President's Corner

2010-10-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, all members - We had a great opener Showcase last week, with two speakers as well on the subject "Is Film Dead?". The answer wasn't stated but pretty evident.

Our next meeting will be on Monday Oct 18, per our regular alternate-Monday schedule. The featured program will be a Showcase, where you may submit any photo taken at any time, on any subject. The deadline for submission is, as always, midnight on the previous Monday. That's tomorrow night, Oct 11, so don't miss it. You'll see our schedule for the rest of 2010 on the Club's website: www.digitalphotoclub.net under "Calendar."

If you haven't checked before, please read our standing rules for submission and sizing here:
http://dpcapresident.blogspot.com/2010/05/next-meeting-may-24-showcase.html to minimize the workload in assembling the show and to assure that your photos are shown. One more reminder: please put a subject in the subject line of your email - don't send a blank and expect us to guess what it's for. You might simply use "Showcase photos" or something relevant. Thanks in advance.

Looking forward to seeing you on Monday 18th, when we'll follow the Showcase with a talk about Adobe Lightroom, the organizer/editor that's all the rage for photographers. See you there.
DKD - Pres.

Our season starts Oct 4 !!

2010-09-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

Hello all readers - We have had to delay our start because of a foulup at MD Hall that made our room unavailable on the long-announced Sept 20 date. Everyone's sorry we couldn't get started then, because we can't make up that date. But those of you that did come that evening had a nice talk outside in beautiful weather - so all was not lost.

Instead, we'll hold our Showcase of all the images you've sent in, and some more that may come in because of extending the deadline. The new deadline is tomorrow night Sept 27, as announced in our email broadcast this past week. So if you are still hoping to show, get up to three images sent to Showcase@digitalphotoclub.net before midnight.

Looking forward to another great set of events - Showcases, Challenges, Field Trips, and Exhibits. See you there and say hello.

DKD - Pres.

Welcome to DPCA's New Season: '10-11

2010-09-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hi, all Members !! That's a capital M because you are what makes the Club run. On the Board, we're getting ready for our meetings, with our off-season spent in getting some business things done.

Thanks to our new Treasurer, Tom Boddorff, we now have our finances back from the Club's beginning operational on Quicken, and we're looking forward to Tom's designing an online membership application system to avoid pre-meeting signup work. Our corporate tax returns are filed and the annual insurance paid. Soon we'll have the room rental contract from MD Hall negotiated, signed, and delivered.

Thanks to Laurie Brice we're looking forward to using a new computer (the first one is aging at 5 years) to get us more Net-aware in meetings starting in October.

Thanks to our new VP Programs Dan Tasikas our season's meetings are beginning to take shape. The first one will be, as always, a Showcase. In these programs, members send up to three images to showcase@digitalphotoclub.net before midnight - this time Sept 13 (just a week away) and we present them to the club meeting the following week - this time at our first meeting, Sept 20. Please size your photos to about 1280 pixels wide, and files no more than 1 MB to keep our work and storage down. Thanks.

Our meetings will be held in the same place as last year - Room 308 at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Annapolis, from 7-9 pm on alternate Mondays (in general). We always have to have some skips in schedule to avoid MD Hall holidays, but those don't start until next year.

Events that never are in the same place are VP Field Trips Matt Korbelak's excursions that happen now and then, and are announced on the Home Page and at meetings.

I encourage all to bookmark the DPCA Home Page: www.digitalphotoclub.net, and visit it regularly for news. We'd like to get out of the need for Yahoo email broadcasts that we have to make in addition to Blogs and the Home page. But we'll keep it going as a reminder for you. The Home Page has all the Blogs linked at the lower right. There's where the local detail can be found, including tech instructions.

That's all for now and I wish you a great weekend in this wonderful Labor Day weather.

DKD - Pres.

Come to our final meeting of the year !

2010-06-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, all - Our meeting Monday night June 21 will include a great speaker, Stan Stearns, a long-experienced portrait - and other subjects - photographer from Annapolis. You won't want to miss this talk and show.

We'll start with the annual business meeting, which includes election of officers for next season. Jay Alden has headed up the Nominations Committee to get the slate ready to present to members at this meeting. That makes it quick and easy to proceed, and be ready to start the next year in an orderly way. I'll enjoy introducing the officers to you, in case that's not happened yet for you. The new Board will take office on July 1.

After Stan's talk, we'll have some more interesting things to do, including showing and commenting on the "Top Twenty" photos of the year as chosen by your humble president.

It's one time where I get to express my opinions, after listening and learning from others all year and observing so many great photos. By my count, we showed 785 photos not counting the exhibitions, so winnowing them to twenty gets to be a real task. I'm down to 29 on this Sunday evening. It's disappointing to have so much to say about the best photos and yet have to cut further. Maybe it should be 30 next time?

There is still time to join for next year and save $5, at the meeting. When the meeting's over, regular $25 fee applies, and we stand down for the summer, starting up again on Sept 20.

Be sure to come and fill out our quorum needs to make it a valid vote. So we'll see you Monday night at 7. Thanks - you'll enjoy it.

