I may be a bit late to this party, but I recently purchased my first mirrorless camera.  I’m a Canon shooter and my primary camera is a 5D mark iv.  I had heard one of the benefits of the mirrorless cameras was their size and weight and this intrigued me.  I had just returned from a trip to Europe with my son and carried around the 5D, the 24-105 lens, and a wide angle 16-35 for architecture photography. I may have even brought along my Sigma 50mm 1.4 art lens for artsy and low light shots (never happened).  After carrying all this equipment around Europe for 10 days and not being able to take the time away from the usual sightseeing to do sunrise and sunset shots I thought seriously about getting a lighter camera. 

The Canon EOS R was not critically acclaimed when it was released.  I had read all the reviews, tests and opinion pieces that I could find, and watched most pieces on YouTube.  In recent times Canon has updated the firmware at least twice and improved the eye autofocus to where many say it is almost as good as Sony’s.  I also like the Canon menu system and find it easier to use than others.  As a Canon shooter it would be easy for me to learn.  The 24-105 L lens that comes with the camera if you purchase the kit is slightly better than the earlier lens for the DSLRs.  One recent improvement was much better stabilization in the lens itself.  I later learned from experience it is substantially better, at least in my opinion.  I have taken handheld shots down to 1/6 second that were very sharp. 

I decided to buy the EOS R with the 25-105 lens, in part because of its smaller and lighter frame and the outstanding lenses that are available for it.  The reviews on the other lenses that are available seem to be second to none, although pricey to say the least.  The fact there was a $700 discount on the combination certainly influenced my decision.  

I have had the camera for about a month or so.  It took a few days for me to feel comfortable with the smaller size of the camera body.  The button for Back Button Auto focus was in a different location and felt odd initially, not any longer.  I don’t use the camera for video, so I wasn’t interested in any of those features.  I have found the still images to be very sharp, the colors amazing and, all in all, I can see why some are beginning to give this camera a second look.  I like the electronic viewfinder.  It keeps me from shooting with the wrong settings as you can see what you will get if you take the shot.  One problem I do have, and I am getting better at it, is using the electronic viewfinder while wearing glasses.  The camera will start the electronic viewfinder when you put your eye up to it and will turn on the back screen when you take your eye away.  With glasses I don’t always get my eye close enough into the viewfinder window to activate the sensor which turns on the viewfinder.  I am getting used to this though and it is not as much of a problem. 

I have also found the use of the standard EF lens for full frame cameras works seamlessly with use of the adapter.  I purchased the adapter with the control ring and have set up the control ring to change my ISO.  With the EF lens the control ring is close to the body of the camera and is ergonomically perfect for holding the camera and lens and being able to change my ISO on the fly with the use of the control ring.  Speaking of lenses, benefit to this camera is that it has a shutter that covers the sensor when you remove one lens to replace it with another.  This really helps to keep dust from getting on the sensor, one problem I have heard other mirrorless camera users complain about.  Good thinking Canon.

I have really begun to enjoy this camera and lens combination and carry it with me almost all the time.  Practice makes perfect and as I get the camera dials and buttons configured the way I like I think it will be my primary camera for many years to come.  Nancy and I hope to travel to Ireland this year and I think this will be the only camera and lens I bring along.  

The EOS R is said not to be a good wildlife camera as its frame rate in continuous or Servo mode is too slow, and the electronic viewfinder doesn’t actually show you what you are shooting in real time.  My 5D mark iv will be my wildlife camera as it has the optical viewfinder that you can follow animas in real time and it rarely misses focus.  It also has a faster frame rate, not as fast as I would like but I can work with it.  I think this is one reason the DSLRs will be around awhile as there will always be sports and wildlife shooters.  All in all, I am very happy with the EOS R and really enjoy using it. 

If you have information about a photography topic and would like to share your experience or ideas, please share them with the members or send an article to me and I will send it out for you and add it to our website for others to see.  

I wish you all a very Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you soon,

Mike

Hi Everyone,

Thursday night was our annual banquet.  We had approximately 50 people attend including judges and representatives from N4C.  It was a fun evening and, again, we had way too much food, although I would rather have too much than not enough.   We also announced the End of Year winners and advanced those members who qualified.  Before I get into that though I want to give credit where credit is due.  This club does not run itself, and as the President I only do a small part. There are many others, listed below, who deserve a great deal of thanks for keeping this club operating and being a wonderful place to meet like-minded people, and learn something along the way.   

Banquet Chair and Organizer for last night’s event:  Elizabeth Springs 

Competition Chair: Tara Pavis 

The Board of Directors-Greg Pech, Cheryl Akers, Cris Gondak  

Advancement Committee:  Terry Connelly, Tara, Marilyn Caven

Review Committee:  Nancy Goodenough, Phill Hann, Nick Allen, Sherri Oster, Loujean LaMalfa, Tamara Krautkramer

Judges coordinator and N4C Rep:  Bill Stacy

Program Coordinators:  Liz Lawson, Anne Abrams, Lynda Stuber and Betsy Waters.  

