P H O T O N E W S
January 2007

Special Events You Won't Want to Miss...

December Activities
At our regular meeting on December: We had our Christmas Party and asked all members to bring a dessert, a salad, or a casserole to share. We also played some games and enjoyed the gathering and friendship.

SPECIAL THANKS go to our 2006 Board Officers Mike, Janice, Dianna, Brett and Dave put everything they could to make this year significant to us. We welcome at the same time the 2007 Board Officers:

President: Susan Long
Vice President: Jerry Costin
Secretary: Mrinal Sha
Treasurer/Hospitality: Jim & Bee Ann Kelly
Publicity/Webmaster: Cecilia García
Advisor: Mike Guidry

PHOTO TIPS: Flash bracket, how to use it with digital SLR camera
A flash bracket makes it more comfortable to carry than a large flash connected to your camera. It gives you a better gripping surface and improves the balance, too. Most brackets have some way to flip the flash or camera, so the flash stays above the lens when shooting both horizontally and vertically. This helps drop the shadow created from the flash downward behind the subject and improves the appearance. When the flash is on the camera’s hot shoe, the electrical contacts in the shoe couple the flash and camera’s triggering, auto-exposure and other circuits. This coupling is lost when the flash is moved onto a bracket. There are two ways to restore this connection. Some cameras have TTL wireless flash exposure, so the pop-up flash in the camera will fire the larger bracket-mounted flash and maintain full auto coupling. The other way is to use a dedicated flash cord made by camera makers and by PRO. One end of this cord slips onto the camera’s hot shoe, the other onto the foot of the flash and into the shoe on the bracket. It maintains full electronic coupling between the camera and flash.  

MONTHLY MEETING

Monday, January 8 -- 6:30 - 9 P.M.

SHOW & TELL --Bring your favorite photography item. Whether it is a piece of equipment, gadget, etc. Show and tell us about it.

We’will have new board officers for 2007. Let's hear about their plans for the year, come and share your photo related ideas. Everything you would like the club to plan on like field trips, workshops, seminars, kind of speakers, etc. This is the time to put our ideas together for the rest of the year. Do not miss it!

MINI CONTEST: CHRISTMAS PICTURES Bring any two photos for the mini-contest.

SLIDE SHOW: Bring couple of your recent best images, if you want to share for the slide show.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:

January 1st-7th - Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens photo opportunity switched on the lights. (800) 582-4673; www.moodygardens.com.

January 14 -- Chevron Marathon in Houston Start/finish lines are in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center.

MONTHLY MEETING

Monday, February 12-- 6:30 - 9 P.M.

SPEAKER: WAYNE NICHOLAS --"Bird Photography" We will have the opportunity to hear from a master in Nature Photography all kind of tips and tricks on how to photograph birds. Visit his website

MINI CONTEST: BUILDINGS Bring any two photos for the mini-contest.

SLIDE SHOW: Bring couple of your recent best images, if you want to share for the slide show.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:
FEBRUARY 21 – March 4 -- Mardi Gras! Galveston: Crowds of costumed and masked revelers fill the streets to see parades, musical performances, balls and parties. This year’s theme, “The Rainforests of the World,” indicates there will be plenty of wildlife – and that’s just the humans. Mardi Gras tip: bead there or bead square. For more information, call Galveston’s Visitor’s Center at (888) 425-4753 or go to www.mardigrasgalveston.com

FEBRUARY 25 – March 16--Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, Reliant Stadium: Rope up some fun at the largest livestock exhibition on this round earth. Rodeo time starts with the downtown parade, 10 a.m., Feb.. 22. Then tie down an evening of fun and excitement by taking in competitions and live music. Rodeo tip: don’t eat anything called “chips.” For more information, call (832) 667-1000 or go to www.hlsr.com.

MARCH

MONTHLY MEETING

Monday,March 12-- 6:30 - 9 P.M.

SPEAKER: TBA
Join us to share your photography ideas, guests are welcome.

MINI CONTEST: ANIMALS Bring any two photos for the mini-contest.

SLIDE SHOW: Bring couple of your recent best images, if you want to share for the slide show.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:

MARCH 1-2, 8-9 -- River Oaks Garden Club’s Azalea Trail: Houstonians and visitors can view the spectacular azalea gardens at Bayou Bend and admire the breathtaking gardens at River Oaks’ exquisite homes. Trail tip: if you don’t immediately enjoy the flowers, stop and gaze at them longer. Eventually they will grow on you. For more information, call (713) 523-2483 or visit www.riveroaksgardenclub.org

MARCH 29-30 -- Sam Houston Park and Tranquility Park: Called “Houston’s Official Family Celebration,” more than 100,000 people are expected to drop by. There will be 16 “Big Family Adventure Areas,” eight entertainment stages and more than 350 fun activities including music, crafts, exhibits, games, sports and rides. Children’s Festival tip: Feel free to kid around. For more information, call (713) 522-9723 or go to
www.festivalsofhouston.com/hcf

.

