint us! Who Was Up To The Challenge 14

November 20 CAPS (Chicago Area School of Photography) Accolades and Achievements 15 November 22 Club DPI Due Life is a Puzzle With No End Pieces 16 November 22 CACCA Individual “Striking” DPI Due CACCA Competition Results 16

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 2 Composition 2011—2012 The theme of this issue is composition; the proper framing and structure of a photograph. A beautiful Board and Committee image will fill the frame, eliminate distractions, and have a pleasing geometric flow within the frame. For right-brained photographers this may seem like an Board Members easy task. Left-brained, techno-detailed photographers may not be able to “picture” a beautiful President Ron Meyers image quite as easily. President Elect John Williams This issue is filled with beautiful images and provides many wonderful Secretary and Vice President , Margie Hurwich examples of proper composition. The winning images in this issue are Communications from our very own club members whom shared their vision during the Vice President, External Operations Jim Ross October competition night. Pay careful attention to the way each of Vice President, Internal Operations Bill Sullivan these photographers filled the frame, reduced unwanted distractions and created a pleasing flow which leads your eye deep into the photograph. A Plug for a Prime Lens Committee Chairperson Most of us realize that a better lens doesn’t always mean a better CACCA Representatives Jim Ross photograph, but there may be some truth to this. A prime lens is a Bob Kruzic Linda Kruzic fixed focal length lens, like 24mm, 50mm, or 85mm. When you attach Ron Meyers a prime lens to your camera, you really have to think about your Bill Sullivan composition. Not being able to zoom in and out really makes you Competition Chair Bob Kruzic concentrate on the elements in your image. If you don't like what you Continuing Education Coordinator Jim Ross see, you need to relocate and recompose. The act of physically DPI Competition Coordinator John Williams moving your body connects you more with your environment, the elements and the image you are trying to capture. You will read that Facilities Coordinator Bill Sullivan every photographer needs at least one prime lens, depending on what Hospitality Desk Margie Hurwich he or she gravitates to in terms of subject matter or aesthetics. Judge Procurement Mike Jordan There are other reasons why you should use a prime lens. Jim Ross Pat Turner A primary lens can also be used to create a wonderful ‘bokeh’ effect, Long Term Planning John Williams thanks to their great optical construction and to the choice of using Membership Coordinator Terry Ferguson very wide apertures. Prime lenses are very sharp. If sharpness is what Newsletter Editor Ken Johnson you are seeking, then primes will be great for you. The quality of their optics will provide you with some very clear pictures and they will be Photo Excursion Coordinator Margie Hurwich great for composing portraits. Many professional photographers use Program Coordinator Paul Kurek only prime lenses because of the superior image quality. PSA Representative Michelle Cox As with every other photography tool, and aspect of a simply beautiful Treasurer Jim Ross photograph, you must never stop experimenting, learning the rules, Webmaster Don Chen bending the rules and most importantly, having fun along the way. John Rouse Yahoo Group Moderator Margie Hurwich

We are proud members of the Visit our website Photographic Society of America and the www.lakecountycameraclub.org Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association. We meet the first Thursday of every month at: 418 N. Prairie Avenue, Mundelein, IL 60060 Our mission is to promote, teach and share the ideals, skills, techniques and Questions or comments about this newsletter? good practices of the art of photography and the use of cameras and Please contact Ken Johnson, Newsletter Editor at photographic equipment. [email protected].

