Over 37 people, including 3 visitors, attended an Introduction to Photoshop CS5 presented by Douglas Wade.  Photoshop is a powerful tool for the photographer and is used to edit images by beginners as well as professionals.  A less expensive, but still great option for editing photos is Photoshop Elements.  GIMP is a   “free” Photoshop equivalent and available on the web.

Free trial versions of Photoshop software are available for downloading at Adobe.com.  Tutorial courses (for a fee) are available at Lynda.com and Kelby.com.  YouTube is a great source for free tutorials.

Over 35 members attended a presentation by Douglas Wade on the newly released Adobe Lightroom 4.  A general overview of Lightroom was presented as well as the upgraded features added in version 4.

Lightroom is organized into modules:

• Library – Organize your photos
• Develop – Tools for adjusting your photos
• Map – GPS info
• Book – Create your own photo book
• Print Module – Export images for printing
• Web – Publish photos to an html or flash site.  Export directly to Facebook, Flicker, and SmugMug

The evening began with a 15 minute demonstration by Wayne Staley on “How to Enter LPA Photo Competitions”.  Wayne created an easy to follow, step by step guide that is available on the LPA website, under Competitions – How to Enter.

Swap meet night was a great success! We provide this opportunity to members every few years and everyone really enjoys it.  It’s always a great time to eliminate photo gear you no longer need, and a good time to get some great deals on items you want.  All things related to photography were there:  camera gear, training materials, DVD’s, and books.   Members also enjoyed visiting and talking photography. 

Photos by Lee Garner

Led by Tylene Trout & Sue Craft - 6pm at the Senior Center in Lancaster

Timing was great… Tylene Trout and Sue Craft presented a workshop on Action Photography.  The presentation was designed to provide more ideas and new techniques to try before our July 17th Action Photography contest.

Action is defined as “motion being portrayed as the dominant theme”.  Topics for  the  workshop included:  panning/blurring, freezing action, capturing peak action, focusing, and concluded with fireworks photography.

10 Tips for Stunning Action Photography was shared, plus Youtube videos on:  Action Photography by Samy’s Camera, Panning Photography, Back Button Focusing, and How to Shoot Fireworks – Tips & Tricks.  Download a PDF version of the 10 Tips for Stunning Action Photography

Remember, for action photography, Shutter Priority is of most importance.  Think in terms of speed.  Do you want to blur the action or background, or do you want to freeze it?

Presented by Douglas Wade – AVF Photography Chair

Our annual Photography Workshop for Prepping Photos for AV Fair was held June 16, 2012, following the 1st Southern California Photography Conference.

Over 25 people attended the workshop.  Douglas started out by engaging the audience… “How many of you take photos, but never show them to anyone?”  Many hands went up!  Now is the time to share them… besides just posting on Facebook.  Share your photos with the AV community at your local AV Fair.

Douglas presented an updated colorful version, with new photo examples of “How to Enter and Prepare Your Photos”.  We were led through calendar of events, samples and definitions of classes and photo examples,   and detailed on-line entry process.  Everyone then gathered around the table to watch his demo on a cost effective way to mount a photo (print, foam core, spray adhesive and razor blade required).  Alternative choices for having photos mounted and places to do that for you, were also presented.

Download the AV Fair 2012 Photo Mounting Workshop Notes

And don’t forget… submit early!  On-time submission deadline for AVF is July 7.  Late entries accepted through July 21, with a $5 late fee.  Be early!  Save money!

Photos by Bob Lion
 

On May 22, 2012, the Lancaster Photography Association presented a  workshop on workflow. The scheduled presenter became ill and without missing a beat, Helen Henry stepped up to the plate and knocked her presentation of workflow and Light room out of the park.

Helen who is a celebrated photographer in her own right, provided an outstanding presentation on her workflow process and how she processes her photos by giving your images that extra pop to that make them process that award winning feel.

By using a combination of programs such as Photoshop, Light room, Nik and Topaz, she instructed her fellow photographers on what makes  for better images and how get the best out of your image processing experience.

I think a good time was had by all who attended and speaking for the members of the LPA, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Helen for sharing her expertise and knowledge with the rest of her fellow photographer and look forward to more informative presentation from her in the future.

Amazing Light- Anytime, Anywhere

On March 27th, we began this workshop at 5:30pm because the content that Scott Robert’s was offering could fill up many hours. We only had the Senior Center until 8:00pm. Scott offers a program that is five days long, so condensing five days into 2-1/2 hours made the evening full of information. This workshop was open to all camera clubs and individuals. Over 75 people in attendance.

Scott presented how to control light anywhere and at anytime. He explained how he uses manual flashes and simple radios. Using a manual flash, you set the output strength. Using radios is how you trigger the flash to fire without cords or a preflash like some camera manufacturers.

Ovcr 35 LPA members brought their cameras for a hands-on portrait workshop organized by Bonnie Matthews, with the assistance of Douglas Wade, Glenn Olson, Kurtiss Humphrey and Dwight Franke.  Each had a “photo studio” set up for us to practice with lighting setups, posing models and working with our settings on our cameras in various modes.

Douglas and Glenn set up studios with constant lighting in which the fluorescent lights were on continuously.  Douglas had a photo backdrop constructed out of PVC and fabric.   Glenn had a Chromakey/ Green Screen set up.