The October 17, 2016 meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club was attended by 21 people. Jennifer Tigges led the meeting and gave a presentation about the basics of creating DSLR video. Below are a few informational highlights:

Annual Photo Essay Competition

Jennifer suggested that our club should consider entering the annual N4C photo essay competition. It can be a group project. This year’s winners were shown during the national N4C conference in Fargo.

The official definition from the official N4C contest rules: “A photo essay is a series of projectable images accompanied by music and/or a narrative which tell an integrated story presented in a pleasing and understandable manner.”

Photo essays should be under 6 minutes long and use only still images (effects can be applied), with a soundtrack, and saved in .mp4 or .mov format. Deadline is March 31, 2017. Entries will be shown and winners announced at the Springbrook mini-conference, April 28-30. See the rules at the link above to learn more.

Rapid City takes the lead

The 61st annual N4C Photography Convention will be held in Rapid City, South Dakota,  September 21-23, 2017. The brochure was passed around during the meeting.

The Black Hills Photography Club is hosting and they already partnered with their area’s tourism office. Itineraries have been created for photographers and family members.

Should Dubuque ever host the conference, the Rapid City event would be a tough act to follow. But we could do it with a lot of work, if everybody is willing to help out and do their share.

Ron has mentioned that it would be best to get our feet wet by organizing a one-day event. We can invite the public as well as other camera clubs within close driving distance. Speak up about your ideas during any meeting.

Portraits at DuMA

While a specific decision has not been made about the theme of our next exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art, they do want us back. Portraits are being considered as a theme.

“Something that tells a story or makes you think,” said Jennifer. She said they can be people with “hard faces.” However, no self portraits or snapshots.

• For ideas, she showed some portraits by photographer Dan Francis.
• Locally, Tim Olson’s Millwork Portraits are another excellent example of portrait photography. They are on display in the hallway behind the Food Coop and Inspire Cafe in the former CARADCO building of the Historic Millwork District.

Contest

“Morning Glory” by Dubuque Camera Club member Becky Mather

Entries are being taken for the juried Mississippi River Art and Photography Shootout. $10 entry fee per image.

• Last year, club president Ron Tigges won a purchase award in this competition.
• Club member Becky Mather won 2nd place in the scenic category with her photo, “Morning Glory.”

The winning photos were exhibited last year in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Great Rivers Museum in Alton, Illinois.  However, the rules don’t mention whether or where prints will be exhibited this year.  Let the club know if you have more details.

To get ideas about river photos, follow the Mississippi River photos page on Facebook.

Video DSLR Presentation

Jennifer did an excellent job on her presentation. The topics she covered included how to avoid camera shake, the use of copyrighted music, and more. Several club members contributed to the discussion during her presentation. She also showed a couple of short video clips. Thank you, Jennifer!

Next Meeting

The next Dubuque Camera Club meeting will be on Monday, November 7.

Get your submissions to Cara by midnight of Sunday, Nov. 6.  No entries will be accepted this month in the Digital Creative category, because our club will be judging it on November 21.

The September 19, 2016  meeting of the Dubuque Camera Club was attended by 16 people, including 3 new members.

Treasurer DeWayne Beecher is accepting annual dues, which are only $20. You can  join or renew during a meeting, or mail in the membership form.

Benefits of being a member: You are eligible to submit to the monthly N4C photo competition and participate in exhibits.

Art Museum exhibit now ended

Our exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art, “Dubuque Architecture from a New Perspective,” closed on Sunday, September 25. Photo pickup info went out in an email to those exhibiting.

Club president Ron Tigges gave an informal gallery talk about the exhibit in September to a photography class from Northeast Iowa Community College.

“People were pretty impressed with the installation,” he said. “I heard so many positive comments about it.”

Photography events

Five of our club members went on the Wisconsin Landscape Photography Workshop that was sponsored by Everything Photography on September 17. Dave Smethers talked about some of the photos he took during the event. He also shared the refractography technique behind the unique images he posted to the Dubuque Camera Club group on Facebook.

Another upcoming event that may be of interest to nature photographers is the annual Dubuque Audubon Society Hawk Watch on Sat. Oct. 1st at 10:00 a.m. at the Balltown overlook. The advantage to photographing migrating raptors with birders is that you know what you’re looking at. Take binoculars and a tripod.

Do you have a photo shoot idea?  Mention it during a meeting or post it on our Facebook group.  If only 5 or 6 people attend, it can be a successful and enjoyable experience.

Monthly photo competition

If you want to submit to the monthly competition, have your images turned in to Cara by midnight on Sunday, October 2nd (the day before the next meeting). Members may submit up to one image per category, and you must follow the submission rules.

If more than 8 photos are submitted per category, we’ll narrow them down during the meeting. “The goal is to make sure the club does as well as possible,” explained Ron.

At our October 3 meeting, we’ll hear a report on the annual N4C convention in Fargo. Find out which of our fantabulous local photographers won recognition this year!  

N4C sends out a monthly newsletter that is available on their website   and emailed to club members. If you’re not currently on the N4C email list but you’d like to receive their newsletter, contact Cara, our N4C liaison.

Everybody with a member number should be on the Dubuque Camera Club email list. If you’re not, contact Jennifer or Pamela.

To conclude the meeting, after Ron made a quick tour of the N4C website to look at the caliber of photos that are selected as winners, Lori B. led a Lightroom Q&A technique workshop. As always, the meeting was fun and interesting. Join us next time!