Mick’s Picks 2011 - 2012 CACCA Schedule By Michelle Cox Special Category Glorious November is here and with it comes many photography opportunities. Besides the stunning and at times dramatic fall Individual DPI Competition sky, family gatherings, football games and harvest festivals provide opportunities for family and photography. Many communities have November Video Clips their tree lighting ceremony on the weekend after Thanksgiving. Grab (Total length less than 3 min.) your camera and capture lasting memories to share with your loved December Striking ones. The family photos you shoot this month will help preserve your January Black and White + one color family memories of special times spent together. Who knows in 60 February High Key Photo March Fabulous Flakes years when someone is exploring their genealogy, your photo could April Structures of Life be a tool they use to research their history! I hope to see many May Clouds family filled photos this month! CACCA conducts seven Special Category Head over to the Wade House, Greenbrush, WI (located about 60 competitions during the year as an individual Class of competition. Subject matter of entries in each miles from Milwaukee, WI) for fall foliage as well as historical monthly competition is restricted to the pre- photography opportunities. This historic site has the Wade House (a announced category for that competition. Images stagecoach inn), the Herlling Sawmill and Welsey Jung Carriage may not have been previously entered in a CACCA Museum. If you plan on going on November 12, you can sign up for a competition. hearthside dinner. Be sure to call about getting on the grounds the All entries must follow the standard DPI naming day you wish to go. More information is available at: and sizing requirements. Submit your entries to: [email protected] http://wadehouse.wisconsinhistory.org/Explore/ExploreMap.aspx

Looking for something unique to take photos of? Combine a Sunday drive with your desire to capture interesting images. Take time to find the barns of Racine or Walworth County, WI decorated with quilts and shoot away! Barn quilting is a fun way to instill pride in our rural area. According to the articles I've see, the barn owners are happy to share their barns with you. More information is available at: http://www.quiltsonbarns.com/ or http:// walworth.uwex.edu/agriculture/barn-quilts

Interested in a faster paced activity with lots of challenge? Get your thinking cap on to capture photos of high jumping, fast running dogs in action at Wisconsin/Illinois Agility Club's AKC Trials on November 19th and 20th at the Libertyville Sports Complex, 1950 N Highway 45, Libertyville, IL. Trials run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. This activity will challenge all photographers. I've provided a link to the club's photographer so you can take a look at their photos . http://www.photosbytoto.com/

Happy Giving of Thanks Day to all.

While I’m not always a fan of sticking strictly to the ‘rules’ or ‘guidelines’ of photography I think they can be well worth knowing and keeping in the back of your mind as you shoot (whether it’s so you can follow them or break them for effect). Here’s four ‘rules’ for landscape photography that might be helpful for those just starting out (I.E. they’re not meant as a definitive guide but rather a starting point) .

Diagonal Lines Using diagonal lines can be a very effective way of drawing the eye of those viewing an image into it and to the main focal point. The ‘lines’ need not be actual lines – they could be the shape of a path, a line of trees, a fence, river or any other feature in an image. Converging lines (two or more lines coming from different parts of an image to a single point) can be all the more effective. Different studies have been done into how people view images and many of them say that a natural way into an image is by traveling left to right and so a diagonal line starting at the bottom left and moving to the top right of an image can be quite useful and natural. Of course you wouldn’t want to split your image into two with a harsh line from corner to corner – rather look for patterns and curves between shapes that might do this naturally. ©Ferillu Also rather than making a line go from the very corner to the opposite corner it’s often good to make them off center and go to either side of corners. Keep in mind that numerous diagonal lines leading in different directions and intersecting with one another can add a sense of action to your photo but adding too many diagonal lines might make it chaotic and confusing. As with both horizontal and vertical lines – diagonal lines that are repeated through out an image can create very effective patterns that can easily become the subject of a photograph themselves. A recently plowed field or the ridges on a sand dune might be good examples of this.

Geometric Shapes By positioning key aspects of a landscape on points of a geometric shape you can help create a balanced composition. Perhaps the most common and easiest way to do this is to use a ‘triangle’ shape between objects in an image with three objects in a frame positioned with one to each side and one more central. Using geometric shapes in this way isn’t something that I’ve done a lot of – but it is one technique to get balance in a shot and if you’re clever, to lead the eye into it (in a similar way to the diagonal lines rule above). You can see this illustrated (to a point) in the photomontage image to the right.

