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Meetings

August Meeting -Textures

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For the August meeting, Cam Miller will show how to add a texture(s) to your images to improve an otherwise bland background and/or how to use it to help obscure an imperfect background. After and Before examples are included here. You can add a texture to your images using Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, without needing to purchase any plugins or additional software. You can find textures free on the Internet, purchase pre-made ones, or make your own. Downloadable handouts will be made available during the meeting. The meeting will be at 7 pm on Wednesday, August 11, via Zoom. Club members will be sent the meeting link via the email blast. Guests are welcome to attend this meeting by sending email to info@frederickcameraclique.org and requesting the link.

June 9th Meeting, 7 pm via Zoom - Therapeutic Photography

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Judy Weiser, the director of the PhotoTherapy Centre in Gambier Island, BC, Canada, will speak to us about Therapeutic Photography.

Therapeutic Photography techniques are photographic practices done by people themselves (or their helpers) in situations where the skills of a trained therapist or counselor are not needed — for example, where photo-interactive activities are used to increase people’s own self-knowledge, awareness, and well-being, improve their relationships with family and others, activate positive social change, reduce social exclusion, assist rehabilitation, strengthen communities, deepen intercultural relations, lessen conflict, bring attention to issues of social injustice, sharpen visual literacy skills, enhance education, expand qualitative research and prevention methodologies, and produce other kinds of photo-based personal/emotional healing and learning.

Therapeutic Photography does not mean just only photo-taking. It also includes other photo-interactive activities, such as photo-viewing, -posing, -planning, -discussing, or even just only remembering or imagining photographs.

To learn more about Judy and the work of the PhotoTherapy Centre, visit her bio and the homepage for the PhotoTherapy Centre. All Frederick Camera Clique members will receive the Zoom link for this meeting in the June email blast; guests are welcome to attend by requesting the link via email: info@frederickcameraclique.org.

May 12 Meeting, 7:00, "Now and Then: A Look at Today's Photography and the Foundations on Which It Was Built."

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On Wednesday, May 12, at 7pm, Mike Donovan (West Shore Photography Club) will present "Now and Then: A Look at Today's Photography and the Foundations on Which It Was Built." Mike will be showing the work of some modern photographers and then going back in time to those who did it first. He will not say much about the modern photographers, but will concentrate the information on the historical photographers. He is hoping to reveal the personalities as well as the photography of those who came before us.

Mike suggests that you keep a paper and pencil handy--to write down some names to research later--as he will be covering a lot of ground! More info will be in the next email blast.

Mike Donovan is a retired elementary school teacher who has been photographing for about 40 years. He started with a black and white photography course in college and never stopped. He uses his art to share the things he finds beautiful, important, or meaningful.

Mike’s photography education includes an Associate Degree in Photography from HACC and various workshops, seminars, and lectures. He’s a member of the Art Association of Harrisburg, The Carlisle Arts Learning Center, and The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen. Mike has judged a number of photography competitions and has offered a number of photo critiques. He has also taught photography classes for The East Pennsboro Library educational program and summer photography classes for elementary school students.

His work has been displayed in the WITF atrium, the Art Association of Harrisburg, Whitaker Center, Oyster Mill Playhouse, The Mechanicsburg Art Center and other venues. Additionally, he participates in about six craft shows per year. You can see Mike’s work at his website, www.mikedonovanphotography.com.

March 10th Meeting , at 7 pm, Martin Heavner

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On Wednesday, March 10, at 7 pm, Martin Heavner will be doing a "twist" on our annual critique of images. Traditionally, the March meeting has been devoted to a critique of member images, primarily because in April, we open up the entry period for our annual Frederick Camera Clique juried exhibition; but there were always so many images and so much to say, that it tended to be a bit overwhelming. Hence the "twist." The photos that members are encouraged to submit for critique are those that you may be considering for entering into a juried exhibit or competition. By hearing a review of your images with this purpose in mind, you will have time to do some new edits, consider some alternative images, or be assured that your image is ready for entry. Before the critique, will Martin will tell us about a few “lessons learned" before opening the topic up for discussion and Q&A, and then go right into the critique session.

