Official Newsletter of the Wallingford Camera Club

Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 Official Newsletter of the Wallingford Camera Club On the web: http://www.wallingfordcameraclub.com - Email: wallingfordcc@gmail.com Online Image Gallery: http://wcc.smugmug.com Meetings: Second Wednesday of Each Month @ Gaylord Hospital’s Chauncey Conference Center - The Public Is Welcome! Next meeting: • Wednesday, June 10th @ 7:00 PM • Location: Gaylord Hospital, Chauncey Conference Center Wallingford, CT • Program: EOY Banquet • Food: Pot Luck Supper From the President’s Desk: Ray Borsari Jr. Next meeting will be our end of year Banquet at Gaylord, regular meeting time and place. Please everyone remember what you signed up to bring for food. This will be a low key relaxed atmosphere. Awards are given after dinner for category winners and special awards, including image of the year. There were many great images this year. I encourage everyone to socialize and get to know one another since we now have so many new members. We continue to grow as a club and are now over 40 members strong! We continue to acquire new members almost every meeting now which is very encouraging. Welcome to our new members! Veterans and old members please encourage our new members, help them in any way you can. We grow because of our tremendous atmosphere and make everyone feel like they belong. Just a reminder that I encourage each member to bring in another member within a year. This ultimately keeps our club growing. New members bring new ideas and new pictures to the club. Currently, according to my latest report we are around 37 members! I would like to see us over 40 members within the next several months. Get out there and promote our club!! Remember we are only as good as our members. If anyone has ideas for the club or suggestions please email me at rpbors@aol.com • Beverages: Inside this issue: From the President From the Members From the Members 1 2 3 About the Wallingford Camera Club The Wallingford Camera Club offers a friendly, p r e s s u r e - f r e e environment where anyone interested in photography can learn and share photography information. Our club has members of every skill level, from professional photographers to vacationsnapshot photographers. The WCC holds monthly meetings at Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford, CT. Our meetings are on the second Wednesday of every month, and begin promptly at 7:30PM. Some meetings are competition nights, where the members submit their work for judging. Other meetings, known as “Program Nights”, offer instructional and handson training. Meetings are open to the public, so feel free to come by and join us! However, if you’d like to submit your photos in competition, you must be a member. The WCC membership fee is $25 per year. Ribbons are awarded based on the results of the prior month’s competition. Email: wallingfordcc@gmail.com Calendar and Schedule April Scores Final Standings EOY Awards EOY Awards Cont’d Internet Links WCC Sponsors 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 InFocus: From the Members and Articles Page 2 of 10 Better portraits are all in the eyes Improving eyes in the camera and the computer By William Sawalich Eyes are the windows to the soul, or so they say. Photographically speaking, that means that in any given portrait one of the first places a viewer will look is the subject’s eyes. And if they look dark, or murky, or tired or anything other than ideal… well, the person in the portrait just won’t look their best. That’s why so many photographers put so much emphasis on making the eyes look perfect. Here are some tried and true tips to make sure the eyes have it—in the camera and in the computer. • When lighting a portrait, the catchlight (the reflection of the main light in the eyes of the subject) is perhaps the biggest key to imparting