DKD - Pres.

Meeting tomorrow June 7 is our Cemeteries Challenge

2010-06-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hi, all - Three items here:

1 - Our meeting for the Cemetery Challenge review is up for tomorrow June 7. There were 90 entries (!), so we'll be cropping the list down to your first two priorities for our guest reviewer, Chip Bulgin, to take a moment for comments on the remaining 60. Hope you're happy about your prioritizing - that's what it's for. Thanks for your enthusiasm on this Challenge topic.

In addition, we'll have a couple of minutes of comments and photos by a local photographer/author, whose subject for three published books is - guess what - cemeteries ! John Hanou attended a photo course here several years ago, started traveling the US to record his impressions of cemeteries, and recently has retired. He'll show a few of his photos as well when the Challenge is finished and bring some books.

2 - This meeting is an opportunity to make your re-application for next year's membership easy and economical. As announced at the last meeting, we're continuing our tradition of former years in discounting dues for early payment. Our regular annual dues are $25, but if you sign up and pay prior to the end of our season's last meeting, June 21, you will save $5 by paying only $20 for the full year. This helps the Club with its cash flow because we have some bills to pay in September before we start the year (Sept 20 first meeting).

Please bring a completed membership application (download one from our site at digitalphotoclub.net, print and pre-fill it out). Everyone - new or re-apps, must fill out a form. Thanks. If you don't have a form ready, we'll have them at the front desk to fill out (bring a pen). Don't forget a check for $20, too.

3 - A three-person nominating committee is required during the next week to contact prospective new officers for next season, and for presenting a slate to members at the elections meeting June 21. A nominating committee member cannot be elected, of course, but that cuts both ways. If you're sure you don't want to be considered for the office of President, VP Programs, VP Field Trips, Treasurer, or Secretary, you're eligible to volunteer for this committee.

You need to know something about our members from being a pretty regular meeting attendee and observing those who are sincerely interested in our Club's goals and operations. Then you meet to decide on making some phone-call discussions and set up the slate. It could be very easy if you think about the prospects. Please let me know before the close of the meeting if you're volunteering - otherwise I'll make some directed appointments, and I'd rather not. Thanks for your attention to this.

Our last meeting of the season promises to be extraordinarily interesting. We need large attendance to be sure we have a quorum to vote for officers, so the speaker(s) have been chosen for your very high interest. No, I'm not giving away the secret - that's Mike Kellogg's job. But put this meeting at your highest priority and you won't regret it.

See you there tomorrow and June 21st.

DKD - Pres.

Next Meeting is a Challenge !!

2010-05-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hi, all - Our next meeting is on June 7. It will be a Challenge review with the theme "Cemeteries". So why this subject? Mike wants to really challenge your creativity. Of course you can take photos of gravestones, but where else and what else can you shoot that still connects with the theme? There are different kinds of "cemeteries" in meaning but not with that actual name, for example. And what about the basic cemetery in moonlight with a few bats thrown in? Creativity.

Challenge submission rules can be found in this blog if you scroll down far enough in earlier dates for this season.

You have until Monday night May 31 at midnight to submit your shots. Many are already in. The Club's submission deadlines are always one week before the review meeting. The reviewer for this Challenge will be Skip Bulgin, a commercial photographer and current president of the Arundel Camera Club.

It should be fun. See you there on June 7.

Next meeting May 24 - Showcase

2010-05-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hi, all - Our next meeting is May 24, when we have a Showcase planned. All the photos for the showcase are in now (deadline was last night) and we have some stunning and creative ones. Don't miss the meeting.

In case you haven't remembered about Showcase protocols, here they are (the long version).

For Showcases, members (only) can submit up to three photographic images taken in any way or medium at any time on any subject, including artistic changes to a photograph or scan (not pure graphics, and not anything remotely offensive). If you're not a member, submit but say so in the email; then if you sign up at the pre-meeting membership desk, or before, we'll show your images.

The files must be in jpg format and must be named as yourname followed by a number from 1 to 3 to denote your priority in case we get too many to show and have to leave some off. Example: "dondement 1.jpg" is the top priority one. No underscores are needed.

Note: Some Don'ts here: Please don't leave the files named as the camera names them - because it takes detective work to figure out whose they are and then they have to be renamed here, which will not have your priority. Please don't describe the photo in the filename because again, we won't know who sent them. And if you do, since they'll be appearing alphabetically a subject name will separate your pictures out of sequence. If you're star-ranking or keywording them, those items go into our computer filing system where they're meaningless. They will not appear on the screen but your keywords will insert themselves on our list. So remove both, please. Be sure you put a subject in the email's subject line or we have to guess what the message is for or it may go into a spam file.

If you know you won't be at the meeting, write a few descriptive words in the email text for the presenter to say for you. Otherwise, you can speak briefly about your pictures during the show.

Remember, please: name these clean, properly-sized files with yourname followed by a single number. Now, to sizing.