Martin Heavner has won dozens of awards at local, regional, and national photo exhibits. He also has exhibited his work at galleries throughout the region, most recently with three prints juried into the 2021 Cumberland Valley Photo Show in Hagerstown and a two-artist show at Frostburg State University in September 2020. He frequently judges photography competitions, including monthly and year-end competitions at the North Bethesda Camera Club, Baltimore Camera Club, Rossmoor Camera Club, Gaithersburg Camera Club, and Silver Spring Camera Club. He is a member and past president of the Frederick Camera Clique and currently is chairman of the Photography Committee of the Allegany Arts Council in Cumberland, MD, where he helps to organize the annual Allegany National Photography Competition and Exhibition. His work can be seen at his website, www.HeavnerPhoto.com, and at his Instagram account.

A Zoom link will be sent via the weekly email blast to all members and to non-members/guests who request it by sending an email to info@frederickcameraclique.org.

February 10th Meeting, 7pm - Photographing Waterfalls Day & Night - Kevin Adams

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Kevin Adams has always loved nature and the outdoors. He received his first camera as a birthday present in the mid 1980s. In 1994, Kevin wrote North Carolina Waterfalls, his first book. Since then, he’s written and photographed nine additional books. He’s had well over a thousand images published in books, calendars, magazines, and all sorts of other venues. Today, his photography business consists mainly of teaching and leading photo tours. He also runs an online store where he sells his books and a few other products. Kevin has been called the MacGyver of photography because he’s always tinkering in the shop making new photo gear. He sells a few products he invented in his online store.

Kevin and his wife, Patricia, live on a small farm in western North Carolina that is home to a variety of critters that regularly pop in for a visit. It wouldn’t be a farm without farm animals, so they have the requisite chickens. Some are named after women on Star Trek and the others after women on Game of Thrones. They also have two cats, Lucy and Titan. Patricia has plans for adding goats, horses, guineas, honey bees and who knows what else to our farm. Kevin fears that soon, he’ll never be able to leave the house.

Kevin loves to hike, paddle his kayak, and gaze at the night sky. He especially loves to travel, to see new worlds and experience new cultures. A Zoom link will be made available just prior to the meeting.

Learn more about Kevin Adams at his website: Kevin Adams Photography

December Speakers - Kimo Williams Postponed

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Normally in December, we do not have a meeting, but have instead our holiday party with a great dinner and a photo swap. This year, well, you know.... So instead of our holiday party, we will have TWO speakers in December, both the same week as our usual meeting date.

For Club Members only: Monday, December 7, at 7 pm: David duChemin, arranged by the West Shore Photography Club, and we are helping to sponsor this speaker. It will be recorded by the duChemin team and the recording available upon request for a limited time only to our deaf members, per agreement with duChemin's agent. Therefore, most of our members will need to see this presentation "live," so mark it on your calendar. A Zoom link to this presentation will be sent to you next weekend.

Illustrated by inspiring photographs from around the world, The Heart of the Photograph Virtual Lecture with David duChemin is a 90-minute conversation (including Q&A time) exploring ten powerful ideas about the creation of more engaging photographs. This webinar will discuss techniques and ways of thinking about the creation of images designed to engage human imagination and emotion, including questions of vision and intent, the use of space and time, the creation of depth, and the use of point of view. David will also discuss mood and mystery, storytelling, and what this all means for our choices of moments as well as more practical considerations, like the more creative use of exposure tools, composition, and more. This will be a compelling lecture with (and about) heart that your club will remember for a long time.

David duChemin is a best-selling author, award-winning photographer, and leading expert in the field of creativity. With over 35 years experience making photographs, his calling is to help photographers make photographs that are more than just sharp and well-exposed. David teaches how to make photographs that light a spark in people, that communicate clearly, that captivate imaginations and grab the attention and hearts of the people who will see them. As an international workshop leader and author of best-selling books like Within The Frame and The Soul of the Camera ( both published in over a dozen languages), he’s taught students this incredible craft on all seven continents.

If you want more, you can get a sense of his teaching on his blog at davidduchemin.com.

You can see his portfolio at portfolio.davidduchemin.com.

