Are you participating in the Dubuque Camera Club’s weekly photo challenge? It is open to club members and other tri-state area photographers. You can share your response to our Facebook group or simply use these ideas to inspire your photography. For the week of Jan. 20-26, 2019, take and share a photo of any subject in Black and White. New challenges are posted weekly on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m.
Despite a big snowstorm the night before, many people came to the 2019 Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch on Saturday, January 19, 2019 at the Grand River Convention Center in the Port of Dubuque. The event was sponsored by the Dubuque Audubon Society.
The Dubuque Camera Club had a table in the vendor area during the Eagle Watch. A slide show displayed past submissions to the N4C Digital Nature category. Easels held a variety of other prints by club members. Printed copies of our brochure were available. Club officers Ron Tigges, John Leicht, and Ken Kiss promoted the club to attendees. Several other club members dropped by to chat.
Birds, mammals, natural landscapes, and river scenes are favorite subjects of local photographers, so it makes a lot of sense to rub elbows with the area’s nature and conservation organizations. As residents of the beautiful Driftless Area, which offers a lot of photography possibilities, it’s important to build awareness so that future photographers can also enjoy the natural places. Thanks to everyone who came down to this event!
On Thursday, January 10, 2019, three members of the Dubuque Camera Club gave a presentation about Wild Bird Photography during a meeting of the Dubuque Audubon Society. The meeting was attended by about 40 people. Joe Tollari, president of the local chapter of the Audubon Society, gave some opening remarks about the evening’s presentation. He also encouraged people to attend the Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch this weekend. Three photographers from the club shared their bird photographs. The first photographer, Ken Kiss, gave biographical information for all three presenters:
• Ken Kiss — Owls, Woodpeckers, and Local Birds. Ken played a few owl calls and shared his original photos taken at Mines of Spain, Linwood, Mud Lake and in a few local backyards. Birds pictured included the Great Horned Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Long-eared Owl, Barred Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Bobolink, Kestral, Woodcock, and many more.
• Kevin McTague — Birds of Southern Texas. Kevin shared a collection of his original bird photography from the Rio Grande Valley. He captured the photos during a stay at Santa Clara Ranch in the southern tip of Texas (near McAllen). Birds included the Long-billed Thrasher, Green Jay, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Painted Bunting, Verdin, Pyrrhuluxia, Road Runner, Black Vulture, and the Crested Caracara.
• Ron Tigges — The Dance of the Hummingbird. Ron shared the visual results of a day spent at a private residence near White Pine Hollow doing flash photography of hummingbirds. Since their wings move so rapidly, unless these birds are perched it is hard to get clear photos. A shutter speed of 1/15000 would be mathematically appropriate; however, the setting is impossible with an ordinary camera. Ron set up an external flash on a tripod near the nectar feeders, using infrared AF assist, shooting past sundown to get some great images of these active little birds.
Thanks, gentlemen, for another terrific photography presentation!
The Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch will be held at the Grand River Center in the Port of Dubuque on Saturday, January 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Dubuque Camera Club along with many area nature organizations will have informational tables. Whether or not you are a club member, please stop by to chat! This is a free, family event. Live bird/raptor presentations will be held throughout the day. Click here for a schedule.
The first Dubuque Camera Club meeting of the New Year was held on Monday, January 7, 2019. It was attended by 21 people. We were delighted to welcome several new members from the Galena area. Thanks for coming, Marie, Karen, Tim, Richard, Celeste, and Henry. We hope to see you again soon!
Remember, if you are not yet receiving club emails, but wish to, give your email address to Pamela or to another club officer during a meeting. We use email to communicate, and to send out detailed reminders of upcoming events. If you are interested in joining the club, please know that one perk of membership is being able to submit your photos to the monthly N4C competition. Click here for a membership application.
At tonight’s meeting, after everybody in attendance introduced themselves, club president Ron Tigges gave a quick overview of how our club works. We meet twice a month in an N4C season that runs from September through May, with activities planned throughout the year, based on the interest of participating photographers. As a club, we’ve participated in photo shoots, workshops and presentations.