a feeling of life and energy to the portrait. It’s that catchlight reflection that makes the photo look alive, so make sure when lighting portraits to watch for it. If it’s too high, or uneven from one eye to another, consider moving it to make sure it shows up well. • If the main light is too high, not only can it make the catchlight harder to create, it can create a shadow in deep-set eyes—making them look darker and less inviting. Many classic portrait photographers augmented their overall mainlight with a second light, a kicker of sorts, specifically to add some extra gusto to the eyes. This eye light is still a practical solution to make eyes brighter. It can be achieved with an additional light source focused directly on the eyes, or even with a mirror or silver reflector to fill in deep shadows. • Since viewers put so much importance—sub-consciously of course—on looking primarily at a subject’s eyes, play up that fact. Hide other elements of the face to simplify a composition and draw in viewers more quickly and directly to the eyes. The reverse is also true: don’t hide a subject’s eye if you don’t want them to look untrustworthy, mysterious or anonymous. You can hide almost anything else on the face of a normal portrait, but rarely does it work to hide the eyes. • When working with on-camera flash, do whatever you can to eliminate redeye. Redeye is a glowing eyeball effect created when a flash directly from the lens axis reflects off the inside of the eye creating a sinister glow. Moving the flash off camera can cure it in most cases, as can redeye flash settings that fire a pre-flash to acclimate the subject’s eyes to the bright light. If all else fails, be sure to fix any residual redeye in post. Even if the rest of the picture is perfect, redeye will ruin it. • Once your photo file is in the computer, consider whitening dull gray tones in eyes, eliminating redness and puffiness, and general darkening around the eyes. Simple tools such as dodging and desaturation brushes, as well as color stamping, can work wonders on revitalizing otherwise tired eyes. You can even give them an extra kick by using the saturation brush to boost the color in a pretty pupil. Portraits are often softened to hide blemishes and other imperfections. Before applying a wholesale softening to an image, consider masking the effect from the eyes—or even adding sharpness to the eyes as well. The added definition in relation to an otherwise softened image really adds the last little bit of attention that the eyes need to really grab and hold a viewer’s attention. Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 InFocus: From the Members and Articles An Editorial by Bob Carlo Page 3 of 10 There’s a Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s show tune “June Is Busting Out All Over” and for photographers it definitely is the time. In the feature Photo Ops for June and July, beneath this article there are many activities to photograph. The issue is to make the time to attend these events. Gasoline prices haven’t returned to the prices of last summer. Fortunately we live in a small state that traveling isn’t an all day affair. The Rose Festival at Elizabeth Park in Hartford is a great opportunity to take some photos. The park is located in Hartford and encompasses 102 acres. There are 15,000 rose bushes planted within it. If your intent is only to photograph go before the crowds gather. If you prefer the rural scene, travel to Litchfield. The White Flower Farm is hosting their event on the same weekend. Do your research on the internet. Most of these organizations have websites that provide location and schedule of events. The club is planning a trip to Sugar Hill, New Hampshire to photograph the lupines. The trip is scheduled on the weekend of June 13th. Contact Linda Thomas for details. Hope to see your images shot at some of these events. See