In Focus: October 2023
Rebecca Hanson — “I Know I Can Reach It”
First Place in Nature and Animals, Washington State Fair
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 both opcc4news@gmail.com and allanb38@gmail.com. Contributions are due at noon on the Friday before publication, but if time permits, late contributions may be accomodated.
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.
Our most pressing current need is finding people to help with field trips. To help support field trips and planning, we need more volunteers and a permanent Field Trip Chair. Please consider helping us. To find out our other current needs and to volunteer to help, check out the Volunteer Page on our website by clicking HERE.
Welcome to New OPCC Members
"Please extend a warm welcome to our newest members, Daniel and Sasha Parrott of Port Angeles, and Harry and Tristan Bell, also of Port Angeles. Welcome to OPCC!"
NEWS
Washington State Fair
Congratulations to our members for their success in the Washington State Fair photo competition. Judith Lilly had five photos accepted, and won a Judge’s Choice award for her photo “Ghost Rider”. Lewis Bennett had six photos accepted and received a First Place in the Creative category for his photo “Everything is Star Stuff” and an Honorable Mention for “Seattle April, 1, 2023 - No Joke” in the Great Cascadia category. Rebecca Hanson had three acceptances and won First Place in Nature and Animals for her photo “I Know I Can Reach It” and an Honorable Mention, also in Nature and Animals, for “Springtime Bounty”. In addition, Sally Harris had five images accepted and Dana Martell had two.
OPCC Website Award
From Peggy McClure:
The revamped OPCC website was entered in the 2023 PSA Website Interclub Competition. This year the club was included in the medium size club group, which is much larger than the small club group from 2022. Again, we were awarded an Honorable Mention.
PSA Judges’ Comments:
“Very impressive website design. I love all the galleries. The newsletter blog is very nice as well. This is a great website design template, and your content is well organized, devoid of clutter.”
2023-2024 PSA INTERCLUB ENTRIES
From Peggy McClure:
The entries are in and have been posted to the website for your viewing. There are three slide shows, one for each Division (Color, Monochrome, Nature) we will be entering. The photos have been forwarded to multiple judges for the preliminary selection of images that will be submitted to PSA. Once these judges have scored the images, the scores will be aggregated, and the top six images in each Division will be submitted to PSA. We will have to make certain that each image submitted in each round and Division is from a different photographer. Click HERE to view the slideshows.
THIRD ANNUAL WOW COMPETITION
From Peggy McClure:
Click HERE to see the rules for submitting your images for the WOW Competition. Remember that this is a fun competition in which the WOW factor of the image is more important than the technical aspects of the image. ALL members are encouraged to participate, and ALL members should vote on their favorites. The winners will be announced at the Year End meeting on December 7 and will be featured on the website in 2024.
NWCCC Annual Conference
From Stephen Shoff:
Put it on your calendar! The NWCCC Annual Conference will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2023 from 1:00 to 5:00 PM at
Calvary Lutheran Church, 2415 S 320th St., Federal Way, WA
There will be two in-person presentations by Jack Graham, a well-known and, until recently, local photographer and workshop leader.
Additionally, this is an opportunity to network with other photographers around the Puget Sound. Meet some of the people whose images you've been reviewing in the Traveling Image Salon, view the print exhibition for the entries to the 2023 Open Print Salon, and participate in the People's Choice award for the Print Salon.
This is the “in-person” component of the 2023 NWCCC Conference. Included in the registration fee is a series of four additional online classes covering a range of topics (AI, Infrared, Extreme Macro, Architectural photography) that we haven't covered in our own education series.
Registration is now open, and the registration fee is $60. Full details are available at: https://nwcameraclubs.org.
There is still time to enter the three competitions (Open Print Salon, Open Digital Salon, and Digital Slideshow) that are held during the Annual Conference. The entry deadline has been extended to October 10. The rules, guidelines, submission instructions, and entry forms for the 2023 competitions have been published at https://nwcameraclubs.org/competitions/. Highlights and links to the Rules and Guidelines for each of the competitions are posted on the OPCC Sponsored Competitions page HERE. Please refer to the NWCCC website for the full Rules and Submissions instructions.