Next Dubuque Camera Club meeting: Monday, October 3 at 6:30 p.m.  Agenda: Submissions and returns. N4C convention review.

Not on the email list? Sign up here.

Membership

The first meeting of the season for the Dubuque Camera Club was attended by 20 current members and 4 visitors. Treasurer DeWayne Beecher reports that the club had around 50 total members last season, and it looks like our membership will be about the same this year.

Annual dues are only $20, and they are due now. If you can’t make it to a meeting, another option is to mail in the membership form.

Paying members are eligible to submit photos to the monthly N4C competition and to participate in exhibits and other events. Members also receive the official Dubuque Camera Club patch to sew on a jacket or camera bag.

There will be an update to the contact information in the membership folder. If you would prefer to be unlisted, you may contact DeWayne or Eleanor.

Camera Club News

Club president Ron Tigges said there’s been a lot of positive feedback about our exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art. People enjoy the metal prints. The last day of the exhibit is Sunday, September 25, so see it while you can! For those who have pictures in the exhibit, they may be picked up on Tuesday, September 27.

The topic of post-processing was briefly discussed, and with very intense feelings by several people. Be aware that it is acceptable to use Photoshop or plugins to alter photos that are submitted to the Creative and Pictorial categories only. Cara shared a good example of a Venice gondola scene with a sky from Cascade, Iowa.

Ron discussed the monthly competition: the different contest categories, what photos can be entered in each N4C category, how the file naming works, what happens if there are more or less than our club limit of 8 entries per category, and so on. If you have any questions, ask, or check the official N4C website for complete rules.

The annual N4C convention is coming up in Fargo, ND. All photos that have earned 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or honorable mention in a monthly contest are entered in the final competition. Last year, our club had 4 medal winners. We may have more this year, thanks to the awesomely talented photographers in our club!

General Bob Felderman shared his impressions of the 2016 Iowa State Fair photography contest. Out of 3800 entries, only 500 were chosen for display. He noticed that many showed evidence of extensive post-processing, and most were from the Des Moines area (probably because you have to deliver actual prints).

Only one Dubuquer was represented: club member Ken Kiss, with a photo of a fox. If you’re interested, next year’s theme is “What’s Up.” Other photo subjects may also be entered in a variety of categories. More information is on the Iowa State Fair website.

Area events

• Photographer Mark Hirsch will lead a free smartphone workshop at the Peosta campus of Northeast Iowa Community College on September 18. The event runs from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. This is part of the annual “Nature Trek” in the Outdoor Learning Lab, which is a prairie/wetland area that is being established next to Hwy 20.
• Photographer Steve Gassman will lead a Wisconsin landscape excursion workshop for the Everything Photography store on September 17. They will carpool to Pewits Nest near Baraboo, Mid-Continent Train Museum in North Freedom and the old Hyde’s Mill near Ridgeway, Wisconsin. Contact Nate or Sean at Everything Photography for more info.
• Steve Gassman is also leading a “Painting with Light” class on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 22. This is a UW-Platteville continuing education enrichment class. Cost is $35, and as of two weeks ago, Steve said were still openings. Registration info here.

Next Meeting

Next Dubuque Camera Club meeting: Monday, September 19 at 6:30 p.m.

Agenda: Small group workshops discussing Lightroom techniques. If you have a laptop with Lightroom, you may bring it along. Bring your camera and/or new photography gear if you want to show off . $20 annual dues are due now if you didn’t pay at the first meeting. You can also mail them in.  New members are welcome to join us at any time.

Club Picnic

Contributed by Pamela Brandt

Ron, Laura, and Jennifer at the club picnic.
©2016 General Bob Photography

About 30 people attended the Dubuque Camera Club picnic on June 6, 2016.  We enjoyed a terrific variety of good food – thanks to everybody who contributed to the potluck. Ron and Laura handled the grilling of burgers and brats, and Jennifer did a great job organizing this successful event.

This picnic marked the end of the N4C season. Our next official meeting will happen on the Tuesday after Labor Day (September 6), and the $20 annual dues will be payable then. However, there will be a couple informal  get-togethers over the summer.

Club president Ron Tigges summed up the club’s current status: “We’re doing really well. We just had another three honorable mentions in the N4C competition,” he said.

Mississippi River Photo Shootout

“Autumn Barge Traffic” by club president Ronald Tigges won the River Commerce Purchase Award in the Mississippi River Photo Shootout. The photos were exhibited at the Jacoby Arts Center and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Great Rivers Museum in Alton, Illinois from April 20 through June 19. You can also view the photos on their website.

Dubuque Museum of Art exhibit

Opening reception for our exhibit at the Dubuque Museum of Art is tentatively scheduled for Friday, August 5. This will be a good opportunity to take your friends and family to see the exhibit.  The theme is Dubuque Architecture from a New Perspective, and the exhibit will be in the balcony gallery until October 23.

Night photography

There was some discussion of night photography ideas. Lori pointed out that a smartphone app can tell you what direction to look in the sky for the Milky Way. Ron suggested doing night photography during a new moon, in a location that is high up and far from city lights, possibly at Balltown.

Perseid meteor showers will be August 12-13.  The Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation will be hosting a Perseid Meteor Shower event at Horseshoe Mound Preserve, just outside Galena.