In Focus: July 5 - 11
Chaos - by Colleen Bittner
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 “Chaos” by Colleen Bittner. It was taken during the Wildebest migration in Tanzania in 2019. It’s her personal favorite for not only how it turned out but for the memories of what it took to get the shot.
Wildebest & Zebras gather by the millions to cross the river. Huge groups (this herd that crossed was estimated to include 8000 animals) gather at the top of the banks and can wait for day before one gets brave enough to jump---then they all go. The guide had been watching them for days and felt today was the day. But where along this very long river would they cross? So Colleen and her companions drove back and forth for hours looking for signs of where the animals might cross. It was their last day there. Finally, it happened. Thrill of a lifetime!
Coleen moved to Sequim in 2015 and really wanted to pursue photography now that she would be semi-retired. She tried looking on line for information about the club, but the website had not been updated in many years, so she didn’t know if the club was active. She showed up for a meeting, and when they heard that she used to maintain websites she was their new best friend! She did get the website up and running again. Hmmm this seems familiar—she guesses that she’s destined to be involved with the OPCC website! She is again currently Chair of both the Web and Zoom departments. She also was the OPCC Membership Chair for many years. She wanted to help make the club grow and be vibrant again. She say’s it’s been a great joy to see it grow, especially during the pandemic.
Colleen says that she’s made a lot of very interesting friends through the club and has explored many places she would never have known about in the area thanks to them. She feels her photography has improved a hundred-fold since joining. Members have been very supportive and helpful all along the way.
Colleen started with Nikon but only used it in “Auto” mode. Then in 2015 she went to Canon and finally got a grip on using “Manual” mode on a McKay photography tour Yellowstone in the winter. In 2019, she switched to Olympus micro 4/3 to get the gear weight down. Her favorite form of photography is wildlife, with a close second being landscapes.
In the past 18 months, Colleen really got a chance to dive into post processing using Adobe Lightroom Classic,, Adobe Photoshop, Luminar AI, and the suite of Topaz products. She’s having fun creating art with her photos.
Colleen recently took over Sequimwadailyphotos.com , a photo blog site about Sequim and the surrounding areas. The bulk of her photography, even in these last 5 years has been during travel. This site has forced her to “see” her home town differently, looking for a photo to post each day that shares our area with the outside world.
Colleen Bittner
Have You seen My Mother?
Upper Dungeness
Zion Watchman
Colleen in Action (Photo Credit: Bob Selby)
NEWS
Quote of the Week
“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” – Jay Maisel
A Special Message from OPCC President Bruce Fryxell and Vice President Marian Bodart
We are pleased to announce that all of the vacancies in the OPCC Board of Directors have been filled. Marian Bodart has agreed to be our new Vice President and Dan McKenna is our new Print Chair. In addition, Lori Moilanen has agreed to come back as our Communication Chair and will resume sending out her informative newsletters. We also have our first scheduled get together/field trip since the onset of the pandemic on July 10. We’re very excited about these positive developments.
We would also like to address some confusion that has arisen concerning the relationship between the Monday Zoom Group and the Olympic Peaks Camera Club. The Monday Zoom Group was started by a small group of friends primarily to explore post processing of photographic images. This is a private group that is completely independent from OPCC, even though there is significant overlap in membership. The large number of times the Monday Group has been discussed at OPCC meetings and on the OPCC Facebook page, plus the use of OPCC resources to support their activities, may have led some OPCC members to believe that there was a connection between the two organizations. However, this is not the case.
We are sorry for any hard feelings that resulted when OPCC members tried to join the Monday Zoom Group and were turned away. Although we wish that any OPCC members who tried to join the Monday Group had been admitted, this is a private group, and OPCC has no control over their policies. However, we wish to assure OPCC members that going forward our club will never practice exclusionary policies. No member will ever be turned away from participating in any activity sponsored by OPCC or any activity in which OPCC resources are used. There may be rare occasions where we have to limit the number of participants for an event, but even in these cases, all members will have an equal chance to participate on a first-come basis. Furthermore, the Monday group has promised to never again use club resources for their activities.
On a related issue, in the past, information on core club activities (e.g., Education Night, Share Night, Field Trips, Focus Groups) has frequently been posted only to the club Facebook page. Nearly half of our members do not use Facebook and have been excluded from receiving this important information. As of now, it is the official policy of OPCC that all such information will be provided to all members using whatever forms of communication seem most appropriate, including the webpage, email, calendar, and newsletter as well as Facebook. Anyone posting information of this type to Facebook should contact our Communications Chair (opcc4mail@gmail.com) so that the information can be distributed to the rest of our members.
