1 Mar 2017

FOCUS

Newsletter of the Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club

Hosted by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County www.naturecameraclub.com

Up Coming Programs

March 6 - Night Photography by Steve Ornberg,

Flower Photography by Sue Gajda and Seeing in Black

and White by Bill Dixon

March 6 – Postcard competition

March 20 – Competition

April 3 - Printing on Canvas, Mounting on Stretcher

Bars, and Framing Materials by Chuck Klingsporn

March 6th

Postcard Competition

Over the last few years, quite a few of our

members have participated in the annual

CACCA Postcard Competition with considerable

success. After our competition on March 6, all

of our entries will be entered into the CACCA

event held on April 8. Copied below are some

of the pertinent rules from the CACCA website.

You are allowed 2 entries. All entries, not just

the ones selected as “winners‟ at our local

competition, will be entered in the CACCA

contest. Get in on the fun!! Everyone will vote

before the meeting, and we will award prizes to

the First, Second, and Third Place Winners.

Please have your post cards entered by 6:45

pm, so that we will get a chance to vote.

CACCA Postcard Competition Rules

1. Each participating photographer must be a current member in good standing of a CACCA camera club

chapter. A maximum of two postcard entries are allowed per member, regardless of the number of CACCA

camera club chapters the member may belong to.

2. The front of each postcard entry must be in the form of a 4 inch x 6 inch photographic print, either color or

monochrome, oriented horizontally or vertically, with or without a border.

3. While alphanumeric text or symbols in any color or font/type/style is permitted, names or monograms

indicating the maker’s identity must not appear on the front of the entry.

4. The back of each postcard entry must display image title, maker name, email address and/or phone number,

and camera club name.

5. While digital modifications are freely allowed, the postcard entry is to be wholly the work of the maker.

6. Entries will be judged on impact, creativity, image quality, and fulfillment of the general characteristics of a

good postcard as the judges discern. A Best of Show will be chosen as well as Awards and Honorable Mentions,

and ribbons will be issued accordingly.

Non-winning entries will be returned to the local club. Winning postcard entries will be retained by CACCA and

mounted on a presentation panel for display at the 2017 CACCA Awards Banquet.

2 Mar 2017

Fun with Flowers by Sue Gajda

Flowers are a common subject for photographers. First, they are beautiful with wonderful colors and shapes. But beyond that, flowers are versatile subjects. You can photograph them throughout the year. Spring, summer and fall are great for outdoor flower photography. But, flower photography can be done indoors as well - something to do on a snowy or rainy day. You can photograph flowers to learn basic photography techniques. The skills needed to do good photos of flowers can be applied to any type of photograph. You can get creative. Techniques, equipment and post -processing are all ways to explore your creativity when photographing flowers. Join us to explore fun with flowers. Sue Gajda is a past President and Competition Chairperson at Mayslake. Photography became her retirement hobby after taking at the Morton Arboretum and attending local and travel workshops. Artist Statement: During my career in the business world, we often laughed at the cartoon about development of a new computer system. It showed an input at one end, an output on the other end, and in between a big cloud where “magic happens.” My take on photography is pretty much the same. The photographer sees something. The photographer shares what he/she has seen. In between “magic happens.” That in-between magic is what fascinates me about photography. It’s why we can all be standing in the same place and see different things. It’s why photography goes beyond the tools - cameras, lenses, filters, software. It’s why a good photograph not only records a point in time but also put some emotion into that moment. A good photograph makes us think and feel. That’s pretty powerful. Why does that happen? I don’t know. But I do hope that my photographs leave the viewer feeling a part of that “magic.”

Start Seeing in Black and White by Bill Dixon

Shooting images in color and then wondering whether to convert the image to black and white employs a very different mindset from setting out and seeing the world in black and white. Parameters of a world without color force us to see things differently, to stretch and work out our photographic eye muscles, and that in turn pushes us creatively. There are many advantages when you remove the element of color from the composition and rely strictly on form, contrast and textures to give the images interest and impact. In this presentation, Bill will explore the question “why shoot in black and white”?