Field Trip Coordinators:  Joel and Trisha Brown 

New Member & Guests:  Jennifer Marano

Exhibition Coordinator:  Tim Allen 

House Monitor:  Terry Connelly and Liz Lawson with help of Dick Weston 

Projection Chair:  Steve Lowery, Steve Muench, Pat Prettie and Marv Siegal  and when needed Cheryl Akers

Keeper of the Scores:  Steve Muench

Sound and Webmaster:  Nick Allen

LBAGC Reps:   Cheryl Akers, Gary Goodenough and Bill Pitcher

LBAGC Maintenance Committee Rep, Dick Weston

Raffle Coordinator:  Anne Abrams and Elizabeth Springs

Email List Serv Coordinator:  Phil Hann

Mentor Chairman:  Tony Reynes

Refreshment Committee:  Lynda Stuber, Cheryl Akers and Pam Pitcher

So, as you can see this is a team effort and without this level of participation the club would not be able to function as it does.  If I have forgotten, someone please accept my apology.  

After dinner we began by announcing the winners of the end of year awards.  

Santa Rosa Photographic Society 2019 EOY Winners

CREATIVE “B”

1^st        Herbert Gaidus           Swan Lake

2^nd       Steve Thomas             Playing the Blues

3^rd        Richard White             Sea Sprite Sunrise

HM      James Radford            Photo Spiralysis

HM      Ronnie Rosenbach      Black and White with a little Red

CREATIVE “A”

1^st        Francis Williams          Great Egrets Nesting

2^nd       Gustavo Arizmendi     Forbidden Ascension

3^rd        Sherri Oster                 The Crooner

HM      Lynda Stuber               Simplicity

HM      Guy Miller                   Nighttime at Jack London’s Wolf House

CREATVE “AA”

1^st        Nick Allen                    True Colors Shining Through…

2^nd       Nick Allen                    Deep Distress

3^rd        Michael Funk              Entering Warp Speed

HM      Michael Funk              Rakes

HM      Bill Stacy                      Bursting Free

HM      Marvin Siegel              Alcatraz Prison Cell

CREATIVE “Masters”

1^st        Terry Connelly            Orbits Exploding

2^nd       Terry Connelly            City Run

3^rd        Terry Connelly            A Night at the Museum

HM      Nancy Goodenough    Protest, an Abstraction

HM      Nancy Goodenough    Ibis Contemplating the Void

HM      Nancy Goodenough    Breakfast Cocktail

JOURNALISM “B”

1^st        Herbert Gaidus           Great American Eclipse

2^nd       Mike Felder                 Love Always has a Place

3^rd        Elizabeth Springs        Sebastopol Street Painting

HM      Richard White             Lagoona de Santa Rosa Flood

HM      Richard White             The Spirit of France

JOURNALISM “A”

1^st        Jennifer Marano         Cowgirl

2^nd       Ellen Storz                   Boat Contest

3^rd        Jennifer Marano         Round Up

3^rd        Jennifer Marano         Round Up

HM      Jennifer Marano         Life in the Palouse

HM      Jennifer Marano         Polo Benefit

JOURNALISM “AA”

1^st        Tamara Krautkramer  Pilgrims

2^nd       Nick Allen                    Smoke from Nun’s Fire

3^rd        Michael Funk              Worker…

HM      Marvin Siegel              San Francisco Fleet Week

HM      Phillip Hann                 Wrestling

JOURNALISM  “Masters”

1^st        Terry Connelly            Manzanar Pilgrimage

2^nd       Terry Connelly            Santa Rosa Tattoos & Blues

3^rd        Terry Connelly            The Sermon

HM      Steve Muench             Kids will Play

HM      Nancy Goodenough    You Buy from Me-ee

MONOCHROME “B”

1^st        Herbert Gaidus           Cellular Absorption

2^nd       Jim Radford                 Indoor-outdoor-cats

3^rd        Herbert Gaidus           The Three Brothers…

HM      Lucy Aaron                  Takeoff

HM      Greg Pech                   Morels

MONOCHROME “A”

1^st        Steve Gibbs                 Waterfall

2^nd       Guy Miller                   Phillips Gulch Falls

3^rd        Jennifer Marano         A Different Point of View

HM      Tara Pavis                    NO Parking

HM      Lynda Stuber               On the Boardwalk

MONOCHROME “AA”

1^st        Tim Allen                     Passing Through

2^nd       Phillip Hann                 Big Dipper

3^rd        Bill Stacy                      Metal Stampede

HM      Michael Funk              Egret Preening

HM      Tim Allen                     Looking Down

MONOCHROME “Masters”

