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.

REMEMBERING THE PHOTOGRAPHER

The cover photo this week is Hurricane Ridge by late OPCC President Jonas Benjamins (1935-2021). Jonas was scheduled to be featured in “Meet the Photographer” this week, before his sudden passing at the end of April. A few hours before he died, he said that he was excited to be sharing his story with OPCC members. Instead, we’ll honor his memory with his images and impressions and photos of Jonas shared by OPCC members.

Jonas was born in the Netherlands and regarded Apeldoorn as his home town. In the mid-1950s he emigrated to the United States. He became a U.S. citizen in 1960. He was proud of the fact that he voted in every presidential election since becoming a citizen. In addition to photography, Jonas loved soccer and travel. He was devoted to his family.

Jonas was a member of OPCC for many years. He was actively involved in all aspects of the club: in-person and pandemic Zoom meetings, field trips, social events, and the Executive Board. He is fondly remembered by club members as a friend, mentor, leader, accomplished photographer, and all-around great human being. He was also known for his kindness, encouragement, optimism, and sense of humor. Jonas started 2021 as OPCC Vice President, Print Chair, and OPCC Facebook Page Administrator. He graciously stepped up to the position of OPCC President when the need arose. As President, he actively reached out to OPCC Board members and listened thoughtfully to their opinions. Jonas volunteered with Witta Priester to organize the OPCC submission to the 2020-21 PSA Inter-Club Competition, a big undertaking. He also submitted images for that competition and the NWCCC 2021 Traveling Digital Salon.

Dick Hazelton - our oldest OPCC member, who says he currently stands 5’3” tall - shared words to the effect that Jonas at well over 6’ feet tall was literally a giant to him. It’s clear that Jonas is also figuratively a giant to many OPCC members in terms of his kindness and generosity of spirit. He is deeply missed. Our thoughts are with Willa, his wife of 57 years.

101-A Walk by the River_Benjamins Jonas_2.jpg

NEWS

Quote of the Week

“f/8 and be there.” – Most often credited to legendary street photographer Arthur Fellig (“Weegee”).

A Message From New OPCC President Bruce Fryxell

When Jonas Benjamins assumed the position of OPCC President, he selected me to be his vice president. He told me that he thought my ideas were sensible and that we could work well together. I accepted the position, because I thought Jonas would be a good leader for the club and that I would enjoy collaborating with him. Unfortunately, we had only a very short time together, and I am sorry about the lost opportunity.

When Jonas died, according to the club by-laws, I became the new president. I never intended to be the club president, but I’m now looking forward to the challenge. Please feel free to contact me (opcc4info@gmail.com) with any suggestions on how we might improve the club.

As a result of the change in leadership, we now have three open positions that need to be filled. The most critical is the position of Vice President, which became vacant when I became President. I have also been serving as the Membership Chair and will continue to do so until we find a replacement. There is little for this person to do right now, but there will be additional work once we start meeting in person again. I certainly hope we can find someone to fill the position before then. The third open position is that of Print Chair. Jonas was taking care of this in addition to his other duties. This position will also need to be filled before we resume in-person meetings so that we can start sharing prints again. Please contact me or any of the other board members if you would like to volunteer for any of these positions.

Help Wanted - Please Volunteer to Support the Activities and Goals of OPCC

As a club, we’ve seen a lot of change in 2021. The good news is that we have a dedicated group of members on the OPCC Executive Committee who’ve risen to every challenge. As mentioned in Bruce’s message above, there are currently three open positions in the Executive Committee as a result of changing roles necessitated by Jonas’s passing. The job descriptions for the open positions are listed below. Please consider volunteering to help the club maintain its activities and make plans for the future. Your efforts will be greatly appreciated. For more information on the members and responsibilities of the Executive Committee, visit the OPCC “Meet Your Board” webpage by clicking HERE. Please contact OPCC Bruce Fryxell (opcc4info@gmail.com) if you’d like to join the OPCC team.

Vice President

Performs the duties of the president in the absence of the president or during a vacancy in that office. Works with the president on management of the club and advises the president on all club-related matters.

Membership Chair

Maintains the membership list and posts updates to the list on the club website. Maintains the calendar e-mail list. Acts as the official club greeter. Provides name badges for all members at in-person meetings.

Print Chair

The Print Chair is responsible for displaying prints for OPCC competitions as well as other programs presented at, or by the club.

Reminder - New Month, New Special Theme

The new special theme is Creative Blur: Motion Blur, Panning, Intention Camera Movement, and More. Shoot in May and submit your photos by Thursday May 27 for projection at the June 3 Member Share Night. This theme invites you to use various techniques to add an artistic sense of movement, or alternatively a painterly effect, to a still photograph. Click HERE to visit the Member Share Night webpage, which includes examples for inspiration and a video showing techniques that could be used to capture Olympic Peninsula motion blur seascapes. For questions, contact Share Chair Susan White (opccphotos@gmail.com).

Please note that images submitted for share nights should be sent to opccphotos@gmail.com. For full instructions on preparing and submitting images for Member Share Nights, click HERE.

Link Referenced by Keith Ross for Correcting Skin Tones at Last Education Night

Click HERE to view and/or download information on correcting skin tones for printing, as referenced by Keith Ross in his presentation for the most recent OPCC Education Night.

You Be The Judge - NWCCC 2021 Traveling Digital Salon OPCC Round 1 Voting Results

In Round 1 of of the Northwest Council of Camera Clubs (NWCCC) Traveling Digital Salon , OPCC members voted for their five favorite images in the submission from the Puget Sound Camera Club. The images receiving the most OPCC votes are shown below. Are your favorites there? Please note that some images are cropped in this view. To view all images submitted by the Puget Sound Camera Club in their full glory, click HERE.

Photographic Society of America (PSA) Inter-Club Competition Results

OPCC PSA Liaison Witta Priester has provided the following summary of OPCC results:

We’ve received the results from the 2020-2021 PSA Inter-club Competition. There were about 100 camera clubs from around the world participating in this PID/Open category, including 16 clubs in our Division (Division F/ Newbies). The competition began last November, so our Club’s entries were restricted to Rounds 2 and 3 for this year.

Although none of our individual images received an Honorable Mention or an Award, three images did score high enough (12/15 points) that they might have received an HM, had they not been entered into a “make-up” round. Congratulations to Lewis Bennett, Peggy McClure, and Bruce Fryxell on these significant scores. Our club’s combined score for each of these two rounds was about average for the clubs in our Division.

Our entries for next season’s first round (due in November) are ready to go. Thanks to all who participated. To view all images submitted by OPCC, click HERE for the Competition Gallery webpage and scroll down to the PSA gallery.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

Northwest Council of Camera Clubs (NWCCC) 2021 Traveling Digital Salon -Deadline for Voting in Round 3 is Saturday May 15.

Voting for Round 3 of the NWCCC Traveling Digital Salon is now in progress. This month we vote on photos from the Mt. Baker Camera Club. It’s easy to vote - just three simple steps. An email with instructions was sent to all members on May 3. If you didn’t receive the link please contact opcc4mail@gmail.com to receive the voting instructions.

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.

In Focus: May 10 - 16