I missed Friday the 10th because I was in Las Vegas. No one took notes last week and I heard that only four people showed up. Summer seems to be taking its toll.
Friday the 17th, though, we had eight conversationalists and the subjects were so enthralling that I didn't take as many notes as usual.
Friday night on a Holiday weekend. Well, four of us showed up. It's a good thing it wasn't the 4th, last year we only had three.
Deborah showed off her "Ugly Duck," her "Ice Plant Blossoms," and her 2008 calendar. The duck photo was taken at Hart Park in Bakersfield a while back, though Vivian (I think) said that there are two of these at Apollo Park. The flowers were taken in our green porch, about two months before the outdoor plants bloomed. The calendar was somewhat a digital scrapbook and printed out at Staples. Lots of great photos, mostly of Julia, but the printing wasn't quite the best. Staples prints and binds these calendars each year, all you do is supply a dozen digital photos and money.
The folks dribbled in but by the time we got in full swing we had 12.
Mary brought in the May, 09, edition of "Nature Photographer," which had many great photos. It also had a list of 13 techniques for getting great nature photos. Two techniques I thought were interesting were "Water Level Blind," which is wading into the water so your camera is just above the water line, and "Back-button Focusing," which I hadn't heard about but Lyle described it for me.
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2286
Was seven, now eleven, sounds like someone's rolling the dice. We had nine LPA members plus Bonnie and Don each brought guests. I ended up at one end of the tables again so Terri volunteered to take notes for the other end.
Seven again. At our club gatherings I keep hearing excuses for people not joining us but these are really not necessary. Our meetings are totally casual and anyone can join or not as they wish. But if it makes someone feel better I'll listen patiently and sympathize. :-)
This night we had six regulars plus a newcomer which meant that we got to pass around our portfolios again for lots of oohs and ahhhs.
Jim started us out with some reminiscing about back in the days of film and a photo place in LA. They had regular "Model Days" where ladies would come in to get their photos taken and receive payment in prints. I mentioned that I saw a waitress in Rosamond who reminds me of Shirley Maclaine in "Two Mules for Sister Sarah". I think that she would make a good model.
It looks like nine is now our official (because I say so) average and typical attendance.
We got on the topic of King's Photo and the changing times and Jim said that, years ago, King's had one wall of cameras and another of all different types of film. Times have really changed.
Nine of us engaged in conversation and consumption (food, that is).
Art showed off his new Nikon D5000 with its flip-out LCD, which he bought from Adorama. Jim asked about the differences in sensors & megapixels and Lyle gave a brief explanation. Then Art described his lighting settup with flashes, floods, and a softbox for his table-top photography.