Bill Dixon purchased his first SLR camera in 1970 and began processing and printing black and white photos in his makeshift darkroom. While studying photography at the College of DuPage, Bill became familiar with the works of the early masters, such as Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. “I was drawn to one artist in particular - Edward Weston. His way of capturing texture and tonal qualities of mundane objects intrigued and inspired me.”

March 6 Presentations

Bill Dixon

3 Mar 2017

Update - Open Board Positions for the New Club

Year

We have two vacancies on the board for the upcoming club year, which

begins May 1.

Membership Chairperson

Outings Coordinator. The Outings Coordinator can be a shared

position, either standing on its own, linked to the Yahoo group, or

some combination of the two.

Please email naturephotosclub@gmail.com if you can to help.

Introduction to Night Photography by Steve Ornberg

Steve will share night photography tips and techniques that he has learned in the last year from several workshops and photo shoots. He will review the various types of night photography and concentrate on the following on star point and Milky Way photography:

Planning for Night Photo Shoots

Recommended Gear

Camera Settings

Composition

Light Painting

Post Processing Tips

Information Resources

Steve Ornberg has been taking photos since 1970. He switched to digital in 2004 while traveling the world as part of his work. His primary focus has been landscape and wildlife photography. Steve joined the Mayslake club in 2010 to further his photography and nature knowledge. He recently became interested in night photography after getting a full frame camera and taking a few night photography workshops.

Homestead Milky Way by Steve

Ornberg

4 Mar 2017

Wonders of Winter Photo Contest Winners

Here are the winners from the Photo Contest held as one of the activities at the “Wonders of Winter” Event.

First Place Aspen Beauty Mirror, by Harry Hitzeman Second Place Jordan Pond, by Marcia Nye Third Place Crystal Mirror, by Steve Ornberg

Thank you to Mitchell Stemler and Barbara Dunn, who staffed the club table for the

event.

Back Again! Mayslake Image of the Year!!

At this year’s Fourth Annual Members’ Night on May 1, we will again conduct voting for the Image of the Year. Mayslake has four competitions in each Club year where digital images and prints are scored each time by three judges. The highest scoring images receive Awards or Honorable Mentions. Here is your chance to be a judge and vote for the Mayslake Nature Study and Photography Club “Image of the Year.” Be the Judge After our last competition for this Club year on March 20, a new section on the Mayslake website will be created with the images that won Awards in Competition for this Club year (September/2016 - March/2017). Digital award winning images will be loaded from the competition files. Makers of prints that won awards will be asked to submit a digital version of their image. When the website is up, members will be notified. The images will NOT have Maker’s Name, or Class, or Score, or Titles, just a NUMBER. Select your Top 10. We will give you a few days to review the images, hopefully more than once, and think about your top 10. Vote After a few days, you will receive a link to a Survey Monkey voting site. There will be 10 “fill in the blank” questions where you can enter the NUMBER of each of your Top 10. Enter your Top 10 and send the form back! Come to Members’ Night The top images chosen by the members in the on-line vote will be displayed at the 3rd Annual Members’ Night on May 1. Members who attend Members’ Night will then vote on the Image of the Year. The winning image will be announced at the end of the Members’ Night.

Don’t miss this chance to join in on the fun!

5 Mar 2017

Photo Hunt Slide Show

It’s time for you to select your favorite images for the “Photo Hunt” slide show which will be held at

our Members’ Night on May 1Every member can submit up to 12 images, in any combination of

the following categories:

1. Frost: The main subject of your picture is covered with frost.

2 .Wildlife: A mosquito or an elephant or anything in between.

3. Water: A lake, a river, a stream, a puddle, or a drop....

4. Three: Find a trio - three leaves, three petals, three trees.....

5. Frozen: Something that has been changed by the coldest weather.

6. The Season: Fall, Winter, Spring. How do you see the season? Do one, two or all three.

7. Fall Color: Yellow, Orange, Red, Burgundy. Landscape or Macro.

8. Sunrise / Sunset: First Morning or Last Evening light.

9. Fungus / Mushrooms / Moss: This category is self-explanatory.

10. Signs of Spring: The first flowers, budding trees, migrating birds.

11. Abstract: Concentrate on the lines, curves, color, texture of a subject without revealing your

subject.