The images should be at least 1000 pixels wide. All cameras today make images that are larger than this. If they are sent in larger, they won't be shown as larger - the computer will reduce them to fit the 1024-pixel screen - but the excess still stays uselessly on our computer and takes longer to send and retrieve. They also can't be seen easily on the screen here for checking - they have to be scrolled to see.

If they are smaller than 1000 pixels across, which may happen if you resize to an email format, they will be smaller on the screen and appear to be not as good as others who size correctly. We won't upsize small ones because of increasing pixellation - but we have to downsize larger ones. Sizing for email is not a good practice because the picture may be very small on the screen.

So we suggest that you, not the Club, do the resizing to around 1000 - 1200 pixels max width and view the result on your screen to see that you're satisfied. This also minimizes the homework here. Many programs, all free, will allow you to resize. Try Faststone or Picasa for simple starters. If you use Photoshop or Elements, don't use SaveForWeb because it strips off the EXIF data we like to see on the screen, that describes the camera and its settings. Use Image/Resize/Image Size and set width to 1000. JPG compression should be set to retain your quality - usually no less than 60, or in the Photoshop scale - around 9. Higher numbers just bloat the files.

The deadline for submittals is always one week before the presentation, at midnight that Monday. Name the files correctly then attach to an email and send to showcase@digitalphotoclub.net (not to President or VPPrograms or other - just Showcase). If you've properly resized then you should be able to send all three as attachments in a single email.

Note: We often will have a Showcase during a Challenge shooting period. Please be sure you didn't accidentally send a Showcase photo to the Challenge mailbox because that isn't checked if there isn't a Challenge deadline - and vice versa.

The automated responder should immediately reply with a standard message that your image file(s) were received. That may be also supported by a personal message saying it also looks OK, if there's time to do that. Be assured that every effort is made to get your files through the several transfers necessary to make up the show and to be fair to all participants.

We are just about kinda nearly maybe perfect - but perfection is elusive, which leaves room for mistakes here. Let me know at the presentation if your image didn't get on the program intended. I'll look for it and see that it appears at the next Showcase.

Showcases are your opportunity to exhibit your work regularly at no cost to other members who are avidly interested in photography and creativity. They are the mainstream of our member programs and have provided inspiration for many. We try to post them on our website as soon as the meeting is over so you can show your friends and see them again. (Tell us if you don't want them posted).

Make them the best you can. We'll all be watching every one with interest.

DKD - Pres.

No-Meeting Reminder

2010-04-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hi, all DPCA members - just a reminder that we shift our season one week later this week to avoid MD Hall's closing for Easter break. So we meet next on Monday April 12 and continue to the end of June on alternate Mondays again.

Don't miss April 12 meeting. We'll have an interesting speaker - the first-prize winner in our ongoing MD Hall exhibit, Hunter Harris the aerial photographer. We'll have a dual-screen show of the old and the recent photos of the area.

Then we're going down one flight to the Chaney Gallery after his talk to review and get comments on the photos hung there, but best of all, to present the winner of the People's Award chosen from the voting at ArtFest a couple of weeks ago.

This combination should make a real winner of an evening. See you there April 12, and don't forget we have a Challenge brewing: "Transportation."

Have a pleasant Easter.

DKD - Pres.

Our Maryland Hall Exhibit Really Is Special

2010-03-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hi, Members - We had a great reception on Friday night for our first Open Juried Exhibit at MD Hall for the Creative Arts. I saw many of you there as well as members of the Annapolis art community. There are 43 photographs shown in the Chaney Gallery and in the adjacent hallway.

Robbie and the Exhibits Committee's efforts really showed well, and the MD Hall Exec Director, Linnell Bowen, spoke to the group of over 100 attendees. She noted our progress over the last five years and said how glad she was that we were involved there in MD Hall.

Linnell also noted that Gary Jameson, resident artist, was showing his art across the hall, and urged all to see that and then return for our presentations.

The juror, Susana Raab, came and gave a slide show of her work and commented on the prize winners. About two-thirds of the photos she accepted were from Club members. Robbie asked her to present the various awards, which she did.

There were cash awards given: First Prize went to Hunter Harris, a non-member aerial photographer; and Second and Third Prizes both went to Jay Alden, our first president and co-founder. The honorable mention awards included Joan Machinchick, Katherine Meadows, Annette Uroskie, and Laurie Brice. Several significant prizes were donated by local firms. Robbie received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the Club in gratitude for her talented work.

The reception preceded the Annapolis Opera performance of Tosca at 8 pm, so those attendees wandered through the Gallery as well. All photos are for sale, and we're hopeful that sharing with MD Hall will be mutually beneficial. The art season continues with Symphony, Chorale, and Ballet performances, and the many weekday classes bring students and parents in to see the galleries.

Our exhibit will be open until April 22, but there are other Club involvements coming up. Next Sunday March 21 MD Hall will be presenting "ArtFest" to showcase the various performing organizations in Annapolis during the day from 1-4 pm. Our Chris Edwards will be giving a talk there at 3 pm "Making Great Pictures - Tips on Composition" in the Chaney Gallery. The attending public will be coming to see our photos through the promotions of ArtFest by MD Hall.