And you can listen to his sultry radio voice by listening to his podcast about the joys and challenges of everyday creativity at aBeautifulAnarchy.com.

Open for all members and guests/visitors: Wednesday, December 9, at 7 pm, Kimo Williams Postponed!

Marshall Dupuie and I first met J. Kimo Williams when we walked by his gallery in downtown Shepherdstown, WV. He had a selection of antique cameras in the window, and upon further inspection, we wandered into his shop and met this intriguing man. He is a musician, a composer, a photographer, a proud Vietnam veteran, and so much more. He's hard to describe in a few words, so here are three biographies to choose from: long, medium, and short! A Zoom link to this meeting will be sent to you the weekend before.

In his talk, Williams will discuss:

  1. Finding the Light
  2. Adding your personal narrative (cropping, effects, presentation, mounting etc.)
  3. The shot - What it is and what it will be
  4. Understanding the Home Run (a metaphoric approach to understanding your camera)

You can visit some of Williams' galleries here, including his current "Counties of the Potomac River" series.

Instead of an honorarium, Williams has requested that our club make a donation to his "The Names of Those..." project, to support an art installation that will include a video monitor to scroll the names and dates of death of every US military member who died as a result of their service in Vietnam.

November 11th meeting - David Wolanski

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Although domestic violence is a harsh reality, it is a reality that many face, and that fortunately, some survive. Dover photographer David Wolanski first encountered this reality when he learned that someone he thought he knew fairly well was regularly assaulted by her husband, and she honestly thought that this was how all relationships worked, because it was the life she and others she knew were living. David decided to use his portrait photography skills to help share the stories of survivors of domestic violence by encouraging them to share their stories.

David writes, "For the last several years, I’ve been using my experience doing portraits to do a photo and story project against Domestic Violence and think it’s the most important work I’ve ever done. This presentation is about the 1:4 Project on my website at domesticviolencearoundus.com."

In this presentation, you will see how a personal photography project can truly have an impact on both the photographer and on those who are photographed. Here is a video in which David explains how he was inspired to begin. The Zoom link for this meeting will be shared closer to the date. Club meeting date is Wednesday, November 11, at 7 pm.

September meeting Via Zoom

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September 9 Meeting, 7 pm, Jennifer King Via Zoom

The speaker for our September meeting is Jennifer King, who will share her presentation on “Photographing America’s National Parks.” The National Park Service has preserved and protected our country’s most beautiful and unique landscapes for over 100 years. The mission and dedication of so many people throughout history has provided all American’s with an opportunity to experience and enjoy nature from the east coast to west, and points in between. The diversity that each of our parks offer photographers and nature enthusiasts is unmatched in the world. It is in these special lands that we experience the best of America and nature.

"Photography is a journey, it's about the destination and its uniqueness. Experiencing America's landscape, is simply the world at its best.”

Jennifer King is an internationally acclaimed landscape and nature photographer with a passion for teaching and inspiring photographers around the world. She draws on her fine art and design background to bring a fresh perspective to nature photography. Her ability to teach composition and inspire creativity is unmatched. See more about Jennifer King at her website, www.jenniferkingphoto.com

Jennifer was named as 1 of 15 Amazing Women to Follow by 500px. She is also the Founder of PHOTOGRAPHY for the FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER ( pfabc.org), an industry wide organization bringing together the biggest names in photography to raise money for breast cancer research.

Visitors are always welcome to attend our meetings. Please send email to info@frederickcameraclique.org to RSVP; you will be contacted with meeting information just before the September 9 meeting date.

August Meeting Via Zoom

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TITLE: Are Photographers Held to a Higher Standard Than Visual Artists?

ABSTRACT: When a photographer captures the image of an object as a picture, the resulting photograph presents the illusion of truthfulness. The photographer is often questioned as to how accurately the photograph represents the object.

Yet when an artist creates a visual art (painting, drawing, sculpture) resulting in a picture, the result is considered to represent the artist's expression of their skill or imagination. No question of its accuracy is raised.

