2018 was an eventful year for Sunny 16 with numerous outings attended by most of the members. Wonderful and informative lectures from guest speakers enlightened all. Small breakout groups were assembled to explore various avenues of photography and each of them were well attended, and members provided numerous video programs to showcase their efforts. We had award winners and exciting exhibits. We learned from, supported, and enjoyed each others company, and sadly, we lost one of our own. Rest in Peace Hack...you are missed.
2019 looms ahead of us and with its approach new challenges will dangle like the proverbial carrot on a stick in front of us. Projects are planned or are in their early stages of development and the club will once again take cameras in hand to explore what possibilities await us. I hope each of us takes time to reflect on the past year and contemplate what the new year might offer.
Photography is a creative activity and each of us possess a desire to express how we see nature and the world in general. We have residing within us a restless feeling...a feeling that drives us to see the world through a different set of eyes and to capture extraordinary visions of what we see. That restless drive guides us forward everyday to try new things and to perfect what we already know. How much we learn, how we grow as photographers and artists, is buoyed by this drive from within and uplifted by the encouragement we receive from our fellow club members.
I hope every club member will explore the new challenges and possibilities of the new year. We can create and share extraordinary images from our lives. I am excited to witness the new possibilities
There is more to photography than simply taking pictures. Post processing can become an exciting and creative tool to transform your images into works of art. Sheila Reeves shares with us her process to create Kaleidoscope Patterns from images. Give it a try...I believe you will discover a new world filled with artistic flavors.
Part 1:
Select a photograph. Images with
bold, contrasting colors and negative space work well.
Open your image in Photoshop
Right click on the image in the
layers panel, and select Convert to Smart Object.
Add space around the image:
Go
to Image > Canvas Size.
Set
the length and width to be at least 1” larger than two times the current value
for the long side.
Then zoom out so you see the entire canvas on your screen.
Use the Move Tool to drag your photo toward
the upper left edge of the canvas, leaving a little blank space at the top and
on the right.
Duplicate your image by right
clicking it in the layers panel and selecting Duplicate Layer (or use shortcut
Ctrl+J or Cmd+J).
Rename
this layer as Layer 1.
Use the Move Tool to drag Layer 1 to
the right so it lines up with, and touches the original layer.
The next step is to merge the layers
of the rectangle you have made so it can be moved around as one layer:
Right-click on Layer 0 in the layers panel and select Merge Visible. With the
Move Tool selected, drag the layer into the center of the canvas. Decide on a
rotation angle – any number that can be divided evenly in 360. The smaller the
angle, the more complex the kaleidoscope. I like to use 15. Part 2:
Duplicate the layer. Rename the layer
with a number 1 greater than highest layer number. (Layer 1, Layer 2, etc.)
Make sure you have selected the layer
you just created. Click Edit > Transform > Rotate.
The Transform settings panel is at
the top of the screen. In the box next to the symbol of an angle, enter your
rotation angle value, and press enter. Then select the check mark box to apply
this rotation.
Repeat steps 16-18 until you have
completed your kaleidoscope. The number of layers you create will depend on the
angle of rotation you choose.
45
degrees à layers 0-3 30 degrees à layers 0-5 15 degrees à layers 0-11 10 degrees à layers 0-17
Part 3:
Now you need to blend the layers
together: Select all
layers except layer 0 in the layers panel by holding down the shift key and
clicking on layer 1 and the highest number layer. With the layers selected,
click on the Blending Mode drop down menu (it should say normal) and select the
Lighten Option. You may want to try different blend modes and see which one you
like best.
Finally, crop the image to clean up
jagged edges and do any other editing you wish to do.
Seven years running now members of the Sunny 16 Camera Club spent another day, December 15, 2018 taking family portraits for HELP Portrait. Help portrait provides family portraits to low income families in our community. Many of these families have never had a family portrait made because of the cost. This years event was again located at The Foundry in Bowling Green. Many thanks to them for providing us with a great location.
Sunny 16 provided free of charge an 8x10 framed print to all families who came to the event. We also took numerous photo's with Santa and Mrs Claus for the families again this year.