Also, DPCA members will be taking votes from the public during this time to select from the photos "The People's Choice Award" - with a prize donated by Bella Photo Art and Framing Gallery.

I've already received comments from people in the arts community, all of whom expressed real satisfaction with the reception and the presented art, saying it really was special. And it's not over - we've got another month to show! This was a gala affair - many thanks to everyone who is participating!

DKD - Pres.

Submission Rules for Challenges

2010-02-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

Here at the halfway point in our season and in case you've forgotten or can't find the Challenge rules, here they are again.

The subject in your photo should clearly indicate the theme of the Challenge - for example, in the Action Challenge there should clearly be some action. Without that, the reviewer may comment that this image wasn't made for this show.

This is not a Showcase, where you can submit anything you want us to see. There are rules to follow for a Challenge and the reviewer is likely to follow those rules - you should, too.

You can submit 1 to 3 JPEG images taken by you between the announcement date of the Challenge (usually done at the previous Challenge) and the Monday at midnight one week prior to the date of the current Challenge. So you generally have five weeks to shoot. For the March 8 "Odd Angles" Challenge, we've extended the shooting time by two weeks, generally because of the snow outs and the deadline will be March 1.

If you don't make the midnight deadline, your photo won't be shown - that's only fair to those who watched the schedule. Maybe it would go in a Showcase later.

Any image size in pixels is acceptable; best ~1200 px on the long side, because it will fill our presentation screen. Larger images will be downsized by the presentation computer to fit the screen, and smaller ones may be upsized but may show small on the screen or pixellated and possibly blurry. If you crop your original down, take a look at the image size that remains. You may want to upsize it yourself, in say, Photoshop Elements.

The file size is best to be under 1 MB. They will transfer and show faster, and will take less storage space on our computer and the website. The file size is adjustable by the size of the image, the resolution you choose, and how much JPG compression is used. Images straight from your camera may have files up to 5 MB, but all that data can't be used on our screen and a 1MB JPG will show fine.

You can downsize your images and their file size with several free programs, including Irfanview, Picasa, Faststone and Lightroom. I find Faststone (Windows only) easiest to use. If you use "Save for Web" in Adobe products it will strip off the EXIF date and we won't be able to see your camera's settings. Not a disaster, but we'll miss that info so don't use Save For Web.

Rename the files with your name and your priority numbers (e.g., john smith 1, john smith 2, john smith 3). Please don't put a caption or description in the filename - it just has to be renamed without it. On Windows, select the filename and press the key "F2" to highlight the filename. This generally will make the name accessible in text mode (typing) for your change, then press Enter.

Then email them to: challenge@digitalphotoclub.net

Sometimes you want to avoid any possibility that they would be shown or used somewhere without your knowledge. If you don’t want them posted, say so in the email: "Please don't post these on the Club's website" and we'll show them but not post them.

The presentation will be reviewed at the meeting by a non-member expert in art or photography with some experience in shooting that kind of photograph. It's always interesting to hear what others think of what you've tried to express with your camera.

Thanks for following the rules - it makes less work here in preparing the show, and the images will look their best.

DKD - Pres.

Annapolis Arts and Crafts Festival notice

2010-02-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

Hi, members - The Club has received information about the Annapolis Arts and Crafts Festival to be held at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium on the weekend of June 12-13, 2010.

If you would like to join the ranks of those that sell their photos in booths at shows, this is likely a very good opportunity. DPCA won't be participating as an organization, but you can give it your personal best. The organizer of the event said that up to two people may join forces to share a booth. You can of course present yourselves as a member of DPCA, and we can give you cards to hand out that identify our Club URL. But participation is entirely on your own.

Before you jump in, read the rules in the brochure carefully: http://www.annapolisartsandcraftsfestival.com. Take notice that the submission date for your booth application is coming soon - March 1.

Please keep Robbie and me informed if you decide to present your wares. I'm sure many of us will attend - see you there.

DKD - Pres.

The coming MFA National Photo Show

2010-02-15T13:08:00.000-08:00

Hi, Members - As another venue to show your artistic photo wares, the Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) here in Annapolis is sponsoring a photo show, called the "Maryland Federation of Art's Juried National Artful Photography Show." Their brochure is here: http://www.mdfedart.org/pdf/Prospectus_ArtfulPhotoShow2010.pdf

They say:

"The Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) invites all artists residing in the United States to enter its first annual Artful Photography exhibition, an open-juried competition of images created in any form of photography. Our objectives are to assemble an extraordinary selection of photographic art and to add another element to the cultural forum already offered by our organization. In addition, we hope to encourage excellence among photographic artists and to provide a rich new forum for the exhibition and sale their work. The works
selected will be on exhibit in the MFA’s Circle Gallery, 18 State Circle, Annapolis, Maryland from May 19 through June 13, 2010.

Images created via any form of photography will be accepted for consideration (i.e. shot on film, shot digitally, unaltered shots, alternative process, mixed media, digital manipulations, montages, photograms, etc.), so long as part of the image is photographically based."

