Fontenelle Forest Photo Club Meeting Minutes

1. Welcome by President emeritus Phil Mininni.
2. The club needs volunteers for President and Vice-President. Please consider volunteering.
3. Phil shared the Fontenelle Forest 2022-2023 Partnership Agreement with club members. There were no complaints from those members present. He will post the agreement on the photo club website. https://www.fontenelleforestphotoclub.org. Emily Prauner, Director of Donor and Visitor Services at Fontenelle Forest, has asked that the agreement be acknowledged by the end of this month.
4. Phil shared the Speakers/Programs for the year. (See in minutes under #10)
5. Members shared 3-4 favorite photos @ tonight’s meeting for a group slide show. Members discussed their photos with club members.
6. Kathleen Crawford-Rose collected membership dues for the Photo Club @ tonight’s meeting. Dues are due in Sept. $12.00 for singles and $20.00 for family membership. Kathleen reminded photo club members to check for a valid Fontenelle Forest (FF) membership. Members of the photo club must be members of FF. She will provide an updated membership list to FF October 1st.
7. Attendees: 35
8. New members:

Barb Rimel- enjoys photographing wildlife

Guest~ William Targy- enjoys nature photography and animals

9. Input from current officers, committee members and helpers:

VP-Kathy Holm: Kathy has resigned as Vice President of the club.

Photo Display Organizers- Judy and Frank Dye

• The new exhibit of Fountain photos is up at the Bellevue Public Library.
• Members turned in their photos: Animals of Fontenelle Forest for next month’s display.
• Next display for Bellevue library: “Anything Old” please bring your photos to October meeting.
• Future exhibit: Monuments and Anything Green.

Treasurer- Kathleen Crawford-Rose: Treasurer’s report: July 31^st Balance $987.75. Summer activities:

+$24.00 in dues

-$75.00 Contest Judge

Secretary- Mary Headley:

Passed around members roster to confirm member information. Please update as needed.

Passed Sign-up sheet for Treats for Club Meetings (October 2022-June 2023)

Photo Contest Organizer: Donna Gray with help from Terry and Donna Turner:

Going forward Donna Gray will be the Photo Contest Organizer.

Thank you to Terry and Donna Turner for organizing the photo contest this past year.

Webmaster- Phil Mininni:

Phil will continue as webmaster for the club.

Brent Headley (helps webmaster and with video at meetings and other volunteering):

Brent will continue to assist as needed

10. Speakers/Programs:

Sept 15: Member’s slide show

Oct 20: Steve Reese- Mervin Reese Photography, Portrait photography

Nov 17: Rockbrook Camera- What’s New (Camp Brewster)

Dec 15: Potluck/slideshow? (Members will vote on Potluck @ November Meeting)

January 19: Albert Rhea- Subject matter TBD

Feb 16: Brad Williams Photography, Subject TBD

Mar 16: TBD (Possible Nebraska Land Magazine)

Apr 20: TBD

May 18: Raptor Shoot (Camp Brewster)

June 15: Photo Contest (Bellevue University)

Treats (brought by): Dick Keefe and Kathleen Crawford-Rose

Submitted by Club Secretary: Mary Headley

Our meeting times will remain the same, 7:00-8:30 PM, unless if notified it will be different. Much like when we do raptors in May when that meeting will start at 6:30 PM. The 6:30 PM time mentioned in the agreement below is for our people who will arrive early to prep for the 7:00 PM meeting.

Please keep in mind that you will need to be a member of Fontenelle Forest to be a member of the photo club. It has always been this way. We have to send to the Forest a membership list and they may check to see if you are a member of the Forest.

Click on the link below to view the signed agreement. You should have the Adobe PDF reader. You also can get the file in the menu at top of page “Agreement with Forest”

Photos for meeting

11 members have sent me photos for the September 15 meeting slideshow.

I can always use more to show.

Dues

Will be taken at our September meeting. $12 for single, and $20 for family. Please bring some money.

Fontenelle Forest Display

Our next exhibit at the forest will be Animals of Fontenelle Forest.   Please bring prints to the Sept . meeting.  This includes all animals except raptors.  Don’t forget the little ones like insects, reptiles, amphibians, etc.