12. Outside the Box: Try a new lens, a new technique, shoot from up high or down low, put your

subject smack dab in the middle. Photograph differently than you normally do.

Images should be in .jpg format and to make emailing easier, not more than 1000 pixels

on the longest side. File names should be formatted as follows – if your image is Fall Color - 7 would

be in the first spot of your image name followed by a Title and your name. The first spot of your

image name should always correspond to the category number.Ie: 7 Red Leaf Barbara Dunn

Please make the Email Subject title: “Photo Hunt”. The last date to submit images for the slideshow is

April 20. But no need to wait until then!! Send them anytime to Fran Piepenbrink at

frannnep@netzero.net.

This is a great opportunity to share your images with fellow Club members in the

social setting of Members’ Night. We hope to see you ... and your images on May 1.

Competition Night - March 20

Our last competition for the club year will be held on March 20. The deadline for submitting digital images is Sunday March 12. Please check the website for instructions and forms. Also, remember that make-up images are only allowed for those members who act as judges. By submitting either prints or digital images in competition, you can receive individual honors, have images submitted to CACCA inter-club competition and have images eligible for Image of the Year. But, even if you decide you don’t want to submit images for competition, consider attending competition night to see the scoring and hear the critiques. Both are great learning opportunities.

6 Mar 2017

Exhibits Fred Drury

Both of the current exhibits, one at Mayslake and the other at the Westchester

Library (10700 Canterbury, Westchester, IL 708 562 3573) are now hung and have been well received by viewers. There are 14 images in the Mayslake

show and 16 at the Westchester Library. Following the ‘Winter to Spring’ exhibit will be a summer exhibit whose theme

is ‘Fur, Fin or Feather’. It will run from about May 20 to about August 26. Start planning now! I’m going to add ‘Location’ to the info labels that are

attached to the displayed images, so I’d like the following information for each of your ‘Fur, Fin or Feather’ images: Title, Location, Size, and Price (or ‘Not for

Sale’).

FYI, I think I’m seeing a slight increase in the number of images being

submitted for exhibit and it’s a trend I hope will continue. If you have any suggestions for additional exhibits locations or suggestions which would

encourage increased member participation, please drop me an email at: fred@marklandimaging.com or give me a call at 630 665 6598.

Messenger Woods Outing Update

The objective of this outing is to catch the peak of the Bloodroot bloom.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) is one of the very first of spring

wildflowers to emerge, and I don’t think we’re far from it. I’ve made a couple

of trips to the park to check progress and as of last Wednesday (2/21) there

was no sign of ephemeral emergence.

I’m going to take another ‘road trip’ to check it out later today (2/28), and will

report back to those of you who’ve asked to be notified of conditions. If you

want to add you name to that list, just drop me an email at:

fred@marklandimaging.com or give me a call at 630 665 6598.

One final note: as you can see in the Brochure at:

http://www.reconnectwithnature.org/FileManager/MessengerWoodsWildflower

Brochure.pdf, there’s a wide variety of spring flowers at Messenger Woods, so

if you miss the Bloodroot bloom there’s many other opportunities coming.

7 Mar 2017

DayBreak Sanctuary Outing

Sunday, August 6, 2017

Alma, IL We will be meeting at DayBreak Sanctuary in Alma, Illinois on Sunday,

August 6th, for a day of shooting butterflies, dragonflies, hummingbirds, birds, and flowers. This is a favorite outing of many club members; it is a

great chance to enjoy the nature Sanctuary created by Richard and Susan Day.

Since Richard is holding the date for our club, please email Barbara Dunn at bdunn23@sbcglobal.net to indicate your interest. We will need a

minimum of 8 people in order to be able to have this outing. Cost for the outings shoot is $50 per person, plus the cost of a hotel room and food.

4th Annual Members’ Night-2017

Reserve your place now for our club’s 4th Annual Members’ Night, to be held on

Monday, May 1st, 2017. The event will start at 6:30pm at the Mayslake Peabody

Estate. The dinner will be catered by Uncle Bub’s of Westmont and will feature

BBQ Pulled Pork, Herb Roasted Chicken, and Baked Rotini, complete with side

dishes and beverages.

The cost of the dinner is $15 for members and $20 for guests.

