A Message From the President Dates to Remember · Photo Excursions Model Shoot at Illinois Beach...

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Volume 3, Issue 11

Dates to Remember

July 7 Nominations for Specialty

Awards are Due

July 7 Mounting and Matting

presented by Bill Brown,

7:00 p.m.

July 9 Old World Wisconsin

July 13 Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m.

July 15 DPI Titles for Year End

Competition are Due

July 16 Shutter Cafe, 8:00 a.m.

July 28 RSVP’s Due for Year End

Party

July 31 “Patriotic” Assignment and

Challenge Due

August 4 Year End Party and

Competition, 6:30 p.m.

August 6 Boerner Botanical Gardens

August 13 CACCA Year End Banquet,

11:00 a.m.

August 20 Shutter Cafe, 8:00 a.m.

August 31 Assignment and Challenge

Due

Questions or comments about this

newsletter please contact Margie

Hurwich, Newsletter Editor at

[email protected].

July 2011

A Message From the President

As the 2010-2011 club year

draws to a close, I look back

over the last year and I'm

impressed with how much

Lake County Camera Club has

matured as a club. Now 150

members strong, club

membership has surpassed last years

"unprecedented" growth and we remain a

"growing and diverse club" with a wide range of

talents and interests. Based on membership

growth, event participation and feedback I

believe we fulfilled the goal of keeping the club

a "welcome and engaging environment" for all

club members and guests.

As the club year closes out and we celebrate

with the annual year end party, we are once

again faced with the opportunities and

challenges of a new club year. LCCC enjoys

our present success because we have built on

the ground work laid in preceding club years.

Continued success and year to year

improvement is a direct result of club members

continuing to step forward and participate by

offering ideas and assistance.

You have my pledge that the board will do our

best to continue listening and working to

improve LCCC as a welcome and engaging

environment for photographers at all levels. I'm

looking forward to another fantastic year.

Ron Meyers

The Lake County Camera Club is a proud member of the

Photographic Society of America and the

Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association.

For more information about our club, visit our website at

www.lakecountycameraclub.org or come join us at

418 N. Prairie Avenue, Mundelein, IL 60060.

Photo Excursions

Model Shoot at Illinois Beach

State Park

What do you get when you have 20 members

and 8 models at Illinois Beach State Park? A

great day for a model shoot! Watch our

website for some of the amazing photos that

were captured that day.

Old World Wisconsin

Journey back to the past at Old World

Wisconsin which is a vivid re-creation of the

working farmsteads and settlements

established by European immigrants in

America's heartland. There are costumed

actors, so you may wish to bring model

releases for signature.

If you will be attending, a car pool has been set

up. We will meet at the Fifth/Third Bank on the

corner of Grand and 21 at 8:15 a.m. and

leaving no later than 8:30 a.m. If you plan on

meeting us up there, we will be meeting at the

entrance at 10:00 a.m. Old World Wisconsin is

located at S103 W37890 Hwy 67, Eagle, WI.

Parking is free but admission is $16.00.

All attending are responsible for liability and

travel arrangements. The photo excursion is

subject to weather, no rain date.

Please contact Michelle Cox at

[email protected] if

you plan on attending. Michelle will need your

cell phone number when you sign up.

Year End Party

Join us on Thursday, August 4 at 6:30 p.m., as

we celebrate the successes of our season as well

as vote for the best of the best in our year end

competition.

Due to the limited amount of space and the size

of our club, the Year End Party is for members

only. We need a full head count in order to plan

for the evening, so please RSVP to Margie

Hurwich at (847) 362-5945 or

[email protected] no

later than July 28. If at some time we feel that

we can accommodate spouses, they will be

invited at that time.

As an attending member, we ask that you bring a

finger-food dish to pass. Accordingly:

• If your last name starts with A-L, please

bring appetizers.

• If your last name starts with M-Z, please

bring desserts.

Remember, these should be finger-foods so

people will not need to use utensils. Pop and

water will be provided by the club.

For the year end competition, each member can

enter up to three photos. Only those images

entered into the current competition season are

eligible. The images must be entered into the

same category that they competed in throughout

the season.

