WOW Photo Club News

Good Weekend shutterbugs! I was looking back at your meetings last year and I noticed that we took the holiday season off. I hope that everyone will agree that we should break for the holidays and resume meeting in January. I know everyone will enjoy their travels and time with their family and I hope God blesses you with great memories and many opportunities to take pictures!

Here is an outline of our competition scheduel for the next few months, starting in January.

January 19th- Faith. This is an open ended competition, wherein the image you submit must convey the idea of religious faith. The subject can be a person or an object.

Feb 16- Regular meeting- Topic to be announced

March 16th- Self Portrait- an image taken of yourself by yourself, this can be accomplished by using the self timer or by using a remote system if you have one. Get creative, we love your beautiful faces! We are usually the ones behind the camera, so take a risk, get in front, and discover yourself.

(PS. Elijah is due to make his appearance on March 2nd, so I will probably not attend, however I may send pictures for everyone to see!)

April 20 Stated meeting- Topic to be announced

May 18- Competition 3 in a series. We are going to try this one again! This is a set of pictures (3 images) that convey a theme or are in a series. They can be matted together on a large piece of paper, or you can have them printed in a collage. Picasa has a nice collage program and most photo printers offer this option. The pictures should be 4x5 or 5x7, and you may submit 2 sets of images.

I think that is planned far enough ahead! Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy your break, but remember as Waldy always said "Shoot, shoot, shoot!"

God Bless,

Eliza Nobles

WOW Photo Club May 19th Macro Photo Competition

The next WOW Photo Club meeting is on May 19^th at 6:30pm in the fellowship hall. You are always invited to the WOW dinner at 5:45 PM in the gym (suggested contribution of $4).

This month we’re having a Macro photo competition. A Macro photograph is an extreme close up of something.

 

 

 

Photos must be matted and you can enter up to 3 photos.

Also, congratulations to our March abstract photo contest winners Waldy and Lynn! Lynn took both second and third place leaving Waldy to happily take 1st with his wonderful abstract photo.

Our Future Competitions are listed below:

3 photo in a theme in July (3 photos framed in a mat, or in a collage or montage that have a common idea in style or story theme)

Metamorphosis (State of Change) In September (the image denotes change such as water melting of metal flowing)

As Waldy is fond of saying, shoot, shoot, shoot . . . learn to edit photos, and enjoy this wonderful hobby we call photography.

-Hannah

WOW Photo Club March 17 Abstract Photo Competition

Our competitions are our favorite events, and the one on March 17 should be very interesting.  We’ll go back to our normal time of 6:30 PM, meeting in the Fellowship Hall, below the main sanctuary.  You are always invited to the WOW dinner at 5:45 PM in the gym (suggested contribution of $4).

The theme is Abstract Photography:  a concept that does not reflect a concrete object, but denotes a quality, an emotion or idea.  Below are just a few examples, but abstract can be almost anything . . . this one should be lots of fun.

    

          

Please limit the photos to those taken in the last two years.  As always we are able to enter three photos in color, back and white or an artistic treatment.  They should be 8x10 or larger, matted or not matted.  Also, remember to mark the orientation of the photo by writing “top” on the top side.

Future Competitions are listed below:

Macro in May (a very close-up view of a subject)

3 Photo in a Theme in July (3 photos framed in a mat, or in a collage or montage that have a common idea in style or story theme)

Metamorphosis (State of Change) in September (the image denotes change such as water melting of metal flowing)

Our Camera Fest meeting on Feb. 17 was very interesting.

Jim showed us his long Tamron 500mm lenses, but emphasized that the lens he uses most is his new 18 to 200 stabilized Canon zoom.  He had some nice pictures to show what he’s done with the various lenses.  He advised us to always carry a spare battery (and not to forget the charger).

Hannah showed us her new “fish-eye” lens, and showed us some interesting photos, including a neat 360 degree “stop motion” panorama.  Her “fish-eye” fits on her consumer camera, and part of it doubles as a macro lens.

Lynn showed us her Canon equipment and some really nice sports photos.  She relies on a 300mm zoom for many of her sports photos.  She bought her camera in 2005, and says she hasn’t replaced it, because she still takes great picture with it.  Lynn is our club winningest competition photographer.  Waldy showed Lynn how to use her new macro, diopter attachment. We should see some interesting photos for the Macro competition in May.

Waldy spoke about consumer cameras and the better “enthusiast-level” DSLR’s that provide better performance and quality.  He emphasized how careful editing improves pictures made with his inexpensive consumer camera that he took on a rafting trip.  He kept it in a Ziploc bag until he needed to shoot.

Things we learned:

• Zoom lenses provide convenience, especially the 18 to 200 zoom.
• Since the 18 to 200 is so versatile folks might be better off just buying the camera body and adding an 18 –200 zoom.  Some of the primary manufacturers’ lenses are expensive, but there are more economical ones by Tamron, Sigma, Tokina and Quantarey (probably made by Tamron).  Stabilization is a big plus, but it cost more.
• View through the camera (brightness & eye relief), speed of focus, live-view, remote flash, low noise at high ISO, video, size and weight are a few of the factors to consider when choosing a camera.