1^st        Terry Connelly            Athens Alleyway

2^nd       Liz Lawson                   Ascent Descent

3^rd        Terry Connelly            Culture & Tattoos

HM      Steve Muench             Unending Faces of Time

HM      Jack Florence              Sandstone Cliffs

pictorial

1^st        Betsy Waters              Egrets

2^nd       Herbert Gaidus           Great Egret

3^rd        Herbert Gaidus           Bald Eagle

HM      Herbert Gaidus           2 Brown Bear Cubs

HM      Herbert Gaidus           California Brown Pelican…

NATURE “A”

1^st        Jennifer Marano         Bald Eagles

2^nd       Lynda Stuber               Clusstering Monarchs

3^rd        Tara Pavis                    An Orb Weaver Spider

HM      Lynda Stuber               Western Scrub Jay

HM      Guy Miller                   Big Horn Sheep

NATURE “AA”

1^st        Michael Funk              Great White Egret

2^nd       Bill Stacy                      Kodiak Brown with Cubs

3^rd        Patricia Prettie            Sandhill Crane

NATURE “Masters”

1^st        Marilyn Craven           Cedar Waxwing

2^nd       Marilyn Craven           Brandt’s Cormorant…

3^rd        Terry Connelly            Mating Elephant Seal

HM      Nancy Goodenough    Camouflaged Aoudad

HM      Terry Connelly            Lupines

PICTORIAL “B”

1^st        Greg Pech                   Geometric Sky

2^nd       Herbert Gaidus           Trees Huddling before the Storm

3^rd        Ronnie Rosenbach      Textures

HM      Lucy Aron                    Violin Maker

HM      Lucy Aron                    Staghorn

HM      Betsy Waters              Red Poppy Emerging

PICTORIAL “A”

1^st        Steve Gibbs                 Soft Vineyard Sunrise

2^nd       Guy Miller                   Bristlecone Pine under Milky Way

3^rd        Guy Miller                   Nightime

HM      Tara Pavis                    Through the Wormhole

HM      Tara Pavis                    The Beginning of Blueberries

PICTORIAL “AA”

1^st        Michael Funk              Sentinels of Wacker Drive in Chicago

2^nd       Bill Stacy                      Outrage

3^rd        Nick Allen                    Threading the Needle

HM      Gary Sax                      Super Moon

HM      William Clark               Camel Handlers

PICTORIAL “Masters”

1^st        Jack Florence              Late Afternoon

2^nd       Nancy Goodenough    Pink Cadillac

3^rd        Jack Florence              The Crest of Sand Dune

HM      Marilyn  Craven          Cactus Flower

TRAVEL “B”

1st       Mike Felder                 The Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso

2^nd       Richard White             Staff Cottages

3^rd        Herbert Gaidus           Sliding Sands

HM      Herbert Gaidus           Eureka Dunes

HM      Herbert Gaidus           Hike to Yosemite Diving Board

TRAVEL “A”

1^st        Francis Williams          Beggar & his Monkey

2^nd       Guy Miller                   Stormy Day at Stonehenge

3^rd        Guy Miller                   Vatican City

HM      Tara Pavis                    Milan, Italy

HM      Sherry Oster                Bryce Canyon

HM      Sherry Oster                Lower Antelope Canyon

TRAVEL “AA”

1^st        Trisha Brown               Red Barn Below Steptoe Butte

2^nd       William Clark               The Douro River

3^rd        Bill Stacy                      Camel Herder

HM      Nick Allen                    Storm on the Eastern Sierra

HM      William Clark               Mansanto, Portugal

TRAVEL “Masters”

1^st        Nancy Goodenough    Alone…China

2^nd       Terry Connelly            Sarlat, France

3^rd        Nancy Goodenough    Life on the Chao Phraya River

HM      Nancy Goodenough    Early Morning

HM      Jack Florence              Sand Dunes of Death Valley

Master’s TRAVEL Best in Show

Nancy Goodenough    Alone…China

FIELD TRIP WINNERS:

1^st        Michael Funk              Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds @ Wine Country Air Show

2^nd       Ronnie Rosenbauch    Bodie House

3^rd        Bill Stacy                      National Heirloom Festival

The end of year advancements were announced by Greg Pech as the Chairman of the Advancement Committee:

B to A:

Herb Gaidus, 1st Place, total score 231 (Automatic)

Greg Pech, 2nd Place, total score 191 (Automatic)

Rick White, 3rd Place, total score 183 (Clustered within 5% of 2nd Place; next highest score of 143 was 20% below 2nd Place)

A to AA:

Tara Pavis, 1st Place, total score 206 (Automatic)

Jennifer Marano, 2nd Place, total score 181 (Automatic)

[The Rules state: “In the event there is a cluster of top scores, all members represented in that cluster will be advanced, provided they have met the minimum submission requirements.”  The AC considered 3 additional members with scores clustered from 155 to 146, which is 14-19% below 2nd Place, and concluded that these were too far below the 2nd Place finisher to qualify for advancement as “a cluster of top scores”.]

