In Focus January 25-31
Photo credit: Mary Swartz
This weekly 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 weekly on Sunday evenings. The deadline for new submissions for the following week is Friday at midnight.
MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHER
This week’s cover photo is “Standing By” by OPCC member Mary Swartz. This image of a handsome ginger-colored cat on a rusted old ambulance was taken just outside of Cle Elum WA.
Mary joined OPCC in November 2019 with the hope of meeting fellow photographers and learning from them. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the opportunity to attend many in-person OPCC meetings before we were forced to go virtual by the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, she’s getting to know other club members through our Zoom meetings and by photo sharing in the OPCC Facebook group.
Mary first became interested in photography in her 20’s and has enjoyed it ever since. Now that she’s retired, her camera is a pretty constant companion. Her current camera is an Olympus E-M5 ll, which she really likes for the lighter weight of both the camera and the lenses.
Mary enjoys shooting landscapes, and especially looking for the smaller details and patterns in them. For that reason, she considers flower and plant photography her greatest interests. While she wants to take photos that are technically good, she’s most interested in the creative “eye” of photography. Several years ago, she participated in a group called the 365 Photo Project which required her to take and submit a new photo every day for a year. She found that it was challenging and often forced her to think outside of the box. She’s considering rejoining this group as a way to once again push herself out of her creative comfort zone in 2021.
NEWS
OPCC Survey
Thanks to all who completed the OPCC Member Survey last week. We had an excellent response and will be sharing the results with you soon. We know that people are inundated these days with requests for feedback, so we really appreciate that so many members took the time to respond.
New OPCC Logo
The OPCC logo contest concluded on January 15. The design below was chosen by the OPCC Board as the club’s new logo. Congratulations to the logo artist, who prefers to remain anonymous. The artist has graciously asked that the $25 gift certificate prize be donated to the local food bank. Look for this new logo on club business cards, the website, and in the future on tee shirts.
Darrell Gulin Talk - Zoom Meeting Recording Now Available
We had another good Zoom meeting turnout, this time for Education Night guest speaker Darrell Gulin. A recording of his presentation has been posted on the Zoom Codes page of the OPCC Website and will be available for viewing until February 3.
New OPCC Website Features
Work on the new OPCC website continues. A new External Education page has been added. This page will list free and low-cost educational opportunities recommended by OPCC members. A new Club Business section has also been added. This will soon be the go-to location for information on club officers and committee chairs, bylaws, meeting minutes, and other business-related information. Finally, clicking on the logos for our Photographic Society of America (PSA) and Northwest Council of Camera Clubs (NWCCC) affiliates now takes you directly to their websites.
Mike Shaw - Free Webinar on Monday January 25
Mike Shaw, our Minnesota-based special guest speaker scheduled for March 18, has just announced a series of free monthly webinars on Astrophotography. The first is scheduled for Monday January 25 at 6:00 PM PST (8:00 PM CST). The subject is “What to Photograph in the Night Sky this Year - Plan Your 2021 Night Photography Projects!“. Register for the free webinar here. To learn more about Mike visit his website.
New Club Competition Opportunity - NWCCC
The Northwest Council of Camera Clubs (NWCCC) recently announced a new club competition opportunity for 2021. This digital competition is intended to replace the usual NWCCC Traveling Print Salon for 2021. The details are still evolving, but so far the plan is as follows. Each participating club will submit a collection of up to 25 DIGITAL images per month (maximum of 4 images per individual photographer) for 5 consecutive months starting in February 2021. The images may be of any subject and in color or black & white. Judging will be by NWCCC member clubs. Additional details will be provided on the OPCC Competition webpage soon. If you are interested in participating, please start reviewing your images now to find up to 4 competition-worthy candidates, as we anticipate a very short turnaround time after we receive final information from NWCCC. If you would like to participate in this competition or for more information contact Competition Chair Suzanne Anaya (secretary4opcc@gmail.com).
Special Event for March 4 Member Share Night
The March 4 Member Share Night now features a special event! Jeanne Scott, a guest photography judge from California, will review OPCC member images, suggest improvements, and then make the improvements in real time using editing software. Audience members will be encouraged to actively participate in providing constructive comments. See the Member Share Night webpage for Jeanne’s bio and event details. Many thanks to OPCC member Witta Priester for facilitating this event.
Congratulations to…
OPCC member Jim Wood had a lovely photo that was taken at sunrise at Nash’s Farm published in last week’s Sequim Gazette.
Almost a year ago OPCC Secretary and Competition Chair Suzanne Anaya viewed the Wildlife Photographer of the Year (WPOTY) Winners Exhibit at the Royal BC Provincial Museum in Victoria as part of an OPCC field trip. That experience helped to inspire her to enter images in this year’s contest. Flash forward to 2021…she just received word that her images have been advanced to the second and final stage of judging. WPOTY (Website) is one of the most prestigious international wildlife photography contests and this year there were more than 50,000 submissions. Congratulations to Suzanne on advancing and good luck in the finals!
New Members
A warm welcome to new OPCC members George and Kathy Joyner who joined this month.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Deadline for submitting images for February 4 Member Share Night.
The deadline for submitting Member Share Night images is Thursday, January 28 at 11:00 PM. Images may be in the General or Special Theme (Night Photography) categories and any of the sharing categories. Please consider sharing your images from the City Lights Virtual Field Trip. See the Member Share Night webpage for details on how to re-size and submit your photos.
Deadline for submitting images for the “Going to California” Virtual Field Trip Gallery
The “Going to California” Virtual Field Trip ends this week. Submit up to 10 photos for display in the Virtual Field Trip Gallery by midnight January 31. See the Field Trip webpage for details on how to submit your photos.
FYI - Ending this Week
Special Theme: Night Photography
Virtual Field Trip: City Lights
Virtual Field Trip: Going to California
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Member Share Night - Monthly Themes and More
CLICK ON THE IMAGE OR THEME TITLE BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. For questions, contact Share Night/Projection Chair Susan White at opccphotos@gmail.com.
Virtual Field Trips
There are currently three Virtual Field Trips in progress. CLICK ON AN IMAGE OR FIELD TRIP TITLE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. For questions or to suggest a new Virtual Field Trip idea contact Sandra Woods (fieldtrips4opcc@gmail.com).
External Competition Opportunities
CLICK ON AN IMAGE OR EVENT TITLE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. For questions or to suggest a new competition or juried exhibition opportunity contact Competition Chair Suzanne Anaya (secretary4opcc@gmail.com).