This e-newsletter contains OPCC events, reminders, and news and will be published on the first Sunday of each month. Please contact opcc4news@gmail.com to make contributions to the Newsletter. Except in unusual situations, contributions are due at noon on the Friday before publication.

The operation of The Olympic Peaks Camera Club is totally reliant upon volunteers. Due to recent resignations, many of our current volunteers are performing multiple duties and are overworked. In order for us to continue to provide the services and events you have come to expect, WE NEED YOUR HELP. Any sort of assistance is most welcome. Please contact opccpres@gmail.com to find out how you can help.

Welcome to New OPCC Members

Please extend a warm welcome to our newest member, Daniel Mulkey of Port Angeles. Daniel is a returning member from last year. We’re glad to have you back!

NEWS

Field Trip Chair

Ellen Bogenschutz has resigned as our Field Trip Chair, effectively immediately. We wish to take this opportunity to thank her for all of the wonderful field trips she organized for us. She will be missed. Feel free to contact her to express your appreciation.

We are looking for a volunteer to take Ellen’s place. Fortunately, she has already completed most of the work for organizing the field trips for the remainder of this year. All that remains is to finalized a few last-minute details. If you are willing to help out, please contact opccpres@gmail.com.

Executive Committee Meeting

The next meeting of our Executive Committee will be held on Thursday, April 27 via Zoom. All members are encouraged to attend to learn what is going on behind the scenes or to express your concerns to the Board.

Blackbird Coffee Shop Exhibit

If you are going to be in Port Angeles in April and get hankerin’ for a great cup of coffee, stop on by the Blackbird Coffee Shop at the corner of 8th and Peabody. Not only do they have wonderful coffee, but our fellow members Susan White and Marian Bodart are sharing wall space and displaying images throughout April.

Susan is showing prints from her Fall 2022 adventure in Italy. Several of the images can be previewed in her club portfolio: Grazie Italia. This beautiful collection of (mostly) black and white images reflects Susan’s artistic eye and love for Italy.

Marian is showing a new collection of images, titled “Just Swell”. These are in-camera-motion wave photographs that she captured during the 2022 – 2023 winter storm season. All were taken at either La Push, Cape Disappointment or Yachats.

Drop in, have a cup of coffee, linger, and enjoy the very different but equally engaging images. If you stop by between 10:00 - 12:00 on April 5, Susan and Marian will be there to greet you in person.

Portfolio Workshop

The final event of the Portfolio Workshop took place last Thursday, where 10 of the 13 participants discussed their portfolios at a hybrid meeting at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. In additional to those attending in person, four additional members signed on via Zoom. Everyone agreed that hearing the stories behind the portfolios really brought them to life. If you haven't had a chance to look at the Member Portfolios, please spend a few minutes exploring the images. You can view them under the Galleries Tab on the website or by clicking HERE. Thanks again to Lori for organizing the workshop and guiding all of the participants through the process of developing their portfolios.

NWCCC Networking Conference

The NWCCC Networking Conference will be held on April 22 via Zoom. There will be four separate meetings with the following topics:

11 :00– 11:45 Education Resources, Mentoring, and Field Trips

1:00 – 1:45 Online and Hybrid Meetings: Resources, Protection from Zoom Bombing, Visual Pursuits Program

2:00 – 2:45 Business Topics for Camera Clubs: Round table Discussion

3:00 – 3:45 Websites, Newsletters, Communication with Members

Each meeting will be a discussion with a volunteer Facilitator(s) that are knowledgeable in the specific area. All participants in the meeting are invited to comment; there may be a short presentation on the topic followed by a Q & A session. Meetings are intended to be 45 minutes long including the Q & A. There will be a separate Zoom code for each meeting.

Clallam County Fair

From Lewis Bennett:

OPCC will once again run the Photography Barn at the Clallam County Fair this year. The Fair runs from Thursday, Aug 17th through Sunday, Aug 20. Photo intake will be Sunday, Aug 13, between noon and 6 p.m., and Monday, Aug 14, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. We will hang the photos and judging will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The fair is getting the Judge, so we will not even know who it is until that person shows up. We need people from our club to volunteer for two to four-hour shifts. It is not hard work. Lewis Bennett has volunteered to be the Superintendent, because many people from our club said they would volunteer! Without people helping, the Photo Barn at the Fair cannot continue!

We will have a short information and planning meeting sometime in May to make a battle plan! More to come later. If you have any questions please send email to Lewis at lewiswbennett1@gmail.com or call or text him at (832) 830-2958.

Thanks in advance for your support and help!

Nature Photographers Network

An interesting website for nature photographers suggested by our newest member Daniel Mulkey is https://www.naturephotographers.network . Current members include moderators Dennis Plank from Olympia Camera Club and Jagdeep Rajput, who was one of our speakers in 2021, presenting live from India. William Neill, author of the Portfolio Workshop Book, is also a member. Cost of joining is $49 per year.

SPEAKER SERIES

Liron Gertsman - Astrophotography 101 - Thursday April 20 at 7:00 PM

Shoot for the stars! Tune in on April 20th to hear Liron Gertsman’s Astrophotography 101 presentation. Liron is semi-local, living in the Vancouver area, and a recent science grad from the University of British Columbia. His presentation will contain nuggets of information for in-the-field techniques, gear, and post processing to create spectacular night sky images. He uses his scientific background to enhance his passion for art and visual storytelling. Liron’s work has been widely recognized and awarded, sweeping the professional category of the 2022 Audubon Photography Awards and earning a Highly Commended designation in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. For more information about the talk, consult the website.