AA to Masters Candidate: (new rules below recently approved by member voting)

Based on the updated rules for Advancement, there are 3 methods by which a member can advance to Masters Candidate:

1. Achieve First, Second, or Third in AA Overall Point Average TWICE within a four-year period. Minimum 2 years to meet this requirement.

2. Achieve First, Second, or third in AA Overall Point Average AND win a first place in one of the categories

in the End of Year Competition (section 6) within a four-year period. Minimum two years to meet this requirement.

3. By Advancement Committee evaluation

The following 5 members qualify for Masters Candidate:

Tony Reynes – By AC review, Board-assigned Committee recommendation to, and approval by the SRPS Board

Nick Allen – 1^st place average score in 2018 and 2019 (also first place EOY in 2019)

Tim Allen – 3^rd place average score in 2018 and EOY 1^st place in Nature and Pictorial 2017 (also first place EOY in 2019)

Tamara Krautkramer – 1^st place average score in 2017 and 3^rd place average score in 2019 (also first place EOY in 2019)

Anne Abrams – 3^rd place average score in 2016 and 2017 

Don’t forget to pay your dues if you pay January through December.  Due to the change we made earlier if your dues are due in the middle of the year you have some time left.  It is important that you keep up on your renewal date.  If your dues are in arrears, any images entered into a competition will not be judged.   It is easy to pay on our website, just click on the member tab and hit the drop down menu for Dues.  

I also want to recognize Richard White for his volunteering for the Competition Chair for 2020 and hopefully beyond.  Let’s all make his job easier by reviewing the rules prior to entering any competition and thank him for taking on this job. 

Last night on ABC 7 News I saw Gustavo Arizmendi’s photo of the moon in the clouds.  Great image Gustavo!  It is fantastic to see one of our member’s work recognized and shown to the entire Bay Area.  

I want to wish all of you a Happy Hanukkah, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hi Everyone, 

As we approach the busy holiday season, SRPS is approaching a fun time of year.  This Thursday, November 14^th we have our field trip competition where the members get to choose the winners.  It is an entertaining evening and I hope most of will be able to attend. 

On November 25^th, the Monday before Thanksgiving, we will preview the images from the End of Year competition.  You should have received an email from Jack Florence telling you about this and letting you know about the judges for this competition.  The winners will be announced at the annual Banquet.  Also, at this meeting we will be holding a used equipment sale.  If you have any equipment you are willing to donate, all the proceeds from the sale will go to our renovation fund to help fix up our meeting place.  So, please dig though the gear you don’t use any longer and bring it to the meeting on the 25^th.  You get to save some space in your home or studio and the club gets the benefit.  A win-win for sure.   I will be bringing quite a few black frames with white mats for your images.  You won’t see these types of frames and mats at such bargain prices.

December 12^th is our annual Banquet.  The festivities are being put together by Elizabeth Springs and will be catered by King Falafel of Sebastopol.  Don’t forget we each get to bring either and appetizer or dessert.  You can even bring your own beverage to whet your whistle while the End of Year winners are announced.  The price of this amazing event is $25.00, and we suggest you pay by check.   We will of course take cash.  

Also, if your membership begins in January please consider paying your renewal by check, it is easier for Cheryl to keep track of who paid.    You can bring this along with your dinner admission and take care of it all at once.  Of course you can also pay your dues on the website by going to www.santarosaphotographicsociety.org  and clicking on the Members tab. 

At our Board meeting on Saturday we discussed a number of issues.  The professional photographer’s membership, and advancement to master candidate being the priority.  The vote outcome was 25 YES votes and 12 NO votes.  The changes to the competition rules will be made and distributed to the members as soon as they are complete.  The wording in the beginning of our bylaws will also be changed to reflect the vote outcome.  Once the latest scores are tabulated those eligible to move to master candidate will be notified.  

The Board also discussed items to be explored in the new year.  One that garnered a lot of support was targeting certain skills on field trips for the upcoming year.  Topics suggested were macro photography, portrait photography (want to be a model?), slow shutter speed, panoramas and night photography.  If you have any other ideas for this sort of field trip please let Trisha know. 

The Board also sought to institute a mentoring program, something that has been talked about for quite sometime.  Tony Reynes has accepted the position of Club Mentoring Chair.  He has been a judge and has critiqued for a number of years at his last club in Chicago.  His first program will be to set up a monthly remote image critique for dues paying club members.  If you are interested you can contact him at  tonyreynes@gmail.com.  Submit an image for review along with your phone number and a time slot you would like to be contacted.  He will accept or offer and alternative open time slot.  He will then call you at an agreed upon time and date and give you up to ten minutes to discuss your image.  The first window for this program will be on December 15th between 5PM and 6PM.   As you know, at our competition nights the critiques are not personal and the maker doesn’t always receive the type of feedback they would like nor do they have an opportunity to actually discuss the image.  If this works out hopefully some of our Master photographers will join in to enable much wider feedback and a greater opportunity for learning.  