Images must be turned in at the Hospitality Desk

no later than the July 7 meeting or given to a

Board Member no later than July 15. If the

images are DPI, send an email to John Williams

at [email protected] with

the title of the image by July 15.

We are also looking for volunteers to help with

the party. To help, please inform Margie Hurwich

at [email protected].

We need help with:

• Set up

• Clean up

• Food

• Decorations

To help with set up, food and decorations, we

would like you to arrive at the church by 5:00 p.m.

Exposures, July 2011 Volume 3, Issue 11

© Krzysztof Hanusiak


Back to the BasicsFiguring Out What to

Shoot and Shooting What

You Loveby Margie Hurwich

Not too long after picking up

my first camera, I knew that I

wanted to do sell my images

instead of allowing my images

to just sit on my hard drive. But how? Many of

the photographers that I met through an online

photo community were shooting with

microstock photography in mind. So, I decided

to join the party.

What I didn’t realize is that microstock

photography, to me, was extremely limiting

and I quickly became bored. I would go for

months without even picking up my camera. It

became a job and the fun was gone.

It was then that I realized that I must shoot

what I love! I started shooting what I enjoyed

and then went and found the area in which my

images could be used. It was still within the

stock world, but rather than microstock, my

images are now sold as Rights Managed stock

with an emphasis on book covers.

Why am I giving you my life story with

photography? To make you aware that you

must shoot what you love. The possibilities are

endless… This month I’ll be touching on just a

few areas in which you could shoot. Not so

much on what you can do with your images,

but, again, simply what you could shoot. They

are:

• Nature/Landscapes

• People

• Weddings/Events

• Themes/Concepts

• Photojournalism

• Sports

• Abstract

• Still Life

Nature/Landscapes

Nature and landscapes are usually the first things

that most shoot when they pick up their first

camera. Nature and landscapes are all

around us, so it makes sense to shoot what you

see. The biggest obstacle though is how

to capture the three dimensional image we see

before our eyes into a two dimensional image

made with the camera. The light on the scene is

the key. Avoiding harsh sunlight is crucial with

overcast skies being the best light

for up close nature and sunrise or

sunset being the best light for

landscapes. The second element

that is important for beautiful nature

or landscape photos is your

composition. No matter what type

of camera you use, composition is

extremely important. Follow the

“Rule of Thirds” or “Golden Rule”

as well as use leading lines to get

your best composition.

People

I believe one of the most important aspects of

shooting people is feeling comfortable with the

person you are shooting. You can practice on

family while you get the full understanding of your

camera. Ensuring that you understand your

camera will give you the time when shooting

people to ensure that you are

communicating with them, having

fun and putting them, and you, at

ease. And as with nature and

landscapes, composition when

shooting people is another critical

element. Moving in closer to the

person will eliminate distracting

elements and put the focus on what

is important…the person’s face!

© Betsy Maddox

© Don Chen

Back to the BasicsFiguring Out What to Shoot and Shooting

What You Love – continued

Weddings/Events

When shooting weddings and

events you must have an

extremely firm understanding

of your equipment (camera,

lighting) and be prepared

with back up equipment in

case your main gear breaks

down. You will not only need

to know how to take a

single portrait of the bride,

but also the large extended family. Unlike

nature and landscape as well as people

photography, shooting weddings and events

becomes a business. You will want to have a

business plan before starting this business.

Themes/Concepts

Themes and concepts is where I find the most

creativity. Themed photos are a series of

images that all pertain to the same thing.

These could be a series of

doors, windows, street

signs, umbrellas, or even a

pair of red shoes placed

in different locations. A

conceptual photo makes the

viewer really think about

what is going on. It conveys

a mood and evokes

emotions and feelings.

Photojournalism

Photojournalism is taking an image and telling

a news story. Unlike creating images based

on a concept, the images show the viewer

what has happened. To capture such images,

you need a firm understanding of your camera

and how to modify settings quickly as the

scene continually changes. You also have to

be at the right place at the right time. Examples

of photojournalistic images are found in your local

newspaper and in magazines such as “Life”.