There are many art and photography genres, but they are not treated equally. The photographer must adhere to ethics in nature photography, for example. If an artist captures a bird in flight, they are not questioned as to where the bird was located and how it was treated, was it in the wild or in a conservatory. The photographer might be asked if the photograph is the result of captive animals that are placed in natural-looking settings, or perhaps was baited to come to the setting. Their images can also be eliminated from contests if the animal actions are perceived to be staged in some way manipulated.

The photographer can also be an artist. They can proclaim that they are a performing the actions of a visual artist when they use photography as a medium in expressing their imagination.

Gundars will show multiple examples of photographs that contain questions of truthfulness vs art, and engage us in a discussion of how photographers are often put on the spot to defend their images, and how we as photographers may respond to questions that are raised.

Here is the Zoom link to the August meeting, described below.

https://zoom.us/j/93763270306?pwd=ZFhzRnBid21jUUlYdWhxVnEycUNFZz09

Meeting ID: 937 6327 0306 Passcode: 7NEZMw

April 8th Meeting- Cancelled

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Coriolana Simon has won acclaim for her still life photography, which re-interprets 17th century Dutch still life paintings. Trained as an architect, but also a writer and musician, Coriolana Simon feels the influence of these disciplines in her photography. While she enjoys the magic of macro photography, which can open windows for her into a different visual universe, she remains primarily focused on still lifes. She has long admired the still life paintings by Dutch artists of the 17th century. Not only do they give a detailed view of Dutch culture but many were painted in a style as realistic as photographs. While never copying a painting, Simon re-interprets the original themes with her camera and applies classic composition and lighting techniques to arrangements of her historic objects. To give depth to the undertaking, Simon has studied hundreds of paintings and read extensively on Dutch cultural, political, economic, social, religious, and military history.

View some of Coriolana's outstanding still life work at her website, Time Points Photography.

March 11th Meeting - Critique of Work

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Our annual critique night is Wednesday, March 11. All members are encouraged to submit three photos for critique by member Howard Clark, who will view the images prior to the meeting in order to prepare his comments. We always learn so much from this review of work!

Start thinking about what photos you want to have reviewed. Some people like to show work that reflects a new technique they have tried (studio lighting, black & white, or infrared, for example). Others submit photos they want to learn how to improve. Some will be showing work for the first time and want to know what an independent reviewer thinks of it. The choice is yours. If you are considering submitting some work to our juried summer show, this critique is a good opportunity to show some pieces you might enter for the show.

Howard will discuss each photo so that the entire group will learn from his comments and suggestions. For this critique, prepare three photos for review.

You will be emailing the images as attachments to Cam, and she will place them in a secure folder on her website so that Howard has time to look at them before the meeting. You can send the images however you want, and Cam will size them appropriately for the review. Jpegs are preferred, as Tiffs will likely be too large for email.

Please email your images to cam.miller@comcast.net. Put Critique in the subject line. The deadline is Friday, March 6, in order to give Cam enough time to get all the photos sized and loaded onto the website and to give Howard enough time to review them.

Please number your photos in order of preference with LastName#1, i.e. Smith#1.jpg, Smith#2.jpg, etc. Or, in the body of the email message, describe which photo is your first preference, your second, and your third. If we receive more images than Howard can possibly review in a reasonable amount of time at the meeting, the review may be limited to your first and second choices

January Meeting - Mel McNamara, digital book making

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Besides making prints or posting our images on social media, there is a whole world of digital book making out there to explore! Mel McNamara will be sharing a number of resources and "how to's" for making a quality digital book using templates from various websites as well as using the book module built into Lightroom.

Mel is an avid photographer of places, people, and events. She started her photographic journey in college with her first film SLR camera and built a darkroom in her parent’s garage. She is accomplished in Photoshop, Lightroom and InDesign. Mel loves to travel and create books of her adventures, she also enjoys designing cookbooks for people using their loved one’s original recipe cards.

Mel graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts. She has a Masters degree in Library Science from Catholic University and a Masters degree in Educational Media from Boston University. Mel is a retired Library/Media Specialist and Educational Technology Resource Teacher having worked for the Howard County Public Schools in Maryland.

Mel teaches the following class for Capital Photography Center: Creating Books with Lightroom's Book Module.

