In Focus: February 28 - March 13
Photo Credit: Sherrie Cerutti, Keeper of the Light
This twice monthly list of OPCC events, reminders, and news is compiled by Lori Moilanen. Please send information on upcoming events, news items, and corrections to opcc4mail@gmail.com. This newsletter is currently published twice monthly on Sunday evenings in advance of our first and third Thursday meetings. The deadline for new submissions for the next newsletter is Friday March 11.
NEWS
IMPORTANT - OPCC Meeting Times to Change Effective March 1, 2022
Remember - Starting in March, all OPCC meetings will begin at 7:00 PM. This includes Share Night/Competition meetings, Education Night meetings, and Executive Committee meetings. The new starting time will make it easier for our members who are still working to participate. It will also help eliminate confusion by matching the starting times of Olympia Camera Club meetings. For questions or comments, please contact OPCC President Bruce Fryxell (opccpres@gmail.com).
Thanks to Our 2022 Donors
Cash donations to OPCC help offset the cost of our website and communication tools and the cost of guest speakers. This in turn helps us to keep our membership fees as low as possible. Many thanks to our first donors of 2022: OPCC members Marian Bodart and Rebecca Hanson. You can donate online by visiting the Members-Only Welcome Page on the OPCC website (click HERE to access). Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find and click on the “Donate” button.
New Month - New Monthly Theme
The March Monthly Themes for education and photography are Slow Shutter and Street Photography. Take some inspiration from Rinzi Ruiz’s street photography talk in February or participate in OPCC member Dan McKenna’s three-part Long Exposure Workshop in March to kickstart your exploration of the March theme.
New Platform for OPCC Videos
OPCC Zoom Coordinator Peggy McClure and Communication Chair Lori Moilanen have been working behind the scenes to enable improved video sharing capabilities on the OPCC website. Vimeo, with improved privacy controls compared to YouTube, has been selected as the new platform. This will allow us to share password-protected meeting recordings with our membership in a way that’s acceptable to our guest speakers. The password for video viewing is the 2022 OPCC member password that’s used to access other members-only content on the OPCC website.
March OPCC Member Photo Exhibitions
OPCC members Susan White, Suzanne Anaya, Marian Bodart, Peg Hanson, Lori Moilanen, and Mary Swartz will show their work in an exhibition titled “Six Points of View: Fine Art by Northwest Women Photographers” at Studio Bob in Port Angeles. The exhibit will feature photography from distinct artistic points of view and a variety of genres, but a unifying theme is the love of nature and natural landscapes.
The opening reception for the exhibit is Saturday March 12 from 5:00 - 8:00 PM, with live music by Tin Sandwich. An artist reception will also be held on Sunday March 13 from Noon – 3:00 PM. Studio Bob is located at 118 1/2 E. Front Street, Port Angeles.
OPCC member Sherrie Cerutti and Sequim photographer Ken Kennedy will show their work in a joint exhibition at the Sequim Museum & Arts in March. There will be an artists’ reception from 5:00 - 8:00 PM during the Sequim First Friday Art Walk on March 4. Sequim Museum and Arts is located at 544 N. Sequim Ave, Sequim.
Sherrie Cerruti
Sherrie Cerutti - Keeper of the Light
EDUCATIONAL SPEAKER SERIES
February Speaker Recordings Now Available
Recordings of the excellent February presentations by Viktoria Haack and Rinzi Ruiz have been posted to the OPCC website Recorded Presentations webpage. Click HERE to visit the Recorded Presentations webpage. This page may also be accessed using the “Recorded Presentations” button on the Education Nights webpage of the OPCC website.
To view the videos, use the 2022 OPCC member password when prompted to enter a password.
MEMBER SHARING
Reminder - March 3 is a Competition Meeting
Our next first Thursday meeting on March 3 will feature image review and PSA judge’s feedback for images submitted by members for the OPCC Winter Competition. Open sharing of members’ images will resume at the April 7 Member Share Night meeting.
Even if you’re not interested in entering competitions yourself, hearing and viewing expert feedback on the competition images can be a great tool for improving your own photography. Read more on this month’s competition judge below.
FIELD TRIPS & WORKSHOPS
February Field Trip Report from Ellen: Still Life Vignettes, Barn Architecture, Stained Glass
The second OPCC Field Trip of 2022 was very well attended, and the variety of photo opportunities was enjoyed by all. It was so great to see returning members that hadn’t had a chance to get together in a group for the last 18 months and all were delighted to see and welcome new members to the club. Two dedicated ladies from our affiliated club, the Olympia Camera Club also joined us and are tightening our bonds with that organization.
