Outside Competition. New Members Join DCC IN THIS ISSUE. Editor. Maun Elizondo Rober (Bob) Jones Continued Page 2

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1 Volume 77 No. 8 August 2011 THRU THE LENS Published for members and friends of the Dallas Camera Club IN THIS ISSUE Outside Competition Outside Competition....1 New Members Speaker for August Click Officers Ft. Worth Zoo Contest...4 The Raw Advantage....5 Competition Topics Field Trip Schedule Field Trip News Trinity River Corridor... 7 Support Our Sponsors On the DCC Home Page is a listing of popular, public photographic competitions. This listing is organized by submission deadline and is restricted to 10 listings. If you click on a listing that interests you, more information and the contest website will appear. Listings automatically drop off the home page immediately after the due date. For example, the Dallas Zoo Contest dropped off the list because the deadline of June 30 just passed. Flash: The very popular Texas State Fair Photography Contest closes out at the end of July. Don't dilly-dally if you plan to enter this contest. If you uncover a contest that you think the members would be interested in, please forward the info to Harry Rumberger at the e mail address above. I particularly enjoy contests where entries are electronic digital images, have low-entry fees, and have interesting prizes and rewards. In addition, to contests, there are programs where images may be selected for publication. For example, the notification of the National Geographic Magazine's "You Shot" program is an example. I would like to know about these programs as well because what we are seeking is public exposure of the photographic talents of the DCC members. Calling All Winners. At the beginning of 2012 we will showcase all outside public contest winners and their images during 2011 in a slide show. If you have won an award in a public contest thus far in 2011, please send me the image, the contest, award (1st thru HM), the image title, etc. I am developing a library of the images for the slide show. (I already have the Body Painting Contest winners). Thanks for your help. Harry Rumberger Information Officer Public Photo Contests Dallas Camera Club Best View of Trinity DCC Meeting Dates New Members Join DCC Editor Jay Hoppenstein Maun Elizondo Rober (Bob) Jones Continued Page 2 Page THRU THE LENS August 2011

2 Volume 77 No. 8 August 2011 THRU THE LENS Published for members and friends of the Dallas Camera Club Continued from Page 1 New Members August 16 Invited Speaker Stephen Weaver Chris Horak Long-time members of DCC will remember our next guest speaker, Clark Crenshaw, from his service as DCC President ( ). He was as a major contributor to the creation of our website in 2000 and Clark will be discussing and illustrating using his images the advantages and pitfalls of photo sales through stock photo agencies. His extensive travels to art festivals throughout the West and Midwest has also provided material for his presentation as a result of his personal experiences as well as his success in marketing his images directly to the public. Through the presentation of selections from his personal gallery, we can expect to see uncommon images from the back roads of America. Ken Murphy Julie Horak Bill Cashin Page 2 THRU THE LENS August 2011

3 Officers Steve Newman & Suzanne Graham Co-Presidents Susan Stageman & Houston Brown Past Co-Presidents Wayne Vanderbur Vice President/Programs Paula Acorn Secretary Adela Rochier Treasurer Steve Reeve & Erin Curry Print Chairpersons Jeff Glass & Houston Brown Projected Images Chair Jay Hoppenstein, MD Newsletter Editors Gary Kelly Field Trip Chairpersons Jerry Martin Membership Chairperson Bill Forbis Howard Watts Dave Rochier House Managers Bruce Faust Training/Mentor Program Houston Brown Website Manager Frank Richards Yearbook Editor Paula Buzenius Historian Dave Rochier Bird Contest Coordinator TBD PSA Representative Paula Buzenius GSCC Projected Competition Coordinator Steve Reeve GSCCC Print Competition Coordinator Harry Rumberger Outside Competitions Larry Barker Manager for Exhibits Virginia Sumrall Club Photographer Click The Story of a Photograph by Jay Hoppenstein Crouching Girl in Flower The idea of combining two unrelated images was motivated by three factors. First, the monthly competition subject was Flowers. I knew how many photographers have their image library filled with gorgeous pictures of blooms. I recollected that I, too, had many pictures of single or fields of flowers but what was distinctive about any of them? I recalled that I had a few flowers that were photographed with an insect, usually a bee, inside collecting nectar and pollen an added point of interest but I suspected that this would be a common subject, considered by many photographer who would enter the Flower Competition. What image would I be able to create that was distinctive? Secondly, I, along with several other DCC photographers, had attended the National Body Painting Championships in Dallas this past winter and had hundreds of exotic images of models that had been artistically decorated for the competition. I, among others who were there too, had entered some of these images in the Open (Continued on page 4) Page 3 THRU THE LENS August 2011