you all at our EOY banquet and meeting. Photo Ops for June and July June 7 4-C's Car Show, New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, CT 10am-4pm June 13 Comvec military vehicle collectors show, Chester, CT June 13 5th Annual CT Open House Day Various events across the state June 13, 14 First Annual Bears and Bison Powwow, Bison Farm, Brooklyn, CT June 20 White Farm Open House, Litchfield, CT June 20 Paragon Jousting at Shakespeare Family Renfair, Craryville, NY June 20, 21 New England Pirate Faire, Stage Fort Park, Gloucester, MA June 20-21 Annual Elizabeth Park Rose Weekend Festival, Hartford, CT June 27 Pageant of Trolleys, Shoreline Trolley Museum, East Haven, CT June 27, 28 Quonsett Point Airshow, Blue Angels and Snowbirds, Quonsett, RI July11 Riverfest, Hartford July 17 Deep River Muster Tatoo 7pm July 18 Deep River Muster Parade 10am Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 InFocus: Club Calendar Page 4 of 10 June 2009 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Wallingford Camera Club Handbook Joe Hamed has updated the WCC Handbook to include the changes to Competition rules. You can download the handbook from our web site using the following link: 14 Flag Day 15 16 10 EOY Banquet 11 12 13 17 18 19 20 21 Father’s Day 28 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 Food and Beverage List Here is the schedule for the 2008-2009 season, including the “Special” categories, as voted on by the WCC membership.: Thanks to all who've signed up!!!!!!! Month January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 Sept 2009 October 2009 Nov 2009 Dec 2009 Food Karen Maguire Stephanie Donaldson Ernie Carosella Karen Maguire Bob Carlo POT LUCK Faye Dudek Ray Borsari Sr. Kathy Sims Linda Thomas Joe Hamed HOLIDAY PARTY Prue Armstrong Drinks Dawn Finaldi Laura Sabatino Laura Messina Jo-Anne Messina Ray Borsari Sr. POT LUCK Ray Borsari Jr. Linda Thomas Including the Competition Schedule June 11, 2008 Program: Elements of Elements By Joe Hamed & Stan Murawski July 9, 2008 Program : Close up Photography by Natural Light :By Paul Peterson August 13, 2008 Program: Fish Photography By Tom Migdalski Sept. 10, 2008 Program: African Safari By Tom and Lisa Cuchara Oct.: 8, 2008 Competition: Special Subject: Flowers Nov. 12, 2008 Competition: Special Subject: Sports Dec. 10, 2008 Holiday Party, Mini Slide Shows by Members & Grab Bag Jan. 14, 2009 Program: Portrait Photography By: Wayne Aguiar Feb. 11, 2009 Competition: Special Subject: Architecture/ Buildings March 11, 2009 Competition:Special Subject: Farms/Barns April 8, 2009 Competition: Special Subject: Cemeteries May 13, 2009 End of The Year Competition Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 Wallingford Camera Club High Scores Scores after the April 8, 2009 Competition Black & White Salon Prints: Totals Totals Ave AB 24.80 23.30 22.90 23.00 Page 55 of 10 Page of 8 AA Slides: Numbe r Entries 10 10 10 2 Totals Totals Name Shirley Mangler Stan Murawski Ray Borsari Sr. Joe Hamed Ave AB 24.50 24.00 23.70 24.00 24.00 26.00 Numbe r Entries 10 10 10 4 3 1 Name Shirley Mangler Prue Armstrong Stan Murawski Al Spina ABC 338.00 341.00 315.00 46.00 AB 248 233 229 46.00 ABC 335.00. 284.00 346.00 118.00 72.00 26.00 AB 245 240 237 96 72 26 Digital Slides: Linda Thomas Stan Murawski Jo-Ann Messina Laura Messina Joe Hamed Bob Carlo Faye Dudek Veronica DiSarro Stephanie Donaldson Michael Landry Justin Weekes Bernie Dudek Charles Stacy Karen Maguire 376.00 370.00 332.00 329.00 269.00 213.00 210.00 184.00 50.00 68.00 70.00 63.00 24.00 21.00 260 254 227 223 184 173 104 144 50 47 47 42 24 21 26.00 25.40 22.70 22.30 23.00 21.63 20.80 20.57 25.00 23.50 23.50 21.00 24.00 21.00 10 10 10 10 8 8 5 7 2 2 2 2 1 1 Warren Disbrow Linda Thomas Color Salon Prints A: Warren Disbrow Ray Borsari Sr Ray Borsari Jr Stan Murawski Shirley Mangler Joe Hamed Ernie Carosella Mark Tuccillo