About 34 people met at 7:00 P.M at Fontenelle Forest.

In the absence of President Jay Davis, Webmaster Pete Carbonell presided.

Four new people were introduced.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Treasurer’s report – Kathleen Rose:

Kathleen reported that the club has $1,725 in the treasury.

Photo Displays – Judy Dye:

Photos subjects needed for our displays at the Forest and the Bellevue Library:

April: Forms in nature and glass.

June: Bugs

Sept.: People walking dogs; Toads and frogs

Nov.: Snow and ice

The photos can be 8×10, 8×12 or 11×14. No mattes or frames please. Remember to add your name, the subject and the location on the back of each photo you submit.

Judy also mentioned that Ron Petak of the Bellevue Leader will be writing an article about the club and will be writing about our upcoming photo exhibit.

It was mentioned for the April meeting members are invited to bring in a photo to be critiqued. This photo could be one to be entered in the annual photo contest or one to be shown in the clubs display at Font. Forest.

It was brought up that it would be good to have some of the meetings devoted to photography education. It was mentioned that tutorials were available at Lauritzen Gardens, Rockbrook Camera and Joslyn Museum. Also the site Lynda.com had good tutorials available.

Program

The rest of the meeting was a tutorial on photo resizing by Pete Carbonell. Pete explained how image resolution can affect prints. He also demonstrated how to resize images using Lightroom.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, April 18th at 7 pm in the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center.

Our speaker for next week is Terry Koopman from Photographics Imaging. Terry is a fine art and custom photo printer as well as an accomplished photographer. He will be talking about proper preparation of files for print as well as best ways to display them. He can also help with image review.

The images for review should be printed on 4×6 minimum and no larger than 8 x12. That will show the depth and colors of the images better than projecting them.

Thanks to Allen Kurtz and Bill McDonald for bringing treats tonight.

Submitted by Eric Scholar, Secretary

About 32 people met at 7:00 PM at Fontenelle Forest.

President Jay Davis presided. One new person introduced himself (Keith).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Treasurer’s Report – Kathleen Rose:

Kathleen reported that the club has $1,600 in the treasury.

PHOTO DISPLAYS- Judy Dye

February: Anything old and trees.

April: Forms in nature and glass.

June: Bugs

Sept.: People walking dogs; Toads and frogs

Nov.: Snow and ice

The photos can be 8×10, 8×12 or 11×14. No mattes or frames please. Remember to add your name, the subject and the location on the back of each photo you submit.

Program

The rest of the meeting was devoted to a discussion of the request of the director of Fontenelle forest, Merica Whitehall, for the club to put on a gallery show in the Barwright Gallery. The show will run from the end of August 2019 to January 1st 2020. Fontenelle Forest will provide the club with $1500-2000 to put on this display. They will also provide media and marketing for the display. Members will retain ownership of their work. Merica will send the dimensions of the gallery to the board members .

The first thing discussed was a theme for the show. Four suggestions were given: Nature, Nature seen through a Lens, Natural Exposure and Walk on the Wild Side. A vote was taken and Natural Exposure was the winner.

We discussed how many photos would be provided by each member. It should be either 1 or 2.

A smaller interactive display may also be provided.

There will be a 3 member judging team to assure quality of the submissions.

In conjunction with the display there may be photo walks and the availability of someone to answer photography related questions.

Pete Carbonell mentioned that the size of the photos would be uniform and of an enlarged size (to be determined). He pointed out that this might be difficult with some photos as they may have been cropped and then to enlarge them may be a problem.

Other business: Jay mentioned that Curt Johnson will judge the photo contest this year. He will also speak at next month’s meeting. He is a local photographer who has a studio near Jay’s studio and is a versatile photographer.

Submitted by Eric Scholar, Secretary.

Additional Notes:

Our next meeting will be this Thursday, February 21st at 7 pm in the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center. The current forecast does not indicate that weather will be a factor on Thursday, but should it change we will post cancellations via email and the website.

