In Focus: May 2024
Suzanne Anaya - “The Olympics”
Best in Show - TPS Spring Fair Photo Contest
This e-newsletter contains OPCC events, reminders, and news and will be published on the first Sunday of each month. Please send contributions to the newsletter to opcc4news@gmail.com. Contributions are due at noon on the Friday before publication, but if time permits, we will attempt to accommodate late contributions.
Welcome to New OPCC Members
Please extend a warm welcome to our newest member, Danielle Dorrell from Orting, Washington. Welcome to OPCC!
NEWS
PSA Interclub Round 3 Results
From Witta Priester:
The results from Round 3 of the PID Color Inter-club results have just been announced, and OPCC made another good showing. Marian Bodart received a Merit Award for “Winter Stillness” and Suzanne Anaya received a Merit Award for “Varied Thrush”. Both photos earned 13 points out of a maximum 15 possible. In addition, OPCC tied for 5th place out of 20 clubs in the Year-end results in Group E.
TPS Spring Fair Photo Contest
OPCC members had great success in the photo competition in the Tacoma Photographic Society Spring Fair Photo Contest this year. Suzanne Anaya earned Best in Show for her photo “The Olympics” (see above), Best of Creative for “Psychedelic Heron”, Judge’s Choice for “Nighttime Impalas, and Honorable Mention for “Flamingos with Shadows”. Peg Hanson received the 3rd Place award for “Statues Posing for Selfie” and Honorable Mention for “Catch Me If You Can”.
Clallam County Fair Photo Competition
It is time to start thinking about this year’s Clallam County Fair, which will be held from Aug 15-18. The rules for the Photo Competition have changed considerably from last year. This year’s rules can be found by clicking HERE. They will also be posted to our website. Pictures can be dropped off at the fairground on August 11-12. As was the case last year, we will need volunteers to operate the photo barn, and a sign up sheet will be posted to the website later in the year.
Photos and Poems
From Kevin Talbot:
We have started the "Poems and Photos" collaboration with the Olympic Peninsula Author's group and created a gallery for the submissions. The instructions for uploading your images is available HERE, and the image gallery can be viewed by clicking HERE. The deadline to submit (two images max per person) is May 12. The Olympia Camera Club is also joining the collaboration. As of May 5, we have 16 images submitted. The photos and poems from our previous collaboration can be reviewed by clicking HERE. Please contact Kevin Talbot at kevin.talbot@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Florida Field Trip Slide Show
We will be holding a special meeting on Thursday, May 9 at 7:00 PM, where everyone who participated in the Florida bird photography field trip can show their best images to the entire club. The meeting will be held online using the standard club Zoom code. Each participant can upload a maximum of 15 images to the website using the button to Upload Field Trip Photos for Galleries with the photo naming convention FLA-II-NN Title.JPG, where II is the photographer’s initials, and NN is a two-digit sequence number to indicate the order in which the picture will be shown. All images will also be collected into a field trip gallery on the website.
SPEAKER SERIES
John Gregor - Printing - May 16, 2024, 7:00 PM
Join us on May 16th when John Gregor presents his tips and techniques on printing.
John will cover how to make good-looking prints from our images including the process of making high-quality fine-art prints. He will cover his digital image workflow, from post-processing of the digital original (using either Lightroom or Camera Raw), to massaging pixels to perfect tone, color, and sharpness (with Photoshop history brush, histograms, levels and curves, proper burning and dodging and sharpening for print).
John has a Master of Education through St. Scholastica College with an emphasis on photographic literacy. He earned his BA from the University of Minnesota with a degree from the University Without Walls program. His combined degree in Social Sciences and Fine Art Photography was entitled “Documentary Expression of American Culture Through Photography”.
Field Trips and Workshops
Annual Picnic
Save the date. Our Annual Picnic will be held at Salt Creek on August 24 from 11:00 to 2:00. The club will provide hot dogs and hamburgers. The rest will be potluck. Watch for more information.
NWCCC News
From Stephen Shoff:
2024 NWCCC Traveling Image Salon
Voting is open now for May. This month OPCC is voting on images from The Puget Sound Camera Club. To view and vote for the images, click HERE and follow the appropriate links. Each month's voting must be completed by the 25th of the month. For “judging” and voting instructions, please review the first several paragraphs of the “Overview of the NWCCC Traveling Salon” on the web page. Please remember to vote.
OPCC's monthly voting participation in the TIS has increased each month during this year's round of voting. Fifteen members voted in April. For reference, we have 42 club members, 9 of which submitted images to the competition. That is a pretty good participation rate. It is good to see that non-submitting members are showing interest in experiencing the range of photographic expression across our region and taking advantage of the opportunity to practice critical evaluation skills. Thank you.
Our particpation in the TIS has not gone unappreciated outside our club. OPCC received the following communication from the president of the Bellingham Photo Club.
“Hello, Olympic Peaks. Lorraine Day here, president of the Bellingham Photo Club. I just finished this month's round of voting for the NWCCC's Traveling Image Salon and am moved to contact you and let you know that I found your club's entries to be the best collection of photos I've seen in the competition. Out of 25 images, I've flagged 18 for my first round of 'pick' -- incredible. Your members should be very proud!”
NWCCC Bimonthly Executive Committee Meeting
NWCCC's bimonthly executive committee meeting was held on Sat., May 4. It interesting to note that clubs holding in-person meetings reported significantly increased interest in print sharing and internal print competitions. A resumption of the Traveling Print Salon in 2025 was also discussed. A suggestion was made to reduce the print size for the competition to make mailing the prints easier and cheaper using envelopes rather than the large rigid print mailing boxes. This would only happen, however, if enough clubs show an interest in participating. Please contact your NWCCC Delegate Stephen Shoff at sshoff.cp@gmail.com to express your feedback on the possibility of resuming the Traveling Print Salon.
The annual conference is tentative but anticipated to be held in the Bellingham area hosted by several local camera clubs. Please block out the Saturdays of November 9 and 16, 2024 on your calendars as tentative dates for this 1-day conference. If the conference is held, it will focus on interpersonal networking via the Digital and Print Salon competitions and local photographic field trips replacing an online education component. There is the possibility of a nationally renowned keynote speaker as well. View it as an opportunity to explore less well-known photographic venues in the region and get to meet other photographers whose work we often see and appreciate.
Importantly, though, and like OPCC, NWCCC needs support at the organizational level as well as the event level in order to continue. Several organizational roles have not been filled for the 2024 year and are being filled on an interim or ad-hoc basis. Elections for 2025 officers are scheduled in late October/November for the 2025 calendar year. Business is generally conducted online via Zoom, so geographic location should not be barrier. Please consider volunteering for posts in NWCCC for next year. Contact NWCC Delegate Stephen Shoff at sshoff.cp@gmail.com if you have interest.
Additional Photo Opportunity
Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons at Seabeck
From Kevin Talbot:
Seabeck time is coming. Periods of favorable tides are May 21-23 and June 3-6. We can consider a club field trip if there is sufficient interest and a volunteer to organize the event.
Photo Contest
Black Ball Ferry Line Calendar Contest
From Marian Bodart:
We’ve all taken the Black Ball Ferry. Here’s your chance to show off images that you’ve taken of the Ferry and to win prizes in the process. Prizes will include 17 free trips on the ferry. 13 entrants will be featured in the first Black Ball calendar in 2025. For more information and to enter the contest, click HERE.