4 competition, previously. But there were dozens of fantastic images unused in my library. What to do with them? Lastly, I witnessed Houston Brown at the Automobile Salvage Yard during a recent field trip photographing a beautiful model against the contrast of rusted, junked, ugly cars. I didn t have a model but I did have all of those body painted models in my files. Could one of them be used in the flower competition? Actually, I envisioned using one of the body painted model s images juxtaposed to an old car, borrowing Houston s idea. I later incorporated that idea in another composition for future competition but the Flower Competition was looming on the horizon, first. I searched my files for an appropriate single bloom that had a concave appearance to hold the figure. I found several candidates and selected one that was crisp and colorful to be the receptacle for the creature. Similarly, I searched the hundreds of body painted models images and found a few that had struck poses which made them look more like animals than women. I finally chose an image of one of the models who struck bizarre poses and who looked like a creature when photographed. Each component image was edited in Lightroom 3 to best present it and both images were exported to Photoshop CS5. The flower petals were selected and the selection was inverted to select the background which then darkened (using a Levels Adjustment layer) independently from the petals. The model was selected from her background using a combination of all of the selections tools, especially, the Refine Edge feature, converted into a mask on her own layer above the flower layer and inserted onto/into the flower. Using the Free Transform tool it was easy to position her and control her size to create an illusion of a small, but recognizable creature in the flower, much the same as one might find an insect within the petals of a flower. Since her image was a mask, I was able to erase (painting with black, conceals; white reveals), parts of her to create the illusion that elements of the flower were in front of her. Attention was specifically directed to her hands and feet. I strove to have it appear that the ends of her extremities were actually sinking into the substance of the interior of the flower. By erasing those parts of her the flower background appeared to be in front. To additionally, sell the idea that she was actually in the flower, I made a shadow of her image by duplicating her selected image, filling it with black, Free Transforming the shadow downward (like a reflection), distorting it to match the surrounding flower shadow, applying a generous Gaussian blur and reducing the opacity of the shadow layer to allow the flower petals to show through. A light yellow (low opacity) was painted on the front of her body to simulate the color of the petals reflected on her body. What I enjoyed learning about the most was the power of the mask. I was guided by several post production books for Photoshop Elements and CS5, without which I could never have accomplished this project. Photoshop CS5 by Mark Galer and Philip Andrews, the Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for digital photographers, by Scot Kelby and several tutorial and Photoshop Elements Techniques magazines. Judges, bless their wicked hearts, have strong prejudices both for and against highly manipulated images that deviate from reality. While this print was awarded a First Place in the Advance division for the Flower Competition, another Creature in a Flower, entered into the Color Print division, received a 6, the lowest score. Unrealistic images are dangerous. Use them at your own risk! Fort Worth Zoo puts focus on photo contest Zoo invites photographers to submit their best pictures of animals and more FORT WORTH, Texas Attention shutterbugs! The Fort Worth Zoo wants to see your best photos taken at the Zoo in the Fort Worth ZOOm Lens Photo Contest. The photo contest begins July 25 and ends September 16, and is open to amateurs and professionals over 18 years old. Photos may be entered in four categories: mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and people and places. Contest participants may submit multiple photos; however, only one entry from each person may be deemed a winner. To enter the contest, visit the Zoo s website to fill out the Fort Worth ZOOm Lens Photo Contest entry form and upload your photos. A panel of guest judges (experienced in the field) will select the top three photos from each category and Best in Show. All winning photos will be featured in the Zoo s magazine, roar!, and on the Zoo s website and Facebook page. Prizes include a custom painting by Rasha, the Zoo s elephant artist, and gift certificates to Wolf Camera. For additional contest information, visit the Fort Worth Zoo s website at The nationally acclaimed Fort Worth Zoo has been ranked the No. 5 zoo in the nation by USA Travel Guide and the No. 1 attraction in the DFW Metroplex by Zagat survey. The Zoo is home to more than 500 animal species and a world-famous reptile collection, housed in the brand new Museum of Living Art (MOLA). The institution s focus on education and conservation is second to none, enhancing the lives of more than 1 million visitors a year. Contact: Alexis Wilson, Communications Director, 817/ Page 4 THRU THE LENS August 2011

