photography – Owen Sound Camera Club

President’s Message

There is no greater service than to do a service for others. At times it seems overwhelming for me, but as I interact with you, it makes it all very worthwhile. It is the respect I have for our membership and for the Executive that has allowed me to accept the role as your President.

This is a great time for photography, but first let’s look at the definition of photography. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia writes:

“Photography is the science, art and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film.”

So what does this mean? Well, it essentially means that in our world of film cameras, digital cameras, and smartphones like the iPhone, and we’ll include the iPad here too, there has to be acceptance in our club. After all, it’s not just what captures the image, but what is done to achieve the final result. No one has struggled more with this than me. I have often poked fun at iPhone images. The truth is, it’s been recorded that more money is paid out for iPhone photos than any other medium.

In Recent Times

2014 was a good year for the club. Our meetings have been moved to a new location, our membership grew to fifty members and we instituted a Mission Statement.

In September 2015 I officially became president. We continued to grow — as of this writing, we stand at fifty-eight members — and we continue to build a strong foundation for the future as we work on developing a strong constitution. As we approach our sixtieth calendar year I am excited as many changes are taking place. We have a new logo that many members had input on. We arranged to have apparel designed with this logo available to our membership, once a month we have a photo published in the Owen Sound Sun Times, and in May 2016 our club will be exhibited at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. We also have official membership cards thanks to our Secretary, Michelle.

Also we have a workshop planned in April, hosted by Rob Cotton. Rob is an accomplished photographer and teacher; for many years Rob has done workshops on the Bruce Peninsula.

Our membership is very good at sharing their knowledge with each other. Members are starting to get together for outings and working on projects together.

Our monthly meetings have become very interactive. When I facilitate the meetings I notice a lot of communication amongst our members. Folks are arriving as much as forty minutes early and many are volunteering for various tasks. This is very healthy for our club.

The Future

I’m very excited for the future of the Owen Sound Camera Club. If we continue to grow we may have to find another venue for our club meetings, and that also means that the art of photography is very much alive and well within our community. We’re already working on a program for next season that will reflect our mission statement.

In closing I want to thank everyone for their support, for their friendship and for their mentorship. The future of The Owen Sound Camera Club looks to be very promising. The membership is a part of this success. I hope you are all proud to be members of the Owen Sound Camera Club because I am very proud to be your President.

Randy O’Hara

Photo Critiquing

Critiquing a photograph can be a tricky thing to do. You want to give an opinion on the image but how do you go about it? Sure, you can be blunt and just say what comes to mind, but sometimes that can backfire and what comes out might not be what was really on your mind.

Before you give a critique on a photo, first make sure it is welcome by the photographer. An unsolicited critique can tarnish the relationship, if any, between the photographer and the one with the opinion. There are many websites where photos are uploaded for the sole purpose of getting critiqued, and usually the photographer will ask for help with the image in the picture’s description. Your friends may post them to social media outlets just for the sake of sharing them. Should that be the case, and if you’d like to give them your thoughts on the image, simply ask them if it’s okay.

Further preparation for critiquing would include educating yourself on the subject matter of the photo. This may not be of the highest importance in some cases but, depending on the subject matter of the image, when trying to help someone improve their craft, a little more knowledge could go a long way. Honesty is another good characteristic of a quality critique. No artist wants to be misled by patronization or “feel good” comments. Go into a critique with the intent to be helpful.

When commenting on someone’s technique, be sure to ask “why” they made the photo look the way it’s presented. They may have taken an artistic approach that, to them, is exactly what they were after, but to anyone else, looks like a mistake. The photo could be out of focus or have a colour shift that just looks odd. Maybe it’s supposed to look that way, but then again, maybe it really is a mistake, a blunder caused by a mere erroneous camera setting. Asking “why” can sometimes help the photographer understand what went right or wrong with their photo.

Keep your critique neutral. Don’t give a biased opinion because that could confuse the artist. What you think the image should look like and what they were after in terms of a result could easily be two different things. This goes along with the “why” part of a good critique. When discussing a photo with its creator, the conversation should produce ways that could improve their work, maybe even motivate them to make another attempt at the same shot if its possible. The last thing you want to do when critiquing someone’s work is discourage them from continuing on or trying to improve.

Be aware of your statements. Short comments like ”that’s nice” may be complimentary but offer no direction to teach the photographer what makes a good photo. Put some thought into it and be thorough. Also, be constructive if you have to be critical. It’s easy to point out what you feel is wrong with a photo, but it’s much more helpful to end the discussion with a positive note. It makes the photographer feel better knowing he or she learned something about their image, yet at the same time, they still have done something right.

I’d like to encourage club members and non-members alike to be more open to giving and receiving critiques on their work. It’s an important part of the learning process, and I’ve always said the Owen Sound Camera Club is all about the learning.

Cheers,

Greg

A Great Start to the Season

All I can say is “Wow!” Last night was the first meeting of the 2014-15 season and boy, did we have a crowd on hand. Some folks had to stand (we apologize, and thank you for sticking it out) and I don’t recall that ever happening before.

First of all I’d like to say a big “Thank you” to all of those who were in attendance. We had most of last year’s membership body on hand as well as a host of new faces, some of whom are now new members. That is awesome! I’d like to see the membership grow more… because apparently, the numbers were quite a bit larger in the 70s, so the challenge has been accepted!

The theme for this meeting was “High Key – Low Key” and some folks found it a little challenging while others had a good grasp of the concept. But that’s what the club is all about – learning. I admit, it wasn’t the easiest of themes, but sometimes facing a challenge in photography is the best way to master the concept presented. The theme for October’s meeting is “Silhouettes” and shouldn’t be as difficult to master, but might challenge one’s creativity, mine included.

Something new that was introduced to the club was the idea of implementing mobile photography into the club’s curriculum. There are literally millions upon millions of people globally practicing this type of work, although most of them for more social reasons than for the art of the craft. We’ll see over time how, and if, mobile photography fits into the OSCC culture.

Well, that’s about it for now. This left-brained chap can’t recall every detail of the meeting but I’ve been able to jot down some of the highlights. If you’re reading this and are within a reasonable geographical distance of Owen Sound, by all means, you are welcome to attend our next meeting on Tuesday, October 14 at 7pm.

Oh, one last thing. Tom Jenks, a member for the past seven or so years and a Past President, announced last night that he will be relocating out of the area and will not be renewing his membership. Tom has graced us over the last couple of years with presentations from trips to Africa and Antarctica and the photos he shared with us were truly amazing. We wish Tom the best is his future endeavours and continued success in his photographic ventures. Thank you Tom for your company, your wit, your wisdom, and your wonderful imagery. We hope to see you someday down the road.

Greg McMillan,

President of the Owen Sound Camera Club

June Scavenger Hunt

As mentioned in our last post about the June Social, we had a photographic “Scavenger Hunt” organized by Lynn Reket. The results are highlighted in the following YouTube video.

Sky Crystals

Sky Crystals – every one is unique. And Don Komarechka can prove it. Don is looking for funding for his new book. If you like something different, something unique, you’ll like what he does with his camera to show the world what a snowflake really looks like.

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.

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.