This Tuesday, February 19th, The latest National Geographic Live Speaker series will present Social By Nature, a talk by photographer Ronan Donovan. For more information on this event, go to https://events.nationalgeographic.com/talks/social-nature/holland-performing-arts-center

Please direct any questions to webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org.

About 35 people met at 7:00 P.M at Fontenelle Forest’s Camp Brewster building. President Jay Davis presided.

Three new people introduced themselves (Audrey, Denise and Nicolette).

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Treasurer’s report:

Kathleen Rose reported that the club has $1,686 in the treasury.

Photo Displays – Judy Dye

Next photos to be collected for displays are:

February: Anything old and trees

April: Forms in nature and glass

Photos must be 8×10, 8×12 or 11×14 only and not framed and no border if possible.  Put your name, the topic and where shot on the back.

December Meeting and Christmas Party

Our program for next month is the annual Christmas slideshow and party. Everyone should send 3 or 4 of their favorite photos to Peter Carbonell via the webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org email. If possible, the images should be resized to 2000 pixels on the long edge and 72 ppi. These photos will be shown in a slideshow during the event.

Also a sign-up sheet was passed around for the Christmas party. The club will provide a main meal plus drinks. Everyone should have signed up to bring a salad, appetizer or desert.

Jay: Everybody should photograph their Thanksgiving dinner as a project for next year.

Jay mentioned that the Hot Shops (1301 Nicholas St.) where Jay has his studio will have an open house on Dec 1 and 2. Jay has 2 locations at Hot Shops.

Jay mentioned that in April, Terry Koopman of the Hot Shops will present on how to print for photo contests.

 PROGRAM

The program for the evening was a presentation by Alex Wiles, former club president and a conservation photojournalist who has traveled worldwide on photography projects. Alex talked about his Missouri River project.

Alex recently traveled along the Missouri River from its source down to St. Louis. He started at the source of the river documenting what the river and associated people looked like.  Through photography he documented a lot of the wildlife in and around the river. He also talked about recreational activities associated with the river. Some of his photography was done with drones and some from a small plane. As he traveled down the river he photographed some of the wildlife against plain white backgrounds (e.g. paddlefish, beaver, water snakes, garter snakes and mink) to document what lives in the river.

Alex collaborated with the National Park Service and various Lewis and Clark centers along the river both of which helped fund the project.

Alex encouraged public outreach through various means including providing stickers of his photographs some of which are on the bob Kerrey Bridge. In the next phase of the project, Alex will meet with the National Park Service and Lewis and Clark Center of Sioux City to provide a full-fledged museum exhibit.

Thanks to the Kuhns and McKees for treats tonight.

Submitted by Eric Scholar, Secretary

About 30 people met at 7:00 PM at the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center

Club President, Jay Davis presided.

 ANNOUNCEMENTS

 Jay had those that missed the September meeting stand up and introduce themselves to the rest of the members and tell what they liked to shoot and the kind of camera they use.

New members: Dan Creagan. Did film photos and just picked up digital last year. Uses Sony and Nikon and likes to shoot nature, still life and birds.

Holiday Dinner: Passed list around to sign up for a dish to share.  Meat and drinks are provided by the club.

Members should submit 3-4 of your favorite photos from the past year via email to Peter Carbonell to be shown at the dinner and talk about them.  Size should be 2000 pixels on long side and 72 resolution.  Pete can size them if need be.  Just send them to him at  webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org.

Treasurer’s Report: Kathleen was not present so no report was given.

Photo Displays– Judy Dye

• November: Fall & Autumn and churches
• February: Anything old and trees
• April: Forms in nature and glass.

Photos must be 8×10, 8×12 or 11×14 only and not framed and no border if possible.  Put your name, the topic and where shot on the back.

If you have a website, we can link it to our web page which is www.fontenelleforestphotoclub.org. Send your web address to  webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org.

Reminder: Dues are now due. They are $12 for an individual and $20 for a family as well as you must be a member of Fontenelle Forest.

Pete has been our Webmaster for about 4-5 years and is looking for someone to maybe learn about it and take over.  Phil Mininni expressed a desire to do so, so they will get to together to discuss it.  Thank you, Phil.