©Mattijn

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Rule of Thirds The rule of thirds gets trotted out more often than any other in all types of photography and is one of the first rules of composition taught to most photography students. While sometimes it can feel a little cliché it can also be a very effective technique in landscapes. I will say right up front however that rules are meant to be broken and ignoring this one doesn’t mean your images are necessarily unbalanced or uninteresting. However a wise person once told me that if you intend to break a rule you should always learn it first to make sure your breaking of it is all the more effective! The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have 9 parts. The theory is that if you place points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that your photo becomes more ©Darren Rowse balanced and will enable a viewer of the image to interact with it more naturally. Studies have shown that when viewing images that people’s eyes usually go to one of the intersection points most naturally rather than the center of the shot – using the rule of thirds works with this natural way of viewing an image rather than working against it. Using the rule of thirds comes naturally to some photographers but for many of us takes a little time and practice for it to become second nature. In learning how to use the rule of thirds (and then to break it) the most important questions to be asking of yourself are:  What are the points of interest in this shot?  Where am I intentionally placing them? Once again – remember that breaking the rule can result in some striking shots – so once you’ve learned it, experiment with purposely breaking it to see what you discover. Lastly – keep the rule of thirds in mind as you edit your photos later on. Post production editing tools today have good tools for cropping and reframing images so that they fit within the rules. Experiment with some of your old shots to see what impact it might have on your photos.

Framing Images While adding points of interest to a foreground is an important technique for adding interest to landscape shots – a similar technique is to ‘frame’ the shot by adding interest to other parts of the edges of an image. Perhaps the most common way of framing a landscape shot is to include an overhanging branch in the upper section of a shot. Similarly framing a shot with a bridge might work.

Rules are Made to Be Broken? ©Leviathor Of course while knowing the rules can be important – knowing when to use them and when to break them is a talent that great photographers generally have. Practice these techniques – but don’t get so worked up about them that they kill the creativity that you have.

This article was reprinted with permission from Digital Photography School. http://www.digital-photography-school.com/tips . Darren Rowse is the editor and founder of Digital Photography School. He lives in Melbourne Australia and is also the editor of the ProBlogger Blog Tips and TwiTip Twitter Tips blogs.

It was with great anticipation that I submitted images to the club competition in October. This was my first competition since joining the club last spring. I eagerly viewed the images and in so doing, I became acutely aware that we are a club with great talent and potential. The judging was of great interest to me. The judges each assigned a numeric value to the photographs resulting in a cumulative score. The scoring appears to be based on compositional basics, lighting and other criteria. The criteria used for scoring is applied as consistently as possible to all entries. A great deal of emphasis is placed on the rule of thirds and other elements of composition and lighting. Application of these elements is a consistent way to judge the competition. Using this method does take a great deal of subjectivity out of judging process. Less subjectivity makes for more consistent scores from one image to the next and from one competition to the next. One of the images I submitted to the competition was an image I also submitted for a couple of juried photography exhibits. That particular image, while not achieving much in the club competition was subsequently selected for an international juried show in a Richmond, Virginia gallery. The same image was also accepted in an on-line exhibit where it received an honorable mention. My intent here is not to brag on my accomplishments, fuss about my failures, or find fault with the judging process. I'm merely pointing out the subjectivity that can enter into judging works of art.

©Mike Wilson Some of my most successful images, both artistically and commercially, have not followed strict rules of composition or lighting. One such image is the outside wall of a church taken in flat light with the compositional elements of the image all appearing on the right side of the image with nothing but space to the left. It has been shown in a number of exhibitions, yet I suspect it would not rank well in a club competition. Yes, I have received my share of rejection notices to juried art shows, but I have also received plenty of acceptance notices over the last 30 years. Another image of mine was rejected from one show, yet accepted at the next and received the "Best of Show" award.

So, with all this having been said, the point I am trying to make is that it is OK to break the rules! Being an artist is about the act of creating. As an artist we take familiar elements and utilize familiar tools in new ways. Why ©Mike Wilson not break the rules and experiment? Whether or not your images achieve high scores or not in competition, or are accepted into or are rejected when entering juried art shows does not diminish their value and merit as works of art. Yes, utilize the tools we have, techniques we have learned or are in the process of learning, but don't let the rules constrict creativity. Be bold and experiment as nothing great has ever been achieved through taking the safe path all the time. At best, the art world is very subjective and rules that apply in one situation do not always apply in the next. And, because of this subjectivity, following the rules may or may not achieve recognition and accolades. The most important thing is to keep producing work - keep trying new things! Look at the work of other photographers - the "known" and “unknown" - to see through their eyes and learn how to expand the way you "see" our subjects. You can follow the rules if you like, but break a few along the way. You may be surprised at the results and have unexpected fun along the way!

