Simplicity-In-Seeing
with Guest Speaker Olaf Sztaba

April 23rd, 2019

Field Trip: Monday, April 22nd

2018 - 2019 Executive

• Co-Presidents: Elizabeth Gray (info@tricityphotoclub.ca) and Judy Robb (president@tricityphotoclub.ca)
• Publicity: Louis Smit (publicity@tricityphotoclub.ca)
• Competitions/Presentations: Steve Kazemir (competitions@tricityphotoclub.ca)
• Website: Steve Kazemir (website@tricityphotoclub.ca)
• Treasurer: Victoria Gillies (treasurer@tricityphotoclub.ca)
• Membership: Victoria Gillies (membership@tricityphotoclub.ca)

Members-at-Large

• Membership Assistant - Kathy Corbeil
• Newsletter - Doug Moore
• Treats - Janice Bell and Michelle Clayton
• Field Trips - Alan Wallis/Ellen Ayer

Meeting Schedule

• April 23 – Simplicity-In-Seeing with guest and visual poet, Olaf Sztaba.
• May 14 – Astro and Wildlife Photography with guest Christian Sasse

Copying 35mm Slides

• Novoflex Castel-Cop-Digi slide duplicator 
• Novoflex Castel-MINI-Small focusing rack
• 85mm macro lens on an APS-C sensor camera (I also use a 55mm macro lens with extension rings on a full frame)
• I used a dedicated flash with a dedicated cable (but I have also used a non-ttl flash set manually, and occasionally a normal light although this usually needs a custom white balance.
• The Novoflex items are expensive but I am sure that cheaper alternatives can be obtained on Amazon...
• Lastly, here is the link to a video on copying slides. This fellow uses different gear than Clive, but goes through similar post-processing.

Lightroom Tips

• Survey Mode in the library mode is very useful for culling photos or doing a side by side comparison of multiple photos. In the filmstrip, command click the photos to compare, examine them & click the “X” button on the photos to be ignored.
• Setting solo mode in the develop module reduces the amount of scrolling up & down to make adjustments out of order. To do this, right click on any of the panel headers & choose solo mode.
• Floating panels. Introduced this past fall this feature enables you to arrange the panels in the develop module to suit your workflow, or eliminate panels that you never use. To do this, Right click on any header panel in the develop module & choose customize develop panel. From here you can easily organize the panels in whatever order you choose to make life easier, as well as eliminating unneeded panels.
• Profile vs preset; Presets allow you to apply adjustments that you create, or the built in Lightroom presets, to images very quickly to use over & over on various images. This can be done using the “plus” button in the preset panel on the left side of the develop module. Presets can also be created in the local adjustment tools ( Grad Filter, Radial Tool, & Adjustment Brush). Profiles on the other hand, will give your image a certain look as a starting point with all the sliders set to zero giving you full range of adjustments. You also have an amount slider to make the profile stronger or weaker, but this only works with “artistic or 3rd party, or user created profiles! You can also create custom profiles specifically for your own cameras using an Xrite Color Checker.
• Transform Panel; This is one of the best tools that I’ve come across for straightening crooked images. Use guided & snap a line on something you know is straight both horizontal & vertical if necessary. Remember to shoot wide because you’re going to loose some acreage due to crop.
• Option Key; This can come in very handy for sharpening when using the masking feature, as well as the white & black points in the basic adjustment panel. Hold option key while moving the slider when applying sharpening mask, (white indicates what is being sharpened, & black is excluded). For the black & white points, hold option key while moving the sliders.
• Undo on a Slider; This works on the three adjustment tools on the right side of the panel, the grad filter, radial filter & the brush tool. Make all your adjustments & then click on the little triangle / pointer to change the panel to a single slider. Now when you move the slider, it will change the settings proportionally, so you don’t have to do them individually. This is great when you’ve made a ton of changes to the tool but you think it’s a little over the top.
• Grad Filter; great tool for darkening or changing the colour of a sky, or any other part of an image like a foreground. The beautiful thing about this way of using a grad as opposed to the old slide in or screw on filters is that you can use the built in brush tool to remove the effect from certain parts such as buildings , trees etc once again using the option key or the erase button within the tool. If you have the auto mask turned on, it will do a pretty good job of protecting the out of bounds spill as long as you keep the crosshairs on the thing you’re trying to protect.

Project with the City of Coquitlam:

• Signature shots – big picture, awe-inspiring, nature-focused images that create a first impression and inspire the traveller
• Experience shots – these provide context and a deeper look at specific places and experiences
• Moments – these communicate specific moments, the sights, sounds, flavours, smells and textures
• Include – people, wildlife (birds etc.), flowers, trees, outdoor activity, local street scenes, food and beverage.
• Cultural Events – Highland Games (June 14, 15), Food Truck Festival (June 2), Block Parties, Teddy Bear Picnic (June 9), Como Lake Fishing Derby (May 26), Lafarge Lake Fishing Derby (June 16), Kaleidoscope Arts Festival (Aug 10), Canada Day (July 1), Summer Carnival (June 23), Farmers Market (Sundays in the summer), Summer Concert Series, Lights at Lafarge Lake, Festival Du Bois.
• Places – Lafarge Lake and Town Centre Park, Como Lake Park, Mundy Park, Burt Flynn Park, Coquitlam Crunch, Crystal Falls, Blue Mountain Park, Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, Deboville Slough Trail, Mackin Park, Shopping Areas, Skytrain Stations

Photo Tip of the Month: Finicky Autofocus

A few photos from our Facebook Group