Bellevue Public Library Display

The new exhibit of Fountain photos is up at he Bellevue Public Library.  Stop by to see it.

In Closing…

Your club is in need of a president. Please Please consider volunteering to be our president

That is it. A short post. Mainly to remind you about the meeting.

Phil

It turns out I was unable to get a speaker for our September meeting. That means I need your photos you have taken this summer. Send me 3 or 4 of you favorite photos taken by you. Be prepared to discuss your photos with the club. Send them to Webmaster . You can copy and paste “webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org”, without the quotes, in the send address bar in your mail program. We will view your pictures on the big screen at the forest. I have already received photos from some members.

Photo Display

Bellevue Library display has been changed out. Contest winners can pick up their photos at the September 15 meeting. Over the summer take pictures to submit when we return in September of Old Everything, Monument’s and Clouds.

Photo Contest

Richard Keefe send us a note about a photo contest from Birds and Blooms. It is short notice. If you have a photo stored somewhere… Go to their website, https://www.birdsandblooms.com/contests-promotions/

For details and rules. The final closing date is August 31, 2022.

Summer Photo Shooting

What would a new post be without a video. It is short of 10 minutes.

See you all in September!

Phil

Programs for September and October

I am in contact with several photographers to be speakers for September and October. No commitments yet. In the meantime, just in case, will you all gather 3 to 4 of your best photos taken this summer? You can send the files to me, webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org. I will show them on the projection screen at September 15 meeting if I can’t procure a speaker.- Phil

June 16, 2022 Meeting Minutes

Fontenelle Forest Photo Club Meeting minutes

1. Welcome by President Phil Mininni. He thought there was greater improvement and confidence in the photos displayed this year than in years past.
2. If you still have any photos of the eclipse, send to the webmaster and he will post them.
3. Attendees: 32

New members: None

Judy and Frank: If you did not bring photos of fountains, you can contact Judy and/or Frank to set up a time to get the photos to them. First and Second place winners of photo contest will be on display at the library first and then fountains. Over the summer take pictures to submit when we return in September of Old Everything, Monument’s and Clouds.

Kathleen: Treasurer’s report: amount in Treasury is: $987.75

Brent: Talked again about organizing a trip with Ken Smith (Astrophotography). Upcoming “New Moon” dates are Thursday June 23rd, or Friday June 24th.  He will let us know the exact date. There needs to be no moon or below the horizon. It will be out about 10 miles from Beatrice in a town called Filley at the Filley Stone Barn. There is a windmill there as well as one or two tractors to compliment your photo. We will need to arrive before sunset to get set up and get organized.  Dark conditions will be around 10:30 or 11:00pm until 4:00 or 4:30am.  Ken thinks most people would be ready to leave by 12:30 or 1:00am. We will try for another shoot in July maybe somewhere else.

Sue: None

Terry and Donna Turner: Photo Contest: Jay Davis was our judge and picked our winners and gave a good critique on all photos. Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to everyone that submitted photos.

Kathy Holm: None

4. No treats tonight.
5. Elections: No volunteers for President. Think about it over the summer if you might be interested. Vice President will still be Kathy Holm, Treasurer will still be Kathleen Crawford-Rose, Secretary will be Mary Headley and Phil Mininni will still be the webmaster. Photo Contest Organizer will go back to Donna Gray with the Turners helping out if needed. Photo displays will still be handled by Judy and Frank Dye.
6. See you on September 15^th for the next meeting. Have a great summer.

Submitted by Club Secretary: Sue Mininni

Ron Tillman Photography

Introduction from an April Wargo. May be of interest to you. I checked out the website and it is legit-Phil

I wanted to reach out and introduce you to Ron Tilman Photography. Ron
offers photography workshops throughout Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas,
and Nebraska. In October he will be offering his fall Elk workshop.
Ron offers both a half-day
and three-day option. The three-day workshop includes bison
photography. Check out Ron's website for details.

Please feel free to visit Ron's website,
https://rontilmanphotography.com/

Thank you,

April Wargo

Treasurer Report

Hi all.

We had no income and no expenses in July.  Our balance is $987.75

We will collect dues in September.  They remain $12.00 for single membership and $20.00 for a family.

We received a thank you during the summer from FF for our $300/00 donation to the Raptor program.

