February Meeting – Best Foot Forward

The theme for our February meeting is “Best Foot Forward”. This one is open to interpretation, but I suspect we’ll see a lot of, well, feet. Head on over to facebook.com/theoscc and browse our wall posts to see some examples.

We would also like to note that the next meeting is on Valentine’s Day, so if you can’t make it because of something Cupid did… we’ll understand. 😉

Grey County Life Interview

Today Greg and Lynn appeared on Grey County Life with Diane Foulds on Rogers Local TV. They were on to talk about the club and outline what we do. We hope to have a video of the interview to show at next week’s meeting. There are a few photos from the studio posted on our Facebook page. You can see them at http://on.fb.me/zI8dJP.

December Theme: Sentient Beings

The word “sentient” means having the capacity for feeling.  The word “beings” pertains to people and animals.  The theme for us this month means trying to capture people or animals in a moment of “feeling” or in a mood.  It allows you to use the Mik’sang approach to capturing live beings in a way that shows emotion, a mood or a personality trait.  It also means capturing that moment without the subject being aware of the camera pointed in their direction. Nor is the subject posed for the picture.  You may have to think about camera settings for indoors to avoid using a flash. Capture the mood with photographing only body parts like hands or feet.  Be prepared with your camera handy for that “unexpected” moment. Be patient and wait for that “moment” to happen.

The holiday season is a good time for photographing “Sentient Beings” at family gatherings or public events like parades. Go through your files to find past pictures that may fit in this category. Have fun over the holiday season!

You can see some examples of Sentient Beings at http://on.fb.me/vkzHky

November Theme: Light Trails

We all know that photography is, in its simplest terms, capturing light. What makes photography fun and interesting is the many ways in which we can go about capturing that light. This month’s theme is “Light Trails”. This type of subject matter can be interpreted in a few different ways.

The first thing one thinks of when they hear “light trails” is a slow exposure taken at night of cars driving down the street or perhaps a ride at the amusement park with lots of colourful lights swirling about to make nice patterns. Well, although these are great subjects that will produce light trails, you should also keep in mind that all photography is using light, day or night. So, with that in mind, a trail of light can be made anytime, depending on what type of subject you wish to shoot. A popular method used in photography is lens painting, which uses a slow shutter speed to create a blurred image where you may or may not be able to see what the subject actually is.

Try different techniques when getting light trails. Use your imagination, and “wow” us with your results. And keep in mind, even if you are not a member of the Owen Sound Camera Club, try this theme out and feel free to post some of your shots on the Club’s Facebook page at facebook.com/theoscc.

October’s “Monochrome” Theme

The term of monochrome usually means black & white or grayscale. But it may also be used to refer to a combination of shades of one colour like green, red, etc. This challenge would like you to explore some of these colours. Here are some examples of how you can achieve this;

1) Use your macro lens to get in close to an object like a flower of one colour. Use shadows and textures to compose an interesting picture.

2) Take a picture of an object on a background of the same colour, i.e., Green frog on a green leaf.

3) Experiment with Blue Light to get a monochrome dusk or dawn shot.

4) Take a picture through a diaphanous material of one colour, i.e., Coloured glass or sheer curtain.

5) Convert the picture to sepia tones.

Use your imagination to shoot unusual pictures while remembering techniques like Mik’sang, Impressionism, Lens Painting and using a variety of lenses.

Post submitted by Lynn Reket. Look for some sample images on our Facebook page in the coming days.

Autumn Colours Theme

The Camera Club had their first outing for the new season with a small membership present to try shooting for our theme “Fall Colours.” The idea was to shoot creatively for an old theme using techniques we learned over the past few years at workshops and seminars. We were to focus on the colour wheel and try to capture complementary colours, gradient shades of one color or monochrome. Ideally, we wanted our members to think outside the box. So this outing was an opportunity to “create” some non-traditional Still Life scenes of fall colours. Here are some examples to watch for. Try shooting “outside the box” and bring in your favourite five pictures at our next meeting on October 11, 2011.

You can see some of the images at http://on.fb.me/pteFvx

Submitted by Lynn Reket

Photo Walk

On August 14, the camera club held a photo walk, or what was intended to be a photo walk. The premise of a photo walk is to stroll along and shoot photos of whatever catches your eye, and the idea is not to stop for any longer than the time it takes to snap the picture. Photo walks are usually enjoyed by groups of people. This wasn’t the case for ours.

The weather was not the best for enjoying a nice walk, but fortunately for the four of us who did show up, the shooting conditions were quite good. It was an overcast day that provided for nice, even light, so harsh contrast wasn’t a concern. Of those in attendance, three were club members. You can see some of the images they captured in a special gallery by clicking on this link.