exposures newsletter - spring 2020 · black and white is pretty clear, right. some black and some...

Exposures Newsletter - Spring 2020

From the Editor Page 2

From the Prez Page 2

On the Cover Page 3

Who’s Who Page 3

“Black & White or Mon-

ochrome” Page 4-5

“Volo Bog Competition” Page 6

“Adding A Vignette” Page 7

“PSA Travel Definition” Page 8-10

Excursions 1

Recognitions Page 12-16

Club Links and Featured

Website Page 17

© Lake County Camera Club, 2020

Website: www.lakecountycameraclub.org

Email: [email protected]

2


From the Editor...

Unfortunately due to the World Wide Event happening, this quarter’s

Newsletter is a little abbreviated from past editions as it will not

have announcements for upcoming excursions or events. Featured

in this quarter’s edition are articles on Black & White photography

and Travel. You’ll also find a quick tip on vignetting. As things settle

down and events are rescheduled, the LCCC Calendar will have further info on future club events.

Remember that the easiest way to prevent illness is simply washing your hands and covering your

mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Stay safe and healthy!

Anthony Roma, Newsletter Publisher

Email: [email protected]

From the Prez...

With Lake County Camera Club's (LCCC) fall/winter season ending, it's time

to plan for the upcoming spring and summer months. In turn, September

2020 is fast approaching, whereby new challenges face the club in filling

positions. LCCC has benefitted from new volunteers for the 2019-2020

season - with amazing results. Liz Rose Fisher and Tom Brandt have done

an outstanding job presenting excellent speakers. Art Hughes has creatively

filled our excursion calendar, and Julie Boatright obtaining judges for competitions. Gary Edwards

accepted Vice President of External Operations and Tony Roma is your President Elect.

Bottom Line: LCCC is in need of volunteers to ensure the quality of its club. The following positions are

open for September 2020-2021,

President Elect 2020-2021

LCCC's Webpage Designer / John Rouse is looking to step down

Additionally, assistance is needed for introducing a community open house on camera basics at

libraries. I have found by volunteering my time, it has made me a better photographer through the

people I have met and appreciate their passion.

Please take advantage of LCCC's excursions! With our past mild winter weather, to a hopeful dry

spring (vs. continuous rain), get out there and enjoy your surroundings. LCCC has presented

knowledgeable/informative speakers = what better time to try, refine and perfect. Time spent with

your camera and individuals who enjoy the art, guarantees improvement and outcome. As with

Michael Kirkland finding his passion in 'long exposure'. Learning from his military experience, model,

landscape and architectural photography have all contributed to the photographer he is today.

Jeff Fisher, President, Lake County Camera Club

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The cover photo for this quarter’s issue of Exposures is

courtesy of Sue Matsunaga. Sue’s photograph of “Watching

For Insects” won an award for DPI in the January CACCA club

competition. Sue says she has a friend who photographs birds

almost every day. She had never seen a cedar waxwing in the

wild, so she asked him where he saw it. He told her where he

sees them every July feeding on insects on the river. Sure

enough there were several flying about. Since the light was not

good at that time of day, she returned to that location later in

the afternoon. It took a long time to wait for him to land on a

suitable branch sticking out of the water. He stood still once

for more than a couple of seconds and she was able to focus

and shoot.

Congrats Sue!

On the Cover...

Who’s Who...

The Lake County Camera Club could not operate without the fine folks who volunteer on the Board of

Directors. The Board of Directors for the 2019-20 season are…

Jeff Fisher - President

Anthony Roma - President-Elect

Kimberly Shadduck - Past President

Sue Baron - Secretary

Jim Ross - Treasurer

Gary Edwards - Vice President, External Operations

Bill Sullivan - Vice President, Internal Operations

Bob Kruzic - Competition Chair

John Rouse - Webmaster

Anthony Roma - Newsletter Editor

There are also a number of other club members who volunteer in the operations of our club as well.

Without their help, this club doesn't continue. Special thanks to all who volunteer! To volunteer for an

open position within the Board of Directors or Operations of the club, please speak to one of the

current board members.

Photo courtesy of Sue Matsunaga

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Black & White or Monochrome

Written by Jim Ross

Did you ever wonder what the difference is in Black and

White and Monochrome? Many people, those who aren’t

really “in the know”, will tell you that there isn’t any

difference. An image without color is black and white or

monochrome. But, let’s explore the words and see if there

is a difference.

Black and White is pretty clear, right. Some black

and some white and there you have it. Wait a minute,

without those grey tones; a black and white is a line

drawing. Essentially stick figures on white paper or a white

background. Technically the only tones in your image are

pure white (tone value of 0,0,0) and pure black (tone value

of 256, 256, 256). This is the image the Atari or first

model Apple displayed, essentially 1 bit color, i.e., either

black or white.

This tone range is a pretty bland image. If viewed

on a histogram, there would be 1 line on the left edge and

1 line on the right edge and no mountain in the middle. We

need some grey tones to give the image some depth, some

roundness, an illusion of shading. Here comes the fun

part. You have a choice of how many grey tones you want

to represent your ‘grey’ scale. It all depends on how

sophisticated you want to get in converting the color image

that your camera captures to a monochrome image that

you will eventually print.

