WOW Photo Club May 20 Meeting Report and Future Competition and Field Trip Information

May 20, 2009 Meeting

It always amazes me how a group of people see the same event differently.  It’s that diversity in viewpoint that makes life interesting.

We had a small turn out of four members, but the meeting was very interesting.  Jim brought a “canon” of a Tamron zoom lens that reaches 500mm. We are looking forward to seeing the wildlife photos he takes with it. Waldy showed the group his new baby, a Nikon 18-200 VR stabilized zoom. That will by his travel lens and the one he uses for 98% of his photography.

The sharpness of the hand-held photo of Eliza shot at 200mm shows the value of “vibration control” in Nikon and Canon lens.  Just look at how sharp her eyes are . . . it is tough to hold an “unstabilized” lens that steady shooting only by available light.

 

Eliza showed us the wonderful pictures she took at Pickett’s Mill including the one take from under the tree . . . it was worth getting into that contorted position.  A little bird told me she might be getting a DSLR very soon.

 

Molly couldn’t make the meeting, but we enjoyed the nice pictures she left for us to see.  Jim took the “prize” with his
photo-story DVD with music.  We might have to play it again at a future meeting.

          Molly close to the action               Jim shooting inside dead tree

Future Events:  competitions and field trips

Next WOW Photo Club meeting is at 6:30 PM in the church Fellowship Hall on June 17.  There will be no dinner at 5:45 PM.  It’s competition time again!

Flowers and plants is the theme for this contest, our second of the year.  Please limit you entries to photos taken in the past year.  Acceptable photos are those were flowers, trees or other plants are the main focus of the shot.

The entries can be color, black and white or something in-between if you want to get artsy.  You can enter up to 3 photos and they should be 8x10 or larger, matted or not matted.  As we did last time, all our club members will judge the photos, but we cannot vote for our own pictures.  We will be voting for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.  It was lots of fun last time.  After we pick the winners we will all get a chance to talk about our photos.

Field trip to Etowah Mounds in Cartersville

On Saturday, June 20, we are meeting at the church parking lot at 8:30 AM for a photo field trip to the historical Etowah Mounds depicting Indian life in 1200 AD.  The Etowah River runs along the park so there will be plenty of picture opportunities.  Eliza will have more details, especially where we might eat.  Food is always and essential part of any field trip!

Stay tuned for these future events:

• Lake Allatoona Field Trip on John Lindsay’s houseboat possibly in July.  Thank you so much John!
• Future field trips to possibly Rome, Stone Mountain, High Shoals Waterfalls, Sweetwater Park, Berry College and Jim Underwood’s fishing lake.
• August 19 competition theme will be Fun on the Beach.  We’ll extend the time frame back to 3 years back since some folks don’t get to the beach often. The photos can be of beach landscapes, sunrise/sunsets, shells or people and pets having fun at the beach.  The photos should showcase the beach or being on the beach. Looking forward to having some beautiful photos for this competition as we have plenty of time to take them.
• We want to have a WOW Photo Club exhibit table at the church's wonderful Simply Serve event in August.  This event showcases the activities of various church groups.  Last year’s got me personally involved in our church activities, and by becoming involved I’ve made many friends.
• We’ll be having our last competition in October and in November will be hanging an exhibit of photos from our club members in the Family Life Center. I think folks will enjoy seeing photos taken by their own church members.
• We’ll wrap up our first year as a club with a WOW Photo Club Social in December.

That’s a summary of some of our events for this year . . . hope to see you there.

Waldy