Bird Photography with Melissa Groo

Check out this website for more information about the course. Course on sale till August 28, 2022.

Click on the link Course above.

Forest Display Change Out

Greetings Photographers.

The subject of our  next photo display at the Forest will be animals of the forest. This includes everything except raptors.  We’d like to see insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and birds (except for raptors).

We hope to have your photos on or before the September 15^th meeting.  Dyes will be out of town for the next couple of weeks so you can drop off photos at:

Phil and Sue’s house.  621 South 51 Ave. in Omaha.   or

Kathleen’s house.  123 Bellevue Blvd South in Bellevue.    Email Webmaster for phone numbers for Phil or Kathleen. Call them to arrange photo delivery.

Or bring them to the Sept Meeting.

Club Meeting Dates for this coming year

The 2022-2023 Photo Club meetings will be hosted at Fontenelle Forest on the following dates:

• Thursday, September 15 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, October 20 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, November 17 (Camp Brewster)
• Thursday, December 15 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, January 19 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, February 16 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, March 16 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, April 20 (Nature Center)
• Thursday, May 18 (Camp Brewster)

Crop Sensor Video

This is an interesting video about sensors. It is a little more than 13 minutes long.

Fontenelle Forest Photo Club Meeting minutes

1. Welcome by President Phil Mininni. He thought there was greater improvement and confidence in the photos displayed this year than in years past.
2. If you still have any photos of the eclipse, send to the webmaster and he will post them.
3. Attendees: 32

New members: None

Judy and Frank: If you did not bring photos of fountains, you can contact Judy and/or Frank to set up a time to get the photos to them. First and Second place winners of photo contest will be on display at the library first and then fountains. Over the summer take pictures to submit when we return in September of Old Everything, Monument’s and Clouds.

Kathleen: Treasurer’s report: amount in Treasury is: $987.75

Brent: Talked again about organizing a trip with Ken Smith (Astrophotography). Upcoming “New Moon” dates are Thursday June 23rd, or Friday June 24th.  He will let us know the exact date. There needs to be no moon or below the horizon. It will be out about 10 miles from Beatrice in a town called Filley at the Filley Stone Barn. There is a windmill there as well as one or two tractors to compliment your photo. We will need to arrive before sunset to get set up and get organized.  Dark conditions will be around 10:30 or 11:00pm until 4:00 or 4:30am.  Ken thinks most people would be ready to leave by 12:30 or 1:00am. We will try for another shoot in July maybe somewhere else.

Sue: None

Terry and Donna Turner: Photo Contest: Jay Davis was our judge and picked our winners and gave a good critique on all photos. Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to everyone that submitted photos.

Kathy Holm: None

4. No treats tonight.
5. Elections: No volunteers for President. Think about it over the summer if you might be interested. Vice President will still be Kathy Holm, Treasurer will still be Kathleen Crawford-Rose, Secretary will be Mary Headley and Phil Mininni will still be the webmaster. Photo Contest Organizer will go back to Donna Gray with the Turners helping out if needed. Photo displays will still be handled by Judy and Frank Dye.
6. See you on September 15^th for the next meeting. Have a great summer.

Submitted by Club Secretary: Sue Mininni

Any changes please comment below.

Phil

Brent and I have processed about 80 photos and put them on the home page slide show. If you see a problem or we missed something, let us know. Email webmaster .

Congratulations to our ribbon winners. 1st, 2nd place, member’s choice, peoples choice and “best of” photos will be hung at the library.

We should all thank Donna and Terry Turner for all their hard work making our contest a success. And a special thank you to Donna Gray giving assistance and guidance to the Turner’s.

Thanks to Jay Davis for being our judge this year. It is no easy task judging these photos. I again am reminded to learn to crop, crop, and crop some more.

Bellevue Library

Here are some subjects for you all to work on for future display subjects.

1. monuments
2. old everything
3. clouds

President’s position needs to be filled!!!

Keith White is not able to fill the president’s spot. We need someone to step up. And provide some new blood to our leadership team. Fresh eyes so to speak. The board provided me plenty of assistance while I was president. You would not need to do everything by your lonesome. I will also work closely with the new president and provide assistance when and where I can. Covid affected how we held meetings and I hope we will get closer to the “normal”.