Our club has been featured in an annual exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art for the past six years. We have also exhibited at the Carnegie-Stout Public Library for Art@Your Library, and have been part of Dubuque Main Street’s Fall Into Art, as well as the Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch, which is sponsored by the Dubuque Audubon Society. [This year’s Eagle Watch will be held on January 19th.]
In September 2018 the Dubuque Camera Club hosted around 120 visitors to Dubuque for the 62nd annual N4C convention, Blufftops & Visions. If you would like to see Blufftops & Visions event photos, visit this gallery.
Our club belongs to the N4C, a group of 37 midwestern photography clubs. We compete in the following six digital categories:
A competition photo should be no more than 1920 pixels on its longest side. For the best appearance, Ron suggests sizing your photos at 1920×1080, which is a 16:9 aspect ratio for widescreen displays. However, it is acceptable to submit a square photo that is 1920x1920px. File size is limited to 750KB.
To learn more about specific guidelines for N4C submissions, visit their web page. If you are looking for a step-by-step tutorial for how to export your submissions in Lightroom, click here for a five-minute video. If you want to know what filename to use for your competition images, click here. You can also find hints on our competition page.
Know your club member number, because it is yours forever, even if you disappear for a looongg stretch of time, such as to Florida or into the mountains (or shopping in Galena?). You must have your club dues paid up-to-date to be eligible to submit ($20 annually). Here is a link to our Smugmug site where you can see past club submissions.
Submissions are due before our first meeting each month. [If you would like to submit to the next competition, the deadline is February 4, 2019]. With the exception of Nature and Black and White, which are sent to Ken Kiss, send your submissions by email to Cara Pusateri. (Confused? Read club emails or follow our Facebook group.)
One question raised at the meeting was whether we will be exhibiting at the Dubuque Museum of Art in 2019. The answer is YES!!! However, in order to make this show into a reality, we will need volunteers to help and assist. First, as a club, we need to decide on a theme. This is very important because a theme will guide and focus the whole exhibit.
In addition, someone needs to assist with the many organizing details, such as accepting submissions, facilitating curation, getting prints made, collecting payment, delivering, and taking down the show. We will be discussing these ideas at future meetings.
The Black Hills Photography Club has been drumming up participation in their Facebook group by posting weekly photo challenges. In addition, Petapixel recently posted a list of 52 photo challenges for the new year. At the meeting, we took a vote on doing the same type of activity in the Dubuque Camera Club’s Facebook group. There was a lot of interest from club members, so look for future opportunities to participate in similar photo challenges!
♦ Broad Ideas submission deadline: Feb 8th. Women are so often talked down or overlooked in groups, especially in the realm of photography, where the loudest voice and the snazziest expensive equipment prevails. You can tell your story in a special exhibit at The Galena Center for the Arts. Last year, two of our club members participated. You can enter up to three pieces of artwork (i.e. prints). No cost to enter. Visit the Broad Ideas website to learn more.
♦ Bereavement Photography Training. The Iowa Chapter of Star Legacy Foundation is building a volunteer base made up of photographers willing to come to the hospital and take photographs when a family has lost an infant. They will be offering a training on Feb. 23rd. Learn more from their event on Facebook.
♦ DuMA Biennial. Deadline: March 14, 2019. If you are ready to enter your prints in a juried show, consider the Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial. There is a charge to enter. More info on the museum website.
♦ Audubon Photography Awards. If you’re sitting on some world-class bird photos and are ready to compete with the big boys for serious cash prizes, consider entering the National Audubon Society’s competition. The birds must have been photographed ethically. Deadline: April 8, 2019. More info on their website.
♦ N4C Mini-Con, May 3-5, 2019, in rural Indianola. In addition to the big annual convention, the N4C also sponsors a “mini” convention. In 2019 it will be held in a natural area called Wesley Woods, located south of Des Moines. Dorm rooms will be available onsite, or you can camp or stay at a hotel. Mark it on your calendar and watch the N4C website or bulletin for more details TBA.
