Author Archives: Pamela

June 1, 2020 — Meeting Notes

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The Dubuque Camera Club virtual meeting on June 1, 2020 was attended by 17 people. The club decided to get together once a month over the summer, either virtually or in-person. We hope to meet in-person in July (scroll down for details).

A suggestion was made in the club’s Facebook group that Journalism photo opps are out there lately. If you decided to document any protests, be aware that journalists and photographers have been targeted. Please use caution if you decide to take pictures, and stay safe.

Election of officers. The club usually votes on officers at the end-of-the-season picnic. The picnic is always well-attended, but this year it was cancelled. During tonight’s virtual meeting, an informal voice vote was taken. All current officers were re-elected for the 2020/2021 season.

Our current club size is 43 people. This head count is based on meeting attendance, club emails, and other interaction. Remember, the N4C season runs from September through May. Club dues will be payable again in September. Annual dues of only $20 allow members to participate in all club activities and exhibits.

The club treasurer, not present, had shared the bank balance. Our club is in the black. Obviously, the club saved money by not buying food for the annual picnic. Other recurring expenses include the club’s Smugmug subscription, N4C dues, any exhibit subsidies, and venue use fees.

Right now, the nature center is closed through the month of June. Unhappily, there is a strong chance the club will need to find a new meeting venue. We will be very sad to lose the Mines of Spain as a venue, and hope they are able to pull together a community partnership to keep this facility open.

Judges needed. The Friends of the Mines of Spain photography contest is still happening. The submission deadline for Spring entries was June 1. A couple of club members are needed to help judge the prints and choose winners. Contact Ron or Jennifer if you are interested. (Note that you cannot judge if you have a print in the contest.)

N4C news

The 2020 fall N4C convention has been cancelled. It was scheduled to be held in either Sioux City or Sioux Falls (silly me, I’m still puzzling over that). Earlier, our club had been asked to complete a pre-attendence survey. Here are their survey results. Here is the official cancellation notice.

The best-of-the-best N4C contests and awards are still going to happen this year, just virtually. Watch for more information about that. Read the June N4C Bulletin to learn more.

Congratulations, photographers!

Congratulations to Dubuque Camera Club member Kevin McTague for winning FIRST PLACE in Digital Nature!

At the virtual meeting, we went over the results of the May 2020 N4C competition. Everything is back except Pictorial. Two of our club members were recognized this month in Digital Nature (DN). Kevin’s trip to Costa Rica resulted in a winning image!

  • Kevin McTague, FIRST PLACE, Long Tongue Bat.
  • Stephonie Schmitz, honorable mention, Elephant Sunrise.

In Digital Black and White (DB), the same two club members received merit awards:

  • Kevin McTague, merit award, Forgotten.
  • Stephonie Schmitz, merit award, Light Waves

Next season, our club will judge the monthly N4C contest three times, in September, February, and May.

  • September 2020 — Judge Digital Nature
  • February 2021 — Judge Digital Pictorial
  • May 2021 — Judge Digital Travel

The Dubuque Camera Club will hold a Night Meeting and Photo Shoot on Monday, July 6th at 7:30 p.m. (Note later start time).

We will gather in-person at an outdoor venue, and then travel to a nearby spot for a night photo shoot. Bring tripod, flashlight, and remote trigger release, along with your fastest, wide-angle lens, such as F2.8 or F4.  The club plans to shoot the Milky Way, the Moon, and do some light painting.

Optional: Bring your own supper or snacks/drinks, and mosquito repellent or lawn chair or whatever you can carry to be comfortable at an outdoor photo shoot.

** Complete details and location will be sent by email to club members.

Night Photography Tutorials: Many people find night photography intimidating, so below are links to a few helpful tutorials.

Club members: If you know about any other night photography tutorials that would be helpful to people who are new to this, please share them to the Facebook event.

May 18, 2020 — Meeting notes

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The virtual meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club on May 18, 2020 was attended by 17 people.

Congratulations to club member Jesse Green, who recently earned his law degree from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Great job! His next step is to take the bar exam; then he plans to go into corporate or business law.

The host for tonight’s virtual club meeting was Bob Felderman, who even gave us a virtual home tour. His latest gadget, a Matterport camera, allows him to create 360-degree home tours for real estate listings. Pretty groovy!

The club recently learned that our Trees exhibit has been postponed until 2021. Potentially, we could still do some sort of virtual exhibit. One idea is to make a promotional video with participating club members. Everybody would read a script, then short clips would be edited together to make a composite video. More details TBD.