Thank you Chaplain Kyle

Kyle Sorys is the young gentlemen who helped us with the Zoom calls for our meetings this past year. Thank you very much! I hope he will continue to be a member of our photo club.

Webmaster

Phil Mininni and Brent Headley will continue to be the webmasters. Thanks to Brent for helping with the home page contest photos.

Milky Way

Brent says Tues evening, June 28, into Wednesday morning is looking promising for our milky way shoot. We had to cancel last week due to weather. Brent is also planning a shoot in July. More info is forthcoming for July.

Closing

Once again if you notice anything about your photo that is not quite right, let me know. Comment below or email me.

Phil

The Gallery 1516 is having a fee based photo contest. I am not real familiar with this gallery. Below is a PDF document with instructions. At the bottom is a link to their website for more details.

Jean Lindfors and Jane Pullum (president of the Bellevue Artist Association) provided this info. Thanks Ladies.

Check out this link for details

May 19, 2022

1. Welcome by President Phil Mininni.
2. At our June meeting we will need to elect new officers. Sue and I will not continue on as President and Secretary. I will continue as the webmaster. Maybe have a couple or two individuals be Co-Presidents. Just a thought.
3. If you have any photos of the eclipse send to the webmaster and I will post them.
4. Attendees: 25
5. New members: Jason Bower

Judy and Frank: Bring photos of fountains to next meeting to display at the library.

Kathleen:

Treasurer’s Report for May, 2022

Beginning Balance:   $1362.75

Donation to FF              300.00

Ending balance         $1062.75

Brent: Talked about organizing a trip with Ken Smith (Astrophotography). Upcoming “New Moon” dates are Tuesday June 28th, and Thursday July 28th.  Ken has calculated 2 viable date ranges: June 26 to July 3rd (not Saturday July 2nd); and July 24th to August 1st (not Saturday July 30th).  There needs to be no moon or below the horizon. Ken has church commitments on Sundays, which is why we don’t want to have an excursion late on Saturday night into early Sunday morning. We will be somewhere, far from civilization, late at night, in the dark, with no bathroom facilities. Something to think about. We will need to arrive before sunset to get set up and organized.  Dark conditions will be around 10:30 or 11:00pm until 4:00 or 4:30am.  Ken thinks most people would be ready leave by 12:30 or 1:00am.

Sue: None

Terry and Donna Turner: Photo Contest: Setup is Saturday May 28^th from 10-12. Awards will be Thursday June 16^th for our regular meeting held at Bellevue University. Take down of photos and pickup will be Saturday June 25^th from 10-12. Watermarks or names are not allowed on the front of the photos. Jay Davis has agreed to be our Judge this year. Labels were available to pick up to put on your photos. Winning contest pictures will be displayed at the Bellevue Library.

Kathy Holm: None

6. No treats tonight.
7. Cathy from the Forest was presented with our $300 donation. She was very appreciative.
8. Next month, June 16, 2022 the meeting will be at Bellevue University for our Photo Contest critique and awards.

Submitted by Club Secretary: Sue Mininni

If there are any corrections or additions please comment below.

I want to thank Donna and Terry Turner and Kathleen Crawford-Rose for their hard work with the photo contest photo entries. A special shout out to Donna Gray for being a great source of support for Donna. We received 79 photos for the contest. Those who stuck around and hung the photos are Brent and Mary Headley, Terry Turner, Kathleen Crawford-Rose, Andrea Kuhn, Phil and Sue Mininni, Jean Lindfors, and not the least, Tom Boggs. Donna made sure Terry kept the signs plum. Thanks to these volunteers.

Once again we had way more advanced entries than novice. This proves that one of our goals as a club is to make you a better photographer. The photos turned in showed a lot of talent and thought was utilized.

Jay Davis is our judge and he will be judging the photos this Tuesday. I welcome you to come to the Humanities Building at Bellevue University after Tuesday and view the photos and vote for your “Member’s” favorite photo. There are also ballot forms for the general public to choose their favorite. See map of the campus below.

Critique and Awards Presentation – Thursday, June 16, 2022, 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Take Down – Saturday, June 25, 2022, 10:00 AM