Linda Thomas 382.00 374.00 373.00 292.00 338.00 169.00 70.00 74.00 26.00 260 254 255 246 244 147 70 74 26 26.00 25.40 25.50 24.60 24.40 24.50 23.33 24.67 26.00 10 10 10 10 106 6 3 3 1 Color Salon Prints B: Prue Armstrong 331.00 132.00 60.00 24.00 22.00 21.00 226 111 41 24 22 21 22.60 22.20 20.50 24.00 22.00 21.00 10 5 2 1 1 1 Kathleen Sims Enlargements: Ray Borsari Sr Lou Petrzel Prue Armstrong Karen Maguire Christy Mitchell Faye Dudek Mark Fioravanti Bob Carlo Debbie Malinowski Charles Stacy Stephanie Donaldson Mark Tuccillo Karl Rauert 357.00 338.00 333.00 198.00 71.00 67.00 66.00 44.00 65.00 64.00 42.00 24.00 23.00 244 233 228 134 49 45 45 44 44 43 42 24 23 24.40 23.30 22.80 22.33 24.50 22.50 22.50 22.00 22.00 21.50 21.00 24.00 23.00 10 10 10 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 Eloise Fioravanti Bob Carlo Stephanie Donaldson Faye Dudek Mini Prints: Lou Petrzel Bernie Dudek Bob Carlo Faye Dudek Kathleen Sims 333.00 85.00 64.00 57.00 21.00 227 65 64 39 21 22.70 21.67 21.33 19.50 21.00 10 3 3 2 1 Scores Continued on Page 6 Vol. 3 Issue #4 - April 2009 Wallingford Camera Club High Scores Scores after the April 8, 2009 Competition Special Prints: 307.00 62.00 43.00 58.00 223 44 43 39 22.30 22.00 21.50 19.50 10 2 2 2 Ray Borsari Sr Prue Armstrong Mark Tuccillo Faye Dudek 367.00 330.00 229.00 166.00 165.00 110.00 109.00 129.00 105.00 43.00 61.00 22.00 25.00 22.00 238 226 162 128 120 110 88 87 85 43 41 22 25 22 Page 6 of 10 Special Slides: Prue Armstrong Stan Murawski Al Spina Bob Carlo 23.80 22.60 23.14 21.33 23.00 22.00 22.00 21.75 21.25 21.50 20.50 22.00 25.00 22.00 10 10 7 6 5 5 4 4 4 2 2 1 1 1 Special Digital: Linda Thomas Stan Murawski Joe Hamed Veronica DiSarro Jo-Ann Messina Kathleen Sims Bob Carlo Faye Dudek Michael Landry Stephanie Donaldson Christy Mitchell 356.00 338.00 219.00 201.00 129.00 88.00 174.00 83.00 68.00 44.00 61.00 242 231 154 147 90 66 133 63 47 44 42 24.20 23.10 22.00 21.00 22.50 23.00 22.17 21.00 23.50 22.00 21.00 10 10 7 7 4 3 6 3 2 2 2 Karen Maguire Bob Carlo Joe Hamed Bernie Dudek Mark Fioravanti Christy Mitchell Eloise Fioravanti Diana DiLiberto Ray Borsari Jr Warren Disbrow 2009 Final Standings Category AA Slides Black & White Salon A Color Salon A Color Salon B Digital Slides Enlargements Mini-Prints Special Category Digital Special Category Prints Special Category Slides Maker Shirley Mangler Shirley Mangler Warren Disbrow Prue Armstrong Linda Thomas Ray Borsari Sr. Lou Petrzel Linda Thomas Ray Borsari Sr. Prue Armstrong Tot-3 Tot-2 338.00 248 335.00 245 382.00 260 331.00 226 376.00 260 357.00 333.00 356.00 367.00 307.00 244 227 242 238 223 Entries Ave 10 24.80 10 24.50 10 26.00 10 26.00 10 26.00 10 10 10 10 10 24.40 22.70 24.20 23.80 22.30 Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 Wallingford Camera Club Ribbon Winners Image of the Year Winners and Top Ten Winners Enlargements: Shirley Mangler Shirley Mangler Shirley Mangler Stan Murawski Shirley Mangler Prue Armstrong Prue Armstrong Stan Murawski Prue Armstrong Prue Armstrong Top Ten Swan on Ice Red Barn Page 7 of 10 AA Slides: 1st 2nd 3rd Turning Tufted Busy Flicker Female Hummer Christy Mitchell Prue Armstrong Black & White Salon Prints: Marty Zuckerman Black & White Salon Print of the Year 1st 2nd 3rd Sand Texture Reddish Egret Stands Tall Hairy Woodpecker Shirley Mangler Stan Murawski Shirley Mangler Shirley Mangler Stan Murawski Stan Murawski Ray Borsari Sr Shirley Mangler Stan Murawski Joe Hamed Top Ten Roseate Spoonbill Preening Woodland Stream A Visitor to My Garden Hibiscus Hiding Saw-whet Owl Orchid Buckeye Digital Slides: 1st 2nd 3rd Top Ten Top Ten Bright Eyed Tufted Titmouse Georgia O’Keefe Ranch Through the Window #2 Iron Giant Heart of the Lily I Got Your Back Doing the Job Sunset on Chincoteague Island Jo-Ann Messina Me First Hiding Linda Thomas Linda Thomas Joe Hamed Linda Thomas Stan Murawski Laura Messina