Thanks to all the volunteers for taking time out of their day to provide support for this project. The laughter, the smiles, the gratitude of the families were shared across the board and all of us who participated received a great deal more in return seeing their eyes light up when they received their photos.
Please enjoy these few behind the scenes photos of the team participating in today's event. A great deal of technical support was required...computer setups, photo editors, printers, photographers, framers, plus many who provided activities for the kids while they waited for their prints.
It was a festive and fun evening of good food, fellowship, and winning prizes! The Sunny 16 Club members showed up in great numbers at our annual Christmas dinner. Plenty of laughs were shared, we all stuffed ourselves with a great pot luck dinner, and we spent time having fun just hanging out without a camera around our necks. Here's a few photos provided by Janet Young of this fun evening.
Thanx to all who came, to all of our wonderful sponsors for the great gifts...we gave away over $1000 worth of good stuff...and Merry Christmas to all. Can't wait for a new year of exciting photography adventures.
The Kentucky Museum invites professional as well as amateur artists to enter its Celebration of the Arts competition.
Age 18 and above
Residing in Kentucky within a 65-mile radius of Bowling Green
All work will be exhibited at the Kentucky Museum from March 2 through April 5
Works are judged with awards given in eight categories
Exhibition Schedule
February 8 Deadline for entry
February 15, 9am - 7pm Hand-delivered work due
March 1, 6 - 8pm Opening reception, awards presented at 7 pm
March 2 - April 5 Exhibit during museum hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 9am - 4pm
Every photographer is different in the way they see and capture the world around them. We all have our likes and dislikes and we all possess varying degrees of insight along with the ability to visually compose the images we capture. Sometimes I will instinctively take a photo and not until later when I begin to look at the image do I see the reasons why it was composed the way it was.
When I first took a closer look at this particular image it looked rather ordinary and not at all like what my minds eye would normally reflect. It is an image taken on the Tallgrass Prairie some years ago and the more I studied the image the more I began to understand the justifications of its composition. What I saw was how instinctively the concept of Convergences was applied to the theme of the image.
Convergence when applied to a photograph means the separations of key elements and how they influence the overall strength of the image. What stands out in this photograph are four elements.
The first element is the sky. The upper left appears dark and foreboding while the lower right appears lighter and more delicate. The two sections are separated by the wispy layer of clouds that angle across the center section with dark elements on the upper left and lighter reflections on the lower right. It represents a good separation of the bold from the more delicate portion of the sky. Without the clouds, the sky would be ordinary and have less influence on the outcome of the image.
The second element is very subtle and almost a non-element yet it defines a key component, the distant horizon. I'm talking about that sliver of straight line in the lower right that defines the separation from the sky and the prairie horizon. It's very small, yet definitely there and serves an important purpose to identify this location as part of larger expanse of landscape.
The third element is the arch of the landscape across the bottom third of the image. Along its top edge you can see random selections of grass extending above the ground to touch the sky above. Without these grass clumps rising above the horizontal arch line, the composition would lose depth and look rather flat. The grass extending into the sky gives the image a sense of place, a feeling of standing in a big open expanse. The large rock near the center is the eye catcher element and it too extends above the arch horizon as well thus adding even more depth and a solid foundation to the composition by becoming the fulcrum high point of the arch. With it being slightly offset, it serves to balance the image against the other elements. The low angle of the morning light also creates dramatic shadowing and highlights on the grassy elements adding more depth.
The fourth and final element includes that single stalk of a white plant on the left...probably an evasive Queen-Annes Lace plant...that stands out against the darker gray background. It is part of the larger expanse of grasses themselves who have elements of lighter and darker textures. That one element helps to bring the image forward toward the viewers eye and adds a 3-dimensional element to the composition.
Three layers can be observed across this arch; the distant horizon on the right, the arch against the sky, and the forward frontal element of the white flower. Everything fits in place...there are no convergences that interfere with each other. Oddly enough, at the time the photo was taken, I probably wasn't even thinking in that context. Somehow, instinctively, it all lined up the way it should have. The fact that it was converted to Black and White with a subtle Sepia tone reduced the visual impact of the image to a more graphic look making the structural elements of the image more prominent.