PHOTO INFO

SEMINARS & CONFERENCES

January 14-16 --PPA (Professional Photographers of America), 2007 Imaging USA Seminar in San Antonio TX

January 29 Photoshop CS2 for Photographers at George R Brown Convention Center www.photoshopseminars.com

February 10 --NIKON SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, Introduction to Digital SLR Photography ($119)

February 11 --NIKON SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, Next Steps in Digital Photography, Steamlined Workflow Techniques ($159)

Visit WPC resources to ask our Consulting Photographers
Basic Photography · Digital Photography · Matting & Framing · Nikon Capture · Photoshop · Underwater Photography · Website Design ·

CAMERA CLUBS:

The Woodlands United Methodist Church Camera Club TWUMC for all skill levels gathers the first Monday of every month, except holidays from 7 PM to 8:30 PM at 2200 Lake Woodlands Dr. More info

CLASSIFIED ADS

CAMERA EQUIPMENT

1) MINOLTA LENS FOR SALE - Teresa Boyd has two Minolta lens AF 70-210 and AF 35-70 to sell for a very minimal price. If you are interested in email her

3) Medium format 4X5 Sinar camera. Sinar camera body with complete system....excellent condition, great price. $1500
Contact Robert Mathias If interested, will e-mail pictures of each component.
*One 210 mm Schneider lens in lens board
*One focusing magnifying hood
*One wide angle bellow bag
*One focusing loupe
*One Polaroid film back
*One 4x5 camera bag
*One filter holder or call 281-350-5292

4) Canon EOS Digital Rebel 6.3 Megapixel, $1,200. This camera was bought because of a job I was taking w/ a newspaper. I ended up not getting it, so it has been waiting for someone to use it. It works great and comes with TWO lenses: The 18mm-35mm and Canon Zoom lens EF, 75-300mm, f4-5.6 with image stabilizer. This is a great camera. Contact Gabriel García for details.

STUDIO FOR RENT Clark Lara has a full studio with Norman Lights, High Key white wall, as well as 3 different muslins. No props you would have to supply your own. SPECIAL PRICE $50 an hour. The high key is great for everything from product shots to high fashion.

PHOTO WORKSHOP Costa Rica Photo Workshop Adventure with Kathy Adams Clark She is a professional nature photographer. www.kathyadamsclark.com More info at Strabo Tours 607-756-8676 www.phototc.com

LOCAL EXHIBITS: Seeing the work of other artists and photographers can give new insights and ideas for our own work. Check out the following local exhibits:

January- For Several Weeks - Barbara Edmondson and Cecilia García, members from WPC, are having a photographic exhibition at K Reneé on 3100 Timmons, Houston, TX 77027. This exhibition features beautiful photographs from these valuable members.

January - For Several Months -"Window Shopping on Main Street, 1920-1930," uses historic photography from the Story Sloane Collection to give visitors a glimpse of downtown's heyday as a shopping destination. http://www.ghpa.org/windows2.html

Through Jan 20 - Photofest City of Night, The Vargas Brothers Studio Peru 1912-1930. http://www.fotofest.org

Through February 18 --Where Rivers Join the Sea: Photographs by Robert Adams and Marcos Zimmerman.The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. (713) 639-7390; www.mfah.org

HELP US SHOOT OUR ACTIVITIES

We need club members who have digital cameras to volunteer to document our field trips and special events. Our friends John Masters and Nolan Braud have been providing digital images of our meeting presenters and other activities but could use some help.  If you are willing to help, please e-mail to our newsletter editor.

YOUR GALLERY AWAITS YOU

Each member of our club gets a free online gallery of your favorite images. For details on how to get yours set up, contact Nolan Braud (njbraud@hotmail.com)

WE WANT YOUR IDEAS!

Help us continue to have the most interesting and informative activities by sharing your ideas for the best experiences you've had. E-mail your ideas for each activity below to the club officer in charge of that activity:

Presentations - Jerry Costin
Other Activities - Jim Kelly
Web Site, Newsletter - editor@woodlandsphoto.org