IN Focus. On the Job Learning. Inside This Issue. Upcoming Schedule

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1 IN Focus Des Plaines Camera Club Des Plaines, IL October 2012 Inside This Issue On the Job Learning From the President Vic Berardi Dave Garney CACCA Meeting PSA Bus Tour Upcoming Schedule October 2012 Monday, Oct 8: 7 PM DPCC Club Meeting 1990 White Street, Des Plaines Vic Berardi will discuss techniques to photograph rapters, including locations to find rapters Saturday -October 13: 12:30 CACCA meeting 333 W. Thomas St, Arlington Heights. Interclub, individual competition Monday Oct 22 7 PM : DPCC Club Meeting 1990 White Street, Des Plaines Dave Garney will give a presentation on creating DVDs of still photos, movie clips and music. Club members at getting ready for Fall Fest image by Sue Lindell On the Job Learning As a member of the Des Plaines Camera Club, I am continually told by our club president to have fun with photography. However, this implies that I will get myself out and use my camera. One way I have found to get out and shoot (and have fun, too) is to participate as a volunteer photographer on and off during the year (availability constrained by other commitments). Our club offers its members a chance to help out Des Plaines and the park district by providing photographers for local events. Recently, I volunteered to help out at the Des Plaines Fall Fest on September 15 th from noon to 3 PM. I was joined by Doreen Miller and found out quickly that we were both first time portrait photographers for this type of event. We hurried to check what settings would give the best results under the existing conditions, so we would be ready for our first customers. IN Focus Newsletter Page 1-6

2 DES PLAINES CAMERA CLUB President..Tom Mulick Vice President.Dave Waycie Treasurer.Irene Szilagyi Publicity Jane Ballengee Recording Secretary Kay Michaely Program Director Tom Mulick IN Focus Editor Contributors.Bill Bishoff, Bob Erickson DPCC VP Dave Waycie reviews a family portrait at Fall Fest From the President The club is off to a good start, with about thirty-five (35) members who have signed up for this season so far. Many are returning members and some are new members. New members have expressed an interest in learning to be better photographers. To that end we have programs set to address that goal. In addition any member can always reach out and ask for help with specific photography related questions. Study Groups are off to a rather slow start with some members of each group either on vacation or off for medical reasons. Those who participate in the study groups have said how much they are helped in the process of working within the group. Unfortunately, my flash unit did not work properly (fill flash was a must), so together we struggled to determine what was wrong. Eventually, it did work correctly and we successfully took many individual and group portraits. Ironically, towards the end of our time slot, Doreen s flash unit decided to act erratically (best guess was low batteries). Though slightly stressful initially, I felt we both gained substantial experience in how to adapt to available light conditions and find the proper camera settings for getting good images. My biggest problem was getting uncooperative children to look happy for their photo. During a lull in the session, Doreen mentioned that she learned a great deal about night photography when she volunteered last fall to help take images of Halloween-decorated homes with Jerry Hug. I recounted my participation last winter at a Family Fun Night event, where Tom Mulick, my wife and I volunteered to provide candid images at the Prairie Lakes facility. This, again, was a first for me, since indoor flash photography (especially in large areas, like hallways and the gym) requires getting enough light to get a good image, without washing out the subject. I definitely took a number of practice shots before finding acceptable settings. Thankfully, a digital camera gives me instant feedback on the quality of the images I just took, so corrections can be made to enhance / adjust for any deficiencies observed. Continued on next page continued on next page IN Focus Newsletter Page 2-6

3 From the President continued: With fall upon us there are many photo opportunities. Not only in landscape but also in macro and HDR photography just to name a few examples. We've had our first competition both in print and DPI and have seen some great images from many members. It's especially gratifying to see members who have been with us only a couple of years win awards and honorable mentions. We are once again in a situation where we are in need of members to step forward and take on some of the tasks that need to be done to keep the club running smoothly. One of the largest areas of need is to get a new editor for our newsletter. This is the last month that Sue will put out the newsletter. If someone in the club has some writing abilities, please help out in this area. Our website continues to plague us with virus ads for Viagra. At this time the ads are in Spanish and intermittent. This makes it difficult to stop. After much discussion, it has been decided that we will try to build a new website that will be easier for a person with minimal skill to maintain and update. Vice President Dave Waycie is looking into this for the club. Bob Erickson - Image by Bill Bishoff While competitions and club assignments are good reasons to get out and use your camera, I would like to add being a volunteer photographer once in a while. It is a great way to learn by doing with other club members and to expand your ability to use your camera under many diverse lighting conditions. It is fun.give it try sometime. Bob Erickson Volunteer, DPCC (Ed. Note: Bob Erickson joined the DPCC in He has been a welcome addition to the club, volunteering his time to help with community events, as well as contributions to the newsletter. Fall Fest 2012 was again a success with our DPCC providing pictures for families. A member of the Park District staff tells us, "The Camera Club as always did a fantastic job at Fall Fest. We had lots of positive comments and I know of one family who made a special trip just to get their annual photo taken.) Continued pg 5 IN Focus Newsletter Page 3-6