You can offer up to six JPGs for the selection process. Note that their submission deadline for these is March 12.

This is a fine gallery. Several of our members belong, have shown and lectured there, and have won several cash prizes as well as selling their works. We're all pleased that they have turned greater attention to photography as a fine-art medium.

Hope you'll participate !!

DKD - Pres.

DPCA Challenge delayed

2010-02-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

Hi, members - With the various delays in everything we're up to, it looks like we should delay the current "Odd Angles" Challenge as well. We'll review it on March 8th instead of next Monday evening.

So that means that you have another two weeks to get your images in to challenge@digitalphotoclub.net. The deadline for submissions will be midnight March 1, 2010.

Still looking forward to seeing what your angles are. Please participate - we'd love to see what you think an odd angle is. Thanks in advance, as they say.

DKD Pres.

Feb 8th meeting canceled

2010-02-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

Hi, all - as expected, MD Hall is closed today, Feb 8th, so we will not hold our scheduled meeting. See you next time on the 22d. In the meantime, check out Mike Kellogg's blog when we get our schedule reprogrammed. Thanks and keep warm, while thinking about what to show in the Odd Angles Challenge coming up.

DKD - Pres.

Feb 8th meeting

2010-02-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

Here on Friday afternoon watching the weather and hearing the predictions for a lot of snow, it doesn't look good for our meeting as scheduled for Monday Feb 8th.

We'll be looking at the MD Hall open/close declaration for Monday and at least go by that. But if it looks like streets are not cleared for people to move around, we'll cancel the meeting and postpone the meeting's program to the next time, Feb 22.

There will be an email about it from me on Sunday afternoon. Happy shoveling -

DKD - Pres.

The Challenge deadline is here !!

2010-01-03T16:50:00.001-08:00

Hi, Challengers -- or challenged?

Not many members have submitted their Holiday Events photos to the challenge@digitalphotoclub.net address yet. We've got until tomorrow night at midnight.

Hope to see you with your photos soon and get to see them on Jan 11 meeting night. Give it a try, whatever you have that meets this theme. Thanks for participating - I'm hopeful.

DKD

Holiday Events and Snowouts

2009-12-21T09:32:00.000-08:00

Well ! who'd think that holiday events would include all this snow? Glad we didn't encounter it for a meeting date.

In case we do have snow on a meeting day, check MD Hall's site www.mdhallarts.org
for closings. If MD Hall closes all day or early, we can't meet that evening. (AACC or City Gov't closings do not apply to MD Hall, and not all AA Cty closings apply to MD Hall). This weekend, some ballet performances were postponed until Monday evening, although schools and MD Hall were closed during the day. Only authority? MD Hall. I won't know any more than that.

Snow might be a basis for some subject matter for the Holiday Events Challenge coming on Jan 11. The snow today is ideal to make snowmen, but I haven't seen any yet. Hope they do.

Your DPCA Board wishes you a happy holiday and that camera or lens of your dreams under the tree! Well - maybe a nice piece of software, like Lightroom? It's come down in price but it's even cheaper if you can show that you're a student in anything. Go for it at adobe.com.

Again, happy holidays and shoot some good ones for the Challenge. Submission deadline is midnight Jan 4, to challenge@digitalphotoclub.net. Please note the "net" at the end. Some submissions are already in so keep it in mind. See you next year.

HDTV Camera info site

2009-12-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

Hi, shooters - I've come upon a website that further explains the talk by Tom Sullivan at the last meeting. For his slides go to: http://www.digitalphotoclub.net/pdf/TomSullivanHDVideo.pdf

He spoke on how HDTV is very rapidly developing into a permanent fixture for still cameras. This site: http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guides/hd_beginners_guide_01.htm has some fundamentals about the various formats and where they are used. It doesn't review cameras - yet - but they will. That's what they do at dpreview.

If you're wondering what to do with that HDTV capability that's on your present or next camera, here's a starting point.

Always learning something -- that's what we're all about.

DKD

Another chance at the MG Photo Show

2009-11-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

Hi, all - My post below told of a great portrait photography show now on at the Mitchell Gallery, St. John's College, in Annapolis. Robert Infarinato is a tireless collector who will travel anywhere to purchase a great photograph by a master. His collection is first, unique, and second, and most interesting. See an Ansel Adams original that will take your breath away.

A few of us visited the Gallery to hear him at the opening reception, but he is coming back on Dec 2 to give his interesting talk again at 7pm. See www.stjohnscollege.edu/events/AN/art/exhibits.shtml for details.

Challenge Rules again

2009-11-02T06:02:00.000-08:00

In case you've forgotten or can't find the Challenge rules, here they are again (they're the same as last year).

The subject of your photo should clearly indicate the theme of the Challenge - for example, in the Action Challenge there should clearly be some action. Without that, the reviewer may comment that this image wasn't made for this show.

You can submit 1 to 3 JPEG images taken by you between the announcement date of the Challenge (usually done at the previous Challenge) and the Monday at midnight one week prior to the date of the current Challenge. So you generally have five weeks to shoot.

