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 submissions for the next newsletter is Friday August 12.

MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Our cover photo this week is Baltimore Night by Matt Mahowald. Matt joined OPCC earlier this year, shortly after retiring as an electrical/software engineer with Boeing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He learned about the club from our website.

Matt’s interest in photography started with another hobby - teaching kids chess. He bought a camera to document that activity and as a result decided to learn more about photography. He joined a local photo club (the Lancaster Photography Association) and went on many field trips with that group.

Some of Matt’s favorite techniques are hand-held night shots, low-to-ground landscape shots, and wide-aperture shots when required to shoot through glass. As an avid outdoor photographer, he’s careful to avoid changing lenses in the field to minimize the chance of sensor spots. Current projects include perfecting his focus stacking and numerical processing (daylight long exposure) skills.

Matt hasn’t wasted any time getting involved with OPCC. He attended Dan McKenna’s Long Exposure Workshop earlier this year and has become a familiar face on club field trips. He recently volunteered to take over Zoom Management Chair responsibilities for the club from Peggy McClure – very much appreciated!

Below are some images that Matt entered as prints in the Antelope Valley Fair in the Lancaster/Palmdale CA area, an event typically attended by around 200,000 people.

NEWS

Clallam County Fair Coming Up Soon - Time to Enter and/or Volunteer

Would you like another great opportunity to to display your photos locally? OPCC member Witta Priester would like to remind everyone that the Clallam County Fair will be held from Aug 18-21, and there’s a photography exhibition. You may enter up to three unframed, matted photographs with a maximum size of 16x20 including the mat, all at no charge.

It’s now time to get your prints ordered. Entry dates are Sunday, August 14, from 12 noon to 6:00 PM, and Monday, August 15, from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM.

There are also opportunities to support our community. You can volunteer to help at the photography barn with taking in photos, or hanging the exhibition, or hosting during the 4 days of the fair. Click HERE to volunteer to help.

Welcome New Members

A warm welcome to our newest family membership, Gary Goelitz and Signe Thorsen. We’re glad you’ve joined us!

PSA Washington State Membership Newsletter Available

The August edition of the monthly Photographic Society of America (PSA) Washington State Membership Newsletter is now available. The newsletter typically includes event listings, photo news, equipment reviews, and more. Click HERE to view or download.

EDUCATIONAL SPEAKER SERIES

Video Posted for July 21 Education Night Talk by Marina Shipova

A link to the video recording of Marina Shipova’s webinar My Digital Post-Processing Workflow is now posted on the Recorded Presentations webpage (click HERE to access). Marina took us on location with a video showing how she set-up a photograph that was featured in its final form in a magazine article. She then demonstrated a number of relatively easy Adobe Photoshop techniques used to refine and enhance the image in post-processing. You can find the video link in the OPCC Education Night Archive by clicking HERE.

MEMBER SHARING

Next Member Share Night Meeting is August 4 at 7:00 PM.

We will hold a hybrid event for the August 4 Member Share Night meeting. The in-person meeting will be at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sequim. Anyone not wanting to attend the in-person meeting at the church will still be able to participate via Zoom as usual. Please see the President’s Update above for details for details.

The monthly Special Theme for sharing is Wildflowers/Macro.

For more information or questions about OPCC Member Share Night, contact Member Share Night Chair Dan McKenna (opccphotos@gmail.com).

FIELD TRIPS, WORKSHOPS, & MEET-UPS

Jardin du Soleil Lavender Farm - Trip Report

We had a great turnout of 12 members for this photography meet-up organized by Sally Harris. Participants were inspired by “lavender lady” and book author Bonnie Gillis who joined us at Sally’s invitation. Witta Priester encouraged creativity by bringing along (and where possible, sharing) some fun tools like a Lensbaby and glass sphere. During the field trip, cameras were seen being spun, panned and shaken (but not stirred) for some interesting results. Check out some of the the results in the field trip gallery.

OPCC August Field Trip #1 - Salt Creek/Tongue Point Field Trip & Brown Bag Picnic. Saturday, August 13 at 9:00 AM.

We are lucky to have two great OPCC field trips scheduled for August. The first field trip, hosted by new member Kevin Talbot, will provide opportunities to explore the Tongue Point tide pools at low tide, learn about the unique geological forces that shaped the area, and walk along the beach and explore Salt Creek. Expect to see eagles, pigeon guillemots, otters and other sea life. Explore the wooded trails and peek into the bunkers. This will be a several-hour field trip as there is so much to see and do at this diverse location. Bring a brown bag lunch to enjoy with fellow members.

Kevin has created a great field trip guide with maps, instructions for parking, attraction locations, and geology information. Please click HERE to view or download the guide. To visit the field trip webpage click HERE.

OPCC Field Trip Chair Ellen Bogenschutz asks that field trip participants take special note of the following:

Please carpool/shuttle from the main parking areas (see yellow square and pink boxes on Kevin's map), as there is very limited parking space near the picnic area above the Tongue Point stairs we will be using.
There will be a nice size cooler for everyone to use for their Brown Bag Lunch.
Cell phone service is spotty out there, but you can get a signal in various areas.
Don't forget sunscreen and waterproof shoes for the tide pools areas

COMPETITION/IMAGE EVALUATION

First Federal has announced their annual PNW Photo Contest

Submission Deadline is August 29, 2022 for the First Fed 2023 Calendar.

Click HERE to go to to their contest page for complete details.

Here is the CLUB CHALLENGE from OPCC Competition Chair Peggy McClure: everyone should submit their favorite PNW Photo and let’s see if we can win all 12 months plus the cover photo!

For more information, contact OPCC Competition Chair Peggy McClure (opcc.competition@gmail.com).

Reminder - OPCC Summer Competition/External Evaluation is Open for Submissions

Deadline for submissions: September 19

This is an open competition so while the theme is Summer the submissions maybe on any subject, color or monochrome, your imagination is your only limitation. We have limited the number of submissions to two per image maker so that we have ample time to discuss the image and comment on the judge’s scores. Look forward to seeing your submissions and see you at the October 6 meeting. You may get complete details on how to submit and the criteria used for the evaluations on the website. Information and tools for OPCC competitions are located on the “Competition” webpage in the Members Only section of the website (click HERE to visit the Competition webpage). For more information contact OPCC Competition Chair Peggy McClure (opcc.competition@gmail.com).

Check the OPCC Website for Complete Details on the Following Competitions

The International Garden Photographer of the Year will accept entries through October 31 in a variety of categories. Detailed information is available on the External Competitions page (click HERE) of the OPCC website.

If You’re Aware of Competitions That Might Interest OPCC Members…

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 a select list of external competitions (curated by Peggy McClure) can be found on the Competition webpage of the OPCC Website in the Members Only section.

In Focus: August 1 - 14