The December 4 meeting was our holiday party!!! A dedicated group of about two dozen people attended, along with  significant others. The food was awesome! We enjoyed a terrific selection of homemade salads, soup, side-dishes, and desserts, along with pulled pork or beef sandwiches. Thanks to everybody who came and shared this delicious meal! Since we will not meet again until next year, it was the grand finale of 2017.

The sad spoiler of the evening was the news that Everything Photography will soon be closing. We watched Sean’s goodbye video that he posted on Facebook. Thank you, gentlemen, for the work you’ve done to build a local camera and photography business that we will all miss! Watch Facebook for details about their final customer appreciation party, to be held in January.

Congratulations, photographers!

The following Dubuque Camera Club members received awards in the November 2017 N4C competition:

• Andreas Exner was awarded first place in Digital Travel for his photo of “Elakala Falls, Allegheny Mountains, West Virginia.”
• Ron Tigges was awarded 3rd place in Digital Black and White  for his photo, “Standing Strong.”
• Honorable Mentions: Gary Fagan, Kevin McTeague (two), José Garcia (three).

Click here to view the N4C Winner Galleries.

Upcoming Meetings

• TUESDAY, January 2, 2018 @ 6:30 p.m. First meeting of the New Year. All tri-state photography enthusiasts are welcome to attend. We meet at the E.B. Lyons Interpretive Center in the Mines of Spain.  Photographer José Garcia will lead a post-processing workshop using Adobe Photoshop. You may wish to bring a laptop. He will distribute RAW files, or you can use your own. Don’t forget, N4C submissions are due by New Year’s Day (the earlier, the better!).
• Monday, January 15, 2018 @ 6:30 p.m. Regular club meeting.
• Saturday, January 20, 2018. Dubuque Bald Eagle Watch. Our club will be a participating vendor. We will be handing out our newly updated Dubuque Camera Club brochure. This year, members may bring prints to sell. Contact Ron or Jennifer for details. Volunteers are needed for setup, takedown, and staffing the table. As in previous years, a slide show of nature photography by club members will be on display. While you’re at the Bald Eagle Watch, make sure to attend the live animal lectures! Visit the Dubuque Audubon Society website for a full schedule of the day’s events.

Thirteen lucky club member attended the Blufftops and Visions brainstorming session on Monday, November 20, 2017. Jennifer brought everybody up to speed on planning for next year’s N4C convention, to be held in Dubuque on Sept. 14-15, 2018. All hands will be needed to make this project a success.

The Blufftops and Visions convention on September 14-15, 2018 will be held at the  Holiday Inn of Dubuque/Galena at 450 Main St. in Downtown Dubuque, Iowa.

There is quite a bit of work to do in order to prepare for this event. Our club has already reserved banquet and meeting space in the downtown Dubuque Holiday Inn, along with a block of rooms. We need to choose keynote speakers by January. Hunts Photo and Video has already expressed interest in being a vendor, and they have a variety of speakers that we could contact. 

Another priority need is identifying business or corporate sponsors (remember, we are a grassroots community organization, but not an officially registered 501c3 nonprofit). Prior conventions have used different levels of sponsorship (such as Gold – $1000, Silver, etc.) and have accepted in-kind donations, such as the use of a vehicle or van

We will need to create registration materials and awards. We also need to decide on the individual cost for conference registration. The club must give 25% of the net proceeds to N4C (keeping the remaining 75%). Sorry, volunteering will not mean free tickets. It will mean a potential for terrific presenters, photo opportunities and workshops, with most events to be held within walking distance of downtown.

Based on attendance at past conferences, we can probably expect 120-160 people from out-of-town. Dubuque is centrally located on the map of N4C clubs, so our convention might very well be the best attended of all time. We need to figure out tactics to market to the college and 20-something demographic. A student discount may boost attendance. We already have a Facebook page and an email list setup on MailChimp. Jennifer suggested adding Instagram to our social media repertoire.

It’s traditional to have Thursday be the convention’s arrival/welcome night with free hors d’oeuvres. Big banquets (with food served by the hotel) will be held on Friday and Saturday, with lunch on your own. Photo Essays are played during one of the banquets, along with awards, etc.