Lastly the idea of making Master in individual categories such as Journalism, Wildlife, Pictorial etc. was discussed.   Don’t worry if you are a Master now you will be a Master later if this idea ultimately comes to fruition.   At this point this is just an idea and will be looked at next year. 

See you soon,

Mike

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello everyone,

It has been awhile since I last wrote so here goes with some information.  First, I want to congratulate Liz Lawson and Ronnie Rosenbach for their Best in Show images in our last two competitions.  Outstanding work by excellent photographers.  It is always a pleasure to see all the images submitted to our competitions.

Our annual banquet is coming December 12^th.  Social hour begins at 6PM.  Plan to bring an appetizer or dessert.  The cost of this year’s event will be $25.00 per person.  For this incredible value you will get to see winning projected images, have a wonderful Mediterranean dinner along with everyone’s appetizers and desserts.  Oh, and don’t forget the best part, socializing with like-minded people who share your love of photography!   I want to thank Elizabeth Springs for taking charge of this event.  She will be posting sign-ups and will have more information at our next meeting. Our next meeting by the way, will be at the reception for our exhibition “Our World Through Many Lenses” at the Finley Community Center on October 24^th from 5-7 PM, I hope you all can make it.  If you have any question about the banquet or want to lend a hand please contact Elizabeth at eldsprings@gmail.com.

If you were at our last meeting you know I mentioned I was contacted by Hunt’s Photo and Video.  This is a company that competes with Adorama and B&H.  Hunt’s is the primary vendor at all the PSA conferences.  They come highly recommended by Joan Field of N4C.  I encourage you to check out their website www.huntsphoto.com.  They offer free shipping on all orders over $50. If you have any questions, please contact our representative for Hunt’s, Noah Buchanan.  His direct number is 781-462-2356 and his email address is nbuchanan@huntsphoto.com.  

It is time to begin looking through your images from the 2019 field trips.  You should have received the list of the field trips we have taken as it was sent out by Trisha in the last day or so. Tara will be opening up the field trip competition soon so keep an eye out for her announcement.  

Lastly, Tara won’t be able to be our Competition Chair next year and we need someone to take her place.  This is a vital position in our club and one we need filled if we are to continue with our competitions.  Please, if you want to see our club continue with competitions consider volunteering for competition chair.  If you have any questions about this, please contact Tara for all the information necessary.   

That is it for now, I will keep you updated on our membership vote on the changes to our bylaws and rules regarding advancement to Masters Candidate. 

Mike

Hi Everyone,

I can’t believe it has been over a month since my last update as to what is happening at SRPS.  With this in mind, I have a lot to bring you up to date on.  The Board met last Friday to discuss a number of issues that are important to all of us.  Unfortunately we didn’t have time to address the entire agenda, though here are the highlights of items discussed.  

1.  We are in need of a new Competition Chair, as Tara will not be able to continue in the position next year.  This is a vital position in the club, and will be a member of the Board of Directors.  Below are the general duties of the Competition Chair, and if you are interested I encourage you to contact me.  Most of what we do as a club revolves around competitions, so you can see we can not let this position go unfilled.  

Competition Chair – Organizes the monthly and End–of-Year competitions. Appoints 

and serves on the Review Committee. Has the authority to disqualify images from a competition if they do not conform to the guidelines for the category(ies) entered. Oversees tabulation and publishing to the membership of competition results; maintains competition records for five (5) years; orders ribbons and trophies as needed; prepares annual Awards Dinner program; submits an annual budget request and all expenses to the Treasurer. Also serves on the Advancement Committee and keeps the Vice-President informed concerning members who meet the requirements for advancement. (See Competition Rules, Section 4.0.) May be appointed to serve on the Board. (See Board of Directors, Constitution and Bylaws.) 

2.  It was brought to the Board’s attention we are primarily a club of amateur photographers.  Members who become professional photographers after being in the club can continue to compete and advance per the competition rules.  We recently had two professional photographers join the club.  Due to the excellence of their work, it has created an uneven playing field for those who have participated in competitions for years, trying to move from AA to Master level.  The Board discussed this at length due to the impact on other members.  It was decided to form a committee of four to come up with an alternate path to Master level for these professional photographers.  The idea of “professional Affiliate” was discussed and the committee will present options to the board and ultimately to the membership for a potential rule change.  If you have any thoughts on this matter please contact one of the committee members so they can hear your ideas.  The members of the committee are Greg Pech, Tony Reynes, Tara Pavis and Nancy Goodenough.  

3.  Fund Raising:  You may or may not know we are one of many groups that meet at the Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center.  As one of the participants we have been asked to raise $5000 as our part of an improvement project at the facility.  Painting, carpeting and other updates that will enhance the experience of the facility for  us and others.  We have started to do this with the 50-50 drawing.  The 50-50 has proven to be popular and we will continue do it at each of our meetings.  This will only get us so far though.  We also have a simple way you can donate to the club via PayPal or Credit Card on our website to make a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation.  Go to our website  www.santarosaphotographicsociety.org and click on the member tab.  Scroll past the membership renewal tab and at the bottom of the page you will see a tab to enable you to donate to the club.  Remember this is TAX DEDUCTIBLE.  Your help is appreciated.  

