Category Archives: Exhibits

Reflections timeline

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The Dubuque Camera Club is preparing for our 7th consecutive annual photography exhibition at the Dubuque Museum of Art. This year’s theme is Reflections. The exhibit will feature 25 photos by 20 club members. It will be on display in the Amuse Bouche Balcony Gallery (upstairs), from September 21 through November 10, 2019.

An opening reception for the Reflections exhibit will be held on Friday, September 27, 2019, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Dubuque Museum of Art.
Reflections timeline (future dates are tentative/subject to change)
✔ Jan/Feb: Discussion of exhibit theme ideas.
✔ Feb 18: Club members vote in a poll. Reflections chosen as a theme.
✔ March 4: Exhibit committee chosen: Robert Felderman, Pamela Brandt
✔ April 1: Club decides to order 12×18-inch metal prints like last year.
✔ May 20: Reflections images may be submitted for Critique Night.
✔ June 3: Reflections submissions reviewed at club picnic.
✔ Monday, June 17: Submission deadline extended to this date. Twenty club members submitted a total of 73 images for consideration.
✔ Tues. July 9: Submissions sent to art museum curator.
✔ Fri. July 19: Selections announced. Twenty-five images were selected to be in the show. Last call for final high res images.
✔ July 23: Prints ordered. 12×18-inch prints were ordered on aluminum. Artist’s statement requested from participants.
✔ August 10: Draft of exhibit brochure released to participants.
✔ August 10 to 23: Sign and pay for prints. The club is using Blufftops & Visions convention proceeds to offer a financial subsidy of 50% of the cost of one print per participant.
• Monday, Sept. 9: Prints to be delivered to art museum. Participants MUST have completed an incoming loan agreement.
• Sept. 21, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Reflections Exhibit opens. Get two free tickets for Museum Day.
• Friday, Sept. 27, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Opening reception. Admission charged. Free to exhibiting artists (and one guest).
• Oct. 4, 5:00-8:00 p.m. First Fridays at the Dubuque Museum of Art ($10 admission)
• Nov. 1, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Fall Into Art, free tour of downtown galleries
• Nov 10, 2019: Reflections Exhibit closes.
• Monday, Nov. 11: Club to pick up prints from museum.
• Dec. 2, 2019. Prints to be returned to participants during the club’s holiday party.

Reflections guidelines

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Submission deadline extended to Monday, June 17th, 2019.

Photography by members of the Dubuque Camera Club will be on display this fall during the club’s 7th consecutive exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art in downtown Dubuque. The exhibit is scheduled to be on display from September 21 to November 10, 2019. Open to current club members only. Participating in club exhibits is one of the perks of Dubuque Camera Club membership.

Questions to ask yourself when choosing an image for the Reflections exhibit:
  • 1. Does it fit the Reflections theme?
  • 2. Will it meet minimum specs for printing?
  • 3. Are you willing to pay for a print? (The club will subsidize 50% of the cost of one print per member)
  • 4. After the show ends, what will you do with your print?

Reflections theme. Use your creativity when responding to the theme. For instance, it’s OK to submit a portrait of somebody pondering a deep thought, because that is a “reflection.” Also think of mirrors, bodies of water, refraction, shadows, and windows at night. Think about what sort of image you would like to have hanging on your wall, because you will get the print back after the show ends.

Image dimensions & printing specs. We will again be ordering 12-inch by 18-inch metal prints. Crop to 2:3 or 3:2 and export the highest quality possible. Here’s the ideal size in pixels: 3000×4500. If your end result is not that big, do not upsize. Orientation can be either landscape or portrait. Submit JPGs only (use RGB). Try to use 200 dpi or greater but you probably should not resample. No watermarks on final images. Remember, unlike N4C submissions, there are no strict upper limits on file size. If these guidelines sound confusing, just do your best! If there are any issues with your image, there will be time for you to submit a new version.

Filename. Use your member number in the filename, along with the title of the image. Do not put your name in the filename. We are doing it this way, with blind submissions, because the art museum needs to curate/choose the images anonymously. If you only want one image in the exhibit, the member number will help the museum to choose one image per club member.

Submission Specs:
  • Your image must fit the Reflections theme. You must be a club member to participate in the exhibit. Dimensions: 2:3 or 3:2 (portrait or landscape). To be printed on aluminum at 12-inches x 18-inches. Send in JPG only (RGB). Try to have the longest side be a minimum of 3600px, but do NOT upsize. (Good: 3600×2400 Better: 4500×3000). It’s OK to submit up to five preliminary images. No watermarks on final image.

Deadline: Reflections submissions deadline has been extended to Monday, June 17th, 2019. Submissions will be posted in the club’s Smugmug gallery. You can email them to Ken. Use your member number in the filename. Use“Reflections submission” as the subject of your email. You can also submit by using the submission form. (Club members, check your email for the link).

Inclusion. Participating in club exhibits is one of the perks of Dubuque Camera Club membership. The exhibit is limited to club members in good standing ONLY. There will not be a call for artists and it is not open to the public. To participate, your club dues need to be paid for the current season AND, ideally, you need to pay your dues punctually in September when the new N4C season starts.