Convergences can make or break a photograph. When they are properly placed, the image takes on a natural appeal. Seeing them while in the field takes practice and sometimes simple luck. Using and understanding them moves a photograph forward and creates a visual dialog that speaks to the viewer.
As part of the Sunny 16 Media Page, we have the opportunity to create and display member photographer profile video's. This is a great way to add a higher level of interest to the page and to make it more personable for viewers. So, let's take a look at how we create these videos.
First of all the profile videos are simply a way for our members to say a few things about themselves and their photography. It is open to all members of Sunny 16, so anyone interested in being a part of this can join in on the opportunity.
Some Basics: The videos will run between 3 and 5 minutes maximum and consists of an on screen self interview portion, some in the field video, dubbed in audio, and a small collection of the photographers still pictures that demonstrate their unique style of photography.
Who Makes the Videos: Well, right now the video footage and video mixing is all done by Keith Bridgman. The process is being ironed out and simplified as we go. All videos are mixed using ProShow Producer and uploaded to YouTube so we can embed them within the Media Page.
How Long Does it Take: In most cases the video footage takes about an hour or so to capture. This can vary depending on the complexity of additional footage we may take, but it really doesn't require a great deal of time. We typically will shoot a few 30 sec to 1 minute clips in an indoor environment, and also a few short clips outdoors simulating a real location shoot. In addition to this we record a few segments of audio only that can be dubbed into the final video. Producing the final profile video takes a few hours depending on various factors and another hour or so to upload. Keith will do all of the production work and uploading so all you have to do is be yourself.
What Do I Need To Do: It is open to all members who want to participate, just contact Keith at krbrid@aol.com or ask him about it at one of our club meetings. Things to consider before hand include: Think about what you want to say - include things like how you got started in photography, the kind of photography you like to do, and some of the philosophical aspects of what photography means to you. These need to be relatively short statements, but personal and conversational. Also talk about any projects you might be working on and potential for the future of your photography.
The idea here is to create a simple and personable video conversation about you as a photographer. During the video filming Keith will help you through the process and it is normal to make several takes before we get it right.
That's a Wrap: Okay then...hope this encourages more of you to consider participating in this activity. It is simply another avenue of photography we can explore together. Don't be shy about doing this...it's really a non-threatening and fun part of being a member of Sunny 16.
Mike Moats is leaving the signup open for a while longer in order to have enough people for the Bowling Green Macro Boot Camp shooting opportunity. Click the link below for more information.
WHAT: Wild 4 Life Informational Meeting and Fox Photo Exhibit WHEN: December 5, 6:00pm
WHERE: Little Fox Bakery, 314 E. Main, Bowling Green
Everyone is invited to enjoy the fox photo exhibit by Jan Trabue, enjoy delicious pastries, and hear from Lori Dawson, licensed and certified Wildlife Rehabilitation specialist. Lori Dawson is the owner of Wild 4 Life Rehabilitation Center and will share what she does and detail the specific goals and needs she has. This year, 2018, Lori rescued, rehabilitated, and released 500 animals!
All fox images will be for sale for $50 and that money will be given to Wild 4 Life!
Sunny 16 Camera Club Minutes November 2018 - Submitted by Alison Houk
There were 27 club members present.
President Tommy Hatcher started by telling the club that there will be no
challenge or open category for photos next month as we will be having our
annual Christmas potluck in our meeting room on December 11th ,
our usual meeting night, but it will begin at 6:00 instead of 7:00. Meats and
drinks will be provided by the club and we ask that club members bring either a
salad, side dish, or dessert. There will be a prize for every member. Tommy has
asked that by December 1st members get back to me and
let me know if you are coming and if you’re bringing someone. We need to
know how much meat to buy. There will be Heavenly Ham and Turkey. There will be
a slideshow running showing pictures from the year of challenge and open category
entries. There will also be prints on display from Donn Miertl’s Print Analysis
group.
Tommy opened the floor for nominations for next year officers:
Tommy Hatcher was nominated for president,
Allison Houk for secretary
Erin Denny as Treasury.
The nominations will remain open till January. Any member who wants to nominate
anyone please email Alison: alisonhouk@gmail.com before the January meeting.
Keith Bridgman explained about The Club's new Media Page that is a site for the club to use.
