Saturday, December 05 2009 @ 11:56 AM PST (Read 1554 times)
First I'd like to thank Sue for letting me know about China Lake Photographic Society's (CLPS) monthly meeting in Ridgcrest. At this meeting their guest speaker was Mike Mumford, a local "artist-blacksmith." Blacksmith and welding are related and Sue knew that I'm also a welder. I wish I remembered things as well as Sue does. Thanks Sue. http://www.glenn-olson.com/photos/bucket/CLPSDec09.pdf
Mike gave about a 20 minute talk, answered questions from the group, then stuck around to talk with individuals. Mike forges artworks from pieces small enough to fit in your hand to assemblies requiring trucks to haul. He gets his inspiration from various sources (he does mostly commission work) then goes to great lengths to draw up his finished product and detail. Mike had two pieces for us to see. The first was "Cowboy Bob" which looks like a bunch of wavy forks from the side but casts a shadow of a ferrier at the right angle. The second piece looked like an old ranch fence with various stuff hanging on it but casts a shadow of a flower from end-on. This presentation alone would have made the trip worthwhile.
Since this was CLPS's monthly meeting I recieved the bonus of seeing how they operate, meet a few people, and seeing a number of interesting and inspiring photos. Denise, their vice-president, started the meeting with some general comments then went through a list of items.
- Denise had a couple of people tell about holiday gift ideas. One was to create DVD slide shows with music to go along with select photos. The ones displayed were created using IPhoto but someone said that IRFAN view http://www.irfanview.com/, a free product for PCs, also works. These DVDs also work on DVD players so you can make some slideshows and send them to various family members. Don, the president, said that he uses "Pro Show Gold" for his publications.
- The second gift idea was to create your own hard or soft bound photo books. The one shown was a hardbound book that looked like it belonged on a coffee table. The presenter also used IPhoto but mentioned that there are many companies that can print these and deliver them to you in very short order. These suppliers also generally do calendars and many other personalized items. One such site is Blurb http://www.blurb.com.
- Denise suggested that another good holiday gift for a child is to take them out with a camera and help them learn how to find interesting subjects to take photos of and how to get the most out of them.
- Then Denise went through the "Show Off" shots. Each member gets to submit a number of photos that they want to show to the other members. Members send in their digital photos which are collected into a digital slideshow of the member's name followed by their photos. Each photo is up for about 10 seconds and the photographer can make comments if they like. These were really nice and covered the range of snapshots to professional looking photos and from local to travel shots. I took notes of some of the interesting local locations, one of which was Nightmare Gulch which is between the Red Rock Canyon parking lot and the opal mines to the NNE.
- Then she went through the "Assignment" photos. Each month she gives a word or phrase, similar to a "challenge" and the members are free to interpret this, take photos, and submit a number of them for viewing. Denise ran another slideshow, this month the word was "shadow," to show what everyone came up with. I saw many beautiful, interesting, and inspiring photos. One of the more interesting was a photo of long shadows cast by a group photographers with their tripods and cameras. There were shadows of cats, mountains, and clouds. One was of a shallow pond with leaves casting shadows on the bottom. There was a series of tabletop shots of a single bedspring casting different shadows on a light colored surface. There was a self-portrait of a man hiding in the shadows of a bush. And a photo of a pair of eyeglasses casting a shadow that looked like a smile. These "assignments" are for show only without critique or comment, just the ooh's and ahh's from the audience. There were no losers, just winners.
- Mike Mumford's presentation concluded the 90 minute meeting which.
I couldn't help comparing the CLPS to the LPA, even though I've been to only one CLPS meeting. The differences were very striking, as if the two clubs come from opposite ends of the spectrum.
- The number of CLPS attendees was close to what LPA gets at regular meetings but, with the lower population in the Ridgecrest area, CLPS brings in a much higher percentage of their local population in attendance.
- CLPS's guest speaker (again, I've only been to one CLPS meeting) was local where LPA's tend to come from out of town. Mike's presentation was short while LPA's tend to go over an hour.
- CLPS seems to have a good connection with their local artist community where we, as a club, don't (though there are a few LPA members who also are part of the artist's community).
- The LPA has formal competitions and critiques where CLPS has informal slideshows and no criticisms. CLPS is considering starting a board to review photos volunteered by members for critiques.
- I saw no children or young (relatively) adults at the CLPS meeting (a sample of one meeting) where the LPA often has one or two children plus a few younger adults.
Here's where I get on my soapbox so the more sensitive readers should stop here.
- CLPS seems to be egalitarian when it comes to the amateurs with P&S cameras and masters with expensive equipment. The LPA seems to push high end equipment and software and highly competitive photos. The average quality of photos displayed on the LPA web site and in their competitions seems to be higher but I can't help but feel that that means the LPA is discourageing participation by a significant part of the local population. If I were seeking fame or fortune I'd rather be associated with the LPA but since I like photography for the fun of it I felt more comfortable at the CLPS meeting.