Member Question:  Why is there no photo club information mentioned in the Fontenelle Forest newsletter (the Leaflet) or on their website or in emails that members are sent? Club liaison Julianne was going to check in to this with forest staff.

The Bellevue Leader would like to visit and do an article on the Photo Club.

Jay asked how the One Lens Shoot went for everyone.  Some said it was difficult.  Everyone looked at the images that were brought in.  Jay commented on the Wood Leaf picture.  The point of the shoot was to think outside the box and get out of your comfort zone and have fun and learn.

No new Business.

PROGRAM: The program for tonight is JPEG vs Raw.

1. Your digital darkroom is your computer.
2. A raw image makes you think about your photo. Its dark, flat and not very appealing.
3. You can turn raw to jpeg but not jpeg to raw.
4. Raw pictures are meant to be edited.
5. A raw file is the equivalent of a film negative. It captures all of the detail in the scene. It stores it in “code form” onto the disc which in reality is a small computer, but it also creates incredibly large files that are space hogs on your computer. It also requires some type of processing to get the perfect image.
6. Why would you want to use raw format?  Because you REALLY love spending hours editing!!  But the real reason is you want total control over the final product and you want to make very large pieces of wall art.
7. A JPEG photo is basically what you see is what you get. The camera (computer) makes the decisions for you as to what the image should look like based on factory programed presets. It compresses the data so working it “over” in the digital darkroom is limited but they take up way less space. The camera has “thrown” away data that could be very critical to what you say that moment that you made the image. If you edit the image with software it can take on the appearance of a salt and pepper overblown image and creates more frustration on the photographer.  Also, every time you save a JPEG file it compresses more to the point that at some time the image may be unusable.  Starting with a raw file will always maintain the original data.
8. Read your camera manual!!

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be at Camp Brewster. Camp Brewster is located at 1313 Fontenelle Blvd,  and the assignment will be to shoot a jpeg and raw image and see which one you like best.  Pick a subject with lots of contrast.

The presenter for our next meeting will be conservation photojournalist and former club president Alex Wiles. Alex will talk to the group about the project he did this summer Alex documenting the Missouri River from its source down to its terminal confluence with the Mississippi River.

Thanks to Donna Gray and the Trojanowskis for treats tonight.

Submitted by Sue Mininni (For Eric Scholar, Secretary).

Just a quick note to remind everyone of our upcoming meeting and what we will be discussing this month.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is this Thursday, October 18th at 7 PM. The meeting will be held, as usual, in the Forest Room of the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center.

This month club president, Jay Davis, will discuss the merits of shooting in the two image file formats, JPEG and RAW. We will also go over the One Lens Shoot Challenge that Jay introduced last month.

So if you haven’t done so already, take some time before our meeting to go out using one lens and one focal length and capture some images of leaves, which is this month’s subject. You can make minimal post processing adjustments like contrast and color to your images. Once you have reviewed your images, print and bring in one image on a 4×6 print. The group will then review the images and vote on the best three images.

Let’s get some strong participation with this challenge. Remember, the point is not to win, but rather to exercise your creative muscles and learn from your fellow club members.

Club Dues

If you haven’t done so already, please remember to bring cash or a check to pay your dues for this club year. Dues are the same as they have been in years past, $12 for individuals, $20 for a family. Our Treasurer Kathleen will not be able to attend the meeting, but Judy Dye will cover for her and will take dues payments.

Photo Displays – Judy Dye

We will be collecting prints for our photo displays at the Forest and the Bellevue Library. Upcoming image topics are:

November: Autumn and Churches

February: Anything old and trees

April: Forms in nature and glass.

The photos can be 8×10, 8×12 or 11×14. No mattes or frames please. Remember to add your name, the subject and the location on the back of each photo you submit.

Please let me know if there are any questions. Otherwise, we will see you and your challenge images on Thursday evening!

Peter Carbonell

Webmaster

Fontenelle Forest Photography Club

webmaster@fontenelleforestphotoclub.org