You can put pictures, blogs, messages, notes, personal profiles, etc. Contact
info is on there. The address is: sunnysixteencameraclub.blogspot.com.
The board made a final decision on dues for next year. This year dues won’t be
prorated as in the past. The dues are as follows:
Student--$15
Individual--$36
Family--$40.
At the church where we meet there will be a Christmas Market on December 1st from
9:00-2:00. You can have a booth there or you can just come and shop. Vendor space
is $25 and goes to Habitat for Humanity.
Ms. Theo Wellington presented a program on Astrophotography. It was both
interesting and instructive with lots of new information for all.
On the Facebook page there is information from Mike Moats about a Boot Camp on
Macro Photography here the first weekend in February. If you are interested,
you must sign up by December 1st. The fee is $199 for the two day
workshop which is about 50/50 on instruction and shooting.
Sheila Reeves and Jason Reagan are checking on pricing for speakers to use for
our programs because of so much interference with the format we currently have.
The club is currently exhibiting right in our meeting room at the church. It is
a splendid display of great photography. Everyone agrees that we have shown
great leaps in our artistry. The prints mus come down during the day on
December 6th as others will go up that night.
Ronnie Ryne spoke about the annual project that the club participates in.
Help-Portrait is a program that provides portraits to people who might not
otherwise afford them. We have families, children, singles, etc. coming in for
portraits. It’s a very detail-oriented project that we have down to a pretty
good system. Example: Tommy will do a photo session, Merideth will bring that
thumb drive to Alan who will retouch it and give it to Ronnie who will print it
out-8x10- and then Julie will frame it and we’ll present to the family. It
takes a lot of planning and work to keep it all on track. If you haven’t been,
come by and see how it works.
Bill Dow’s 4th Tuesday group will meet with Donn’s Print
Analysis group on November 27th in the meeting room at Bob
Kirby Library. 7:00-??
We have a new place to exhibit our prints. Little Fox Bakery, where member Jan
Trabue is now showing. They can take about 20 prints and we will show there in
February.
After Jason showed the challenge photos—Street Photography—and the Open
Category pictures, which were all very well done, we adjourned.
What did I forget?
Alison Houk
Secretary
Sunny 16 Camera Club
The club welcomed Theo Wellington to Bowling Green as our guest speaker for the evening and she presented an amazing and interesting program about Astrophotography. She is a member of the Solar System Ambassadors and member of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society.
Theo Wellington holds one of the Props, a 6 inch reflecting telescope
She introduced the program with an array of basic information about how to get started in this fascinating form of photography and progressed into a discussion about some of the equipment that can be used.
Her program also included some of her own images of the night sky along with other images taken by world class night sky photographers. All of them were excellent examples of what can be accomplished and discovered within the night sky realm.
The program was informative and interesting and arguably one of the best we've had for 2018. Hopefully this will stir up some interest on the subject from within the club members to get out and give this exciting form of photography a try.
Although cold weather has settled in, the Night Photography group is still active and with the winter sky now becoming visible, some interesting objects will be available to photograph. More information on an upcoming shooting opportunity will be provided when we approach some good shooting skies.
Janet Young Photo
Thanks to Theo for her preparation and taking the time to share her vision of the night sky with us.
Janet and Jason prepare equipment for Theo's presentation
On Saturday, November 3, 2018, five members of Sunny 16
traveled to Mike Matthews home photography studio in Louisville, KY (http://mikematthewsphotography.com) where we
were able to photograph about a dozen different animals in a variety of
settings.
Mike keeps certain animals (such as the red-eyed tree frog)
all of the time, but other critters get sold back in order to purchase
different ones.
In a three hour session, we were able to photograph species
native to places all over the world!
The attendees were Alan and Sheila Reeves, Ronnie Ryne, Bob
Smith, and Tommy Hatcher.
Photo's by Tommy Hatcher, Ronnie Ryne, Sheila Reeves, Alan Reeves, and Bob Smith
A Photographic Minute is a new video series we will add to from time to time. The idea with this is to create a brief video where we discuss various photography related topics our members and/or viewers may find interesting and useful.
