Happy Holidays - Bowie-Crofton Camera Clubare interested, send a resume and sample images to...

December is here and all the holiday hustle has begun. There never seems to be enough time to get it all the activities done. B-CCC will once again host a holiday dinner at Hella’s Restaurant in Millersville. You may wonder why we hold this event in January. Hopefully, your holiday schedule will be clear by then and you will be able to attend.

Hope you will take time this holiday season to enjoy your family and friends. I would encourage you to look at some of your photos as a last minute gift idea

for those you love. A framed photo of a photo you took of your favorite student athlete or a photo you took at a family gathering is a perfect one of a kind present. You could make a calendar of your photos for that hard to buy for aunt, mother or friend.

A small photo book is a great present to make someone too. Use your imagination. Share your love of photography with those you love.

May your holidays be merry and bright. See you in 2015.

THE VIEWFINDER

Bowie-Crofton Camera Club Volume 34, Number 4 • December, 2014

Happy HolidaysPresident’s Comments

by Roz Kleffman, President

INSIDE Upcoming, p. 3; Competition p. 4-7; Field Trip Photos p.8-11; Out and About, p. 12; On the Street, p. 14; Holiday Dinner, p. 15

5 Competition

Theme: Urban page 13

1 Field TripUdvar-Hazy Center, Dulles, Virginia

10CompetitionTheme: Water ReflectionsJudge: Tom Berault

8 Photo Talk

Toys in the Atticpage 12

18-20 Field TripColonial Williamsburgpage 13

DECEMBER JANUARY 2015

Jeff Whittaker captured this photograph during the club’s field trip to Fells Point on November 15. See more photos from the trip on pages 8-11.

The Viewfinder • Bowie-Crofton Camera Club Volume 34, Number 4 • December, 2014

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THE VIEWFINDER is distributed via e-mail early in the month and at the first meeting of each month during the club year. Contributions of articles of interest to photographers are welcomed.

The deadline for submitting articles is the second Monday of the month prior to publication (ie, articles submitted in early October will be published in the November newsletter).

Articles should be sent via e-mail to [email protected]. Attachments as MS Word, .txt, or .rtf files are acceptable. Photos and illustrations should be separate attachments.

Photographs should be submitted electronically as JPEGs with a “high” quality compression setting. The optimal photograph will be no more than 800 pixels in its greatest dimension.

Membership Rates

Junior (ages 12-17) . . $5.00 Individual . . . . . . . . $25.00 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.00

Meeting Nights

The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club meets the first through fourth Monday nights of each month September through May in the Fellowship Hall of the All Saints Lutheran Church at US 301 and Mt. Oak Road in Bowie. Meetings begin at 7:30. Visitors are always welcome.

Photographic Society of America (PSA)

The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club has been a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) since 1977. Dick Whitley, a PSA Region Director, is B-CCC’s representative to PSA.

For information regarding the benefits of a PSA individual membership and for PSA-sponsored events contact Dick Whitley (301) 899-6457 or e-mail [email protected].

Articles for The ViewfinderEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President Roz Kleffman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301-464-1867 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .president@b-ccc .org

VP Programs George Smyth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410-964-1380 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . programs@b-ccc .org

VP Membership Bill Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410-827-3369 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .wgamcollins@earthlink .net

VP Competition Richard Chomitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . competition@b-ccc .org

VP How-to Bill Conway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410-326-0386 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . how-to@b-ccc .org

VP Photo Talk Steve Bruza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410-247-5997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .photo-talk@b-ccc .org

Treasurer Warren Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301-552-4129 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . treasurer@b-ccc .org

Secretary Pat French . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301-925-7323 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . secretary@b-ccc .org

PSA Representative Dick Whitley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301-899-6457 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . psa@b-ccc .org

Newsletter Editor Vincent Ferrari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301-249-2210 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viewfinder@b-ccc .org

STAFFCompetition Assistant Sharon Weisman . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301 210-4107 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . competition@b-ccc .org

Database Manager Dick Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410-923-2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . database@b-ccc .org

Field Trip Committee Leaders Vincent and Leslie Ferrari . . . . . . . . . . . .301-249-2210 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vincentferrari@gmail .com

Webmaster George L . Smyth . . . . . . webmaster@b-ccc .org

Web Editor Vincent Ferrari . . . . .vincentferrari@gmail .com

Exhibit Coordinator Bob Matthews . . . bobamatthews@verizon .net

Bowie-Crofton Camera ClubP.O. Box 515Bowie, Maryland 20718-0515


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Upcoming EventsNews about non-club related photographic events

by Vincent Ferrari, Editor

Photographers Wanted!Be a “War Correspondent” for the 25th annual WWII weekend in 2015

by Clarence Carvell

The Bowie-Crofton Camera Club exhibit at the Huntington Community Center continues until the end of December.