We photographers are all pretty independent and participants dispersed and shot any all items that caught their eye. There were photos to be taken of the stain glass demo, barn interiors and exteriors, old tools and collectables and various set up vignettes. It was great to see that some attendees used this opportunity to dust off their cameras and get familiar with them again. Members helped members with camera settings, and other mechanics of photography. It’s such an added bonus to be able to meet in person to share ideas.
Please visit the Field Trip Gallery to peruse and enjoy all the photos submitted by the participants - photos should be posted in the gallery by March 1.
Remember, if you have an idea or can host a Field Trip or even a casual “Meet Up”, let OPCC Field Trip Chair Ellen Bogenschutz know via email (fieldtrips4opcc@gmail.com) to keep learning and expanding our photographic talents.
A Selection of Barn Still Life Field Trip Images
(Click on Thumbnail to Enlarge)
WORKSHOPS
Long Exposure Workshop
If you are interested in learning or perfecting your long exposure skills join Dan McKenna for a three-part workshop including a field trip to Seattle to practice the art of long exposures.
The first workshop session will be held on March 18, 2022, 11:00 AM will focus on equipment and techniques
The second workshop session - the field trip - will be held on March 26, 2022, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM to practice long exposure photography focus on Seattle's waterfront.
The third workshop session focusing on post processing skills specifically for long exposures will be held via a Zoom video conference on March 30, 2022, 7:00- 8:30 PM.
For more information see the OPCC Field Trip page or email Dan by March 16, 2022 to RSVP. He will send you a packet of information with maps and relevant resource information.
COMPETITION/IMAGE EVALUATION
OPCC Winter Competition/Image Evaluations Meeting - Thursday March 3, 7:00 PM.
From Competition Chair Peggy McClure:
The photos are in and the Photographic Society of America (PSA)Judge Heide Stover has been reviewing and evaluating them based on the criteria we gave her (Click HERE to visit the OPCC Competition webpage for “Conditions of Entry and Judging” - be sure to scroll down the webpage). Heide is the president of the Stockton Camera Club as well as the club’s PSA Camera Club Council Representative. She is very active in PSA, serving as the Nature Division Secretary and the Director of the PSA PID Digital Study Groups.
PSA has an online judging program for PSA Clubs and councils. Heide is the co-director of the judging services and schedules the judges for the clubs as they need them. Because this is our first time using the PSA judging services, she scheduled herself to be our judge. A little over a year ago, Heide was mentored by Jon Fishback, APSA, ARPS, a Washington retired professional photographer and Director of Education Services for PSA to go in person to clubs to teach his image analysis workshop. As this cannot happen for now, Heide is conducting the workshop via Zoom.
Heide says, “When looking at an image I look for good technical work - such things as composition, focus, color, light, etc. I take a few minutes to see how the image makes me feel. I have learned that, for me, photography is not about sitting in front of a computer playing with images or about winning awards. It is about getting out there photographing, learning more each day ,and enjoying what I am doing. And I do love what I am doing. I hope that I can help others with my comments. But the best advice I can give is to have fun with it. Enjoy what you are doing. And always respect the world around you as you are doing it.”
Heide is a first-born American of German parents and her first language is German. Primarily raised in the States she did attend a boarding school while living in Germany that was located high on a hill in a castle. She returned to the States to attend college and is now married, and living in California. She took up photography as a teenager, eventually combining her love of nature with love of photography. She spends many early mornings out on backroads and wildlife reserves watching, listening to, and photographing the wildlife
External Competition Updates
PSA is still accepting submissions for the Small Print Exhibition for 2022. There is an entry fee based on the number of prints you enter. The closing date for submissions is April 1st.
Outdoor Photographer Magazine has announced The American Landscape 2022 Photo Contest. Now in its eleventh year, The American Landscape is Outdoor Photographer’s premier annual photo contest celebrating our country’s wild places. Submit your best landscape photographs for a chance to win recognition and great prizes including publication in a future issue of Outdoor Photographer. DEADLINE: Tuesday, May 31, 2022There are submission fees although if you submit by May 17 there is a discount available. Go to The American Landscape 2022 -Outdoor Photographer for all the details.
If you are aware of any competitions you think members might be interested in please contact Competition Chair Peggy McClure at opcc.competition@gmail.com. Peggy will gather the details and when appropriate we will publish information in the Newsletter and on the Website.
Information on any open competitions will be found on the OPCC Website in the Members Only Competition section.