Sports

Just like with photojournalism,

you need to know your

equipment in order to capture

the speed of sports.

Additionally, you may need

special equipment in order to

stop the motion of horses

running down the track to get

that photo finish or to capture the drop of sweat

falling down the basketball player’s face.

Abstract

Looking at every object,

person or structure, one

can create an amazing

abstract image by just

shooting on one small

element of that large

subject. There is no right

or wrong in creating an abstract image, but for the

most part line, shape and color play important

roles in making an amazing abstract.

Still Life

Plain and simple, still life

photography is shooting anything

that doesn’t move. It is usually a

small grouping of objects and

allows you, the photographer, the

ability to arrange them into the

composition that you feel that best

works for the objects.

These are just a few of the things

you could shoot. In addition to these, you could

shoot aerials, pet, architecture, black and white,

food, macro, fashion, night or underwater.

Bottom line, there are so many different topics to

shoot. Which do you love?

Challenge: Take an image based on each of the

items discussed. Determine which you enjoy

shooting most and take 10 additional images.


© Birgit Tyrrell

© Margie Hurwich

© Anthony Roma

© Mike Wilson

© Marcelino Hernandez © Dick Navarre

© Margie Hurwich

Tips, Tricks and IdeasHow To Shoot a Fun and

Creative Silhouette of a Still

Life or Model

by Margie Hurwich

While visiting a friend at his

booth at an art fair, I was

pleasantly surprised to see the

leaves above his

tent being back lit by the sun.

Thankfully I had my camera with

me and I took this photograph.

I loved how the final image looked

so I figured I could recreate the

same effect at home.

My first attempt was through a

sheet. Of course it showed

every wrinkle and when I

thought about it for a bit…it

dawned on me that I could

use anything opaque.

For these below I used my

diffusion disk.

They were all created using the same

technique, which was by back lighting the

subject through an opaque piece of

material. In some instances, additional

textures and colors were added to maximize

the effect.

In addition to the diffusion disk, a couple other

items that I plan to try using in the future are a

simple white sheet of paper and waxed paper.

Here is how I set up a shot. I hung the dress with

a hanger in the loop of the diffusion disk. My

window is a south facing window and I am able to

prop my diffusion disk between the sofa and desk

in my den. If I am shooting a person, they are

able to hold the disk themselves.

When shooting, remember that since quite a bit of

your composition is white due to the opaque

element, you will want to over-

expose your image by +1 or +2

stops.

Here is the final image. The only

changes made to this image were

to add a bit of saturation and

structure and to clone out the

hanger on the top.

.

As many of you know, I sell my

images for book covers. One

of my silhouetted images was

added along with some broken

glass to create this book cover

in the UK.

Have fun giving this technique

a try. And once you try this

technique, you’ll be hooked

and finding many things to

silhouette! Make sure to share

your images with the club via our Yahoo group.


© Margie Hurwich

© Margie Hurwich

© Margie Hurwich

© Margie Hurwich

Tips from Bill BrownRetouching for a Better

Image: Using a Layer Mask

to Smooth a Complexion

Photoshop layers are like

sheets of stacked acetate.

You can see through

transparent areas of a layer to

the layers below. You move a

layer to position the content on the layer, like

sliding a sheet of acetate in a stack. You can

also change the opacity of a layer to make

content partially transparent.

This month, we learn to use Layer Masks and

how to smooth a person’s complexion.

1. Open the image of the person.

2. Duplicate the background layer.

3. Using the Spot Healing Brush Tool from

the Tools palette with a brush size

between 10-20, click on the small areas of

the face in which you want to correct.

These small areas could be small moles or

an occasional freckle.

4. If there are bright spots from flash or

sunshine on the skin or lips, add a New

Layer from the Menu. Select Layer then

New. Click the top color box in the colors

palette Using the dropper, click on a color

close to the bright spots of skin. Click OK.

5. Select the Brush Tool from the Tools palette

with an Opacity of about 10-20. With a brush

size large enough to cover the bright spots,

lightly paint over the bright spots on the skin.