Cost. We hope to have (at least) one print chosen by each member who wishes to participate. They will be printed on metal, with estimated cost in the range of $50-80. Each participating photographer will need to decide how many prints they are willing to pay for, and whether they would be open to having multiple prints in the show. (There will be from 12 to 22 total prints chosen for the show.) The club will give each participating club member a financial subsidy of 50% of the cost of one print per club member. Those who have more than one print in the show will need to pay the full cost of the second (or third) print. We’re ordering as a group, and payment will be requested in advance, with exact details to be sent out by email.

Timeline. We will preview submissions during our June 3rd picnic (Submissions deadline has been extended to Monday, June 17th). Image selection will be made by museum staff this summer. (ONLY SEND IN PICTURES THAT YOU LIKE!) After selections are made, we will ask for final images. Payment will be due from participating club members, and then prints will be ordered as a group.

Paperwork. We will ask for biographical information (or a brief artist’s statement) for a brochure. Probably around 50 words per photographer. The museum will also need you to fill out an Incoming Loan Agreement.

These details may change as we move forward. For that reason, if you would like to participate in this year’s DuMA exhibit, it’s important for you to attend meetings and read your club emails.

Here is a Reflections timeline

March 4, 2019 Meeting notes

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Fifteen club members attended the Dubuque Camera Club meeting on Monday March 4, 2018. Ron and Jennifer opened the meeting with a discussion of upcoming events and photo opps. Below are a few items that were mentioned:

  • The N4C mini-con is coming up on May 3-5, and will be held at a location in central Iowa that is only a short drive from the Pella Tulip Festival. Send in your registration by April 17. Panorama prints are one of the specialties that will be judged during the mini-con. Jennifer is on the ballot for a director position with N4C. This will be a one-year appointment. More info and a link to the mini-con registration form is on the N4C website.
  • The Dubuque Audubon Society will sponsor its annual bird banding program at the Mines of Spain on Saturday, March 24 @1:00 p.m. If you love photographing birds, this event may offer you some photo opps. You will get an up-close view of chickadees and other birds that frequent the feeders near the nature center.
  • The Dubuque Area Writers Guild is taking B&W photo submissions for its Gallery anthology. Several club members have had work included in the past. This year the subject matter is wide open. However, we do not have info about dimensions or filesize. It might be a good idea to team up with a writer in order to have your photos illustrate their work. Deadline is April Fool’s Day.
  • Depending on the weather (and who knows about that lately?!), the 2019 Galena St. Patrick’s Day parade may make a good photo opp. Not only are you likely to see leprechauns but also people wearing Civil War era costumes. The parade will be held on Sat. March 16 starting at 4:00 p.m. It is sponsored by the Galena Elks Lodge.
REFLECTIONS — Dubuque Camera Club photography exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art, Sept. 21 to Nov. 10, 2019.

REFLECTIONS will be the theme of our 2019 exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art. The exhibit will be on display from September 21 through November 10, 2019.  BE LOOKING AT YOUR PHOTOS FOR SUBMISSION IDEAS! Deadline to submit your images: June 3rd.

Participation is limited to current club members. Initial image submissions will be due by our June 3rd picnic with the museum staff to make final selections. We plan to print on metal or on metallic paper. The club will offer a stipend toward the cost of prints. We may hold a workshop this summer to frame and mat our own prints.

Exhibit committee: Robert Felderman, Pamela Brandt.  More details will be announced at future meetings.

Our club will judge Digital Travel at the meeting on Monday, April 15th @ 6:30 p.m.

In other news…

The club voted to purchase and provide refreshments on judging nights. Jennifer offered to organize the goodies. Our next judging event will happen during the meeting on Monday, April 15th @ 6:30 p.m. We will be judging the Digital Travel category of the N4C competition. More fun with munchies for the audience! [Note that since we will be judging, we cannot submit to this category in April.]

About 40 people attended the sequel to Andreas Exner‘s Storytelling in Wildlife Photography presentation on Sunday, March 3rd. The program had been pushed back one week due to winter weather. Good job again, Andreas!

Robert Felderman is going back to college in an online photography program at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. His work was recently juried into the college’s annual student exhibition. Congratulations, General Bob!

José Garcia had his photography noticed again on the official CanonUSA Instagram account. Congrats, José!

♦ ♦ ♦ A reminder to tell your friends about the Magic of the Histogram presentation on Monday, March 18th. We are all looking forward to seeing Henry’s lovely photos and hearing his tips and techniques. More info here. ♦ ♦ ♦

Congratulations to these photographers…

The club reviewed submissions and returns. Four photographers received recognition in last month’s competition:

  • David Smethers, First place, Digital Journalism. Two merit awards.
  • Kevin McTague, Merit award, Honorable mention.
  • Karen Johannessen Durrant, Merit award.
  • James Durrant, Merit award.