Additionally, we will be holding a used equipment sale in November at our end of year competition.  If you have equipment you no longer use or need, and are willing to donate it to the club to be sold, let  us know.  We will use these funds to raise our portion of the improvement project costs.  

4.  We are examining our options when it comes to our insurance.  We have coverage for our members and the facility. We are examining any way possible to save money on our premium costs.  Greg Pech is looking into this.  When the Directors of the LBAGC meet in September we will find out exactly what is required, so we only pay for what is necessary.  

5.  Student Affiliates:  The Board also discussed student affiliates  as a way to encourage later membership and promote the art of photography, and our club.  This will also provide us with another reason to maintain our tax deductible status.  Items discussed were no entry into competitions, ability to attend field trips and meetings to learn the art of photography.  The affiliate would also have to be 18 years or older.  If you have any other thoughts please let me know.

6.  Don’t forget to get  your photo information to Tim Allen for the exhibition at the Finley Community Center.  Our October program meeting will be attendance at the reception for the exhibition.  I’m looking forward to seeing everyones work.  Don’t forget, get in touch with Tim if you have any questions, time is running short.  

I’m sure I am forgetting something but will send out another update at a later time.  

Be well,

Mike

__

Hi Everyone,

I trust you are all having a wonderful summer and taking advantage of our beautiful weather, to get out and enjoy yourselves.  I have seen a few images on Facebook that appear to have been taken on our clubs recent field trip to the coast.  Always a great place to visit and take photographs.  

I want to congratulate Adrian Mendoza for his Best in Show image from our last competition. His view of a meeting between then Sheriff Giordano and a fire survivor on a Day of Remembrance was truly a strong and compelling view of a very sad time.  

I want to also congratulate our members who entered images in the Four Seasons of Sonoma County Photography contest.  Timothy Allen, Lucy Aron, Guy Miller, Steve Muench and Ronnie Rosenbach.  If I missed someone’s name I truly apologize.  The images selected will be displayed on screens during the playing of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, performed by the Santa Rosa Symphony at the Green Music Center.  Congratulations to all of you.  

Please don’t forget, Phil Hann and Dick Weston will begin presenting an Introduction to Photoshop Layers at our next program night on July 25th.  The presentation will take place from 5-6 PM just prior to our regular program night.  No laptop is required, just bring yourself.  The program night is Jak Wonderly presenting on Developing Portfolios. If you are not familiar with Mr. Wonderly’s work please visit his website www.jakwonderly.com  and you will see what an amazing photographer he is.  

On Monday evening I had the opportunity to attend the Marin Photo Club’s print competition with Marv Siegel.  I hadn’t been to a print competition before, so as a member of a club who doesn’t do print competition, I was eager to see how it went.  The following is from the Marin Photo Club website:

“Creating a print image presents a new and more complex challenge to the photographer. The digital image now needs to be translated onto a photographic paper, where small flaws which may escape the eye on a projected image are now noticeable.  Choice of paper, calibration between monitor and printer, and the maker’s choice of mounting and presentation are all factors in the success of the print.  Winning prints from this competition move on to the monthly competition of the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs (N4C).”

I was amazed at the excellent quality of the prints submitted by all levels of photographer. The prints are submitted on mats with a minimum size mat being 11×14 and the maximum size 16×20.  The prints can also be presented mounted directly on to foam core.  The images are placed on an easel with a light directed on the image to enable proper viewing.  The same categories we have are in place for the print competition.  I noticed immediately the judge went right up to each image and got a very close look.  Not something we do with projected images.  During a break I went and looked at some of the images and I can see why the close look is necessary.  The amount of detail in most of the images was incredible.  I truly enjoyed my visit and time at this print competition.  

One other item about the Marin Club and something that perhaps we can discuss for our club. In addition to each of the competition categories we submit, they have an alternate subject.  This night it was “Wheels.”  The images don’t get forwarded to N4C but they are good for club points.  There is a different alternate topic each month.  For more information on Print or Alternate image presentation please contact Marv Siegel when you see him at our meetings. He is a member of both clubs. Thank you Marv for bringing me along.

During my tenure as a member of SRPS I have seen many judges both good and not so good.  With this in mind I want to tell you about the judge for this print competition.  Her name is Ouliana Panova Ph. D.  She is a new judge for N4C and just finished the judges’ course.  What impressed me with this judge was the enthusiasm she brought to each and every image she judged.  I can only describe her comments by comparing her remarks about an image to the manner in which Chef Gordan Ramsey describes each food item as a thing of beauty as he uses them in a dish he prepares.  Her comments were on point, she took her time, and when there was a flaw or problem, she felt detracted from the image, she addressed it in such a way so everyone could learn and not feel slighted in anyway.  If we ever have the opportunity to have her judge our competition, I am certain you will be amazed at what she brings to the table.  