Any image size in pixels is acceptable; best ~1200 px on the long side, because it will fill our presentation screen. Larger images will be downsized by the presentation computer to fit the screen, and smaller ones may be upsized but may show small on the screen or pixellated and possibly blurry. If you crop your original down, take a look at the image size that remains. You may want to upsize it yourself, in say, Photoshop Elements.

The file size is best to be under 1MB. They will transfer and show faster, and will take less storage space on our computer and the website. The file size is adjustable by the size of the image, the resolution you choose, and how much JPG compression is used. Images straight from your camera may be up to 5 MB, but all that data isn't used on a screen.

You can downsize your images and their file size with several free programs, including Irfanview, Picasa, and Faststone. I find Faststone easiest to use. If you use "Save for Web" in Adobe products it will strip off the EXIF date and we won't be able to see your camera's settings. Not a disaster, but we'll miss that info.

Rename the files with your name and your priority numbers (e.g., john smith 1, john smith 2, john smith 3). Please don't put a caption or description in the filename - it just has to be renamed. On Windows, if you highlight the filename pressing the key "F2" will generally make the name accessible for change, then press Enter.

Then email them to: challenge@digitalphotoclub.net

Sometimes you want to avoid any possibility that they would be shown or used somewhere without your knowledge. If you don’t want them posted, say so in the email: "Please don't post these on the Club's website" and we'll show them but not post them.

The presentation will be reviewed at the meeting by a non-member expert in art or photography with some experience in shooting that kind of photograph. It's always interesting to hear what others think of what you've tried to express with your camera.

Thanks for following the rules - it makes less work here in preparing the show, and the images will look their best.

DKD - Pres.

More Photos Shows Coming

2009-10-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

Hi - Photo show lovers. The Mitchell Gallery at St. John's College in Annapolis will be opening a new show, this time: photographs!

It's called "The Camera's Muse," exhibiting portraits by world-famous photographers. These prints of famous people have been collected over many years and places by Robert Infarinato, who will talk about them on Nov 1 at the Gallery, 3:30-5 including a hands-on workshop. Here's a chance to see first-hand portraits by the great masters of photography, right here in town. If you can't get there that day, visit almost any afternoon until 5. See www.stjohnscollege.edu/events/AN/art/exhibits.shtml

The National Gallery in DC www.nga.gov/exhibitions also has two photography exhibitions now open: "In the Darkroom: Photographic Processes", and another portrait photography show: "Robert Bergman: Portraits, 1986–1995"

Our Next Showcase is Soon !!

2009-10-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hi - We have another opportunity for you to shine! Our next showcase comes up at the November 2 meeting and that's only nine days away. That means your submissions for that Showcase need to be in very soon - always one week before.

The good news: we're going to delay the deadline this time by two days to give you a chance to sort out all those candidates and choose your three shots. The new deadline will be midnight Wednesday Oct 28, but it would sure be nice if you didn't wait past the regular Monday night deadline. Remember that address to email them to - its' simple: showcase@digitalphotoclub.net.

Unless you say no in the submission email, these will be posted on our website. So please size your photos to 1024-1200 pixels on the longest side. They'll look good and won't be a big file to store or transmit. Even if you use an email program or Windows Explorer to resize, set it one of these numbers to do that task. Thanks. Can't wait to see your stuff.

Now - on to the current Challenge. To help out with your thoughts and techniques for Action photography - the theme - Mike Kellogg has chosen a program for the next meeting with action as the subject. He'll tell you more on his blog vpdpca.blogspot.com. You can access this blog directly from the club website at any time - it's in the lower right corner.

When you're ready to send those Action Challenge photos in, they go to another simple address: challenge@digitalphotoclub.net. Make sure you don't mix up the addresses - either showcase or challenge will do it. They're due before midnight November 9th, one week before the Challenge meeting on Nov 16th. We'll announce soon who it will be that gets to comment on all these images at the Challenge meeting.

Thanks for all this activity - we all not only love to see your photos but often get inspired by what we see on that screen. Your Club's programs separate out the easy stuff - Showcases - from your going on a time-limited assignment based on a theme - Challenges. The latter gets you to expand your thinking a little bit and make just a few good, directed shots. Don't wait until the last minute as I do - think about how good you can be at this and get out there early !!

October 19th meeting coming

2009-10-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

Whew! Did you get all the submissions in last Monday? We have the opportunity to show two of your images framed and hung at the Bella Gallery for the Christmas season, and to show three of your photos at the upcoming Showcase meeting. Both of those sets of images were due in last Monday, Oct 12. But if you did submit some, you've now got some nice outlets for your talents.

So, on our program for this coming Monday evening is another Showcase, where for the first hour you will see and hear about 70 or so images made by members. Showcase images can come from any time, any place, any subject (including film scans, but do them well). I get to see them first, and I'll tell you they're good.

If the Field Trip gets rained out, we won't have anything to show for our try on Saturday. But we'll have Laurie Brice, Tech Director, to round out info for you about our Club's communications capabilities. At the last meeting we heard from our Webmeister, Mike DeLucia, who took us around our Web page.