Good job! We are very proud of everyone who entered!

Mirrorless Cameras

As the keynote discussion of the evening, club member José Garcia demonstrated the advantages of using a mirrorless camera. He owns a Canon EOS R. It is lightweight and comfortable, can use any Canon lense, and has an awesome focus assist and other features.

For instance, with the touch-screen, adjustable LCD, you can use your finger to select the focus points and not take your eye away from the viewfinder. Meanwhile, in the viewfinder, what you see is what you get. There’s no “click” sound, which is convenient for church weddings (or wildlife).

The camera’s low light focusing ability makes it “amazing for night photography,” said José. It’s got eye detection for portraits and a real-time histogram. When you change the lenses, a curtain closes so you don’t get dust inside the body of the camera.

Every photographer at the meeting had a chance to take a closer look at Jose’s new Canon when he passed it around the room. It felt like passing the baby during a family gathering. However, the technobabble and photography jargon made it clear we were at a meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club.

Thanks to José Garcia for sharing his expertise in this presentation!


Here’s a 5-minute video from Sony that talks about the difference between DSLR and mirrorless cameras.

Upcoming events

  • March 18, 6:30 p.m.  — Club meeting.  “The Magic of the Histogram.” Free photography presentation by Henry Matthiessen. BRING YOUR FRIENDS! More info here.
  • April 1, 6:30 p.m. — Club meeting. N4C submissions are due before the meeting. No DT submissions this month.
  • April 15, 6:30 p.m. — Club meeting. Our club will judge Digital Travel (DT). We will have refreshments! Please attend!
  • May 3-5 — N4C mini-con at Wesley Woods, Indianola, IA. More info here.
  • May 6 — Club meeting. N4C submissions due. We can submit double DT.
  • May 20 — Club meeting. Presentation or workshop, TBD.
  • June 3rd, 6:00 p.m. — Annual picnic. Open to club members only. Last meeting of the regular N4C season. DMA “reflection” submissions are due.

Top ideas for the 2019 DMA exhibit

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Because the club needs to decide on a theme for the upcoming 2019 Dubuque Camera Club exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art, club members were asked to vote in a poll. Information about the poll went out by email, and it was also discussed at the Feb. 18th meeting. Seventeen people chose between five options. The poll closed the day after the meeting. See below for the voting results.

The club will make a final decision about the DMA exhibit theme at a future meeting. If you are a club member and wish to participate in the exhibit, please be aware that digital submissions will be due by our June 3rd picnic. After the museum makes selections, we will order prints (dimensions TBA). This year, the club will give participants a stipend toward the cost of prints. We will possibly frame and mat our own prints in a workshop this summer. The exhibit will be on display from September 21 through November 10, 2019.

Poll results

Click on the links below to learn more about the top choices:

Long exposuresBeginner’s TipsExamples
More examples
ReflectionsIdeas and TipsExamples
More examples

Seeing Red – Club members, submit your images!

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Sixth annual Dubuque Camera Club photography exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art

Exhibit dates: September 14 – November 4, 2018 (On display during Blufftops & Visions.)
Gallery Reception: Saturday, September 22 (details TBA)
Fall Into Art: October 5, 2018 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. (free admission)

ONLY CLUB MEMBERS ARE ELIGIBLE TO SUBMIT: Club members may submit up to five images that contain the color “Red” in some shape or form. Send your images to Ron Tigges by email. Complete details, including file naming and file size were in the email that was sent out to club members on May 10. The size is tentatively 12-inches x 18-inches. Submissions will be placed in the club’s Smugmug gallery.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Entries may be submitted until Monday, June 18, 2018. Printing costs will be paid by the artist. All prints will be returned to the photographers after the exhibit closes.  We need all prints ready, with artist agreements signed by August 30. Contact Ron if you have any questions.

Remember, participating in club activities, exhibits, and events, is one of the perks of Dubuque Camera Club membership!  Our club is made up of a terrific group of talented individual photographers. This is an opportunity to show and share your creative work!

Seeing Red — Timeline
These dates are subject to change.
May 10: Call for images went out to members.
June 18 (2 weeks after picnic): Deadline for members to submit images.
July ??: Selections made by museum staff.
July 30: Send for printing. Cost per print $44.76.
August 30: Prints ready, artists’ agreements signed.
Sept. 4-12: Deliver prints to museum.
Sept. 13-15: Exhibit opens during Blufftops & Visions convention.
Sept. 22: Opening reception
Friday, Oct. 5: Gallery reception during Fall Into Art.
Nov. 4: Exhibit closes.
Nov. 6-9: Pick up prints.

Upcoming Meetings

  • Monday, May 21 @ 6:30 p.m. – Regular club meeting.
  • Monday, June 4 @ 6:00 p.m. – End of year Potluck Picnic.
  • Tuesday, Sept. 4 @ 6:30 p.m. – First regular meeting of the upcoming season.
  • September 13-14-15, 2018 (Thursday-Friday-Saturday) Blufftops & Visions N4C Photography Convention in Dubuque!