Discusson Group Notes September 4, 2009
Another fine night on the town for ten hardy revelers.
Bonnie got in her new strobe which brings her up to three, as I recall. Her studio is coming along nicely.
Lee showed off his new 10-22 wide angle lens which he hopes to use on their upcoming cruise and other activities. Terri said she's signed up for a walking tour of Old Town, Quebec City. We expect a great slide show when they return.
I brought in one of my uranium/vaseline/depression glasses for show and tell. This got people talking about radioactivity, heavy metals leaching from glass, and other scary, non-photography, thoughts. But then Donna pointed out all the poisonous fumes and liquids people used to use in dark rooms and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. I've also ordered a uranium glass vase so that I can see how these work with flowers.
photo by Deborah Adkins
Bonnie said that there was talk of tightening up the rules on mounting boards at the fair. This last year they had people mounting on plastic, wooden frames, and other oddities. I announced that Costco sells the canvas-on-wooden-frames that were displayed at the fair. For purposes of discussion, I played the devil's advocate and we talked about the origins of county fairs and the purpose of having a photography exhibit. Now that I think of it, perhaps we should consider a category where such oddities are allowed, or just refer all these to the "Art" exhibit, which includes photography. For now they're not in competition with the "Photography" exhibit but too many restrictions could start people moving in that direction. I noticed that this year the 4H had a large selection of photos on display which meant that there were three locations with photos.
Dwight talked about the many cameras he owns or has owned, including some large-format film cameras, one of which he made from a kit.
We talked about the smoke from the fire and I described one view Julia and I saw where the cloud was almost orange mixed with purple. Terri said that she saw it too. She also saw Julia and I leaving the parking lot right afterward. Of course, we had no cameras at the time.
I passed around my new portfolio (a zippered 3-ring binder from WalMart) with some of the old photos but including many new ones. One in particular, a photo of a small white house in Rosamond, bears a striking resemblance to the painting, "High Noon," by Edward Hopper. I might try to take a photo that would be life-imitating-art-imitating-life. I think the shadows would be about right around mid-October. Notice the similarities in the shape of the house, the windows, door, sky, ground, and shadows. If I do this I may be looking for a model, if anyone's interested. ;-)
photo by Glenn Olson
http://www.alledwardhopper.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/high_noon_by_edward_hopper_full_size.jpg
painting by Edward Hopper
I'm also experimenting with borders and captions.
photo by Glenn Olson
I asked if anyone had been to Forest Lawn http://www.forestlawn.com/. Besides gravestones they have some beautiful architecture, scenery, copies of famous art works, and special events that might be worth photographing. I suggested a field trip, probably to the Glendale location, later in the fall. I'd like to hear of experiences, stories, and suggestions from anyone who's been there. Terri (I think) pointed out that there are several interesting cemeteries in the Antelope Valley that would be good for a small group of individuals to visit on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
Donna suggested a field trip to the R Ranch, which is in the Sierras. Apparently it has a make-believe graveyard with humorous sayings on the gravestones. She said that Phil and she led a field trip there in 1998. Since they own stock in it they can bring in guests for $10/night. In 1998 they worked it out with a men's cabin and a women's cabin. I'm sure there's more to see there than just a graveyard.
Bonnie had questions about connecting her camera to do live-view on her computer. I know the Canons will display the photos on the computer but no one had any experience with live-view on computers. Julia's P&S will show live-view on the television but we haven't tried it on the computer.
If you can, please join us each Friday evening at Denny's at the corner of Ave K and 20th West. We begin about 6:30 PM and usually go to at least 8:30 PM. You can drop by at anytime and stay for as long as you like (you don't even have to buy anything). Denny's has graciously provided us a section to ourselves and the service is great.
All photography related subjects are fair game and there's never a planned agenda. You can bring in your questions, your stories, your equipment, your photos (paper or digital), or even just yourself to sit, listen, and/or talk.
By the way, we would like to include more photos in these write-ups so, if it's not inconvenient, please bring (or send me afterward) a digital copy of what you show at the discussion group to go in these notes. There are many folks who can't make it on Friday evenings who would like the visuals to go with the narrative. Thanks.
You are welcome to visit the LPA forum and leave your comments......
Glenn Olson
Coordinator and Moderator
glenn@glenn-olson.com
816-8278