Are you a Photoshop user? No, I mean the big Photoshop, not Elements. No? Have you wondered whether you should move over there from Photoshop Elements? What are the advantages of using the big program? Is it worth the extra cost and learning time? Mike Kellogg has a talk for you on the differences between the two. Don't miss.

See you on Monday evening.

Don Dement, Pres.

Challenge Change

2009-10-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi, all members. Maybe my recent trip to Maine set me onto the track about Creative Fall Colors for the Challenge. But I think now there won't be enough shooting time for our colors here to change. So I'm going to eat those words spoken at the meeting and revert to the original Challenge subject: Action photography.

Please be sure you are clear on the Challenge theme now - it's Action photography. We're going to prime that with a program speaker on this, so you'll get some better ideas on what to do.

I apologize for any confusion this could cause, but I think it will be easier and more fun to do the Action and let the leaves wait for a Showcase if you choose to shoot them.

All other conditions are the same for the Challenge, and the dates are on the slides from last meeting. Thanks for your attention to this and see you on the 19th

Don Dement, Pres.

PS - Don't forget that we have a Showcase coming, and the deadline for submissions is this coming Monday at midnight. You'll also receive a note about submissions for the Exhibit at the Bella gallery. That deadline is also Monday night, Oct 12. Submissions info can be found on the blog: http://dpca-exhibits.blogspot.com/ by Robbie.

Showcase Coming Up Oct 19th

2009-10-07T19:31:00.001-07:00

Hello again - We had a speaker at this Monday's meeting that showed many of us prints that we haven't even imagined. Some were made on materials like heavy rag paper, wood veneer, and even metal sheets. Some were colored/painted by hand after the photo was printed on the material. It was remarkable simply as a process, and so were the beautiful results. Thanks to Barbara Ellison we got a glimpse into another aspect of how we can render our photos through an experienced expert's talk.

The next meeting, Oct 19, will have a Showcase. Watch out for the short schedule because the deadline for submissions to showcase@digitalphotoclub.net is this coming Monday Oct 12, one week ahead of the presentation as usual. So with this great weather you can make new photos now, or you can scare up something from your archives that you think is more impressive. You could even work on it with some creativity and make something new from something old. That's what showcases can do for you - make a target date to show us something no one has seen before.

All in the same evening Mike Kellogg, VP Programs, will give us some info on the differences between Photoshop CS 4 and Photoshop Elements. And we'll hear more about our club's communications from Laurie Brice, Tech Director.

In the meantime - speaking of short schedules - we all need to pay attention to the deadline on that same day for your submission (an electronic version) of whatever you'd like to show framed at the Bella Photo Art and Framing Gallery over the Christmas buying season.

Sound like a good time to sell something? It's the best.

All the important dates for the exhibit were shown by Robbie on Monday night but they're also here online: http://www.digitalphotoclub.net/pdf/program100509.pdf as part of the last meeting's presentations. Just run down through these slides to the Important Dates one.

So here are a couple of things for you to do on Columbus Day. Keep your eye on Monday, 13th for 1-3 submissions to the Showcase, and one or two entries to the juried show coming up for Nov-Dec. Is this a busy and involved club or what? Have fun.

Please don't forget my invitation for someone to step forward and become the Club's Treasurer. We must have someone in that office, and soon. Thanks for anyone considering it, and I'll be glad to chat with you to scope it out. I'll hound you all about this until we come up with a solution, so the sooner you volunteer, the sooner I'll get off the soapbox.

Don Dement - Pres.

PS - You can always go back and see in some detail what past meetings have done. Poke around on the website www.digitalphotoclub.net under the "Calendar" dropdown, which is where this URL came from.

And if you "follow" (over on the right side) my blog that you're reading, you'll get these notes without forgetting to take a look. It would make life easier for all of us if we could just post these notes, without email. Let's make that a habit. Try following. I follow other blogs in our club and it makes sense.

Next Meeting Oct 5

2009-10-02T05:10:00.000-07:00

Been out of touch on a vacation trip to Maine (again) - 2d half. Great views and shooting opps in and around Mt. Desert Island. Back home for the meeting and starting the teaching season.

On Monday evening we'll be hearing a fine speaker about creative printing, Barbara Ellison. You can read about her on Mike's blog: vpdpca.blogspot.com

We'll catch up with that short business meeting that I noted for last meeting - all the facts weren't in at that time. It's important for the Club that we agree on the season's budget. At this meeting, I expect most of our officers will be back from their trips, too, so you can see who they are and hear from them about our programs, exhibitions, field trips, and our website and blogs.

We'll also be announcing the first Challenge of the season, where you get to shoot "on assignment" about a particular theme in a period of a few weeks, choose your photos to show, and hear from an expert reviewer about them.

We have a very short schedule for getting "Your Best Shot" together for the first exhibit, which will be at Bella Photo Art and Framing Gallery. There will be more on this from Robbie, our Exhibition Committee Chair, on what to do.