I don't travel well so I may not be able to attend many of the CLPS meetings but this one was definitely well worth going to. And for anyone considering running for office at the LPA I would recommend that they attend several meetings of other photography clubs within driving distance to get ideas on how to improve the LPA. The LPA is not the center of the universe.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, that it might be a good idea to have two photo clubs in the Antelope Valley, one for the amateurs and one for the pro's, or at least two divisions within the LPA. This would give the pro's the freedom to push each other to greater heights while allowing the amateurs the freedom to pursue their hobby at their own level and pace.
http://www.glenn-olson.com/photos/bucket/CLPSDec09.pdf
Mike gave about a 20 minute talk, answered questions from the group, then stuck around to talk with individuals. Mike forges artworks from pieces small enough to fit in your hand to assemblies requiring trucks to haul. He gets his inspiration from various sources (he does mostly commission work) then goes to great lengths to draw up his finished product and detail. Mike had two pieces for us to see. The first was "Cowboy Bob" which looks like a bunch of wavy forks from the side but casts a shadow of a ferrier at the right angle. The second piece looked like an old ranch fence with various stuff hanging on it but casts a shadow of a flower from end-on. This presentation alone would have made the trip worthwhile.
Since this was CLPS's monthly meeting I recieved the bonus of seeing how they operate, meet a few people, and seeing a number of interesting and inspiring photos. Denise, their vice-president, started the meeting with some general comments then went through a list of items.
- Denise had a couple of people tell about holiday gift ideas. One was to create DVD slide shows with music to go along with select photos. The ones displayed were created using IPhoto but someone said that IRFAN view http://www.irfanview.com/, a free product for PCs, also works. These DVDs also work on DVD players so you can make some slideshows and send them to various family members. Don, the president, said that he uses "Pro Show Gold" for his publications.
- The second gift idea was to create your own hard or soft bound photo books. The one shown was a hardbound book that looked like it belonged on a coffee table. The presenter also used IPhoto but mentioned that there are many companies that can print these and deliver them to you in very short order. These suppliers also generally do calendars and many other personalized items. One such site is Blurb http://www.blurb.com.
- Denise suggested that another good holiday gift for a child is to take them out with a camera and help them learn how to find interesting subjects to take photos of and how to get the most out of them.
- Then Denise went through the "Show Off" shots. Each member gets to submit a number of photos that they want to show to the other members. Members send in their digital photos which are collected into a digital slideshow of the member's name followed by their photos. Each photo is up for about 10 seconds and the photographer can make comments if they like. These were really nice and covered the range of snapshots to professional looking photos and from local to travel shots. I took notes of some of the interesting local locations, one of which was Nightmare Gulch which is between the Red Rock Canyon parking lot and the opal mines to the NNE.
- Then she went through the "Assignment" photos. Each month she gives a word or phrase, similar to a "challenge" and the members are free to interpret this, take photos, and submit a number of them for viewing. Denise ran another slideshow, this month the word was "shadow," to show what everyone came up with. I saw many beautiful, interesting, and inspiring photos. One of the more interesting was a photo of long shadows cast by a group photographers with their tripods and cameras. There were shadows of cats, mountains, and clouds. One was of a shallow pond with leaves casting shadows on the bottom. There was a series of tabletop shots of a single bedspring casting different shadows on a light colored surface. There was a self-portrait of a man hiding in the shadows of a bush. And a photo of a pair of eyeglasses casting a shadow that looked like a smile. These "assignments" are for show only without critique or comment, just the ooh's and ahh's from the audience. There were no losers, just winners.
- Mike Mumford's presentation concluded the 90 minute meeting which.
I couldn't help comparing the CLPS to the LPA, even though I've been to only one CLPS meeting. The differences were very striking, as if the two clubs come from opposite ends of the spectrum.
- The number of CLPS attendees was close to what LPA gets at regular meetings but, with the lower population in the Ridgecrest area, CLPS brings in a much higher percentage of their local population in attendance.
- CLPS's guest speaker (again, I've only been to one CLPS meeting) was local where LPA's tend to come from out of town. Mike's presentation was short while LPA's tend to go over an hour.
- CLPS seems to have a good connection with their local artist community where we, as a club, don't (though there are a few LPA members who also are part of the artist's community).
- The LPA has formal competitions and critiques where CLPS has informal slideshows and no criticisms. CLPS is considering starting a board to review photos volunteered by members for critiques.
- I saw no children or young (relatively) adults at the CLPS meeting (a sample of one meeting) where the LPA often has one or two children plus a few younger adults.
Here's where I get on my soapbox so the more sensitive readers should stop here.
- CLPS seems to be egalitarian when it comes to the amateurs with P&S cameras and masters with expensive equipment. The LPA seems to push high end equipment and software and highly competitive photos. The average quality of photos displayed on the LPA web site and in their competitions seems to be higher but I can't help but feel that that means the LPA is discourageing participation by a significant part of the local population. If I were seeking fame or fortune I'd rather be associated with the LPA but since I like photography for the fun of it I felt more comfortable at the CLPS meeting.
I don't travel well so I may not be able to attend many of the CLPS meetings but this one was definitely well worth going to. And for anyone considering running for office at the LPA I would recommend that they attend several meetings of other photography clubs within driving distance to get ideas on how to improve the LPA. The LPA is not the center of the universe.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, that it might be a good idea to have two photo clubs in the Antelope Valley, one for the amateurs and one for the pro's, or at least two divisions within the LPA. This would give the pro's the freedom to push each other to greater heights while allowing the amateurs the freedom to pursue their hobby at their own level and pace.