I’m looking for six good photographers to act as War Correspondents for the 25th annual WWII Weekend event at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, June 5, 6 & 7, 2015. This includes photographing period aircraft both on the ground and in the air, period players, both men and women in authentic dress, vaudeville acts, camp sites, mock battles, big band and dance and a full scale battle now known as the liberation of Reading. It requires at least 2 full days of shooting in any weather and providing us with 40 of your best high resolution

jpeg’s after the event. You can keep the rest. We give you special access, lunch, parking and credentials. Acceptance is based on an evaluation of 20 of your past WWII Weekend images or a similar event. If you are interested, send a resume and sample images to Clarence Carvell, WWII Weekend Media Coordinator, Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, 7106 Pindell School Rd, Fulton, MD 20759. All sample images will be returned at your request. You can expect an answer by mid January.

The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC is featuring an exhibit entitled “Time Covers the 1960’s”. This exhibition of original cover art will explore a selection of the major newsmakers, trends and happenings that defined the decade. The exhibit will run until August of 2015.

Also at the National Portrail Gallery are two photographic exhibits that recall the Civil War era. One is called “Mr. Lincoln’s Washington: A Civil War

Portfolio”. It features large-format reproductions of original photographs, prints, drawings and maps to document how the Civil War affected patterns of life in the District of Columbia. The other is “Mathew Brady’s Photographs of Union Generals”. Modern prints made from Brady’s original glass-plate negative are shown.

The National Portrait Gallery is located at 8th and F Streets, NW, Washington, DC. For more information, visit: www.nationalportraitgallery.org/


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Competition CornerNovember Competition Results

by Dick Chomitz, VP Competition

The competition for November 10, 2014 had 146 submitted entries. Bryan Ramsay did a great job as judge with insightful and instructive comments on all entries. Many thanks to all the competitors for submitting such outstanding Music images. Also, thanks to the many club members who helped the evening go smoothly – those who set up and cleaned up the meeting hall; those who accepted and handled the prints, and our projectionist who ran the digital competition. Without these people there would be no competition. Congratulations to the winners of the Music Competition. We ask that competitors follow these few procedures to help ensure that prints are handled smoothly and efficiently:• Have your entry slip filled out completely before stepping up to the table to submit your prints. We

recommend printing the entry form from the B-CCC website. It is found under the competition tab. The date window has been updated for 2014-15. **There is a date window on the entry form which will provide you the correct date if you press the down arrow**• Make sure to include an UP arrow and the submission class (Novice or Advanced) and the name of the print on the back of each print. • Make sure the information on the back of your prints is legible and dark enough to be read in dim light.• Don’t submit double-matted prints. We’re looking forward to an outstanding collection of images for the December 1 Competition whose theme will be “Water Reflections”. The subject of the photo is the water reflection; the reflected object need not be in the photo.

More Competition Results on page 5.


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Competition CornerNovember Competition Results, continued

More Competition Photos on page 6.

Novice Digital (28 Entries)

1st After You . . . . . . . . . . . . .William E. Gibson2nd Street Music . . . . . . . . . .Robert Howard3rd Coltrane Sax B&W . . . . .Denise HillHM Euphonium_Reflections .Stanley TurkHM Hungarian_Hurdy_Gurdy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stanley TurkHM Spice Singer . . . . . . . . . .Leon AllenHM The Lone Musician . . . . .Albert Alexander

Novice Monochrome (12 Entries)

1st Bass Man in Black . . . . .Robert H. Eubanks2nd Sax Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Robert H. Eubanks3rd Ye Music Shoppe . . . . . .JoAnn Mikellian

Novice Color Prints (14 Entries)

1st Air Sweep. . . . . . . . . . . . .Jeanine Cummins2nd Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kim Holley3rd Channeling Marley . . . .Lisa WardHM Guitar and Notes in Motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Leon Allen

Advanced Digital (43 Entries)

1st Smoky Mountain Music .Zolt Levay2nd Inattentive Audience . . .Robert Weston3rd Sheet Music. . . . . . . . . . .Stephen BruzaHM Dublin Irish Festival Singer -1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill CollinsHM Base Fiddle Head . . . . . .Jim RogersHM Fiddle Shopping . . . . . . .Jim RogersHM Just Playing My Blues Harp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn ThompsonHM Naval Academy . . . . . . .Warren E. WilsonHM Street Musicians . . . . . . .David EbertHM Trumpet man . . . . . . . . .Robert H. EubanksHM Dreaming of Guitars . . .Robert Weston

