Discusson Group Notes September 11, 2009
Nine of us braved the AV traffic to swap stories, brag, and ask questions.
Terri started out the discussion by announcing that she and Lee have joined PSA. She said that PSA has a program where, if you are a member, you can get in touch with PSA members at whatever location you are going to and ask questions about the area. This is a good way to get a local perspective rather than just the advertised perspective on the area.
Donna had a large stack of 3-ring binder plastic sleeves which hold 4x6 photos to give away.
Julia said that she wanted to move to Oregon because it rains. Donna told her that there's usually no sun, just gray skies, which can be good for some types of photography but not others.
I showed off my framed picture of Michelle, my model for my fair photos. That frame started out life as framed-art at WalMart. I pulled the back off it, removed the stock artwork, and inserted my photo. I've done little framing so far and have learned, from this effort, that almost all of the stock frames sold are rectangular and come in a small number of sizes. Photos for the LPA and AV Fair competition can be any shape and it's been so easy cropping for the image, not for a frame. Well, my Michelle entry was nearly square. So I could have started over with the original shot (and redo all the Photoshop work to date), build a custom frame, or find a square frame. Fortunately, much of the framed-art from overseas comes in square frames and I got lucky. My biggest lesson from this was that I need to consider if and how I'm going to frame my prints when I take the photo.
Donna passed around a catalog from a greeting card company, The Photographer's Edge http://www.photographersedge.com/. She's shopped from other companies but likes this one best. She showed us a sample of a greeting card which comes with peel-off strips to securely glue your photo in place. These cards can even be run through your printer to put your logo on them. This makes them great for advertising your business. This company also sells spinner racks and other equipment, such as the plant clamp, for photography businesses.
Julia showed off her P&S photos of a wildfire at night that was a couple miles from our house. We hadn't had time to download them but even on the LCD of her Canon A720 they were still interesting.
We talked about the Space Shuttle sonic boom which has a habit of making people jump and car alarms to go off. I would hate to be taking a critical shot when these booms hit.
I described the 10x12 ft shed I'm attaching to another shed and converting into a photo studio. This will be primarily for table-top photography (so we don't have to go through set-up and take-down in the house every time we have an idea to try). It will also have some ability to support limited full-person portraits with up to 18 ft between the camera and the background. It should be useable this weekend or early next week.
Bill brought in the latest National Geographic with the article "Sneaky, Sexy Orchids." It's an interesting read and Bill has donated it to the LPA library. Bonnie is donating a book to the LPA library with printouts of the LPA newsletters for those who don't have access to the online versions.
Terri bragged, of course, on her upcoming trip. She asked for suggestions for their trip and someone said they should take a camera. I suggested they try their hand at street photography and referred them to the videos on the LPA Forum. Phil suggested they visit the Diamond District because of the many Hasidic (ultra orthodox) Jews in their traditional garments.
Dwight told a story of seeing a mime taking a break and talking on a cell phone. This would have made a great contrast image.
Donna loaned Bill a book on photographing Architecture. It was a little bit dated but the subject is something Bill is very much interested in.
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
