The Dubuque Camera Club held a macro photography presentation and workshop on Monday, November 15th, 2021. The meeting was held in-person at E.B. Lyons Interpretive Center, Mines of Spain.

The meeting was attended by 21 people. Club president Ronald Tigges (Digital Dubuque) gave a short presentation on macro photography and showed off some of his gadgetry. Then the club held a hands-on macro photography workshop. Thanks to everyone who participated in this fun meeting!

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The Dubuque Camera Club in-person meeting on November 1st, 2021 was attended by 16 people. The club gained a new member at tonight’s meeting. This puts our club up to 32 active members, making us a “big” club by N4C standards.

• Keith Hilby — Welcome to the club, Keith!

Trees exhibit update

“Trees” exhibit. Prints have been ordered for the club’s upcoming Trees exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art. Twenty-two club members are participating. The prints are 12×18-inch on metal, and should arrive by the end of the week. Member cost will be $30 for those with one print in the show. The remaining half the cost of one print per person is being subsidized by the club, thanks to our club’s hosting of the Blufftops & Visions N4C convention in 2018.

You must pay for and sign your print in order to have it hung in the show. More detailed information will be sent to participating photographers by email. Print signing will be at the Tigges’ home on these days:

• Friday, Nov. 5 from noon to 3:00 p.m. OR
• Saturday, Nov. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon OR
• By appointment.

► ► OPENING RECEPTION. The Trees exhibit will open on Saturday, November 13th, with an opening reception from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Opening reception is free to exhibiting artists. Wear your name badge. Cost for non-museum members: $7 adults, $6 seniors. Masks are strongly encouraged.

On the same day, the following events will be held at the Dubuque Museum of Art for the Associated Press photography exhibit, Vietnam: The Real War.

Sat. Nov. 13 @12:30 p.m. — The Marine Corps League Color Guard of Dubuque will hold a flag raising ceremony, perform “Taps” and the national anthem, and read the names of local veterans who lost their lives.

Sat. Nov. 13 @2:30 p.m. — Veteran Navy combat photographer Ron Testa will discuss his three tours of duty aboard the USS Ticonderoga and the selection of his images on view in the museum’s galleries. 

Holiday Dinner Party!

The club is exploring a different type of holiday party this year. For the past several years, we have done a potluck at the nature center. It has always been successful (and delicious!), but now we are in a new era of Covid, and the nature center has been closed for a very long time. For that reason, and to ensure an enjoyable time for everybody, we will meet at a local restaurant for a group meal in December. The meal will be order-your-own, self-pay.

Some club members have reported that it’s difficult to reserve large dining areas, due to widespread restaurant staff shortages. Club member Casey K. accepted the challenge. She will contact area restaurants to plan a large dinner party for club members and one guest (per club member). We are completely confident that the get-together will be more fun than the Zoom party held in 2020. More information abut the club’s December Holiday Party will be announced at Nov. 16th meeting and/or emailed to active members when we know more details.

Print competition update

Our club’s N4C print competition organizer Stephonie S. brought along prints for past and future N4C contests. (Remember, print entries are due on the first meeting of each month, just like digital entries). She is in the process of helping other N4C clubs get familiar with the new postal rules. Prepaid labels, not stamps — that’s how we roll.

“I highly encourage everybody to submit if you can,” she said. “Because we’re a large club, we can submit 16 in each category. We could really rack up points for our club.”

If you have prints to enter, your next chance will be the January N4C competition. Stephonie plans to mail out prints by the 8th of each month. Order them now, and plan to bring them to the first meeting of the New Year. Prints submitted must have a label affixed to the back, and these labels can be found on the Competition page.

Area news & information

Dubuque Land and Water Legacy. Club member Chuck Isenhart, who represents our area in the Iowa House of Representatives in Des Moines, said a few words in favor of the conservation bond issue. Everyone who is interested in nature and the outdoors, or who is concerned about conservation, or who just enjoys wildlife, wildflower, or bird photography, should support this measure. It will fund Dubuque County natural areas for years to come. Voting day is November 2nd. (Update: This bond measure failed by only a few percentage points: 59.2% of voters approved it, just under the 60% needed).

Northern lights were a bust. A few area photographers chased the northern lights, based on optimistic news reports that they would be visible in the midwest. Not.

Need some good news after that? Motor Mill Historic Site in rural Elkader, Iowa will be lit up on Sat. Nov. 20th from 4-6:00 p.m. If you’re yearning for a road trip, this is a tempting evening/night photography photo opp. Clayton County Conservation is the host. See the event on their Facebook page. Or see pictures.

Again this year, several club photographers have images in the 2022 “Treasures of the Tri-States” calendar from Radio Dubuque.

The Galena Center for the Arts has released its latest virtual exhibit, with a theme of “Gratitude.” Three club members are among the artists included: Casey Klein, Jim Durrant, and Karen Durrant. Here is a link to the flipbook.

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October contest results

During tonight’s meeting, the club reviewed returns from last month’s N4C contest. Ken Kiss, our club’s N4C representative, read judges’ comments. As usual, there were many jaw-droppers. When our club judges, we need to focus on giving higher quality comments than we oftentimes receive.

No doubt, the winner for the absurd comment of the night was made on Ken’s exquisite photo of mating Monarch butterflies: “Try subject separation between the butterflies.” (Right. Enough said.)

Our club did very well in October, with a first place winner from club vice president Jim Durrant. He entered an action shot of his grandson on the ballfield. Good job, Jim!

Congratulations to the following photographers:

• Jim Durrant, 1st place, Digital Journalism, “Ouch, That Was a Fastball!”
• Stephonie Schmitz, Merit award, Digital Pictorial, “Slot Canyon Waves”
• Stephonie Schmitz, Merit award, Digital Travel, “Mount Rainier, Washington State, USA”
• Will Hoyer, Honorable mention, Digital Pictorial, “Fishing in the Flames”
• Will Hoyer, Merit award, Digital Travel, “Julien Dubuque Bridge in Summer Fog”
• Ron Tigges, Merit award, Digital Travel, “Matthiessen State Park Waterfall, Illinois”
• Ron Tigges, Merit award, Digital Journalism, “Art Giesert author and artist has a young man read…”
• Ron Tigges, Merit award, Digital Journalism, “Blocktoberfest Skate Competition”
• Ron Tigges, Honorable mention, Digital Black and White, “Keytar Player Farewell Tour”
• Kevin McTague, Honorable mention, Digital Altered Reality, “The Haunted Castle”
• Kevin McTague, Honorable mention, Digital Nature, “Bluebird”

2021 – “Best of” N4C club winners

Congratulations to the following Dubuque Camera Club members. Their photos earned recognition in the 2021 N4C end-of-the-season “Best of” contest:

• Kevin McTague, honorable mention, Digital Altered Reality, “See Jane Run”
• Will Hoyer, honorable mention, Digital Pictorial, “Morning Color at -16 degrees Fahrenheit”
• Kenneth Kiss, honorable mention, Digital Pictorial, “Lifting Fog at Green Island”
• Kenneth Kiss, honorable mention, Digital Nature, “Yep, All Feathers Counted”