OK, I know I was a bit wordy today, but I am off to the Midwest and the East coast for a couple of weeks and won’t be at the next meeting.  

Be well and keep shooting,

Mike

Hi Everyone,

It has been awhile since my last update, so here we go.  I was fortunate enough to attend the Bodie field trip along with about 18 other club members and guests.  A wonderful weekend filled with great photographic opportunities. The weather was great, clear and not too hot.  We had the chance to do some socialization at dinner on Saturday evening at the Whoa Nelli Deli on the corner of Hwy 395 and Hwy 120 where you begin the Tioga pass. I was a bit skeptical, however my concerns were allayed as soon as I saw the food being produced.  An excellent choice.  On Sunday evening we had dinner at the Virginia Creek Settlement.  This proved to be another winner, and no one left there hungry, that is for sure.  Thank you Rick White for putting this trip together it was a fantastic weekend. 

Our last meeting was a presentation on Street Photography, that I was honored to have been asked to present.  I want to thank the many members who came out and participated in the discussion.  I know the debates were taking place and your attendance was indeed appreciated.  

At our last competition Loujean LaMalfa came in with top honors for Best in Show with her portrait of a Vietnam War survivor.  Great job Loujean.

A reminder we have several field trips coming up, Leaderless: Fireworks, a Sonoma Coast photo safari being led by Francyne Kunckel and lastly the Rivertown Revival in Petaluma.  You will have an opportunity to catch some photos of great costumes and enjoy the entertainment.  Please refer to the email recently sent out by Trisha Brown.  

Our next competition is July 11^th, so please have your entries in by July 5^th.   Don’t forget to register for Fotoclave if you plan on attending, as the number of participants is limited.

That’s about it, see you soon, and keep shooting.   

Mike

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to bring you all up to date on the club workings since my last email. The board of directors met on 5/29/2019 to discuss a number of issues of importance to all of us.  First of all, our financial health is stable and looking a bit better than last year.  If we continue to monitor our expenses as the year goes on, we should have a surplus to carry over into next year.  We are looking at a ways to save additional funds by shopping around for our liability insurance. Our insurance is a major expense, which we haven’t shopped around for in a very long time.  Greg Pech volunteered to get us some additional quotes to see if we can do better.  

Another idea is to not have the end of year banquet catered as we have in the past.  We normally have much more food than necessary.  The idea of a potluck was suggested with a $10.00 charge for admission to the banquet to cover decorations and other necessities.  Speaking of the banquet, we will be needing a banquet coordinator, someone to coordinate potluck food, invite judges, take care of arranging the setup, decorations and cleanup.  Additionally, we will need to make sure the slide show and awards preparation are done. If you are interested in helping out, please let me know.  We have time, but don’t want to wait until the end of the year to find a person to coordinate the event.   Please volunteer.  

The Luther Burbank Art and Garden Center is in need of maintenance.  We pay only $1500 for the 23 meetings we hold there. As we are “member-owners” and have non-profit status, we are being asked to donate along with the other groups that utilize the facility on a regular basis. The goal is to raise the $50,000 needed to bring the facility up to the standard it should be.  We will be setting up a simple way to donate to this cause by using PayPal on our website, similar to how we pay our dues.  Your donations will be tax deductible due to our 501 (c) (3) status.  Additionally, we will be starting a 50-50 raffle at our meetings to assist in this fundraising effort.  We hope to have some raffle prizes in addition to the 50% winnings.  

The board members are all concerned about the problems we have had getting our computer to work properly at our competitions.  We are working on this problem, part of which has been the computer auto updating as we begin the competition.  We have also had a couple of members step up to help be alternate projectionists.  An additional issue is the software used is only compatible with PCs and our most recent projectionist is a Mac user.  I don’t know about you, but I switched to Mac a number of years ago and I can’t remember much when it comes to operating a PC.  We are going to try to get the judges to preview the images beforehand to save time.  We also may do away with the preview at the beginning of each category.  Rest assured we are working on this issue.  Suggestions are certainly welcome.  

Kevin Schirado is stepping down from the board and his position as the N4C representative.  Bill Stacy and Jennifer Marano have volunteered to fill this role.  I have asked Bill Stacy to take Kevin’s position as a director and he has accepted.  Thank you, Kevin, for all your help and contributions.

The board also discussed ways to attract new members.  One idea is to have a Student Participation Program.  Trisha has written a draft proposal which is included at the end of this update.  If you have any comments, concerns or suggestions please let us know.  

Lastly don’t forget to attend our next two meetings, the first, a competition on June 13^thbeing judged by Charlie Ginsburg, and our program meeting on June 27^th.  The program this month is on Street Photography and I will be presenting.   I will look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings.  Be safe and keep shooting.  