You have heard it said: “This photo is pleasing to the eye.” What does this mean? How subjective is this opinion and how would you incorporate it into your photography? Unlike some guidelines of photographic composition – such as the rule of thirds – visual balance is often implied but not always discussed. Yet, as I am discovering this building block of photographic excellence myself, I am surprised to find that balance is actually one of the most important aspects of a solid image composition. Let’s discover together a little bit more about visual balance, how to achieve it and spend some time analyzing three of my images to see if we can find some such balance (or lack there of). In a nut shell, photographic balance is distribution of visual weight. Everything placed in a photo has a certain amount of visual weight. The visual weight may be related to the position of objects around a dividing line. Other types of weight include – color weight (i.e., red vs. green), value weight (i.e. high contrast vs. low contrast), shape weight (i.e. round vs. square) and texture weight (i.e. smooth vs. rough). Even distribution of such weight in an image around an invisible fulcrum is “pleasing to the eye” and represents photographic balance. Uneven distribution of such weight, (unbalanced addition of colors, objects, textures, etc.) creates distraction and can be disturbing or difficult to view. In the rest of this article, we will spend some time analyzing three of the aforementioned types of compositional balance – position, color and value. I will let you discover the others on your own.

Balancing your photo with position If there is a large shape on one side of the image, there should be a corresponding shape on the other side as in Example 1. To make it more dramatic, a larger more centrally located shape on one side of the image can be balanced with a small or more distant shape on the other side as in Example 2. If two or more shapes are all on one side of the image, they may seem out of balance, as in Example 3.

Let’s review the sunset image on the left. I wanted to take a photo of the setting sun behind a looming alpine landscape just as the sun touched the tip of the western peak. The flat lake in the foreground looked as though it was going to have a hard time balancing out the large mountain array in the background. By incorporating three rocks in the foreground, this helped balance the foreground with the background and the composition of the entire photograph.

Three smaller rock shapes balance the larger mountain shape in the back.

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Balancing your photo with color A photograph can be balanced by introducing a color into the image which may act to balance out the overwhelming presence of another color. For instance, if the entire photograph is green as in Example 1, the photograph may appear bland and uninteresting. If a small amount of red is added to the image, it may bring interest and balance to the scene as in Example 2. Add too much, and the red may overwhelm the image creating a different type of unbalanced scene as in Example 3.

Let’s review the photograph on the left In this example, the image was almost entirely green. It was a spring evening in April, and the green was everywhere. Composing this shot with a barn in the background and the tree branch wrapping around it was pleasing to me. The color of the barn is used to balance out the overwhelming green in the shot. If the barn was greenish or gray, this image would have had much less impact.

©Stevan Tontich

Balancing your photo with contrast or tone Sometimes using a low and high value contrast or low and a high key can create an interesting balance, especially in black and white photography. For instance, in Example 1 below, there is a low level of contrast in the image. As a result, the image may look flat and uninteresting. An addition of a high contrast subject can change the perception and help balance the flat feeling in the rest of the photograph as in Example 2. In a similar fashion, an area of the photograph with dark tones can be balanced with an area of light tones as in Example 3 and vice versa.

In my last example, we see that the lower left area of the photograph is filled with darker tones and lower contrast. The upper right area, however, is filled with lighter tones and stronger contrast. These two opposing areas help bring balance to the image.

I am in the process of learning more about compositional balance. It has been fun analyzing my own photography and seeing where I may have done better. I believe that if you train your eye to see the balance when reviewing photography at home, it will be easier to see it the next time your put your camera viewfinder to the eye and compose your next best shot. Click away! ©Stevan Tontich

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 9 October Competition - Digitally Projected Image (DPI) There were 21 Class A entries and 32 Class B entries. These are the images that received an award or an Honorable Mention (HM) in each class. All of the award winners competed ‘head-to-head’ for DPI of the Month. The October DPI of the Month was awarded to Leslie Harris designated by the blue ribbon.

