In Focus: April 5 - 11
Driftwood - Dan McKenna
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 Driftwood by Dan McKenna. You can view more of Dan’s work in the PSA Interclub Competition gallery below, as well as in the NWCCC Digital Travelling Salon and PSA Inter-Club Competion Galleries on OPCC Website by clicking HERE.
Dan and his wife moved to Sequim in November of 2018 and he joined the club soon thereafter. Having utilized photography as a consulting arborist for various projects during his professional career, transitioning to capturing images for pleasure and art was a natural progression for him. However, it wasn’t until moving to this little slice of paradise that he discovered the joys of capturing wildlife images.
From his point of view, wildlife within a landscape increases the opportunities for incredible images, and with our abundance of wildlife and incredible landscapes the opportunities are endless. Although he says his photographic skills are still limiting the captures of what he sees all around us, he hopes to learn and perfect capturing birds in flight and wildlife in general.
Right now, Dan has a Sony A1 for general use and wildlife, with the Sony 200-600 zoom for birds. He plans on adding the new Fuji GFX 100s for landscapes, macro, and still life work. Although the Sony is a very capable camera for those types of photography, he finds the medium format files to have a little something extra, especially in tonality, shadow recovery and overall dynamic range. He has previously used Fuji’s GFX 50r, which produced excellent images, but anything moving was hit or miss. The Sony is a 3:2 format, found on most cameras, while the Fuji is a 4:3 format, which he seems to crop to in much of his work.
Dan’s other passion related to photography is printing. He has worked in the darkroom for many years and one of his first projects after moving into their new home was to build a darkroom for Alternative Printing. Since his home is on a septic system, the processes he has chosen to do don’t harm the septic or ground water, unlike the classic Silver Halide chemistry used in most black and white photographs. Instead, he’s focused on Platinum and Palladium, Cyanotype, and combinations utilizing a 24” inkjet printer as a hybrid between analog and digital printing. He still really loves viewing a print matted and mounted. For him, there is a distinct difference in the experience as compared to viewing an image on a screen.
Dan hopes to see you all out and about as the pandemic hopefully winds down.
Dan McKenna
World War II Radar Installation - Dan McKenna
Platinum/Palladium Print on Watercolor Paper
NEWS
Quote of the Week
“The print is an idea made visible. For my process, a photograph isn’t a photograph until it’s a print. I love the physical presence of a print, from beginning to end. For me it’s a tactile, sensual experience. I want it to be an object of beauty, whether the subject moves you or not.” – Tillman Crane
Voting Open for Round 2 of the NWCCC 2021 Traveling Digital Salon
It’s time to vote for Round 2 of the Northwest Council of Camera Clubs (NWCCC) Traveling Digital Salon. This month we’re voting on 23 images from the Bellingham Photography Club. An email with voting instructions was sent on Friday April 2. Please contact opcc4mail@gmail.com if you didn’t receive that email.
It’s a Wrap - Video Link for April 1 Share Night Available for a Limited Time
A link to the video of of the April 1 Member Share Night is available at the bottom of the OPCC Zoom Codes webpage. You can access the video by clicking HERE. The video is available for 12 days only, so plan to view or download the video this week.
PSA Washington State Membership Newsletter - April Edition Available
The latest edition of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) Washington State Membership Newsletter has been published. Click HERE to view or download.
It’s Time to Start Thinking About In-Person 2021 Field Trips!
As Clallam County has moved into COVID Phase 3, it’s possible that OPCC may be able to schedule in-person outdoor field trips in the not-too-distant future. The feasibility of doing this will be discussed at the next OPCC Executive Committee meeting on April 20. In the meantime, OPCC Field Trip Chair Sandy Woods would like to collect ideas for local field trips that could be conducted in accordance with current COVID health and safety recommendations, so that we’re ready to go whenever the decision is made to resume in-person field trips.
If you have an idea for and/or would like to lead a field trip when the time comes, please contact Sandy at opcc4fieldtrips@gmail.com.
Congratulations to…
Congratulations to OPCC members Peg Hanson and Dana Martell for receiving awards in the photo competition held in conjunction with the April 3 Spring Meeting of the Nature Photographers of the Pacific Northwest. Peg won First Place (tie) in the Plant Life category for her image My Heart and Third Place (tie) in the Wildlife category for her image Mama Merganser. Dana won Third Place (tie) in the Scenic category for his image Hawaiian Sunset. Click HERE for the full meeting video or HERE to view the competition winners.
PSA Interclub Competition Images Selected
OPCC PSA Liaison Witta Priester and OPCC President Jonas Benjamins have announced the first set of selections for the PSA Inter-Club Competition entry for our club.
A total of 45 photos were submitted by OPCC members and independently judged by 3 outside judges, resulting in a selection of 18 photos that will be entered into the PSA competition. These 18 photos were sorted into 3 sets of six photos. Each set will be submitted into a different round of the competition: a January make-up round in April; the regular April round, and the November round. Thanks to all members who submitted their work for this competition and congratulations to Jonas Benjamins, Lewis Bennett, Bruce Fryxell, Peggy McClure, Dan McKenna, and Susan White, whose images were selected for the January make-up round submitted this month.
Additional selections will be announced in the near future.
PSA Inter-Club Competition Entry - January Make-Up Round
COMING UP NEXT
Education Night - Thursday April 15 at 6:00 PM via Zoom. “Ready, Set, PRINT” with Keith Ross
Keith Ross moved to Sequim in 2015 and has spent the last several years investing himself fully into all aspects of photography including printing, framing and teaching. His Zoom presentation will focus on how to prepare an image for print.
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 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).