All in-person club meetings are CANCELLED through May 2020.

CLUB MEETINGS CANCELLED. Because our meeting venue will be closed through May 2020 due to coronavirus concerns, upcoming club meetings are also cancelled.

Club members: N4C submissions are still due by the first Monday of the month. Email them to the regular culprits (no DT in May). Discussion has been happening about how to judge Digital Travel on May 18. Stay tuned to your email for details.

Smokestack exhibit postponed. Due to the pandemic, this venue has closed. The club’s exhibit is postponed indefinitely.

LAPC event POSTPONED. The Linn Area Photography Club in Cedar Rapids was scheduled to hold its annual Spring Photography Event on April 25-26. This event has been postponed to September 19-20, 2020.

N4C MINI-CON CANCELLED. The N4C Spring 2020 mini-con has been cancelled. Learn more on the Meetings page of the N4C website.

PPIOWA convention cancelled. Professional Photographers of Iowa has cancelled its Winter Convention. More here.

DubuqueFest 2020 is cancelled. The art fair and all other DubuqueFest 2020 events have been cancelled.

GCA closed. The Galena Center for the Arts has closed its gallery. Broad Ideas events are on hold. More info here.

OTHER CANCELLATIONS. To prevent the spread of illness, many other groups and organizations are canceling or postponing scheduled events.

Note: The Dubuque Telegraph Herald has made articles relating to the coronavirus free to everyone. Click here for tri-state updates: https://www.telegraphherald.com/coronavirus/

The Dubuque Camera Club meeting on March 2nd was attended by 17 people.

Being early, I got to wait outside a locked door, watching a near-sighted opossum decide whether he (1) smelled a human, or (2) dared to troll the birdfeeder. It took him a long time to make up his mind.

I was sneaking my hand up to the coat pocket that held my Google Pixel when a long stream of car lights suddenly poured into the parking lot. It was 6:29-and-a-half p.m. Had I time-traveled to the closing scene in Field of Dreams? No, but at that moment the possum ran into the woods. Yes, you skeptic, they can run.

In the back room, while the chairs were being set up, we found a plastic box of nametags. The nametags have mysteriously reproduced since the box was last seen in December. (Thank you, Ellie. Or Lois?) Almost enough for everyone.

When people put on a name tag, they suddenly became visible (think Harry Potter and the cloak of invisibility). I felt kind of bad for the club members who had to sit there wearing the magical cloak all night, but at least it kept them safe from the brouhaha about the elephants.

Oh, you skeptical reader — You doubt the elephants…? I am 100% convinced there were not just one, but TWO bull elephants. What’s more, they are identical twins! See for yourself:

The consensus was that it is unfair for the same photo to win twice in the same month. Granted, one image was converted to black and white. We realize that the two judging clubs couldn’t have known that the same image was entered in two categories.

We wondered if the photo was entered in Digital Nature too, but just didn’t win in that category. Club president Ron Tigges said: “If you have a phenomenal photo, don’t stick it into three categories. It should be in the rules.”

Congratulations!

During the meeting, the club reviewed submissions to the March 2020 N4C competition. Our club members have submitted many strong images. A few more spots are open before they are sent onward to the judging club. Here’s a link to the March online gallery.

Congratulations to the following photographers for being recognized in the February 2020 N4C photography competition:

• Ron Tigges, Digital Travel, Merit award
• Ken Kiss, Digital Travel, Merit award
• Kevin McTague, Digital Travel, Honorable mention
• Stephonie Schmitz, Digital Travel, Merit award
• Ron Tigges, Digitally Altered, Merit award
• Stephonie Schmitz, Digitally Altered, Merit award
• Lorna Costello, Digitally Altered, Merit award
• Stephonie Schmitz, Digital Nature, Honorable mention
• Ken Kiss, Digital Nature, Honorable mention
• Kevin McTague, Digital Black and White, Merit award
• Casey Klein, Digital Journalism, Merit award

Casey has been drafted to serve as a judge for a salon competition of the Fargo-Moorehead Camera Club. Although they are also N4C affiliated, they do things a little differently than we do.

She also helped to judge the Digital Pictorial for our club at the Feb. 24 meeting. It was her first experience in that role. “Good learning moment — I recommend it,” said Casey.

Send in your tree photos!

