New for 2023, each month we have a new member join, we plan to take an opportunity for a quick introduction. New for the month of January are:

Doug Killey
Lives in Flat Rock
Learned about CCoH from a fellow CCoH member
Experience level - Beginner
Photographic interests include outdoor, scenic, nature, and weather
Hopes to learn, among other things, macro, and post-processing
Currently not using any editing software 

Karyn Thompson
Lives in Union Mills, Rutherfordton
Learned about CCoH via an online search outside her immediate hometown, an hour's drive from Hendersonville
Experience level - Advanced
Photographic interests include mostly everything except portraits and weddings
Editing mostly with Light Room and some minor Photoshop experience (from older versions)

Colleen Witt Bell
Hendersonville
Learned about CCoH from David and Debby Day
Experience level - Advanced Beginner (still shoots on auto)
Photographic interests include nature scenes, landscapes, and urban scenes
Currently not using any editing software

Next time you see one of our new members, please go introduce yourself!

When: February 23rd - 5:30 to 8:30
Where: Chamber of Commerce (our normal meeting site)

Based on input we've received from our members, we will be putting on an Essentials of Photography - Basic (part 1) workshop.  This workshop is designed to BRIEFLY cover the very basics of photography.  While the curriculum is still being finalized, the workshop will likely cover:

•        The Art of Photography (art vs science, storytelling, emotions)
•       Types of Photography (a very brief discussion on landscape, macro, portrait, street, nature, long exposure etc..)
•         Settings:  ISO, White Balance, Aperture, Speed, RAW vs JPEG
•         Focusing 
•         Composition and light
•         Gear (what's in my bag, cameras, lenses, accessories)
•         Image review (how was it shot)
•         Panel Discussion (question and answer)
•         Assignment review 

This is a lot to cover as each of these could take an entire evening by itself, the workshop is designed to focus on key aspects and provide you with things to think about. However, IF you plan on attending - feel free to shoot me an email with any questions you have or any concepts you like covered during the workshop. I cannot guarantee we will get to all the questions, but we will try.  (recognize we have a lot to cover in 3 hours.)

We will also have a panel of more advanced club photographers to assist with the Q&A portion of the workshop. 

Please bring your camera, camera bag (and accessories), and tripod (if you have one).  

Why is this part 1?  Because later this summer, we will have part 2.  Part of the objectives for part 1 will include assignments.  Everyone participating in part 1 will be given a photo assignment which will be presented at part 2 (still working out dates).  This is NOT a critique but a constructive dialogue to discuss the objectives of your assignment and how your image captured that theme/assignment.  

This workshop will be capped at 30 participants.  If you wish to attend, please RSVP to  ccoh.chair@gmail.com directly.  You MUST RSVP to attend (less panel/board members).

This workshop will not be Zoomed.   

In January's photo Critique, Janet and Les Saucier provided a number of photo editing techniques to improve our images in order to make viewers want to pause and look more carefully at them. They repeated several times the techniques that they use in their own work. such as filling the screen with the subject, placing diagonals, applying vignettes to draw the eye to the subject, and choosing complementary colors. 

The assigned theme was “texture,” and there were many good images throughout the program that demonstrated texture. They often mentioned…and demonstrated…how getting closer by cropping helped the viewer focus on the subject and draw out the texture in the image. 

There are two adages that are especially appropriate for this assigned theme. If it is not interesting, you are not close enough. Also, if surrounding elements…or spaces…do not add to the subject, they subtract…or detract from it. The best rule is to eliminate everything that distracts and only leave what you want the viewer to see, i.e., crop until it hurts.

For some images, Janet questioned the intended subject because there were several possibilities, all with texture.  She showed these different subjects by cropping different portions of the image.  The cropped images made the target subject much clearer to the viewer.   