So come early (6:30) and have a chat with your friends, and I'll see you there.

Don Dement

First Meeting coming up - it's a Showcase

2009-09-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hi, all DPCA members and those who would like to enjoy the benefits of a good photography club. We're starting our season on Sept 21 at Maryland Hall, Annapolis, MD in Room 308 at 7 pm.

The evening will start with a very short business meeting for the presentation and approval of the coming year's budget. Then we'll get into photography by showing members' photos in a "Showcase." This title means the photos could have been taken at any time and there's no theme. You may want to show recent photos from summer events in your life, but if not there's no time limit for them.

There will be no formal review but we all like to talk about our pictures, so we'll have an open floor comment on all of them. We'll follow that with some other interesting topics. We'll be closing the meeting at 9 pm but you can stay and chat for a little while. In fact, we hope you can come a little early as well.

The images need to get to me before the meeting so I can make up the show. Deadline for that is Wednesday, Sep 16 at midnight. This may be short notice for some, but after all, you've taken photos all summer, haven't you? Let's see the best.

How Showcases Work

The goal of the Showcase is to have members choose three pictures of any subject or subjects and have them projected in a slide show at a meeting. The pictures can have been taken at anytime. Each member's three images will be displayed in your order (1, 2, 3) and the photographer will be asked by the moderator if they would like to comment on their pictures. Each contributor will have up to one minute total to discuss their images. There is no requirement to speak, but we'd all like to hear the pictures' background, why you selected them and what you might have learned in taking the pictures. Ordinarily we post all the pictures on our web page soon after the meeting. Again, your choice.

Please follow the simple procedures here - they haven't changed from last year.

Submission Procedures:

* Up to three JPEG image files (any size or resize to 1024pixels maximum on a side to keep the file size reasonably small) - must be jpegs.
* Rename the files with your name and a sequence number (i.e., john-smith-1, john-smith-2, john-smith-3)
* Email files to showcase@digitalphotoclub.net by Wednesday, Sep 16 (don't be late)
- If you don't want your pictures in the club website gallery put the phrase "Don't publish my pictures on the club website" in your submission email.

A Note About Web Galleries

Images posted on web galleries are subject to being copied and used inappropriately by others and without the photographer's permission. We've taken some steps to ameliorate this problem by using an Adobe Flash gallery and downsizing the pictures to 800 pixels max on a side before posting. These measures are only an inconvenience to pirates. The fact is anyone with the will can digitally copy an image from a screen. I've personally decided to post my images in the club gallery. To me it is worth the benefits from sharing. Everyone should make their own decision about the risk versus the reward and decide whether to post or not.

Double Check

We want to make sure that everyone's pictures make it into the show. Check the following when you email your pics.

* You should receive an automatic email reply something like:

“Your email was received. If you attached images to the email they were also received. Glad you're participating! This is an automatically created response. Please don't reply to this message. We will contact you if there is any issue with your submission. Thanks.”

* You should receive a second short personal email during the week before the showcase or challenge when the pictures are added to the slide show.

* Unless you requested to not post your pictures in a club website gallery your pictures will be included on the club website right after the meeting. If you have second thoughts about the web gallery or have other questions please email me at president@digitalphotoclub.net

That's it. Hope you'll submit up to three images, and come see everyone's on the screen. Enjoy the evening. www.stjohnscollege.edu/events/AN/art/exhibits.shtml

Don Dement - President

DPCA starts up again with a new season !!

2009-08-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Digital Photography Club of Annapolis. This is the President's place to talk about the great things we'll be doing throughout this coming year. You can also find here ways to get around to other Club officers' blogs and see what we've done in past meetings as well as where the schedule for meetings and field trips are, and more. You can do this and much more if you go to our Club web page: digitalphotoclub.net and look around.

Our first Club meeting on September 21, 2009 will kick off the new season. We'll meet in the same place and day/time as last year: Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts in Room 308 at 7 pm on alternate Mondays. During the year there will be two shifts in Mondays that we meet in order to miss the several holidays occurring on Mondays, but that's all done for you in the posted schedule.

For program announcements and items, see our VP Programs, Mike Kellogg's, blog at vpdpca.blogspot.com. We anticipate starting a VP Field Trips blog this year for our leader in this, Matt Korbelak. At the first meeting we'll introduce these folks. And there's always been a Tech Blog written by Laurie Brice, Tech Director, that tells you how and what to do in communicating with members. These are accessed at the lower right on the Home page.

On Sept 21, we'll have a Summer Showcase, where any member can show up to three of his/her images and tell us how, where, and why they took them. This was our most popular function last year, giving our members a chance to show off their travels and skills. If you didn't really take those photos this summer, that's OK - Showcases are for photos from any time, any place, but they are ones you're proud enough of to show to your friends who appreciate the medium and the infinite potential approaches each of us can take to subject matter.

More later, but ink in - not pencil - that Sep 21st evening. We'll have a short business meeting for members to see and approve our season's budget, so we need you to be there. We expect a great start to the season!

DKD