Hurricane Ridge
From Kevin Talbot:
The road to hurricane ridge is now open with no daily car count limits. However, due to some small wildfires in the area, there are intermittent closures. Always check the park website before going at https://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm.
SPEAKER SERIES
JP Stones - Storytelling for Photographers - October 19, 2023, 7:00 PM
The October 19 education night speaker is JP Stones. He will be discussing “Storytelling for Photographers”. JP has spent the last 5 years photographing the same group of Mexica, or Aztec, dancers. In that time, he changed his entire creative process. Using examples from his cultural photography work in Mexico, JP explores different ways to improve the emotional connections. He will discuss how we can focus our creative decisions and ensure we create cohesive work. Join us for this fascinating look into how to create an emotional connection through photography.
Thibault Roland - February 2024
Our February 2024 education night speaker is Thibault Roland. He is a professional Fine Art photographer and educator specializing in Black and White photography, with a preference for landscapes, seascapes and architecture. He is supported by some of the leading companies in the photo industry, and he is one of the Sony Artisans of Imagery. Previously an instructor at the New England School of Photography, Thibault teaches workshops and gives seminars internationally. Today, he lives in Portland, Oregon with his lovely wife, Clara, and their mischievous puppy, Skye.
Thibault asked that we share his upcoming workshop schedule with the club:
3-day in depth workshops focused on long exposure:
Palouse October 07-08, 2023:
Subjects: abandoned houses, barns, lone trees, wind turbines...
South Oregon Coast October 21-23, 2023:
Subjects: seascapes, sea stacks (large rocks in the ocean), bridges...
For more details, or to register on his website, click HERE.
FIELD TRIPS, WORKSHOPS, & MEET-UPS
Fort Worden Field Trip
Eight OPCC members met at the Kinzie Battery at Ford Worden on September 16. After photographing the battery and lighthouse area for about an hour, we went on a nice hike around Artillery Hill, where there were many additional photo opportunities. A gallery of photos taken from this field trip can be found by clicking HERE. Please upload your photos if you have not already done so.
Port Townsend Kinetic Sculpture Race -Saturday, October 7 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Field Trip Leader - Peg Hanson
It’s a Kaptivating Event that you don’t want to miss:
"These kineticnauts and their wacky Kontraptions; have won the hearts, and imaginations of all who witness this eccentric, eclectic pageantry of human powered machinery.” Find details at http://www.ptkineticrace.org.
Carpoolers - please meet at the Sequim QFC parking lot by 10:00 am, Saturday for the drive to PT. (Check with Peg if you need a ride - see how below).
There is no event parking, but the Port Townsend Safeway has a shuttle lot where you can park and take the free shuttle to downtown. Otherwise, park on the street wherever you can.
At 11:00 am, there is a racer’s meeting at U.S. Bank parking lot, 1239 Water St., where you will have a chance to photograph the Kontraptions and costumed participants before the race.
The Parade will start at Water Street at approximately 12:00 pm and proceed NE to the American Legion Hall, up the hill on Monroe to a turnaround point at Monroe & Lawrence, then down Water Street again for one loop through Point Hudson Harbor. They will enter the water at the public ramp and cross the water to the Union Wharf Dock, return to the public ramp, exit the water, make another loop around Point Hudson, and then continue down to the Finish Line in front of the American Legion.
After the race, we will either revisit the Marrowstone Winery, like last year, at 3:00 PM or gather for lunch in town at Tommy Knockers at 2:30 PM. Please RSVP to Peg Hanson at jpegprofiles@comcast.net to confirm that you’re going and to vote for which after-race activity you prefer.
Florida “Field Trip”
Our next Florida ‘field trip’ planning meeting is scheduled for October 25th via Zoom. Mark your calendars - all who are interested in joining our February 2024 outing to Florida are welcome. If you are not already on the mailing list, please contact Marian Bodart at sacton8v@verizon.net for more information or to obtain the Zoom code for the meeting.