Advanced Monochrome (21 Entries)

1st Cellist #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chuck Bress2nd The Day the Music Died #3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Robert Howard3rd Woody Plays . . . . . . . . . .Chuck BressHM Organ Pipes . . . . . . . . . .Robert HowardHM BB King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Glenn Thompson

Advanced Color Prints (28 Entries)

1st Les Danseurs #1 . . . . . . .Benson J. Simon2nd Double Bass . . . . . . . . . .Vincent Ferrari3rd Trumpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Robert HowardHM The Big Time . . . . . . . . . .Robert WestonHM Anita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank LeeHM Kenya’s Maasai on Parade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pat FrenchHM Pleasant Music . . . . . . . .Vincent Ferrari


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More Competition Photos on page 7.


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Visiting Old FriendsDick and Kathy visit the McMillin’s

by Dick Russell

On a recent road trip, Kathy and I stopped in Sun City, Arizona to see some old friends. Bob and Sandra McMillin are emeritus members of the B-CCC. Bob was also club president, (pre-Roz) from 1987 through 1991. Bob had also been president of the Fort Meade Camera club, which is where I met him. He is still very active in photography and is a member of several clubs in AZ. Sandra is also keeping busy and doing well. It is likely that she is back in Maryland visiting family as you read this.

Upon leaving Maryland, Bob and Sandra took to the road as an RV couple for several years before settling in Arizona to work through some health issues which have now been resolved. Of course the doctors still get to occupy some of their time resolving issues that come and go.

Bob particularly wanted us to pass his congratulations to Vince Ferrari for a job well done with The Viewfinder. Upon request, Bob passes copies to some of his photo

friends in Arizona. They are all anxious to see it each month.

It was a pleasure visiting with the McMillin’s again and will certainly stop by the next time we are in the southwest. We wish them well.


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All images on this page by Denise Hill

November Field Trip to Historic Fells PointIt was a great outing that yielded lots of terrific photographs

by Denise HIll, Field Trip Leader B-CCC members ventured past Little Italy to the the Historic Fells Point. The cool 44 degree weather provided a pleasant atmosphere for the November

field trip. Whether walking Fells Point along the waterfront or meandering through the neighborhood, there was plenty to photograph.

More Field Trip Photos on page 9.


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November Field Trip to Historic Fells PointField Trip Photos, continued

Top 4 images on this page by Denise Hill

Bottom 2 images by Al Alexander



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Top 4 images on this page by Al Alexander

Bottom 2 images by Jessyca Stansbury-McCargo


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Photo at top left by Jessyca Stansbury-McCargo

All other on this page by Jeff Whittaker



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Photo Talk Meeting - December 8Toys in the Attic

by Steve Bruza, VP Photo Talk

Maybe you had a toy train running under your Christmas tree as a child, or perhaps still put one up for children or grandchildren. As you know model train manufacturers sell small toy houses and other accessories to help you set a proper miniature winter scene. At our next Photo Talk on December 8 we are going to see how one photographer has taken his toy train, doll house and model car hobby to an amazing extreme and it just might inspire you to embark on a similar project. In any event we will look at some extraordinary images that will challenge your sense of reality. Even if you do not have toys in the attic from holiday train gardens like I do, you may start thinking about ways of incorporating other familiar household objects into your photos. As the weather forces us to spend more time indoors it is likely you can still do some serious photography with toys or other items you have

around the house. Photographing a still life setting of flowers and fruit or similar subjects can be very challenging by working with studio lights and classic composition techniques to make a winning image. Another way of leaning how to create a winning image is to participate in our Photo Talk critique session during our review of digital entries from the prior competition. At our meeting we provide an opportunity to discuss your work and exchange ideas. Even more importantly it gives you a time to ask other club members about their images and techniques. Our meetings are always fun, lively and filled with casual conversation about photography without the stress of formal judging. And since December 25 is almost here and you might find some new Nikon or Canon ‘toys’ under the tree, Photo Talk can help you learn new and creative ideas to play with.

Out and AboutWhat B-CCC members are up to this month

by Vincent Ferrari, Editor

George Smyth has an work showing at the Howard County Center for the Arts at 8510 Highridge Road in Ellicott City. The exhibit runs through December 12 and is a multi-media statewide juried exhibit featuring work selected by guest juror Julia Marciari-Alexander, Executive Director of the Walters Art Museum. For more information, visit: www.hocoarts.org/exhibits.php

George is also part of an exhibit of new works by modern practitioners of historic photographic printing

processes including Bromoil, Wet Plate Collodion, Vandyke, Gum Bichromate, Anthotype, and Cyanotype at Montgomery College in Rockville. That exhibit runs until December 19. See: www.tinyurl.com/kp4lkxx

A photograph by Zolt Levay was a weekly winner in the Baltimore Sun Sunshots contest. The photo of luminaries at the Antietam Battlefield was taken during a B-CCC field trip.

