In Focus: February 2024
Kevin Talbot — “Valerie Veils”
This e-newsletter contains OPCC events, reminders, and news and will be published on the first Sunday of each month. Please send contributions to the newsletter to opcc4news@gmail.com. Contributions are due at noon on the Friday before publication, but if time permits, we will attempt to accommodate late contributions.
Welcome to New OPCC Members
Please extend a warm welcome to our newest members, Robert Phillips who resides on Fox Island, Lolinthea Hinkley from Quilcene, and Bob Naumann from Sequim.
Welcome to OPCC!
NEWS
February Executive Committee Meeting
Since many members of the Executive Committee will be traveling to the Florida field trip, the February meeting of the Executive Committee is cancelled. The March Executive Committee meeting will resume at the usual time.
March Newsletter
Also due to travel schedules related to the Florida field trip, the March Newsletter will not be published until Friday, March 8. Please submit your contributions to opcc4news@gmail.com by Tuesday, March 5.
2024 Spring Fair Photography Competition
From Peggy McClure:
Members are invited to participate in the photography competition held at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup on April 11-14 and April 18-21. The Tacoma Photographic Society is sponsoring the annual competition, which offers cash prizes and awards. Visit the Tacoma Photographic Society website by clicking HERE for information on contest rules, entry forms and drop off locations.
Photos and entry fees are due by Wednesday, March 20. If you are willing to collect images and deliver them to a designated drop-off location, please let us know by emailing Peggy McClure pmmcclure@outlook.com. Please include your contact information so this may be passed on to other members.
Good luck to all those who decide to enter.
SPEAKER SERIES
Thibault Roland - The Art of Black and White Photograph - February 15, 2024, 7:00 PM
What happens when colors are removed from our images? Suddenly we step away from reality and enter an unfamiliar world where patterns, geometrical shapes, and contrasts emerge stronger.
Join the club meeting on February 15, where Sony Artisan of Imagery Thibault Roland will discuss Black and White photography. Thibault is a professional Fine Art photographer and educator specializing in Black and White, with a preference for landscapes, seascapes and architecture. He is supported by some of the leading companies in the photo industry. During this lecture, Thibault will discuss how to create and use leading lines, textures and light in order to build dynamic and original photographs. He will illustrate how important it is to visualize and build an image even before pressing the shutter button and how your overall photography work (including color) can benefit from the rigorous process of creating in B&W.
Member Sharing / External Evaluation Nights
From Peggy McClure:
Our next Member Share Night is an External Evaluation on Thursday, March 7. Each member may submit up to 3 images, and submissions are due February 25. These images will be submitted to an independent certified judge prior to the Member Share night and posted on the OPCC website prior to the meeting. You will then have time to view and score the images on your own and compare your evaluations to those of the guest judge. Click HERE for complete details on Evaluation Nights.
FIELD TRIPS, WORKSHOPS, & MEET-UPS
Rescheduled Judging and Critiquing Workshop
From Peggy McClure:
“You have to be able to evaluate your own work and choose the best image. It is part of your job.”
-Scott Kelby – Kelby One
Open and free to all active members - a new workshop: Judging your Own Images. Dr. Christine Cook, the Competition Director for the Florida Council of Camera Clubs (FCCC), will be conducting the workshop. Dr. Cook designed the FCCC formal program for training and certifying judges for their member clubs.
The workshop will be conducted in February 2024 on two consecutive Saturdays (February 10th and 17th). The sessions will be held between 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm via Zoom and will be recorded. If you are unable to attend, the videos will be available on the website.
If you participate in the workshop, Dr. Cook has offered a follow-up option for anyone who attends or views both sessions. For a cost of $25, you will be able to send four (4) of your images with your own evaluation of them. Dr. Cook will then review the images and provide feedback on your evaluations to help you hone your skills.
To get all the details and to register for the workshop click HERE.
Field Trip Galleries
This is a reminder to members to upload their best six photos from each field trip for inclusion in the Field Trip Galleries on the website by clicking HERE. No photos have been submitted since last September. Gallery pages for each field trip will be created as soon as images are uploaded. Field Trips that are not currently represented include the Sequim Tractor Parade in November, the Holiday Lights shoot in December, and the King Tides trip to Salt Creek in January.
Competition / Image Evaluation
PSA Inter-club Submissions for Round 3
From Peggy McClure:
PSA Inter-club Submissions for Round 3 are due by February 29. This is the final round for the 2023-2024 season. OPCC committed to entering three (3) divisions this season - Color, Monochrome, and Nature. The submissions for Round 2 have been entered, and the judging begins on February 15. We should have the results back by the end of February. The submissions for Round 3 must be entered by April 15.
You may submit 2 images in each division for a total of six images. Click HERE to find a full explanation of the competition and instructions on how to submit your images.
2024 NWCCC Traveling Image Salon
From Stephen Shoff:
The Traveling Image Salon (TIS) is now open for voting. This is the first month of the 10-month voting phase for the images submitted by other NWCCC clubs. This month we will be voting on images submitted by the Tacoma Photographic Society. To view and vote for the images, click HERE and follow the appropriate links. Each month's voting must be completed by the 25th of the month. For “judging” and voting instructions, please review the 1st several paragraphs of the “Overview of the NWCCC Traveling Salon” on the web page. The unique characteristic of this competition is that it is judged entirely by the membership of the participating NWCCC clubs. Judging is open to all paid-up members of OPCC. You are not required to have submitted images to the competition in order to vote.
OPCC's participating images have already been submitted to NWCCC. The image submission period ran through January of this year. We had 9 OPCC members submit 27 images for the competition. Two images were eliminated per the contest rules to fit within the 25 image per club limit. This is great participation by our club.
For those participating in this month's Judging and Critiquing Workshop, the TIS provides a great opportunity to practice and ingrain the skills learned during the workshop.