We know you have been taking TREE photos!!! Our club’s tree-themed exhibit is scheduled to be at the Dubuque Museum of Art from September 26 through October 25, 2020.

We will put together a preliminary gallery. This will help us to fine-tune the theme and decide on a creative angle.

Ron suggested that the club can offer a financial subsidy again this year. Last year, for the Reflections exhibit, the club paid for half of one print per participant. Remember, you must be a current club member to participate in club exhibits.

“I would like to see diversity in the images,” he said. Look through what you have, or take new pictures. As in prior years, we may go with 12×18-inch dimensions (either portrait OR landscape is fine). We will NOT order from the same printer as last year. Photoshopping is fine, as long as there is a tree in the photo! Be creative!

Each club member may send in up to five preliminary images. Email them to Ron or Ken. Note that as the theme develops, you will have a chance to swap or update your submissions. Get them sent in so we can go over them at an upcoming meeting!

Smokestack exhibit

The club also has a chance to exhibit at the Smokestack. Potential dates were in May, August, or September. Potentially, this show can be organized quickly since many people have framed prints ready to go.

The Smokestack has space for larger pieces. Items on display can be for sale, and the commission is reasonable. Plus, it’s a nice group venue. As Ron said, “It’s a chance to get together, invite other people, and maybe even make a dollar or two.”

We took a vote, and most people preferred May. However, General Bob will not be available then, so someone else will need to step up to coordinate the exhibit. This will include creating a spreadsheet of artist information. Any volunteers to make this happen…?

Update: Due to the pandemic, the Smokestack exhibit is postponed indefinitely. Sorry about that!

Mines of Spain photography contest

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During the meeting, the club judged the winter entries for the Mines of Spain photography contest. These prints will be on display in the nature center.

Ron had fun unpinning all the pictures during the print judging process. It was more complicated than expected — definitely a learning experience for next time! Club members are welcome to submit to this contest, but if you do, you cannot take part in judging.

Spring edition of the Mines of Spain photo contest is coming up. Deadline is June 1, 2020. Photos must be taken in the park. Enter your 8×10-inch prints. It’s OK if they are matted, but they cannot be framed. Click here to learn more.

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Regional photography events…

Thanks to Henry Matthiessen III for bringing along some back issues of Shutter magazine. The magazine is published by the organizer of Shutterfest , a unique event in St. Louis.

“The Broad Ideas art display at the Galena Center for the Arts on 219 Summit Street is REALLY good,” says club member Lorna C. “It celebrates and supports women.  100+ pieces.  Don’t miss it.  It goes until March 29th.”

Karen D. suggests the Out of Chicago Botanic Conference, August 23-27, 2020. “Their workshops sound interesting and the Chicago Botanic Garden is beautiful.”

Many other photography events and conferences are scheduled for this spring or summer, and accepting registration now. See the events listing for a few ideas.

General Bob shared that Professional Photographers of Iowa (PPI) is looking for board members. You must have been a member of PPI for 4 (5?) years in order to apply. Here’s a link to the application, and here’s their bylaws.

The Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin will be accepting field trip reservations starting April 1st. You must be an NRFW member. They encourage bringing a camera and hold an annual field trip photo contest.

Bellevue Fishtival on August 15, 2020. The Bellevue Arts Council invites regional artists to exhibit at this year’s 20th annual Fishtival. Artists interested in participating should contact Dave Eisheid. Visit their website for more information.

Winter weather led to the second meeting this month being pushed back a week. Thirteen lucky people attended the Dubuque Camera Club meeting on February 24, 2020. Our club judged the Digital Pictorial category of the monthly N4C competition.

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History Tidbits. Eleanor Schueller was at the meeting and fielded some questions about club history while the technology was being set up. We know she has been a club member since at least 1996, because that year she was mentioned in a Telegraph Herald article about the club. [“Camera Club Members Place In Contest,” Telegraph Herald, Nov. 1, 1996, p. C7]. See the About page for more on club history.

Ellie remembers the club before it met at the Mines of Spain. Previous meeting locations included the homes of members, at American Trust on JFK Rd., or in a community room at Finley Hospital. Some workshops were held at the former Interstate Power Co., located at 1000 Main St.