B-CCC Financial Report December report from the club Treasurer

by Warren E. Wilson, Treasurer

The latest bank statement, October, 2014, shows the club in good standing with a checking account balance of $6,742.81.

The club’s Grant account remains with a balance of $587.07. The account is expected to distribute this remainder by club season’s end.


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Judge for January CompetitionJoseph Tessmer will be judging for our January competition with the theme of Urban

by Joseph Tessmer, January Judge

Joseph (Joe) M. Tessmer was introduced to photography on his eighth birthday by his grandfather Waldo E. Schoessel. Waldo Schoessel had established the family photographic business in 1919, hoped to encourage Joe’s interest in the art and science of photography. Joe’s birthday present, a Kodak Hawkeye camera was to play a significant role in his development. At the age of fourteen, Joe’s Aunt encouraged him to start developing and printing his own photographs. As a teenager, the world famous Bachrach photographer Arnold G. Harms encouraged and promoted Joe’s photographic talent. It was in this period that Joe started to develop an interest in wedding photography. His first commercial wedding assignment was in 1963 at the age of 17. Shortly after his first wedding, Joe won his first, of over one hundred, distinguished photographic awards. About this time, due to a heart condition, Waldo Schoessel moved the family business from the local

shopping center into his home. With the help of his wife, Thora McDannell, Waldo changed the focus of the business from that of general photographic studio and store to a specialized business concentrating on elegant portraiture of adults, teens, and children. Joe had a serious interest in the family photography business and after completing a rigorous academic education in the sciences, turned his attention to Winona, the school of Professional Photography. He has developed an elegant style of photography much like his mentors’ David and Linda Smith. In addition, he has studied his craft with world famous photographers Al Gilbert, Stewart and Susan Powers, Don Blair, Charles Green, Bob Stevenson, Monty Zucker, Ed Pierce, and Glenn Dreesen among others. To learn more you can visit Joe’s website at: www.tessmeroffairfax.com/index.htm

A December Field Trip is scheduled for the club to visit the Christmas event at Williamsburg Village, Virginia, December 19, 20 & 21. The Village will be decorated in a Victorian fashion, with roll players strolling about the village in period dress and interacting with visitors. Most of the usual activities are still going on and photographers are free to roam about, making all the photographs they want. This is an ideal chance to make Urban, Travel and Motion images for upcoming competitions and to prevail upon other club members for ideas and assistance.

There are numerous moderately priced hotels nearby,

including several Hampton Inns. Restaurants of every description are everywhere, including several in the village. It’s best to make early reservations if you choose to dine within the village.

I was there last year at this same time and came away with hundreds of usable images so be prepared to take lots of photographs. These people expect to be photographed and will be happy to cooperate so take advantage of the opportunity.

If you plan to go, please let me know either by phone, e-mail at [email protected], or at a meeting, so I can keep you up to date on anything new or different.

December Field Trip - Colonial WilliamsburgMark your calendars for December 19, 20 and 21

by Clarence Carvell, Field Trip Leader


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On the Street - Shoot Manual Part 4 of a series of articles on Street Photography

by George Smyth, VP Programs

Shooting manually is the sort of thing that most photographers no longer do, but need to reconsider. Since Kodak said “You Press The Button, We Do The Rest” in 1888, cameras have gotten easier and easier to use. Features like auto exposure and auto focus are so prevalent that their use now is simply expected. Indeed, it almost makes no sense to not use these conveniences ... unless you think carefully about it. Allow me to make my case.

Auto Exposure

The camera has no idea what your intentions are when taking a picture. It may be able to somewhat guess the subject matter, as some software can recognize objects as faces, but how to render that subject matter is something that can only be done by the artist. A camera’s determination of the exposure is generally a matter of looking at the range of tonal values and adjusting the settings to average and/or include most of them. Sophisticated matrixing systems can divide the field of view into segments for a more accurate assessment, but the idea is basically the same. The question is whether or not the photographer wants to have their exposure placed in the middle of the available values. The blind acceptance of a camera’s decision is most noticeable with pictures of snow, which have gained grey values because the camera’s software decided that the luminosity of the snow was too bright. Chances are that the photographer may have wanted a more natural rendering, which would have required additional exposure to get the snow to display properly. There is nothing inherently wrong with allowing a camera to make some decisions, but there is something

wrong with allowing it to make creative decisions. Once you turn off auto exposure you are free to make your own creative choices. Your first choice is the period of time that will be captured. Do you want people frozen or would you like to show movement? If the former, what is the shortest period of time that will allow this to happen? If the latter, how much blur are you seeking?