AWARD Class A “Fire Fairy”

AWARD Class A “Dance with Me” AWARD Class B “Creek”

©Don Chen ©Krzysztof Hanusiak ©Linda Kippes

AWARD Class B “Feeling Good” AWARD Class B “An Old Garage” HM Class A “Perching Dragonfly”

©Leslie Harris ©Bob Marx ©Tom Biegalski

HM Class A “Up Close” HM Class A “Exploding Rust Spot” HM Class B “Beauty of Nature”

©Ron Hahn ©Mike Wilson ©Sue Elsea

HM Class B “Speak Friend and Enter” HM Class B “The Red Door” HM Class B “With Love”

©Carol Kay ©Carol Kay ©Aruloli Rajaram

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 10 October Competition - Small Monochrome There were 14 Class A entries and 13 Class B entries. These are the images that received an Award or an Honorable Mention (HM) in each class. All of the Award winners competed ‘head-to-head’ for Small Monochrome Print of the Month. The October Small Monochrome Print of the Month was awarded to Jeff Bark designated by the blue ribbon.

AWARD Class A “The Old Way” AWARD Class B “In The Shadow of the Castle”

©Jeff Bark ©Ron Sheade

HM Class A “In the Old West” HM Class A “Athabascan Girl”

©Margie Hurwich ©Dick Navarre

HM Class B “Acorn Hall-Elegance Lost” HM Class B “Pier 60”

©Carol Kay ©Birgit Tyrrell

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 11 October Competition - Small Color There were 14 Class B entries and 16 Class A entries. These are the images that received an Award or an Honorable Mention (HM) in each class. All of the Award winners competed ‘head-to-head’ for Small Color Print of the Month. The October Small Color Print of the Month was awarded to Ralph Durham designated by the blue ribbon. AWARD Class A “Iowa Plow” AWARD Class A “Bike-and-Door Hair Salon”

©Bill Sullivan ©Stevan Tontich

AWARD Class B “Puffin Mug Shot” AWARD Class B “Dragonfly Encounter”

©Ralph Durham ©Joan Farrell HM Class A “Door of Mystery” HM Class A “Oh, What a Tangled Web”

Image Not Available

©Don Schmidt ©Bob Kruzic

HM Class B “Winter Tree” HM Class B “L39 Albatross Formation”

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 12 October Competition - Large Monochrome There were 15 Class A entries and 2 Class B entries. These are the images that received an Award or an Honorable Mention (HM) in each class. All of the Award competed ‘head-to-head’ for Large Monochrome Print of the Month. The October Large Monochrome Print of the Month was awarded to Paul Kurek designated by the blue ribbon.

AWARD Class A “Rialto Ceiling Detail” AWARD Class B “Air Force Academy”

©Paul Kurek

HM Class A “Side Door to the Graveyard”

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 13 October Competition - Large Color There were 29 Class A entries and 6 Class B entries. These are the images that received an Award or an Honorable Mention (HM) in each class. All of the Award winners competed ‘head-to-head’ for Large Color Image of the Month. The October Large Color Image of the Month was awarded to Bill Sullivan designated by the blue ribbon.

AWARD Class A “Beijing Doorway” AWARD Class A “Potter’s Mill”

AWARD Class A “Holy Josaphat!” AWARD Class B “Mr. Chuckles”

HM Class A “Beetle” HM Class A “Thailand Temple” HM Class A “Sunday Afternoon” HM Class B “Starved Rock Waterfall”

Our competition season is now in full swing. The competition is fierce this year and at CACCA, we have moved from Class B to Class A, making our competition at CACCA that much harder. When creating the Challenge for you this past month, I wanted to create one with the competition season in mind. Often times the winning images at CACCA are of beautiful flowers, cute animals or birds in all their glory. Hence the Challenge: “Flora” “Fauna” “Feathers”

©Aruloli Rajaram ©Michelle Cox ©Leslie Harris A record number of photos were submitted this month. I was thrilled with the activity from not only new members but seasoned members who haven't taken the Challenge before! Let's see who was up to the Challenge.

I have to say, Linda Kippes took the challenge and put her own twist on "Feathers".