4 Learn to Create Videos Using Your Still Photos and Short Movie Clips Dave Garney, of Central DuPage Camera Club will give a presentation on creating DVDs with still photos and movie clips October 22, 7 pm at the DPCC meeting. The presentation will show how to combine stills, movie clips and music which can be entered in CACCA competitions, posted on YouTube or ed The presentation will review timeline intensity techniques to keep it interesting, and show some concepts in a variety of short training and travel videos. A brief movie editing software tool demonstration will conclude the session. Interesting library books include Crashing Through by Kurson and The Visual Story by Block. Image by Bill Bishoff Image supplied by Vic Berardi Vic Berardi - Hawks in Flight Presentation On Monday, October 8, at our club meeting, Vic Berardi will discuss the techniques and equipment he uses to capture high quality images of raptors in flight. He will also discuss places to go and best times of the year. Some discussion will be given to perched raptors and creative techniques. Mr. Berardi is the founder of the all-volunteer Illinois Beach State Park Hawk Watch which has conducted eleven complete seasons of full time hawk migration monitoring. He recently served on the Board of Directors for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) and is the Central Continental Flyway Editor for Hawk Migration Studies which is HMANA s biannual publication. In 2007 he was awarded the Grassroots Conservation Leadership Award for his leadership in raptor education and research. And in 2009 he was awarded the Service to Chicago Area Birders by the Chicago Audubon Society. In addition to Vic s dedication to the IBSP Hawk Watch and HMANA, he also finds time to write articles on hawk watching, give hawk identification seminars and raptor conservation related talks. Vic is also an accomplished photographer and many of his photos have been published in several magazines, including Outdoor Illinois, Hawk Migration Studies and Bird Watching Magazine along with two new guide books, Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Donald & Lillian Stokes and Hawks At A Distance by Jerry Liguori. He is widely respected by the prominent leaders in the hawk watching community of North America. IN Focus Newsletter Page 4-6

5 From the President continued: There has been some discussion about doing away with the Yahoo Group in favor of Facebook. If you have any personal thoughts about this, please let your president know at the next meeting, or by We have two (2) community events that we will participate in this month. The first is an event at the Des Plaines Library and the other is our annual picture taking of houses entered in the Des Plaines Halloween Decorated House contest. Notice will go out to members for signup for the Halloween Decorated House event. This is a good opportunity to practice night or low light photography. The first CACCA meeting of the season will be held October 13th. I strongly suggest that all members attend at least one session to see what goes on. CACCA can usually use help of some kind at their meetings. Consider helping out in some way. Time goes by very quickly and that is where photography is at its best. A photograph captures a moment in time and allows you to preserve it forever. To help you to do this with digital photography, the Des Plaines Camera Club will once again be offering Photoshop Elements editing classes after the first of the year. This is in conjunction with the Des Plaines Park District. There is a fee for these classes and more information will be available as we near the dates. Until next time, have fun with photography. Tom Mulick, President Des Plaines Camera Club First CACCA Meeting of the Season IN Focus Newsletter Page 5-6

6 The Chicago Area Camera Club Association will have it's first meeting of the season Saturday, October 13. The meetings are held at 333 W. Thomas Street, Arlington Heights. The meetings are held on the second Saturday of the month, October through May. Delegates meeting starts at 12:30, with competition beginning afterwards. Competition is both interclub and individual categories. DPCC members are strongly encouraged to attend. See Jerry Hug, our CACCA representative for details. CACCA consists of 40 camera clubs from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Its purpose is to help create fellowship among clubs and promote photographic interests and accomplishments. PSA Photo Bus Tour The Chicago chapter of the Photographic Society of America will be hosting a bus tour to Milwaukee Wisconsin Sunday, October 21. Members of the PSA will tour and photograph various sites. If any seats are available after October 13, the tour will be offered to CACCA members. The Des Plaines Camera Club is a member of CACCA. Cost of the tour includes all fees and a light lunch. The tour is expected to start from Des Plaines at 8:30 AM and conclude back in Des Plaines at about 830 PM. The PSA is an international organization of camera clubs as well as individual members. See Jerry Hug, APSA Chicago Chapter President for details. The Des Plaines Camera Club is a proud member of the Chicago Area Camera Club Association and Photgraphic Society of America IN Focus Newsletter Page 6-6