Of a more general nature, these comments are also applicable in shooting all subjects. It is not enough just to take a snapshot of a qualifying subject; that is just documenting it. Instead, we should always study the subject and shoot it from the most appealing perspective, in the best lighting and with a striking composition. To accomplish this takes lots of practice and learning when to shoot something and when to walk away in search of something better. It usually requires taking multiple shots, but anything that is worth shooting is worth taking the time and effort to capture the best image.

Submitted by Bob Coffey and Ward Seguin

Fourteen pairs of images were submitted for the January Photo Review.  You can view the images at this website.
 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tkAXYLGVYG2wrdq8

The initial webpage will allow you to do a quick scan of the photos.  Double-click on an image to bring up a single image and click on the arrow on the right of your screen to scroll through the images.  The first image in the pair is picture as recorded by the camera, and the second is the edited image. 

Click on the "i" inside the circle in the upper right to view information about some of the images.  Not all camera metrics accompany submitted photos.

Click on the small rectangle in the lower right to view reviewer comments on the edited images. 

The very last image is Carrie Hanrahan’s Great Blue Heron.  This is a version of the image edited by Bob Coffey.  To augment his text review, Bob downloaded Carrie’s image, provided additional tweaks, and uploaded the image to the album.  We will see more of this in the future because, as they say: “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Many thanks to Bob Coffey, Greg Lambert, and Steve Matadobra for providing their review comments.

February Photo Review Images
The February Photo Review Images are due February 4th, which is the first Saturday of the month.  The Monthly Photo Review submission guidelines have now been included with other submission guidelines on the CCOH website: 

https://www.cameraclubofhendersonville.com/camera-club-of-hendersonville-submission-guidelines-20230103.pdf

Please remember to upload your photo information/metrics as requested in the submission guidelines. If you need a copy of the photo information/metrics template (so you don't have to reinvent the wheel) please click the link HERE.

As for ideas of what you might submit, consider the following idea.

Janet Saucier sent J.D. the following message.
“Les and I had a thought on the drive home last night that I thought worth sharing with you. I overheard someone say that the second group of images could be used in the February review. As an exercise for those whose images are in the second group, the photographer could be asked to look at his/her image again, and using what may have been learned from the critique, consider what may be done to make the image more interesting to the viewer.

February's review then might be a comparison between the image as submitted for the January critique against the revised image. Does the revised image hold the viewer's attention longer? Is it clearer what the intended subject is? What edits were made to accomplish a more impactful image? (Often, that could be as simple as a better crop. "Fill the frame in a beautiful way." "Get closer.")”

And if you need additional ideas, consider submitting candidate photos you are considering for the February “Nostalgia” theme.  You could then use Janet and Les’s lessons on some of these photos.

If you have any questions, please submit them to Ward Seguin at wrsmd1@yahoo.com.

In case you missed it, David Day's award-winning ICM (intentional camera movement) images were the subject of an article that appeared in BlueRidgeNow Times-News in December. Through lots of study and experimentation, he has produced stunning images that are featured in various places. To read the article, click the link HERE. To view his NFTs click the link HERE. 

Here are 2 of his images from the article.

February Monthly Meeting: February 28th
Featured program: GYBS - Nostalgia
Featured presentation: "Down Where the Soul Is" by Tim Jones

Our February 2023 meeting will feature Tim Jones who will share his ‘Down Where the Soul Is’ presentation.  Tim, a native of Henderson County, is on staff at St. James Episcopal Church and also serves as the Chief Operations Officer for the Hendersonville Rescue Mission  He is passionate about hiking, nature photography, public speaking and poetry.  Tim is also one of the featured artists at The Gallery of Flat Rock.
 

February 2023 Gimme Your Best Shot - Nostalgia

 

Submit up to three images on the theme “Nostalgia”.  For the February 2023 GYBS only, your images may have been captured in 2022 or 2023. Your images must be submitted to CCoH.Images@gmail.com by midnight Saturday February 25th. 

To view a PDF of the year's lineup of GYBS months and 2023 General Meeting programs, CLICK HERE