Please feel free to contact Bruce (opccpres@gmail.com) and Marian (vp4opcc@gmail.com) if you have any questions.
Field Trips are Back - Volunteer Now to Lead an OPCC Outing!
OPCC field Trips are back! And we are looking for field trip leaders! Given Washington COVID guidelines, the OPCC will relaunch field trip program. (We suspended face-to-face field trips in March of 2020.) All field trips will be subject to existing Washington COVID guidelines. Please protect one another and be kind.
Please email OPCC Field Trip Chair Sandy Woods at fieldtrips4opcc@gmail.com if you are willing to organize a field trip. It can be very simple and local and can focus on any type of photography that interests you. By creating a member-led field trip program, we take advantage of the broad expertise and interests of our club members. Field trip leaders select the location, date and time for the event. They simply facilitate the event - organizing the group, being present, and answering questions. Field Trip Chair Sandy Woods is more than happy to talk with you about field trip ideas.
Thanks for considering this and let’s get back to photographing together!
New Month - New Special Theme for Share Night
The special theme for next month’s Member Share Night is Astrophotography. Shoot now and submit your night sky photos by 11:00 PM on Thursday July 29 for sharing at the August 5 Member Share Night. For more information visit the Member Share Night page of the OPCC website by clicking HERE.
Topaz Studio 2 Class Launches
A four-session class on Topaz Studio 2 software launched on Wednesday June 30.. This class, taught by OPCC member Bob Selby, is FREE to OPCC members. Viisit the course description on the Field Trips/Focus Groups page of the OPCC website. Contact Bob (RLSelby131@gmail.com) for more information or to register for the class.
OPCC Welcomes Two New Members
This week we extend a warm welcome to new members Norman Hunter from Sequim and Therese (Tess) Agesson from Port Angeles. We look forward to meeting you virtually and in person!
Voting in Progress for NWCCC 2021 Traveling Digital Salon July Round
The voting link for the July round of the NWCCC 2021 Traveling Digital Salon was sent out in an email on Friday July 2. This month we’re voting on 25 images from the Olympia Camera Club. Contact opcc4mail@gmail.com if you need the voting link to be resent.
You Be The Judge - NWCCC 2021 Traveling Digital Salon OPCC June Voting Results
In June we voted on images from the Mt. Baker Camera Club. Thumbnails of the top images based on OPCC voting are shown below. Are your favorites there? Please note that some images are cropped in this view. To view all images submitted by the Mt. Baker Camera Club in their full glory, click HERE.
#1 Honey Bee
#2 (Tie) Stu - Montana Guide
#2 (Tie) Mama Laysan’s Little Baby
#3 (Tie) Yellowlegs on Stage
#3 (Tie) Northern Lights
COMING UP THIS WEEK
OPCC Carrie Blake Field Trip Outing and Celebration
JOIN US!!! It’s a happening and a celebration!
Please bring a lawn chair or two in case needed.
When: Saturday, July 10 at 9:30 AM (rain or shine).
Where: Picnic Shelter opposite the Guy Cole Event Center at Carrie Blake Park — 202 N Blake Ave, Sequim.
What: Photography (before, after, or both), visiting, coffee and donuts.
Photography could include birds in the ponds, photojournalism on the soccer fields or in the dog park or skateboard area, flowers in the garden, or portraiture if you ask someone to “sit” for you.
Please plan to share your best 3-4 photos after this field trip (share details to follow). It’s always fascinating to see what other photographers shoot and capture at the same venue.
Questions? Contact Witta Priester (witta@aol.com) or 360-565-6655.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Visit the OPCC Website for more information on these events.
Member Share Night - Monthly Themes and More
For more information visit the Member Share Night page on OPCC website by clicking HERE. For questions, contact Share Night/Projection Chair Susan White at opccphotos@gmail.com.
Education Night
For more information visit the Education Night web page on the OPCC website. For questions contact OPCC Program Chair Ardythe Wendt (opcc4education@gmail.com).
Field Trips
For more information visit the Field Trips page on the OPCC Website. For questions contact OPCC Field Trip Chair Sandy Woods at fieldtrips4opcc@gmail.com.
Focus Group
For more information visit the Field Trips/Focus Groups page on the OPCC website.