As far as field trips, it would be helpful to make a list up of photogenic local spots for our visitors to choose from (an “on your own” pamphlet for self-guided field trips). Ideas tossed around included a junkyard in the rain, birds/owls from a raptor center, or arranging for models for a studio session.

It’s best to plan a variety of seminars should be encouraged where people can use their own cameras. We also need to be considerate of the commercial vendors and set specific hours for them so they don’t have to sit there forever without a break. Remember to contact Ron or Jennifer with any thoughts or ideas that you may have to help make next year’s Blufftops and Visions a sucess!

Upcoming Meetings

Holiday Party — Monday, Dec. 4 at 6:00 p.m. (note early start time). Don’t forget to RSVP! Bring food and family or loved ones. No other meeting and no submissions in December.
TUESDAY, Jan. 2, 2018 @ 6:30 p.m. — First meeting of the New Year. José García has volunteered to share his post-processing secrets with the group. Bring a laptop if you wish. Discussion will focus on Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.

Below is a synopsis of the November 6, 2017, meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club.

** Remember, all tri-state area photography enthusiasts are welcome to attend our twice-monthly meetings. **

Jennifer brought the Dubuque Museum of Art prints for pickup. We reviewed the events that were held during the club exhibition at the museum.

We have one new member. Thank you for all the member payments tonight! Annual dues of only $20 allow you to participate in all club exhibits and events.

The N4C has judged our website. Ron will post results on the website soon.

We discussed the N4C 2018 Blufftops & Visions convention, which will be held in Dubuque next year. Our upcoming November 20th meeting will be a planning meeting. Please bring your ideas and help us form the events of the weekend.

We also reviewed October’s competition returns and the September DP category (which we did not have before).

Congratulations to our photo competition winners:

• Jose Garcia,
• Andreas Exner,
• Jennifer Tigges,
• Kevin McTague,
• David Smethers,
• Cara Pusateri.

Keep submitting!

Upcoming events

December 4, Christmas party — Members, significant others, children, and guests are invited. The club will provide meat, tableware and drinks. Please RSVP to a separate invitation (coming soon) and bring a side dish or dessert to pass.

January 20, 2018. Bald Eagle Watch — We will have a table as in previous years. Volunteers needed 9-4 at the Grand River Center. We will promote next year’s N4C Blufftops and Visions Convention. We will also show digital nature submissions in a slideshow.

Save the date: May 5-7, 2018. N4C Spring Mini Convention. We will need to present on our upcoming convention. The location is 250 miles west of Dubuque. Here’s the address: Saint Thomas More Center, 6177 Panorama Rd, Panora, IA 50216. For more information, see the meetings page on the N4C website.

See you at the next Dubuque Camera Club meeting! (November 20 @ 6:30 p.m.)

Remember, all tri-state photography enthusiasts are invited to participate in the Dubuque Camera Club.

Eighteen people attended the Dubuque Camera Club meeting on Oct. 2, 2017. Club president Ron Tigges shared some images that he took during Presidents, Pixels and Pines.

Four of our club members attended the 2017 N4C convention in South Dakota: Ron, Jennifer, Ellie, and Lois. Their insight will be very important when we host the event next year.

One of the activities that happens at the annual convention is an awards ceremony for the Annual Best of N4C Contest Winners. Our club did awesome this year!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to these outstanding photographers:

• Gary Fagan
• Jose Garcia
• Kevin McTague
• Gen. Bob Felderman

[See the Best of N4C winners gallery here.]

Exhibit alert! Take your friends and family to see photography by Dubuque Camera Club members at the Dubuque Museum of Art. Dimensions of Photography is on display in the upstairs balcony through October 29. More info at dbqart.com

Due to a scheduling conflict, we decided to cancel the Oct. 16 meeting. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 @ 6:30 p.m. Submissions for the monthly N4C competition are due before the start of the next meeting. Get them in early!!! 

Remember, the dimensions have changed. The longest side can now be up to 1920 pixels. See the competition page on the club’s website to learn more.

Reminder: If you need to pay your annual dues for the 2017-2018 season, contact club treasurer DeWayne Beecher