Hopefully, we will get other members involved as a host in future productions. No experience is required so anyone who wants to participate is welcome to. I (Keith) will be glad to do all the video work along with the post production development. None of us are experts at this so we are all learning how to use this interesting and useful form of photography.
Topics can be of any photography related subjects. Suggestions include things like Model Posing, Shooting with Off Camera flash, Working with Models in the Field, Post processing / Photoshop techniques, Lens selection, Photo techniques, ...and so on.
There is no real time limit on the video clips although 4 to 5 minutes is preferable for various reasons and the videos posted will be archived for future viewing. Take a look at the attached video. It is just a first attempt to show the possibilities.
Features: Sharing
Information, Photographs, Videos, Slideshows, Tutorials, Calendar of Events,
Search for previous entries, Links to personal websites, and more.
Basic How to Use Info:
The Media site is an easy to use
social media website specifically created for Sunny Sixteen Club members. It is
hosted on Blogger which is a well-established, secure, and respected blog page
hosting site. Anyone can open the page by simply using the site address listed
above. At this time actual update capabilities
are limited to the Administrators, Keith Bridgman and Janet Young, and a few
other club officers with author privileges, however all club members can
contribute to the page, so let’s take a look at how you can create posts.
Media Posts: One of the main functions of the site is to provide for
articles either specifically related to the club or about photography in
general. These articles are posted and archived and show up on the left side of
the page. To submit an article for publication all you have to do is to write
it up either as a Word document, or through an email and send it to either
Keith or Janet. You can contact Keith at krbrid@aol.com
or beyondthecampfirebykeith@gmail.com.
Janet will provide her contact information later. They will be able to cut and
paste your article and place it on the media site.
Things you may want to consider as topics to submit are articles
about a vacation or trip you took, club sponsored trips or shoots, tutorials or
how-to-do articles related to photography, Photoshop, or something along those
lines. You can also submit material about a specific image and tell us about
how it was created. Also consider including related images for your post
material. When submitting images along with your post material please resize
them to something between 400 and 500 pixels on the long side. Anything larger is really not necessary.
Calendar: The site also includes a Calendar of events. Right now,
making updates to the calendar is restricted to one person, Keith, with the possibility
of expanding access to it later on. But, again, you can submit event
information and it will be posted to the calendar at the soonest possible time,
usually the same day it is submitted. There are two ways to submit calendar
event information. The easiest is to actually use the Contact Information
section of the page. Just simply enter your name, your email address, and short message
including location, dates and time, and a brief description of the event. This
message gets sent to Keith’s email and he will make the entry for you. Try to send event notifications well ahead of time of the actual event.
Slide Shows / Videos: If you want to submit images for a simple
slide show, you can email them to Keith, again limit the size of the images to
about 500 pixels on the long side, and he will create a simple Google slide
show that can be embedded. Please include basic information about the pictures
like who, what, when and where. Another way to submit a slide show is to upload
one you externally created to YouTube or to Facebook and then provide the Embed
HTML code YouTube / Facebook generates. We can help you with the process if you
are not sure how to do something like that.
You can also submit a video. Again,
the best way to do that is to upload it to YouTube or Facebook and provide the
HTML Embed code the same as with the Slide show uploads. Again we can help you
with that. Slide shows should be limited to maybe 10 or 12 pictures and videos
limited to around 4 minutes if possible.
How to Write a Post:
Don’t
be shy about attempting to submit a club related article for posting. The page
is there for your use and input. We want members to use it and feel comfortable
in the process. The site will only be successful if the members take advantage
of it. Understandably, many of you may think you are not up to writing a post,
but I encourage you to try anyway. Things to keep in mind when you are writing are
just simple common sense things like keep the content simple and write
using your own voice. Share with us about your experience, we really do want
to hear from you. Try to keep the article to between 300 and 400 words maximum,
but there is really no limit. We’ll let you know if it is too long, but, even a
simple paragraph or two will work.
One thing to think about when describing your experiences is
to remember one age old axiom of writing: Show me, Don’t tell me. What this
means is to use strong Verbs in place of Adjectives, to actually describe the
situation as opposed to telling about the situation. An example of Telling
would be to say something like “It was a cold windy day.” Although a
grammatically correct statement, it lacks imaginative clout. Trust the reader to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks. Instead of "it
was a cold windy day", try something like “A strong wind cut through every fiber
of my flimsy jacket”. Your reader will generate in their mind what you mean and
will know it was a cold windy day by how you described what you were feeling…But, don’t get so caught up in worrying about
things like that at first…just write using your voice.