Jo-Ann Messina Faye Dudek Stan Murawski 1st 2nd 3rd Top Ten Mountain Splendor Jack-Knife Turret Arch, Another View Purple Artichoke Rose and Buds Seattle Hammerman Collage Zion Tree Grows In Rock Color Salon Prints A: Wayne Aguiar Color Print of the Year Rice Paper Butterfly Coneflowers Humpback at Lunch Virgin River to the Sentinel Warren Disbrow Shirley Mangler Joe Hamed Stan Murawski Shirley Mangler Stan Murawski Warren Disbrow Ray Borsari Sr Ray Borsari Jr Joe Hamed Enlargements: Randy Erskine Enlargement of the Year 1st 2nd 3rd Top Ten Almost Perfect Sunflower Shadow Crosses Window Atlas Moth A Guardian Angel Shedding Pollen Beetle Lone Orchid Blond & Pretty Sun Duo Pink Hibiscus Happy Face Mark Tuccillo Ray Borsari Sr Prue Armstrong Ray Borsari Sr Ray Borsari Sr Ray Borsari Sr Lou Petrzel Prue Armstrong 24-Orchid Cluster Blacklit Lily Famous Zion Tree Scores continued on page 8 Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June Wallingford Camera Club Ribbon Winners Winners for the April 8, 2009 Competition Mini Prints: Prue Armstrong Kathleen Sims Bob Carlo Prue Armstrong Prue Armstrong Prue Armstrong Prue Armstrong Kathleen Sims 1st 2nd 3rd Top Ten Fresh From The Farm Two Poms Poms Statue Of Liberty, Our Symbol Page 8 of 10 Color Salon Prints B: 1st 2nd 3rd Top Ten Gaillardia Romantic Venice Fresh Produce The Garden Fence Pink Orchid Barred Owl White Admiral Butterfly A Kiss for You Bernie Dudek Dawn Finaldi Lou Petrzel Lou Petrzel Dawn Finaldi Dawn Finaldi Lou Petrzel Lou Petrzel Bernie Dudek Lou Petrzel Butterfly and Flowers Touch of Purple Blazing Sunflower #1 Let’s Go Swim Off to Work Stars in the Sky Wallingford Camera Club’s Special End of the Year Awards Fred Meyers Landscape/Seascape/Cityscape Award Sweet Light at Bruce Linda Thomas Harris Greene Travel Image Award Photographer’s Paradise Bob Carlo Larry Rondeau Nature Image Award Red Bellied In My Backyard Linda Thomas Al Luzuk Image of the Year Award A Guardian Angel Mark Tuccillo Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 InFocus: Contact Info, Web Links The Wallingford Camera Club E-Mail: wallingfordcc@gmail.com Web: http://www.wallingfordcameraclub.com Gallery: http://wcc.smugmug.com 2006 WCC President: Ray Borsari Jr. InFocus Editor: Bob Carlo Page 9 of 10 Become a Wallingford Camera Club sponsor! Get great visibility for your business for extremely reasonable pricing! Contact the club for additional details... Internet Links Photography Clubs and Organizations New England Camera Club Council http://www.neccc.org Castle Craig Camera Club http://www.castlecraigcameraclub.org Photography Equipment Reviews & Forums Digital Photography Review http://www.dpreview.com Equipment reviews & discussions FredMiranda.com http://www.fredmiranda.com Lens reviews & discussions PhotoZone http://www.photozone.de Equipment reviews and discussions Popular Photography Magazine http://www.popphoto.com Reviews, tips, and forums Photo Hosting Web Sites SmugMug http://www.smugmug.com Use code VgtQnERYXaxXY to save $5 SnapFish http://www.snapfish.com PBase http://www.pbase.com Photo Bucket http://www.photobucket.com Flickr http://www.flickr.com New Haven Camera Club http://www.newhavencameraclub.org Connecticut Association of Photographers http://www.CAPinCT.org RJPhil is a custom photographic lab in East Hampton, CT. 860-267-4617 http://www.rjphil.com/ Vol. 3 Issue #6 - June 2009 InFocus: Sponsorship Page 10 of 10 A Word From Our Sponsors... BORSARI PHOTOGRAPHY LCC Personalized Packages “You purchase only what you like” Get the very best pictures at the very best price. Isn’t it time you updated all the pictures in your On the web: http:// www.wallingfordcameraclub.com - Email: wallingfordcc@gmail.com Online Image Gallery: http:// wcc.smugmug.com “We Bring the Studio to Ray C. Borsari Jr. 11 Surrey Lane Southbury, CT 06488 Phone: 203-262-1623 ray@borsariphotography.com