In Focus: February 22-28
Photo Credit: Stephen Shoff
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, “Unfurling” by Stephen Shoff, was taken in Port Gamble. Stephen was introduced to Port Gamble during an OPCC field trip not long after he joined the club in 2017. Now he makes a point of stopping there as the occasion allows when traveling back and forth to his daughter's home outside Renton. This image was taken during one such stop last summer.
Stephen’s interest in photography began in high school when he was allowed to take yearbook pictures at school events, and then develop and print the images in the school's B&W lab. The camera he used was a Pentax Spotmatic. Leading into that learning experience, a family subscription to Arizona Highways magazine was stimulating his visual appreciation of the vast northern Arizona landscapes that the family was constantly driving through due to his father's work. By the time he left high school, he had been bitten by the landscape photography bug. But it wasn't until the early 2000's when digital photography became truly viable, that he was able to develop that avocation.
Now, generally using full-frame Canon cameras, he pursues whatever forms of outdoor photography he encounters. Having spent much of his life in the desert southwest and near the California Sierra, he’s been influenced by landscape photographers...including the Muench family and Arizona Highways, the B&W style of Ansel Adams, and other well-known photographers in California. He especially appreciates the thoughtful approach and essays of William Neill. His goal is to get beyond just capturing what we see at first glance, to capture a thought, an emotion, and a sense of place or time in his images.
NEWS
Quote of the Week
“The art of photography is about interpretation. What is right and what is wrong? You, the artist, get to decide. Listening to Ansel Adams lectures in my formative years, and seeing the creative renditions he made from his negatives to the final prints, I learned that I don’t need to adhere to a literal expression of my subjects.” - William Neill
Great OPCC Member Response for NWCCC Traveling Digital Salon
OPCC Competition Chair Susan Anaya reports that more than 50 images were received for consideration as part of the OPCC entry for the Northwest Council of Camera Clubs (NWCCC) Traveling Digital Salon. The final submission of 25 images (the maximum number allowed) includes work from 20 OPCC photographers. Each OPCC photographer who submitted has at least one image in the Salon. An additional five lucky photographers (chosen by lottery) have a second image included. Watch for a slide show of the OPCC submission to be posted on the OPCC website in the near future.
Notes for Tim O’Neill’s Luminar AI Presentation Available on the OPCC Website.
Many thanks to Tim O’Neill for his very informative presentation on Luminar AI at last week’s Education Night meeting. It takes a lot of work to put together a presentation like this, and we sincerely appreciate his effort. A handout of notes to accompany Tim’s presentation is available HERE.
New Club Competition Opportunity - PSA Interclub Competition (Image Submission Deadline March 8).
PSA Liaison Witta Priester and OPCC Vice-President Jonas Benjamins are putting together a plan for OPCC participation in the PSA Inter-Club Competition (Open Category). If you would like to participate, here’s how:
Select 1-3 of your absolute best digital images. We are entering the OPEN category, so any type of photo will do as long as you’ve exposed or created all elements of the image. Make sure there is no watermark or other identifying information on the image as projected.
Size your photos according to the PSA requirements below. It is very important to follow the Sizing Information below exactly. Incorrectly sized photos will not be considered for the club submission.
Email your photos to Jonas Benjamins (jonasben@msn.com) by March 8.
By submitting your photos, you agree to have them entered in the PSA Inter-Club Competition (Open Category). A small committee will choose the photos that our Club will enter this year.
PSA Image Requirements
Dimensions: Horizontal (landscape) images will be no more than 1400 pixels wide or 1050 pixels tall. Vertical (portrait) images will be no more than 1050 pixels tall. Unless your image proportions are in the exact ratio of 4 to 3, one of these dimensions will be less than the maximum. The images will be projected as received, as long as they are not over the listed maximum width or height.
Color Space: sRGB color space is recommended for optimum results.
File Naming: Image title_maker name_ psa.jpg
File Format: Save the file in jpeg format only. There are no file size restrictions.
For more information on this competition or submitting images for it contact Jonas Benjamins (jonasben@msn.com).
Virtual Field Trip Leaders Needed
OPCC Field Trip Chair Sandy Woods would like to hear from members with creative ideas for OPCC Virtual Field Trips. Contact Sandy at fieldtrips4opcc@gmail.com to volunteer.
Monthly OPCC Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the February 16 OPCC Executive Board Meeting have been posted on the OPCC Club Business webpage.
New Members
OPCC extends a warm welcome to our newest member, Douglas Dammarell. We’re glad you’ve joined us!
Congratulations to…
OPCC member Marian Bodart will have a collection of her prints on display during the month of March at the Blackbird Coffeehouse at 336 E. Eight Street in Port Angeles.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
SPECIAL MEETING - February 25, 6:00 PM via Zoom. Birds of the Spit Virtual Field Trip (Image Submission Deadline February 23)
Plan to attend the “Birds of the Spit” Zoom meeting on February 25th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM to view images from this virtual field trip. If you’d like to submit images, simply email them to fieldtrips4opcc@gmail.com before the end of the day on February 23. Use regular OPCC formatting instructions (available HERE) to format the images. Zoom codes will be posted on the OPCC Zoom Codes webpage.
Deadline for Submitting Photos for Jeanne Scott Live Review - February 25 at 11:00 PM.
The March 4 Member Share Night will feature a special live review of images by guest Jeanne Scott from the Coachella Valley Camera Club in Southern California. See Jeanne’s Bio and meeting details HERE. OPCC members are invited to share 1-2 images for live review. Images may be of a general subject or the Special Theme for February of Still Life. The deadline for submission of images is Thursday February 25 at 11:00 PM. For information on how to submit images click visit the Member Share Nights webpage. Please note that for this meeting we will only be accepting images whose makers have agreed to allow critique and editing.
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.
Education Night
CLICK ON THE IMAGE OR THEME TITLE BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. For questions, contact Program Chair Ardythe Wendt at opcc4education@gmail.com.
Virtual Field Trips
There are currently two 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 (OPCC.competition@gmail.com).