Your second choice is depth of field. Are you looking to pull one person from the background or should everything be equally sharp? If the former, what depth of field will allow this to happen? If the latter, what is the largest aperture that will allow everything to appear sharp. Your third choice involves how you wish to render the scene. As the sun goes down do you want to make believe that this is not happening? You can do this by ensuring that your exposure stays right in the middle.

Since this is the time when shadow details start to get lost you may decide that you want to dump them. This should be your decision, not the camera’s. Finally, with the advent of digital cameras you now have the choice of ISO for each frame. Setting your ISO to auto is a reasonable choice if the camera has the

Continued on page 15.


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On the Street - Shoot Manual Continued from page 14

by George Smyth, VP Programs

ability to avoid unwanted noise at its chosen setting. Some cameras allow one to specify the highest ISO to be automatically set, so testing your camera to see what ISO begins to offer unwanted noise is a good idea.

Auto Focus

It seems odd that one might not want the camera to automatically decide where to focus. However, when it is time to take a shot you may wish your subject to be off center, and in doing so you may end up focusing on a distant object instead of your subject. Also, if the lens goes into seek mode there will be a lag, and if it does not find a focal point then the shot will be missed. This can all be taken care of by turning off auto focus and using the hyperfocal distance information for your camera. In determining your exposure you have already selected your F stop, so now you need to match

that with the depth of field it will allow, and set it to accommodate the likely location of your subject. As an example, when on the street I am probably not going to be photographing anyone closer than six feet from me and generally do not care about getting the distant background in focus. For my Fujifilm X100S I generally like to use f5.6 as my aperture (the camera employs a fixed 35mm equivalent lens), so by setting the focal length of the lens at ten feet I get about six feet to twenty-eight feet in focus, which is plenty. You need to make your own decision about your camera and lens.

Horror of Horrors

All of this means that you need to learn about your camera, but that should be a good thing. Employing this information will eventually become intuitive, and once you have real control over these choices then your images will become more yours, and less a collaborative effort with an unknown person who wrote the software for your camera.

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Cheer Come to the annual Holiday Dinner on January 11

by Leslie Ferrari

It’s that time of year; time to sign up for the B-CCC Holiday Dinner. The dinner will take place on Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. As in years past, we will be gathering at Hellas Restaurant and Lounge in Millersville. The dinner will be served buffet style and will, of course, include Hellas’ fabulous crab cakes. Soft beverages are included with the dinner and there is a full cash bar. Hellas is located at 8498 Veteran’s Highway, Millersville, MD, and is handicap accessible. The cost remains $25.00 per person. Please sign up on the sheet provided at a meeting through the end of the year and give your payment to our treasurer Warren Wilson at a meeting. If you are unable to attend a meeting, please email Warren to RSVP at [email protected] and mail your check, made out to B-CCC, to Warren Wilson at 7018 Wood

Thrush Drive, Lanham, MD 20706. The club must have your payment by January 3, 2015. After dinner we will be entertained with a program by Clarence Carvel entitled “If You Are From Away, You Might Not Be A Mainer”. If you have any questions, please contact Leslie Ferrari at [email protected] or 301-249-2210. Remember that the last day to sign up is January 3. We must have your RSVP and your payment by that date. Since the first meeting in January is not until Jan. 5, you cannot wait until then to pay. The club must pay for the number of guests confirmed. In the past individuals have signed up, failed to attend and not paid.


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PPC:REC:AR11/14

The ViewfinderBowie-Crofton Camera Club P.O. Box 515 Bowie, Maryland 20718-0515

www.b-ccc.org • [email protected] Photographic Society of America since 1977

Viewfinder printed by:

How-To - Looking Ahead No How-To Meeting in December

by Bill Conway, VP How-To

It’s the end of the year and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Soon it will be the winter holidays and the year will be over. I hope everyone will have a great time over the holiday and the New Year. In anticipation of the club field trip to shoot the Milky Way in February our January How-To will be done by

Zolt Levay. He will be showing us how to take the Milky Way images and process them in Lightroom so make sure you don’t miss his presentation.

Happy Holidays.

Happy Holidays - Bowie-Crofton Camera Clubare interested, send a resume and sample images to...

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Transcript of Happy Holidays - Bowie-Crofton Camera Clubare interested, send a resume and sample images to...