Choose wisely, because once you start buying accessories for your camera (flash, other lenses, filters, etc), the cost of switching to another brand can be painfully expensive.

As Waldy is fond of saying, shoot, shoot, shoot . . . learn to edit photos, and enjoy this wonderful hobby we call photography.

Waldy

WOW Photo Club Meeting February 17 (Fellowship Hall)

This particular meeting is being moved up to 6 PM and will be over by about 6:55 PM, because we have the Ash Wednesday service at 7 PM.

The theme for our next meeting is Camera Fest, a sharing of details of our cameras, lenses and accessories, the reason we bought them, and a few pictures taken with them.

This information exchange will be useful to any of the members that are going to spend their tax refunds on their photography hobby. 

Please bring any photos (3 to 6) you would like to share on a CD, Jump Drive or memory card.  You can also bring prints.

             

 New club leaders: during the last meeting we agree to the following leadership for 2010.

• Eliza Nobles, Club Leader
• Jim Underwood, Assistant Club Leader
• Waldy Cuevas continues as Advisor/Mentor until he leaves for Santa Fe

 

 

Please be thinking about our next competitions.

Abstract in March (a concept that does not reflect a concrete object, but denotes a quality, an emotion or idea)

    

Macro in May (a very close-up view of a subject)

              

Congratulation to our winner for the Holiday Theme Competition in January.

      

Lynn, our winningest photographer took 1st Place, Hannah, our youngest member took 2nd on her first try, and Waldy came in 3rd.  To see more photos of the competition just click on the link below.

Holiday Competition Photos

To see more of our members’ photos just click on the link below to see our
WOW Photo Club Group on Flickr.

WOW Photo Club on Flickr

Paulding Photo Club has been reorganized . . . you might want to check them out.

Our WOW Photo Club is a very casual, social club of folks that are interested in socializing with other members interested in photography.  We only meet once a month for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  We judge our competitions among ourselves and we collect no dues.  Some of you might enjoy the “deeper” photographic experience the Paulding Photo Club offers.

Paulding Photo Club

Some of their members, who are friends of mine, provided the following information.

Every 1st meeting (2nd Thursday) of the month will be an instructional class, the second meeting (4th Thursday) will be a competition meeting. Meetings start at 7 PM.

Thurs. Feb 11th we will having an HDR presentation by Erwin Spinner. He is going to try to keep it basic and gear it to everyone, whether they have never used HDR, or if they are experienced with it.

The next one will be on Thurs. March 11, which will be a macro nature presentation by George Bradfield and Gail Stewart. I have seen this one before, and it is great. What I liked was that they gave options to use for every budget, so I didn't feel like I had to have some expensive macro lens that I couldn't afford.

So remember, shoot, shoot, shoot, and enjoy this wonderful hobby we call photography.  Hope to see you on Feb. 17 at 6 PM.

Waldy

WOW Photo Club Year Review and Jan. 20, 2010 Contest

Holiday Theme Competition is our first competition of 2010

Our next club meeting is January 20 at 6:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall (after the WOW dinner at 5:45 PM in the gym)

The “Holiday Theme” are photo that depict the holidays, they can be people, decorations, or other scenes that capture the essence of the holidays.  Please limit the photos to those taken in the last two years.  As always we are able to enter three photos in color, back and white or an artistic treatment.  They should be 8x10 or larger, matted or not matted.  Also, remember to mark the orientation of the photo by writing “top” on the top side.

                         

Quite a year in review!

WOW Photo Club started in February of 2009.  The following officers served the first year.

• Jim Underwood, Club Leader
• John Lindsay, Club Secretary
• Eliza Nobles, Activity Planner

Waldy Cuevas,the founder, served as adviser (he is moving to Santa Fe, NM in the first half of 2010)

Instructional programs, competitions and fieldtrips were some of our activities in 2009 with competitions being the most popular activity.

We finished the year with an exhibit in the Family Life Center and a wonderful Christmas Social graciously hosted by Jim and Brenda Underwood.

Enjoy the year in review in photos.

View Full Album

          WOW Photo Exhibit in Family Life Center

 

View Full Album

        Christmas Social at Jim & Brenda Underwood’s

 

View Full Album

 

 

 

 

     Our Field Trips to Pickett’s Mill, Etowah Mounds, Lake Allatoona on John Lindsay’s houseboat and Berry College in Rome, GA.

It’s been lots of fun and a learning experience, but best of all has been the friendships made.

Future Competitions follow below:

Abstract in March (a concept that does not reflect a concrete object, but denotes a quality, an emotion or idea)

Macro in May (a very close-up view of a subject)

3 Photo in a Theme in July (3 photos framed in a mat, or in a collage or montage that have a common idea in style or story theme)

Metamorphosis (State of Change) in September (the image denotes change such as water melting of metal flowing)

Future fieldtrip might be to High Shoals Falls, Oakland Cemetery, Sweetwater Reserve, Little 5 Points and other places.

2009 was great and 2010 should be even better.  So remember . . . shoot, shoot, shoot . . . enjoy editing the pictures and by all means . . . enjoy this wonderful hobby we call photography.

Waldy

PS  Previous blog entries throughout 2009 have important information about Picasa, the editing software we recommend and Flickr, our group website for photo exchange and learning.