Mike

Santa Rosa Photographic Society

Photography Student Participation Program

Goals:

• Expose student photographers to a local club for amateur photographers without requiring them to use their limited resources to join the club
• Provide photography students the opportunity to learn photographic techniques from more experienced photographers
• Help student photographers improve their image capture and post-processing techniques
• Increase the potential to attract new members to the club
• Accomplish the club’s public benefit mandate as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization

Proposal:

Santa Rosa Photographic Society will permit students, 18 years of age and older, who are enrolled in college-level photography courses to attend meetings and field trips without being required to join as members of the club. Students will not be permitted to participate in club competitions, including in the non-compete category.

These photography students will be required to sign the club’s Statement of Understanding prior to participating in club activities:

Participant’s Statement of Understanding:  

I understand that I am responsible for my own health and safety at all SRPS meetings and events. I further understand that SRPS does not insure me and has no liability should any health problem, mishap, accident, loss, or damage occur to me, or my property, during my participation in SRPS meetings and events.

Signature: ______________________________________________          Date: ____________________

Hi Everyone,

It is that time to bring you up to date on club activities and inner workings. First off, if you weren’t at the last competition you missed some amazing images by Tamara Krautkramer. Tamara’s sequence of the Pilgrims in Ethiopia won the Best in Show for the night.  Certainly gives us something to aspire to.  Great Job Tamara. 

This Friday is the field trip to Heritage Salvage, and if you haven’t been there it is worth your time.  There is so much to see and photograph.  You shouldn’t be wanting for any more texture photos when you leave there, hopefully with your memory card full.  Once again Trisha and Joel have come up with another great excursion. 

Hopefully you have seen the email from Kevin announcing that we are in need of a representative to N4C.  This job entails attending one meeting a month in San Leandro, so we have representation at the N4C level where many of the decisions about how we operate are formed. If you help out the club, and want to meet photographers from other clubs, this is a great opportunity. Please let me, Kevin or Bill Stacy know if you are interested.  

Our upcoming competition in June is being judged by Charlie Ginsburgh.  I don’t know Mr. Ginsburgh but I visited his website after Loujean sent out an email advising us he will judge our next competition.  He is an amazing photographer.  If you ever wanted to see water drop photography, please take a look at his site you will get more ideas than you could ever want or need.   There are many other subjects he has photographed and a visit to his site is worth your while.  If you don’t have the address here it is again: Charlie-g.smugmug.com    

There has been a recent update to the Bodie trip, disappointing, but certainly not enough of an issue to have you cancel you trip.  Bodie will still be open, but we will have to do astrophotography from some other location.  I am still going as are many others.  Mono lake and the surrounding area is a great place to take photos of the stars. 

The board will be meeting May 29^thto discuss a number of issues.  If you have anything you would like to bring up please let me know so we can address it.  Ok, on to the fun stuff.  In my last update I included a photograph of a motorcycle in the air and asked for members to work their magic to see what they could do with this image.  I received ten images in response, and I will attach them to this email update.  

Until next time, keep shooting,

Mike

Hi Everyone,

What a great weekend to get out and take photographs.  I don’t know about you, but I occasionally get in a rut photographing the same area over and over.  For me, it is in and around Petaluma.  So on Friday I went to San Francisco with my wife to get out and walk around.  We took the ferry over and if you are over 65 the fare is only $6.00 each way, with parking only $2.00.  What a deal! It was so refreshing to explore within walking distance of the Ferry Building and work on Street and Architectural photography.  I’ll be going back soon. I’ll also be getting out into wine country more often now due to our winning image of the night at our last competition.    

Steve Gibbs won the Best in Show for the evening with his Vineyard Sunrise image.  A wonderful image that you should be seeing soon on our website and our Facebook page. Hard work pays off, and Steve certainly deserved the best of the night photo.  Great job Steve.  

Our next program night will be on April 25^thwhen Lucy Beck will use a light box as a blank palette.  She will show us how to choose and arrange flowers to make artistic arrangements.  She will then show us how to photograph them and using Photoshop she will show us how to process them to make them look like a painterly like picture.  I had seen Lucy’s presentation at last year’s FotoClave and was enthralled by what she does. More than worth a couple of hours of your time. You may even find a new type of photography to begin learning. 

On April 28^thwe will be going to Half Moon Bay on another field trip set up by Trisha and Joel.  Here is the information from our website.  Join us for what the organizers bill as “A uniquely spectacular showcase of motorized mechanical marvels from throughout the 20th and 21st centuries…More than 2000 ultra cool antique, vintage, classic, custom and exotic machines of all kinds on display for public viewing.” There will be motorcycle stunt shows at 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30 pm. Tickets are $15 to $50. Website is miramarevents.com/dreammachines. Hope you can join us.

I will be meeting with the board as soon as I can arrange a time to discuss a number of items pertaining to our club.  If you have something you would like brought up please let me know or keep an eye out for the date so you can join us.  

That’s it for now, until next time, keep shooting. 

Mike