This month the club did virtual judging of the Digital Travel category for the N4C monthly competition. Ken Kiss, Stephonie Schmitz, and Jim Durrant served as judges. Virtual judging was facilitated by our club’s N4C rep, Cara Pusateri. Tie-breaker decisions were made during the meeting, and we also looked at and discussed a bunch of awesome images from other clubs.

Sadly, the pandemic is still making future in-person meetings uncertain. For that reason, the club will not be doing a potluck picnic as in previous years. Instead, we will hold another virtual club meeting on Monday, June 1st, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. We will probably delay voting on (re-)election of officers until this fall, when the 2020/2021 N4C season starts.

The club will try to get together sometime this summer (in July?) for a photoshoot. Daytrip/photoshoot ideas will be discussed at our next virtual meeting.

Next (virtual) meeting:

The next virtual meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club will be on Monday, June 1st, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. Specific information will be emailed to club members before the meeting.

In the meantime, if you have photography-related news to share, please post it to the club’s private Facebook group.

Trees exhibit postponed

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The pandemic has changed our lives in many ways. With venues closed and in-person gatherings cancelled, our meetings have gone virtual. “Normal” activities have not been happening this year.

Sadly, the club has received news of another schedule change. The Trees exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art, to feature photography by club members, has been pushed back to 2021.

Many people have already submitted beautiful photos for the Trees exhibit. Thanks to those who sent in submissions. After the pandemic fades, people will need this type of calming, natural imagery.

Here’s a benefit of this exhibit schedule change: Now you have the opportunity to take photos of trees ALL YEAR, through every season. So get outdoors, take a walk with your camera, and take great pictures!!!

April 20, 2020 — Virtual meeting notes

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The second-ever Dubuque Camera Club virtual meeting on April 20, 2020, was attended via Zoom by 19 people. Several people shared images or photography-related news. If you missed this virtual meeting, a recording will be available to watch in the club’s private Facebook group for a limited time.

The club’s TREES submissions are looking great! Club members who wish to participate in this exhibit can send up to 5 images to Ron or Ken. You can also simply “reply” to any club email with your images attached. Include your member number in the filename. Prints will probably be 12×18-inch (either portrait or landscape is fine). 

The TREES exhibit is scheduled to be on display at the Dubuque Museum of Art beginning September 26, 2020. As spring hits and you get outside, be aware of this theme and take more TREE PHOTOS!

Jennifer is awesome!!!

Congratulations to Dubuque Camera Club member Jennifer Tigges!!! She was unanimously elected to a new position on the N4C board of directors. She will begin her new position as Director #3 during the 2020 N4C convention in Sioux City, Iowa. Yay!!!

Club winners

Congratulations to the following Dubuque Camera Club photographers for earning recognition in the April 2020 N4C competition:

  • Robert Felderman, honorable mention, Digital Black and White, “Fireworks Bouquet over the Mississippi River”
  • Ron Tigges, honorable mention, Digital Nature, “Columbine in Bloom”
  • Ron Tigges, honorable mention, Digital Journalism, “Good Night”
  • Stephonie Schmitz, honorable mention, Digital Journalism, “The Masai Edler and Warrior Africa”
  • Stephonie Schmitz, honorable mention, Digital Travel, “Monument Valley, Arizona, USA”
  • Stephonie Schmitz, First place, Digital Altered Reality, “Journey Into the Lens”

Other N4C stuff

Club communications contest. The N4C has invited our club to enter the N4C website/bulletin/newsletter contests. (Those categories all blend together for me because I am a digital girl.) Unhappily, the last time this N4C competition was updated, woolly mammoths walked the earth. (Jennifer is going to have a lot of work to do!)

Last year, when I asked for the rules, I got the noise of a closed library during a pandemic. This year, when I asked for the rules, I received last year’s rules. Yes, you read that right. For that reason, I assume that last year’s judging was based on gut instinct; this year, it will be based on last year’s rules. Here they are. Read them and find out the secrets to the N4C’s magical ability to stay fashionably ahead of digital trends.

Next meeting

The next virtual Dubuque Camera Club meeting will be held on Monday, May 4th at 6:30 p.m. Specific details will be sent out by email before the meeting. Read your club emails for the link!

Club members: N4C competition submissions are due before the meeting. No Digital Travel submissions, because we will do virtual judging of that category at the following meeting. For more information, see the Competition page.