December Meeting - Holiday Party

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In lieu of a December meeting, there will be a holiday party for members only on Wednesday, December 11. It is our club tradition to have a holiday social event in our usual meeting room at the Delaplaine, which will be decorated for a party! This annual pot-luck supper is always a lot of fun. We will have a slideshow of member images, dinner and dessert, and then a fun photo swap.

For the dinner, please sign up at the link below for what to bring for the dinner. We will provide cold shrimp and cocktail sauce, water, ice, and all plates/cups and utensils. Please bring main dish items, side dishes, and desserts. Use this link to indicate how many will be in your party as well as what you will bring. RSVP by Monday, December 9. Signup Genius for Holiday Party

The Photo Swap: For the photo swap, if you are bringing a print, it should be matted and suitable for framing. New! If you prefer to bring a "photo gift," such as a mug, a calendar, a tote bag, an ornament, or a set of notecards featuring one of your photos, that's acceptable, too! Wrap your photo gift with no identifying info on the wrapping, but please do include your name inside, preferably by signing the mat if a print, or a note inside a photo gift. Place your wrapped photo gift on the gift table at the party, and we'll go over the rules for this fun swap at the party. Participation is voluntary; you do not have to bring a photo gift to come to the party, but the more we have, and more "thieves" we have during the swap, the more fun it is!

Best Five Images: During the holiday party, we will show your best or favorite images of 2019 and show them off in the annual holiday party slideshow! Send your images to Gundars Osvalds, who will create the slideshow to be show at the party. If you want to size them, choose 2400 pixels on the long side, 72 dpi, and sRGB colorspace. If you would prefer just to send them to Gundars, make sure they are no larger than 3 mb each. Gundars will take care of any resizing needed. Rename your files with your name, please, so that Gundars can keep them together. Ex - CMiller-1.jpg, CMiller-2.jpg, etc. Deadline for sending images is Tuesday, December 10. gundars.osvalds@gmail.com

November Meeting - Harold Ross

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November 13th

hroldross.jpg

The November speaker will be Harold Ross, a master "sculptor of light." Check out his website and put November 13 on your calendar.

Join photographer Harold Ross for an information-packed presentation on Sculpting with Light, a technique that he has been perfecting for almost 30 years. Harold will show you how his vision and his method of light painting can transform the ordinary subject into something extraordinary. His lighting technique reveals remarkable detail, shape and dimension in his subjects. This lighting cannot normally be “seen," as it involves a building up of light over time and over multiple captures. The photographing of one image can take minutes or even hours to record.

May Meeting - Nikhil Bahl, Techniques For Creating Dynamic Images

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Nikhil Bahl will be the speaker at the May 8 meeting, presenting Techniques For Creating Dynamic Images. While a great light display can lead to attractive images a good photographer does not rely on great light to create compelling images. From capturing energy and motion to the serene and surreal, Nikhil will talk about techniques and ideas that you can use to create dynamic images. Nikhil will also give you insights into how and when these techniques are best applied.

BIO

Nikhil Bahl is a full time professional photographer, author, educator and and environmentalist residing in the Washington D.C. area. Drawing continuous inspiration from nature, Nikhil adopts novel approaches and seeks meaningful interpretations: to create photographs that transcend the commonplace, reflect deeper insights, and convey an enchantment of the subject’s beauty.

An offshoot of Nikhil's fine art photography and love of nature is his documentation of wildlife behaviors and habitats. As a volunteer with the National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, his goal is to portray environmental stories with an artistic appeal, so his photographs educate and motivate about the imperative of conservation.

Each year Nikhil leads numerous photography tours and instructional workshops in the United States and abroad. His teaching encourages participants to advance beyond ordinary photos and develop their own style and vision. Nikhil is a popular speaker at photography clubs, expos and industry events. He authored the acclaimed ebook, Creative Interpretations and writes articles on the creative and technical aspects of photography. His work can be viewed at www.nikhilbahl.com.

March Meeting: A Critique by Patricia Stockman

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The March 13 meeting will be a critique of member photos by local fine art photographer and instructor Patricia Stockman.