5 The RAW Advantage By Harold Davis and Phyllis Davis If there's one single point that I want people who take one of my workshops to understand about digital photography and the Photoshop darkroom, it is the RAW advantage. When you capture a digital photograph as a RAW file, you are saving all the data that was available to the sensor. This is in contrast to other kinds of digital captures, such as a JPEG capture made by lower end cameras. With a JPEG capture, a great deal of data is simply thrown away. The only advantages that the JPEG file format has over RAW is that it is compressed, and fast to work with. If the JPEG is good, you can just send it off to a client without further work. On the other hand, it's like film. What you see is what you get-and you only have one opportunity to get it right. You don't have the chance to tease elusive values out of the file the way you can with RAW. There's no virtue to shooting JPEG-and having to get it right in the camera-as opposed to RAW. It all comes down to common sense: what's the most expedient way to get the image you want. Here's the JPEG... Your RAW capture is just a file by itself. It can't be printed or displayed as part of a website. You need to process the image before you can do almost anything with it. Think of it this way: a RAW file is simply potential information that you can use to create your image from. The really, really, really exciting thing is that you can process the same photograph-the same RAW file-more than once. Then, when you combine the different processed versions, you can use the best bits from each. This leads to extraordinary image making power. Using RAW lets you take advantage of the power of digital. Here is the RAW. JPEG vs RAW Within a single RAW file is a huge range of exposure values and color temperatures. It's much easier to correct problematic exposure and color temperature issues in the RAW conversion process than downstream once you've already finished converting the image. Page 5 THRU THE LENS August 2011

6 rts via Personal Evaluation Services. In members. Members also receive dis- Competition Topics for August, 2011 Junk: This topic is of objects you might find strewn to the side of the road for trash pick up. Old objects that no longer have value as found in a junk yard. Old dilapidated cars, trains or other non-working or undesirable items; large or small. October, 2011 Close-up: This topic includes the subject in a close-up format providing an intimate view or examination of the subject. It need not be a true macro (where the image projected on the "film plane" is close to the same size as the subject) however, the photographer should get into a "close" proximity to the subject by physical means or by use of a macro lens. December, 2011 Negative Space: In contrast to what most books may say about proper composition, in this topic the photographer should think outside the norm and create a dynamic image where the subject is a small part of the image and the majority of the image contains negative space. (Negative space is the space around and between the main subject (s) of an image.) February, 2012 Emotion: This is an image of a person or people that exhibits an emotion on their faces. Joyful, anguished, tearful and surprised are just a few examples. Field Trip Schedule 2011 August None September Taos / Angel Fire, Aspens & High Mountain scenery - Sep 30/Oct 3 October Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering / Joint PPC Scavenger Hunt - October 22/23 November Civil War Reenactment - Washington St. Park, AR (near Texarkana) - November 4/5 December Christmas light shoot - Christmas on the Square, Frisco & Nottingham Neighborhood, Grand Prairie - December 3/4 January None Page 6 THRU THE LENS August 2011

7 FIELD TRIP NEWS Lone Star Park - Pictures from the Lone Star Park field trip are due by August 2nd. Please turn in no more that 12 images to Donna Bearden or Gary Kelly. Files should be formatted according to projected image competition rules. A program made from these pictures will be presented at the August 16th DCC meeting. Airplane Shoot - Pictures from the Cavanaugh Air Museum and Founders Plaza field trip are due by September 6th. Please turn in no more that 12 images to Caren Mack or Gary Kelly. Files should be formatted according to projected image competition rules. Northern New Mexico, Angel Fire and Taos - the next field trip will be to Angel Fire, New Mexico and environs. It will feature aspen fall foliage, mountain scenery and local culture. We will rent a large vacation home near Angel Fire for Friday through Sunday, September 30, and October 1st and 2nd. The overall cost will be around $1,200 and will be shared equally by the participants, probably around $100 to $125 per person. Please let Gary Kelly ( ) know as early as possible if you think you might participate. Gary Kelly Shoot the Trinity River Corridor While the weather is cooler, let's shoot the Trinity River area in preparation for the third annual photo contest which will be announced in June. Remember there is no cost to enter, entries are projected images, cash prizes are awarded and winning images are printed and on display around Dallas at several venues for numerous months. Expect the categories to remain unchanged: a. Man-Made Structures, b. Forest and Prairies, c. Ponds and Rivers and d. Wildlife. Attached is a list of several excellent shooting locations. The DCC is one of the several sponsors of this photo contest. In 2010, we had 4 club member winners in a contest that generated over 800 image entries. Page 7 THRU THE LENS August 2011

8 Support our Advertisers Support our Advertisers Page 8 THRU THE LENS August 2011

9 Year To Date Scores Color Prints 1st 2nd 3rd HM Page 9 THRU THE LENS June 2011

10 Dallas Camera Club Visitors are always welcome. DCC meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month at the Parker Chiropractic College which is located at 2500 Walnut Hill Lane, South Building, Dallas, Texas. Directions: From I-35, turn east on Walnut Hill Lane. Turn right (south) on Ables (the second light) and go south for one block. Turn left on Electronic. Go about 1/2 block and turn left to enter the college through the south gate. Come in the main door and take the elevator to the 2nd floor. Go west (right) to the end of the hall. We are in Room 220. Pre-meeting tutorials begin at 6:30 PM Refreshments and fellowship begin at 7:00 PM. Meeting begins at 7:30 PM. Guests are Welcome DCC is a member of Page 10 THRU THE LENS August 2011