Send in the attached reservation sheet or bring it to a meeting by April 17th to

reserve your dinner.

The evening is a great way to honor club members’ achievements, enjoy each

other’s photography, and spend a social evening together. Make your

reservation today!

8 Mar 2017

CACCA News by Karl Knapp

Three items to bring up this month:

The first concerns the CACCA InterClub Print competition. We've had a shortage of entries in Mayslake's Print competition which serves as the feeder for prints submitted to the CACCA competition. As a result, we haven't been able to provide a full complement of prints to the February and March CACCA competitions. Mayslake's final competition for this season is on March 20. If we can get enough entries then, we should be able to have a full complement of entries for April and May, and may even be able to make up for the missing entries from the February and March competitions. Please consider submitting prints for the March 20 competition; they have a high probability of making it to the CACCA competition.

The second two items involve the CACCA Salon competition to be held in Arlington Heights on March 18.

▪ CACCA Salon Print competition As outlined in previous CACCA Newsletters, there are various print divisions that members can submit entries for: small monochrome, large monochrome, small color, large color, nature small mono/color, portrait mono/color, photojournalism. These prints are submitted from club members directly to CACCA without any filtering through the Mayslake club (except that the club representative will collect entries at the March 6 meeting and transport them to the March 11 CACCA meeting). Members may enter prints in as many divisions as they wish; up to four prints per division. There is a cost of $3 per division entered & there must be a separate $3 payment for each division entry (i.e., separate checks --- no combining payment for two divisions and writing a check for $6). There must be a separate (blue) entry card filled out for each division entry. [Entry cards will be available at the March 6 Mayslake meeting.]

▪ CACCA Salon DPI (Digital Image) competition CACCA was very late in getting out information on how to enter images for the Salon DPI competition. In fact, as of this writing, they still don't have information up on their main website about how to make entries for this competition. I have checked, though, and they are set up to receive digital entries on their Upload site. First things first. As with prints, there are a number of divisions. They are color projected images, photojournalism DPI, portrait DPI, nature DPI, creative DPI. You can submit up to four entries per division at a cost of $3 per division. If multiple divisions are entered, payment for these CAN be combined. Payment envelopes will be available at the March 6 Mayslake meeting; these will be taken to the March 11 CACCA meeting by the club CACCA delegate. To submit DPIs to CACCA, individual members must upload their own photos (as opposed to the procedure for InterClub competition DPIs which must be uploaded by the club delegate). The procedure is relatively straightforward, but you must have a CACCA login. If you don't already have one, visit caccaweb.com and follow the instructions for requesting a login account. Once you have an account login, visit dpi.caccaweb.com, login, go to the Salon Competitions choice on the toolbar, and click on the division for which you wish to upload images. The website will allow you to upload four images per division. It is quite fast and easy. Something that you will notice is that there is a message that says you may now enter images as large as 1920 (wide) by 1080 (high). As these images won't be displayed in a Mayslake competition, it is recommended that this greater resolution be utilized. Though payment will need to get to the club CACCA delegate (Karl Knapp) at the March 6 meeting, images can be uploaded before then or after then, up until March 15 (I believe --- can't find this in writing anywhere). Until then, images can be deleted and replaced, too.

9 Mar 2017

Mayslake Nature Study & Photography Club

4th Annual Members’ Night

Monday, May 1st, 2017 Mayslake Peabody Estate

6:30 pm Catering by Uncle Bub’s Award Winning Barbeque

Dinner cost: $15.00 for members; $20.00 for guests. Please send in your reservation as soon as possible. Member’s name(s)______________________________________________ Guest’s name(s)________________________________________________

Send checks payable to: Mayslake Nature Study & Photography Club c/o JoAnn Barnes 109 Elm Lane

Streamwood, IL 60107

Buffet-style menu will include: Hand Pulled Pork

Herb Roasted Chicken Baked Rotini (Vegetarian)

Creamy Cole Slaw Tossed Salad

Whipped Sweet Potatoes Gourmet Sandwich Rolls

Soft Drinks/Coffee

Reservations must be received no later than April 17, 2017 No money will be taken the evening of the event.

Questions? Contact JoAnn Barnes; barnesjl913@gmail.com; 630-776-8125