©Dale Rose

©Debra Olson

Images for the October Challenge, "Leaves" are due by Monday, October 31.

©Dani Petritis ©Jim Ross © Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 15 Accolades and Achievements

Jeff Bark Jeff Bark’s print, “Abandoned” (LCCC HM Class B Oct. 2010) was accepted into the exhibit “Barns of Portage County (Wisconsin)”. This traveling exhibit was most recently shown September 30 – October 2, 2011 at the Rising Star Mill in Nelsonville, WI. The barn was (sadly, now taken down) in central Wisconsin near the intersection of Hwy. 54 and Cty. A. Jeff drove past the barn whenever he was in the area and, one evening as he passed, the sunset was beautiful and he thought it a wonderful time to practice HDR. His technical goal was to capture the detail in the shadows without burning out the bright sunset in the background. ©Jeff Bark

Don Chen Don Chen has been submitting to stock agencies since 2007. This shoot was taken in Don’s studio. Don was requested to take family photos especially for the little baby girl who was turning 6 months old. Don explained what he does with stock agencies and the family chose to sign a model release. Don and his client were excited to learn that one of the images would be used on a research/text book cover.

©Don Chen

Mike Wilson Mike Wilson’s print “Mine Superstructure”, is a new image that he just made in July. It has not been shown until now and was an image selected for the 12 12 Gallery International Juried Photography Exhibition 2011 in Richmond, Virginia. This image was selected by Dr. Amalia Pizzardi from 420 images submitted. This same image received an honorable mention during competition at Without Walls for Photographers and Digital Artists, a global online-juried competition and exhibition. Mike majored in fine art photography at the University of Oregon in the late 1970's and has been showing his work in juried exhibitions since 1978. Mike has had his share of criticism, rejection notices and acceptance letters over the last 30 years. Mike admits it has not always been easy and has grown a much thicker skin.

©Mike Wilson

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - November 2011 Volume 4, Issue 3 Page 16 Life is a Puzzle With No End Pieces CACCA Competition Results By Ken Johnson Honorable Mentions: Paul Kurek “Not in Service” Ron Meyers “Potter’s Mill” Birgit Tyrell “Pier 60”

———— CACCA Special Category “Artist’s Escape”

Awards: Ron Meyers “Catching Daylight” Ron Sheade “Sculpture” Birgit Tyrell “Pier 60”

Honorable Mentions: Jeff Bott “Barn of Masterpiece” Margie Hurwich “Still”  Some pieces may have a name such as love, anger, Linda Kruzic “Artist in the Park” compassion, forgiveness, courage, and many others. Pat Turner “The Photographer”  You may find a piece when you least expect to. Shel Wecker “Merced River” John Williams “Abandoned Sanctuary”  You may search for a piece an entire lifetime.  You may find a piece you never wanted to see. ———— CACCA Special Category  You may discover a piece you never knew existed. “Individual Photojournalism”  There are big pieces and small pieces. All may be significant. Awards: Bob Kruzic “Grieving Together”  You may hold a piece and not understand where it fits. Bob Kruzic “Reflecting on a Loss”  You may ignore a piece only to realize later the importance of Linda Kruzic “My First Rifle” the piece you once held in your hand. Bob Kruzic also won Best of Show with  You may not solve the puzzle in one attempt. “Reflecting on a Loss”. As you contemplate each piece, you may learn that you can place any piece wherever you choose. Big pieces may turn out to be small and small pieces may become large. There will be a time when you The continued success of this club as well as are handed a piece that will upset you very much. this newsletter is a result of ongoing interest As a writer, a photographer and an "old timer ", I have learned that and support from the members. every piece of the puzzle is an important part of the journey. We must - or should - learn from every experience, even the dirty, rotten Presently, there are opportunities to assist ones we find along the way. the webmaster in the maintenance and content of the website. You don’t need any It is very difficult not to let a negative experience or a bad grade experience in website design. We are become a limiting factor in the pursuit of success. always looking for volunteers to support the Yet, we do create our own reality—our own puzzle. What matters the many Committees you see on page two. If most is what we choose to do with each piece. you have an interest, please contact the Committee Chairperson or any Board Member.