If you have too hard of a brush, you can

either delete the step that you just performed

or change the opacity of the layer in the

Layers palette.

6. Follow steps 4 and 5 and perform the same

steps for the lips.

7. Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool, select

the entire image by right mouse clicking on

the top left of the image and dragging it to the

bottom right of the image. Click Edit from the

Menu then Copy Merged.

8. Click Edit again, then Paste. This has

created a duplicate copy of all layers,

including the layer correcting bright skin or

lips.

9. Select Filter from the Menu, then Blur, then

Gaussian Blur. Move the slider to about 4 or

5. Click OK.

10. Move the blurred Layer below the

Background Copy. This is done by clicking

on the layer in the Layers Palette and

dragging it below the Background Copy. You

then release the mouse.


` Tips from Bill BrownRetouching for a Better Image: Using a

Layer Mask to Smooth a Complexion

– continued

11. Return to the Background Copy and select

Layer Mask at the bottom of the Layers

palette. This looks like a rectangle with a

circle in it.

12. Select your Brush Tool from the Tools

palette. Ensure the foreground color in

your Colors palette is black and the

Opacity is set to 15% to 20%.

13. Using a soft brush to paint on the layer

mask to reveal the soft focus skin on Layer

2. Make sure that you don’t paint over the

eyes, nostrils or lips as these items should

always be in full focus.

Before After

Glossary

Just what is all of the terminology used in

photography? Find out right here…each month

new terms will be shared.

MIRROR LOCK or "Mirror Lock-up" - Found in a

camera with the ability to keep its mirror in the up

position to prevent vibration from mirror

movement in a long exposure. Locking up the

mirror may also permit certain specialty lenses to

be attached that would otherwise come into

contact with the mirror, and in some digital

cameras, keeps the mirror out of the way when

cleaning the image sensor.

MODELING LIGHT - A tungsten light built into a

studio flash that remains on while the flash is in

standby mode, permitting the photographer to

assess highlight and shadow areas that will be

created when subsequently exposing the film in

the brighter light of the flash. The modeling light

also provides enough light to permit focusing.

MODEL RELEASE - A contract in which a model

consents to the use of his or her images by the

photographer or a third party. Sometimes referred

to simply as a "release."

MONOCHROME - An image of a single color in

differing shades. A black and white or sepia-

toned image is a monochrome.

MONOPOD - A single-leg camera support that

functions like a tripod.

MONTAGE - (1) Combining elements from

various sources, such as parts of different

photographs, in a single photographic

composition. (2) An image produced by this

technique.

MOUNT - Frame or backing used to support and

protect prints and transparencies. A transparency

is called a "slide" once it is in a mount.

For more definitions, you can visit

www.photographytips.com.


© Bill Brown


“Focus”

This month we put the “focus”

on Mike Trahan.

Mike was born and raised in

Chicago, first on the south

side just north of Midway

Airport and then on the north

side. While in grammar

school and at Lane Tech

High School, Mike got into photography with a

box camera, an old rangefinder camera, and a

small darkroom that he and a friend built for

contact prints since they couldn’t afford an

enlarger.

Mike went to Illinois Institute of Technology on an

NROTC scholarship getting a math degree. After

graduating, hew flew to the Philippines to meet

his ship. When he arrived and stowed his bags,

Mike immediately went to the foreign exchange

on base where there was a Nikon Photomic T

SLR for sale for $165. He had $150 in his

checkbook. That night on ship, some friends

from his previous year’s midshipman cruise were

willing to loan Mike the $15 but also convinced

him that this would be a great time to get married

instead of buying a camera. Mike is still married

to Kathleen and now has Canon equipment so it

was a good decision…he guesses.

Mike then started a pattern, he’d get Kathleen

pregnant, leave for a tour in Vietnam, and then

return to a new baby. Three tours and three

children later, Mike’s Navy obligation was over.

They came back to Chicago and Mike began

working in software as a programmer. He had

picked up a cheaper Topcon SLR along the way

and he started a new pattern. Their first child had

tons of slides taken of him. Their next had a little

fewer. By the sixth child, the only record of his

existence was a very occasional photo and his

school records.