Okay. That is enough for now. If any of you need help with
the site or with posting, feel free to contact Keith and he will help you out.
Thanks for taking to time to check it out and giving it a try. Also take a look at the Media Page Overview Video posted on the club Facebook page or just watch it here.
Sunny 16 Camera Club Minutes October
President, Tommy Hatcher, began the meeting by asking for a moment of silence
for two members who have lost loved ones recently.
The challenge for next month is Street Photography. There are some rules about
this that you might need to find out before just going out and shooting.
At the 4th Tuesday meeting at the Depot they will be discussing
these rules. If you need to know them before, get in touch with Bill Dow or
Keith Bridgman. I totally put that in without asking either of them, but feel
both would be happy to assist.
Upcoming events:
3rd Saturday, the 20th, is the picnic at Julie
Barrick’s farm again. Everyone enjoyed it this summer. It’s potluck and there
will be corn hole, fishing, and the slinging of steel wool that gets great
results in photos. Donn Miertl’s Beginner’s class will meet there and work. The
event runs from 3:00-6:00ish. Bring some food and a chair and plan on having a
great time.
4th Tuesday, as mentioned, they will be discussing the Do’s and
Don’ts of Street Photograph, the legality of it, etc. Also, bring images for
critiques.
November 3rd, another trip to Louisville for a class with Mike
Matthews on Macro. Bring your camera and a Speedlight. The members who went
before got some amazing results. The cost is $125 and must still be paid if you
can’t make it, unless someone takes your place. You can pay him that day. The
group will probably stop somewhere on the way back to shoot.
Thursday was the drop off for prints going into the exhibition at the church
that is also in conjunction with the Gallery Hop. They will go up Friday,
today, and there is a reception for the Gallery Hop at the church from
5:30-8:00. They could use a few hors d’oeuvres (chips and dip, small
sandwiches, cookies, etc.—finger foods).
The speaker at the next meeting is Theo Wellington, astronomy and night
photography through telescopes. Cool stuff.
Next month will be good for nature shots and the nature photography group will
have a shoot planned. Places were discussed, such as Brigadoon where there is a
small waterfall and lots of nature to shoot. Mammoth Cave area is always good.
State parks, too.
The Print Analysis group is thinking of getting a conference room at the
library for judges to use for judging and the club members are invited to
attend and see how it’s done and what is used to critique. In December, all the
prints entered will be on display for a final vote.
October 16th, club member, Keith Bridgman, will give another class
at the Bob Kirby Library on Taking Photography to the Next Level. He’s done
this before and it was well-attended and highly praised. People learned quite a
lot. Keith is an excellent photographer and a good teacher. Consider taking the
class. It’s through Community Education.
We saw a slideshow of both the challenge, Intentional Camera
Movement, and the opencategory. Both had some excellent photos in
them and there was discussion on some of the more unique shots.
Our speaker for the meeting was Lisa Deavers, the Executive Director of Gallery
on the Square in Franklin. The club has exhibited there a couple of times. The
Gallery has been there for 26 years and is in a lovely old building right on
Main Street. They have several different mediums of art and are part of the
Simpson County Artists and Craftsman. They’ve asked us to be part of an exhibit
in 2020 about how Franklin and Simpson County were formed from parts of three
counties. The discussion centered around how photographers could make money.
Exposure was the best answer. Ms. Deavers was both interesting and informative.
The club had a discussion about making plans to connect with other photo clubs
for either a meet and greet or joint projects or shows. It would be great to
share information with others.
The dues will be raised next year, starting with the January meeting, though if
you wanted to join for next year in November, you could. Our December meeting
is our big potluck at the church, not a business meeting.
Nominations for board officers will be taken, those being,
President,
Vice President,
Secretary, and
Treasurer.
The new dues will be as follows:
$36-Single
$50-Family
$18-Student
What did I forget?
Alison Houk
Secretary
Sunny 16 Camera Club