♦ Wildflower photography/videography. If you like nature photography and would like to know more about native wildflowers, you will enjoy a current exhibit in the Galena Center for the Arts. Richard Pearce carried a full-size scanner into the woods and prairies in order to capture the details of midwestern native plants in bloom. As a result, his prints are exquisite. Recommended for nature photographers who wish to learn more about wildflowers in our area. Click here for more about Richard Pearce.
The Dubuque Camera Club’s holiday annual party and potluck on December 3, 2018 was attended by 28 people. We enjoyed a delicious meal with our photographer friends and significant others. Thanks to everyone who shared their good cooking!
During the meeting, we looked at previous N4C competition returns. We did not have any submissions this month. [The next N4C submissions are due before the next club meeting on Jan. 7, 2019.] We also browsed the online winners galleries.
Congratulations to the following club members who earned recognition for their excellent photo submissions:
Bigger image dimensions are now allowed.
As of October 2018, the N4C rules now allow a file size of up to 750KB (was 500KB). The longest side can be up to 1920px.
Remember, being able to submit to N4C competition is a perk of club membership. Send digital nature or digital black and white submissions to Ken. Send photos in all other categories to Cara. Look for specifics in your member packet or in past club emails.
♦♦ Next club meeting is next year! Due to the holidays, there is no second meeting in December. Our next regular club meeting will be on Monday, January 7th, 2019 at 6:30 p.m.
♦♦♦ A Flash Photography Workshop will be the agenda at the second meeting of the New Year, on Monday, January 21st @ 6:30 p.m. Bring your gear. The club will explore off camera and on-camera flash techniques, as well as continuous lighting.
All tri-state area photography enthusiasts are welcome to attend regular club meetings. Location: E.B. Lyons Interpretive Center, Mines of Spain. Watch our Facebook group for any weather-related cancellation information.
Bird photography presentation. Three club members, Ron Tigges, Ken Kiss, and Kevin McTague, will be sharing their bird photography at the Dubuque Audubon Society meeting on Thursday, Jan. 10th at 6:00. This is the same presentation they gave during Blufftops and Visions, so if you missed it then, or see it again! Location: E.B. Lyons, Mines of Spain.
Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch. Saturday, January 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Grand River Center in the Port of Dubuque. The club will have a table at this free family event. If you want to display and/or sell your nature photos, get in touch with Ron. We will not be formally scheduling volunteers to staff the table, so please just stop by to chat and hang out with other club members.
The Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch is a free family event with live raptor presentations scheduled throughout the day. If you are into wildlife, bird, or nature photography, you will definitely want to put this annual event on your calendar. It is hosted by the Dubuque Audubon Society.
PPA convention. Bob Felderman will be attending the national PPA convention in January. This is a huge event that will be held in Atlanta, GA. If you are also interested in details of this event, visit the Imaging USA website.
Art @ Your Library. The Carnegie-Stout Public Library is exhibiting a holiday art show in the rotunda area through January 21, 2019. The exhibit features sixteen local artists in a variety of media. You can see a couple of photos by our club members: General Bob and Gary Fagan.
Snow sculptures. The Dubuque Museum of Art will be hosting a free snow sculpting competition in Washington Park on January 26 from noon to 4:00. Last year this event provided some interesting photo opportunities. See the museum’s website for more info.
DuMA Biennial. The Dubuque Museum of Art is currently accepting submissions to its Biennial. Last year, this call included photography. It is a juried exhibit, and there is a fee to enter. Contact the museum staff or find more information here.
Broad Ideas. Women club members are encouraged to enter their photography (or other artwork) in this year’s Broad Ideas exhibit at the Galena Center for the Arts. Deadline is Feb. 8 with an opening date of March 1. Last year we had a couple of club members in the exhibit. More details and an entry form at broadideas.org
Submerged in the Sublime. If you’re in the mood for a road trip, the Figge Art Museum in Davenport has an interesting photography exhibit that opens on Feb. 9, 2019. It is called “Submerged in the Sublime: The Landscape Photography of Kim Keever.” More exhibit information is on the Figge website.