Mike continued working in systems, picked up an

MBA from the University of Chicago at night in

finance and marketing, became a director in IS,

and then joined Hewitt Associates headquartered

in Lincolnshire as a consultant. He later became

a partner and retired after they went public.

Mike and Kathleen started birding in their thirties

but photography became family snapshots with a

point and shoot. When camcorders were able to

fit in a large pocket in the 90’s, Mike started

shooting and editing video of their vacations. But

finally in 2008 realizing that if he wanted to take

any bird photos he needed a DSLR. He broke

down and bought a Canon XSi DSLR and a 100-

400mm lens, a choice Mike has never regretted

except for the very heavy backpack he now

carries on vacations instead of a camera he can

slip into a pocket. Last year Mike upgraded to the

Canon 7D, a great camera.

This has been Mike’s first full year in CACCA

camera clubs, both in Volo Shutterbugs and in

Lake County Camera Club. According to Mike,

“It’s been a fun start for me. I had some fine trips

and got some good photos for the competitions.

But having been the high scorer for the

Shutterbugs and doing reasonably well at LCCC,

I’m afraid I’ve peaked and it will be downhill from

here.”

Fortunately, Mike has learned some lessons from

his past. He’s taken as many or more pictures of

his 12th grandchild as of his first. He also knows

enough by now to not expect gratitude from his

children and grandchildren for the marvelous

photos of them he’s labored so diligently to

produce. As Shakespeare said (more or less),

“Sharper than a serpent’s tooth is the tongue of

an ungrateful child.” And as Mike states,

“Photography is great fun and I’m looking forward

to learning more!”

Here are just some of

Mike’s amazing

photographs.

© Mike Trahan

Accomplishments and

Accolades

Each month members are highlighted for their

exciting photography news.

• Mike Wilson had 3 of his images featured in

the banner on Red Dog News

www.reddognews.com.

• Recently a new website launched for Sweet

Sheila’s Treats.

www.worldsbestcaramelcorn.com

All the images on the website were taken by

Jim Ross. Additionally, Jim also

photographed the Northshore Symphony

during their last performance of the 2010

season. The photos will be used for publicity

purposes for the next season starting in

October.

• Leslie Harris has spent her substitute

teacher pay and splurged on a the Canon

External Flash - 580EXll. She recently used

it at her grandson's middle school promotion

and it really made a difference.

• Daoud Ghaussy’s

photograph entitled “Catchin’

the Heat” came in first place

at downtown Chicago's Union

League Club photo contest.

Three other photos were

runner ups. Additionally, he

has created his third

photography book through

www.blurb.com of prints

from recent travel shots.

Congratulations to all!

Make sure you send any accomplishments and

accolades to Margie Hurwich at

[email protected].

2010-2011 Board and

Committee Members

Without the efforts of the people listed below, we

wouldn’t have such a successful club.

Board MembersPresident Ron Meyers

President Elect John Williams

Secretary and Vice President, Margie Hurwich

Communications

Vice President, External Jim Ross

Operations

Vice President, Internal Bill Sullivan

Operations

Committee MembersCACCA Representatives Jim Ross

Ron Meyers

Bill Sullivan

John Williams

Competition Chair Bob Kruzic

Continuing Education Jim Ross

DPI Coordinators John Williams

Mike Trahan

Facilities Coordinator Bill Sullivan

Hospitality Desk Margie Hurwich

Linda Kippes

Gina Borkowski

Judge Procurement Mike Jordan

Membership Coordinators Terry Ferguson

Margie Hurwich

Newsletter Contributing Bill Brown

Columnists Michelle Cox

Newsletter Editor Margie Hurwich

Photo Excursion Coordinators Michelle Cox

Margie Hurwich

Carolyn Lewis

Programs Coordinator Paul Kurek

PSA Representative Michelle Cox

Treasurer Jim Ross

Webmaster Don Chen

If you are interested in helping the club continue

to be successful, please see any of the board

members.


© Daoud Ghaussy

A Message From the President Dates to Remember · Photo Excursions Model Shoot at Illinois Beach...

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