Ellie says that the club was already affiliated with the N4C when she became a member. She’s not sure what year she joined, but Dr. P____ (or was it Dr. M____?) from Finley talked her into getting involved. He took up photography as a hobby when he retired from medicine.

Door prize. Lois P. brought along a freebie door prize, a working Canon Powershot digital camera. Isn’t it funny how fast technology goes obsolete? We don’t know who claimed this goodie, but rumor is that General Bob was later seen whirling it from his pinky on his way out the door while lost in visions of sugarplums and grandkids.

General Bob may be more dreamy lately because he has done well in a couple of international photography contests. He was a finalist in a contest based in Japan, and he also earned honorable mention in another contest based in London. He entered some drone shots in the student category, which he’s eligible to do since he’s presently an online art student at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.

Mines of Spain Photo Contest. Another item at the top of people’s minds this evening was the Mines of Spain Photography Contest. March 1st is the deadline to submit your 8×10″ prints in the winter category. They must have been taken in the park. The next deadline, for spring images, will be on June 1, 2020. Keep this photo contest in mind as you get out and take photos over the next few months! More info here.

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Digital Pictorial judging

Judging. The priority item on the agenda was judging the Digital Pictorial category of the February N4C contest. After the technology was set up, club president Ronald Tigges went over the official rules.

We evaluated 115 images from other N4C clubs. Typically, we browse through them once before the actual judging starts. Here is the three-screen setup that we use on judging nights:

Thank you to Bob Felderman, Casey Klein, and John Leicht for serving as volunteer judges. The judging process was facilitated by our club’s N4C reps, Cara Pusateri and Ken Kiss, along with club president Ronald Tigges, who led the meeting.

Photos are scored on Technique, Composition, and Interest, with each judge able to give up to five points per category. A perfect score is 45 points in this system. Feedback is given on each photo, with comments and suggestions taken from the audience. Cara is our expert at distilling audience feedback into helpful comments.

Digital Pictorial is a wildcat category, so we saw all of these subjects portrayed, and more: sheep, body painting, sculpture park, stars, musicians, fog, lighthouse, castle, food, water, hay bales, birds, beach goers, sunset, animals, human portraits, and the hoola hoop tree. [Note: The hoola hoop tree is located on E23 County Home Road, just northeast of Anamosa.]

Because it’s so important to have experienced photographers on the judging panel, our club follows the rule that an individual must be a club member for at least one year before serving as a contest judge.

We are very glad that Casey participated tonight for the first time as a judge. Without that feminine influence, the boys tend to give high scores to hood ornaments, for instance. You know how boys are. Sugar and spice and all that. In fact, when John sat down, the first thing he said was, “Frozen bugs are allowed.”

We saw some good ideas in the submitted images from other clubs. In fact, we made plans to hold a Still Life Workshop at the March 16th meeting (Click here to find out more). Here’s one of the photos that was inspiring:

As in previous judging experiences, there were also photos that made you scratch your head and wonder why they were entered. Some had typos in the filename. [Note to self: “Field in a Boob” will probably not be scored highly with a diverse panel of judges.]

Sam F. offered a couple of insights from the audience perspective: “Frogs do really good here, I’ve noticed.” He also brought up the term “vernacular photography” to describe questionable submissions. Like the ones where everything is blurry and nobody is facing the camera. Perhaps somebody wanted to document their life, he suggested.

“I don’t care what people submit,” said Ron. “It’s a better chance for people who are submitting nicer stuff.” He reminded the group that our club welcomes everyone with an enthusiasm for photography, from beginners to professionals. We are all learning from each other.

Finally, if your goal in competition is to evoke a group “Oooooohhh,” an ideal submission is a beach sunset. “I wanna be there…” comes universally from almost everyone in attendance, the minute it hits the screen.

At the end of the judging process came the tie-breaker decisions. Six photos had earned a perfect score of 45 points. The judges thoughtfully considered and discussed each one. They selected first, second, and third for the category, with the remaining photos awarded honorable mention. To see our club’s selections, look at the Digital Pictorial winners on the N4C website.

Next meeting

The next Dubuque Camera Club meeting will be on Monday, March 2nd at 6:30 p.m. Club members: Send in your N4C competition submissions before the meeting. Our club can submit double Digital Pictorial (16) because we judged this time. For details, see the email that was sent to club members. You can also visit the Competition page.

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