Use the OPCC Education Night Zoom Code to access this meeting. Click HERE for the OPCC Zoom Codes webpage.

MEMBER SHARING

We will have two Share Night Meetings before the publication of the next Newsletter.

The first meeting will be on April 6, at 7:00 PM. The special topic will be Macro/Water Drops.

The second meeting will be on May 4, at 7:00 PM. The special topic will be Perspectives (Depth of Field / Vanishing Points / Bokeh).

Both meetings will be hybrid events, with the in-person meeting at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sequim. Anyone not wanting to attend the in-person meeting at the church will still be able to participate via Zoom as usual.

Use the OPCC Member Share Night Zoom Code to access this meeting. Click HERE for the OPCC Zoom Codes webpage.

For more information or questions about OPCC Member Share/Competition Night, consult the website or contact Member Share Night Chair Dan McKenna (opccphotos@gmail.com).

FIELD TRIPS, WORKSHOPS, & MEET-UPS

Toad Frenzy

From Gail Kimmett:

Every Spring hundreds of toads migrate to my pond for their mating ritual. It’s a fascinating show of nature and fun to photograph. This happens any time in the first 3 weeks of April, and there’s no way to predict exactly when the frenzy starts. The smaller males show up first, just floating on the surface of the water. Within a day or two the females appear, and the couples form right away. Sadly, there are never enough females for all the males to pair up with. The whole process lasts about a week. Eggs are laid around day 6. Anyone interested is welcome to come for a fairly spontaneous photo opportunity at 3605 Lost Mountain Road in Sequim. The best time of day is between 2 and 5 pm when the sun is in the west. Starting now, I’ll go down to the pond daily to look for the first males to appear, and I’ll send out an email to let everyone know when day 3, 4 and 5 (the best days to photograph) will happen, . For more information, contact me at gkimmett@yahoo.com.

"Wildlife Photographer of the Year" Exhibit at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria

We had another very successful field trip off the peninsula on March 25. Seven members participated and had the opportunity to view the spectacular images of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit at the Royal BC Museum. After a delightful lunch at the Bard and Banker Pub, where we had our own private room, we had the opportunity to explore the city and practice our skills at street photography. This is a reminder to all participants to submit your best six images to the Field Trip Gallery by clicking HERE.

April 15, 2023: Mat Cutting Workshop

We will be holding a hands-on workshop on how to cut mats for framing photographs on April 15 at 10:00 am at the Solana Community Clubhouse. We will have mat cutting equipment available. Just bring your own mat boards. This will be a great opportunity for those wishing to participate in either of the gallery exhibits described below. More information about this event will be coming soon.

Additional Photo Opportunities

These are suggestions from Daniel Mulkey, our newest member:

Annual Harney County Migratory Bird Festival

April 13-16 in Burns, Oregon (Southeastern Oregon). For more information, their website is https://www.migratorybirdfestival.com.

Malheur NWR

Twenty miles from Burns, Oregon. There is an auto tour of the refuge, and although you are allowed to get out and shoot, you are encouraged to use your car as a blind. You will see many species from the auto tour road. Take a lunch and drinks with you and plan on spending the day on the refuge. For more information, see https://www.fws.gov/refuge/malheur.

Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge

Located about two hours south of Malheur NWR. For more information, check out https://www.fws.gov/refuge/hart-mountain-national-antelope.

Osprey in Everett

There is a Spring influx of osprey into Spencer Island and the North/South View park in Everett. These parks are at the beginning of the Cascade Loop of the Great Washington Birding Trail (https://wa.audubon.org/birds/great-washington-state-birding-trail). For more information on the parks, go to https://www.everettwa.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/North-and-South-View-Parks-153.

COMPETITION/IMAGE EVALUATION

PSA Interclub Round 2 Results for the PID Monochrome Competition

The results for the second round of the PSA Interclub PID Monochrome Competition have been released. Unfortunately, OPCC did not do as well in this round. None of our images received either a Merit Award or an Honorable Mention, although a few came close. Round 3 of both the Color and Monochrome Competitions are yet to come before the final standings are determined.

NWCCC Travelling Image Salon

Be sure to vote for the next round of the NWCCC Travelling Image Salon. This month we are voting on entries from the Puget Sound Camera Club. The links have been updated on our OPCC website for viewing and voting for this month’s gallery. To vote, click HERE or go to https://www.olympicpeakscameraclub.org/competition-nwccctis.

Gallery Exhibition Opportunities

Sequim Museum and Arts

We are continuing our work to put together the OPCC exhibit at the Sequim Museum and Arts for this coming June and July. You should have received an email survey requesting information on the number and size of the prints you wish to display. We need the information to decide how to allocate the available space. If you wish to participate and have not already done so, please fill out the survey ASAP. If you have any questions, contact opccpres@gmail.com.

Lakeshore Gallery in Kirkland

For those planning to participate in the NWCCC exhibit at the Lakeshore Gallery in Kirkland, you should have received a form to fill out with your entry and instructions by email. The deadline for submitting low resolution jpeg versions of your images for the jury along with the form is April 12. If you have any questions, contact Stephen Shoff by email at sshoff.cp@gmail.com or Sam Ruljancich, NWCCC Print Director, at samrul@msn.com, or by phone at (206) 371-7766.

In Focus: April 2023