In the past, members have brought photos to the meeting, and we never were sure how many we would get. One meeting we had less than 20; last year we had more than 50.

This year, we are changing things up a bit. Each member may submit up to three photos for Patricia to review in advance of the meeting. The images should be sent as digital files to me, and I will place them on a website in a secure folder. Patricia will have access to the folder so that she can review the images, prepare some remarks, and be ready with comments for the meeting.

Critiques are not a competition. They are a learning experience. Patricia may suggest ways to improve the composition. She will study the exposure and focus. She may suggest a new crop or turning the image to black and white. You may want to submit images that you are just not sure about. Sometimes you feel that "something is there," but are not sure how to make your intention for taking the photo clear. Others may submit work that is new to them: compositing images, black and white, infrared, portraits of people, etc. Still others may be considering entering their images in a photo competition and want feedback on how to make them the best they can be.

During the meeting, all images will be displayed one by one on the projector, as Patricia comments on them for all to hear. Even if you do not submit any images yourself, you can learn a lot by her comments on work she sees from others. However, I hope you do...

Please send me up to three images before March 10, no larger than 5 mb each. If you want to prep the images at 2000 pixels on the long edge, 72dpi, and sRGB colorspace, jpg format, that's great. If you have no idea what all that means, just send me three images no larger than 5 mb each, and I will take care of the rest. There will be no need to bring the digital images to the meeting, too.

If you would prefer to bring prints to the meeting instead of submitting digital files, please email me with that information. Patricia can do a review of prints at the end of the meeting, with lights on, for all to see.

Send your digital images as attachments to cam.miller@comcast.net. I will take care of adding them to a secure location for Patricia

About Patricia

Local photographer and instructor Patricia Stockman will offer a critique of member images at the March 13 meeting at the Delaplaine Visual Arts Center. Members should have received an email instructing them how and where to send their digital images for review. Check the forum for a review of the information.

Patricia has been a photographer for over 20 years, and currently resides in Frederick, MD. Formal education as a traditional photographer has taken her through B&W film processing and printing; while her work experience has taken her through color film processing & printing, photojournalism, and studio portraiture work. Most recently, Patricia’s teaching career has widened her view of subject matter and digital techniques in her own art.

For the past 12 years, Patricia has been teaching high school Digital Photography and Computer Graphics classes with Frederick County Public Schools. She is also adjunct faculty at Mount St. Mary’s University, teaching Digital Photography.

Involved with the arts community, Patricia is now a member and Vice-President of TAG/The Artists Gallery. She served on the Board for Artomatic@Frederick for all three events, and strives to involve her students in the arts community. Additionally, Patricia shows her photographic works throughout the region and into NYC. Recently, Patricia was honored with receiving “Best in Show” at the 2018 Cumberland Valley Photographers Juried Exhibition, as well as other awards.

Of her own work, Patricia writes, “I combine my traditional background with the technology of Photoshop to create images grounded in the fundamentals of art with a contemporary, surreal twist. I place a strong emphasis on the use of texture, color and the interaction of various subjects in one scene. Elements, such as the division of space, suspended pathways, and the repetition of symbolic objects are recurring themes in my work that suggest the past, present and future within a narrative construct.”

February Meeting Moved to February 27th

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The February Meeting has been moved to February 27th

Don't forget that our February meeting will be on the THIRD Wednesday of the month, February 20, and it will be at 7 pm at Frederick Community College. Member Gundars Osvalds will be presenting the story behind the images he captured as a 16-year-old aspiring photojournalist in the now gone Vinegar Hill neighborhood of Charlottesville, VA. These historic photos are some of the only images of people at work and at play in the African American community. His photos will be on exhibit at FCC during the month of February.

The presentation will be in the theater at the Visual Arts Performing Center, the same building where we have our summer exhibit. ASL interpretation will be provided. Because this event is free and open to the public, we could use some volunteers to help with staffing the refreshment table, to sell exhibit catalogs, and to give some technology assistance. Please let Cam know if you are willing to help.

Here is a link to a PDF flyer about the meeting/event. Please share this with other people and organizations you know would be interested in both the history and the photography that Gundars will share.

Vinegar Hill