Category: Photography

November Theme: Re-Creation

Our theme for November is a tricky one but should be fun and really stimulate your creativity. The idea here is to re-create a situation or event from some point in your past using a new photo that incorporates an old photo. It could be yesterday or yesteryear. How do you do it? Use your imagination.

We discussed two methods at out last meeting; one was to scan the old photo (or take a picture of it with your digital camera) and the other, most popular way amongst the members, was to take the “Dear Photograph” approach and hold up the old photo in the place it was originally taken and retake it. You can get a lot of ideas for this at the Dear Photograph site.

Here’s an example of what it may look like. Not a great example but just something I snapped in a hurry on Thanksgiving Day.

Re-Creation

Members, you can submit the usual five versions for the next meeting, but don’t be discouraged if you don’t get five. Have fun with this and enjoy you walk down memory lane.

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. 😉

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

March Meeting

We’ve made a change to our plan for the upcoming meeting. We were going to do a presentation on the workflow involved in digital photography but the opportunity has come up for us to share with you a great documentary film.

The movie we’re going to show is called Born Into Brothels. Its a story about a film maker who traveled to Calcutta to show what happens in the daily lives of the children living in the red light district. This film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2004 and is well worth the look.

You may be wondering why we are showing this film at a camera club meeting. The film maker gives each of the children a camera to capture and share their vision of the life they’ve been born into and some of the images they produce are just stunning. If you enjoy a good documentary and amazing photos, you won’t want to miss this meeting.

February Meeting

Don’t miss this meeting on February 8. Rob Cotton will be speaking about the history of photography. Rob works at Foto Art in Owen Sound, where our meetings are hosted. He’s not just an all around good guy, but he also puts on seminars for those looking to learn more about the various aspects of photography, from the basics of the digital camera to optimizing your digtal images. You can see more information about this and find out when these seminars take place on Rob’s Facebook page.

Welcome to the Owen Sound Camera Club

We are a community based group of photography enthusiasts who meet on the second Tuesday of each month from September to June in the back of Foto Art.

If you have any questions about the club or the site, you can reach us via the Contact Page, and feel free to leave any comments below or on any of our members’ Gallery Pages.


An Afternoon With Michael McLuhan

On Saturday November 6, the Owen Sound Camera Club had the pleasure of hosting a seminar by one of the area’s local gems, Master of the Photographic Arts, Michael McLuhan. His seminar was entitled “I Have Seen the Light”, and by the end of the afternoon, we did indeed see the light.

Michael setting up his "studio"

We were given a PowerPoint presentation of four different lighting techniques used in studio photography, with each technique followed up with a live demonstration featuring some of Michael’s equipment and a lovely young couple of models/photography students. Michael was a pleasure to listen to and promoted a very open and relaxed atmosphere, encouraging those in attendance to ask questions as the afternoon went on. And even if the question was off topic, he was able to stay right on track with the task at hand. Michael, however, is a no nonsense kind of guy when it comes to photography. He doesn’t care what he’s using for equipment at the time; the careful research and selection of his gear and the specs of that gear get left behind once the purchase is made. Going forward he puts all of his energy and expertise into his work, and it shows in his images.

Getting ready for the first demonstration

Michael taught us how to effectively use a light meter, and I must say, I don’t know that many of us in the club even own one, but don’t be surprised if a few of us are starting to think about getting one. If you are seriously thinking of getting into studio work, or are already doing it, there are two things that may be considered invaluable tools; a good light meter, and Michael’s PowerPoint presentation, which you can purchase from him personally. For more information, please contact him via his website at http://www.michaelmcluhan.com/, and while you’re there, browse through his images and be inspired.

Positioning the models

The last topic Michael covered was RAW File Handling, or processing RAW files. He is a firm believer in shooting in RAW file format, also known as the “digital negative” because it allows you to process your images with the most flexibility to get the result you want. This technique is generally used by those who are ready to take that plunge into the digital darkroom, and requires some advanced programs and a camera capable of shooting the RAW format.

Stay tuned to this post because Michael will be sending us an image or two from the seminar and we’ll be posting them here.

– Greg McMillan, Webmaster

The Owen Sound Camera Club is now on Twitter! If you are on Twitter, we are @oscameraclub, and if you’re not on Twitter, you can see us at http://twitter.com/oscameraclub