Let’s first look around in Photoshop (or Elements) and find in the IMAGE dropdown at the top.

Click on IMAGE>MODE>GREYSCALE and as if by magic you have converted your image to

MONOCHROME. Technically, this is an 8 bit grayscale image. I heard you say, “What the hell is an 8

bit image”. That’s an image where each pixel intensity level is represented by 8 pieces of information

(2 to the 3rd power) which will represent 256 levels of tone. This allows you to display an image in its

basic form. This is the bare minimum of information you will need to display the image without bands

of tones where gradients exist in the image.

But, you say, I shot my image with a 20 megapixel camera in RAW, I captured much more

information than that. Yes, you did. But when you hit that “GREYSCALE” selection, you dumped about

99 percent of that information down the proverbial drain and created a barely useable

MONOCHROME image…it’s better than the 2 tone black and white, but only 254 shades better. How

do you retain those poor lost megapixels that you captured on your expensive light and color level full

frame sensor that you had to beg your spouse to get you for your last birthday?

Go back to the IMAGE>MODE>GREYSCALE selection and notice there is a selection for 16 bit

and 32 bit GREYSCALE. The 16 bit selection will convert your image from color to 65,536 shades of

grey. Now we are talking. No banding in the sky, no choppy greys, smooth edges on diagonals. What

more could you want? Wait, there is more. There was a 32 bit selection too. This produces the

potential of 1.073 billion shades of monochrome. Practically speaking, you eye can’t discern the

difference in 65,536 shades and 1.073 billion shades and you don’t even want to know what a printer

would cost that could reproduce a 32 bit grayscale.

Photo courtesy of Jim Ross

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Lets go back a little, if I just let the program choose how to represent those sparkling 16 bit colors

as tones of black white and grey, aren’t I short changing my artistic and very creative passion? Yes, you

are. There are several ways of controlling how the editing program represents those beautiful reds,

greens and blues (and all the color combinations in between). We just need to do a little exploring. In

Photoshop (and Elements). In the LAYERS palette there is a tab called CHANNELS. Click on the

channels tab and you will see your image represented by RGB, R, G and B. Click off the little eyeball at

the left edge of two of those layers. You will see what each of those colors contribute to the image. All

together they make up the COLOR image you see on the screen. Aha, you say, what if I could control how

much the red contributes, the green contributes and the blue contributes. I could control the look of my

monochrome image by adjusting the contribution of each color. Yes, you can.

Select the LAYER tab then select NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER and then CHANNEL MIXER. A new

window pops up that will allow you to select MONOCHROME and then adjust each of those colors

independently to modify how your MONOCHROME image is represented. (Similar controls with lots

more color choices are available in LIGHTROOM). Now you have a lot more control, as long as you keep

the total at the bottom of the window at approximately 100 you can control the contribution each color

makes to the image. In addition you can control the “constant” luminosity of the image. Since these

controls are on a separate layer, you can mask areas of the image to control the contribution to selected

areas if you want.

Think of it, now you can control the contribution of each of those 65,536 greyscale tones and their

luminosity to your personal liking. Now you have a real MONOCHROME image with a full range of tones

that you created to your vision. We haven’t yet talked about DuoTones (two colors) or Sepia Tones,

Cyanotypes and on and on. You have just opened up a whole new dimension to your run of the mill color

images. Enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Jim Ross

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Volo Bog Competition

Written by Anthony Roma

The Volo Bog held their 33rd Annual Nature Photography contest to kick off the new year and the

winners were announced at the Volo Bog’s Annual WinterFest in January. The annual competition and

show is presented each year by Volo Bog State Natural Area, the Friends of Volo Bog, and the

ShutterBugs of Volo Bog.

The competition was open to all who were interested. Contestants were limited to a total of 15

photos that they could enter into seven different categories with a limit of three photos per category.

The categories were Color Plants, Color Vertebrate, Color Invertebrate, Color Landscape, Black &

White, Beyond the Midwest, and Human/Nature Interface. A total of 169 entries were collected and

put on display at the Volo Bog Visitors Center from October to January where the visitors can view and

vote on the winners. Lake County Camera Club members Gary Edwards, Anthony Roma, and Sue

Baron all had entries of which Gary and Anthony received several honors. Gary also received the

honor of Best of Show - Judges’ Award for his photo “Quiet Reflection” You can visit the Volo Bog

contest link at https://www.friendsofvolobog.org/copy-of-2018-2019-photo-contest to view all of the

photos.

Here are Gary’s and Anthony’s winning photos. Congrats to both!

“Quiet Reflection” Gary Edwards

Human/Nature Interface - 1st Place

Best of Show - Judges’Award

“You’ve Got My Attention” Gary Edwards

Color Vertebrate - 2nd Place

“Cave Point Shorline” Gary Edwards

Color Landscape - 3rd Place

“Gentle Falls” Anthony Roma

Black & White - 2nd Place

“Pictured Rock Rainbow” Anthony Roma

Color Landscape - 1st Place

“Sharing the Love” Anthony Roma

Color Vertebrate - 1st Place

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Adding A Vignette

Written by Anthony Roma

As you venture down the hall of the College of Lake County University Center on your way to attend an-

other fun filled LCCC Meeting Night, you may notice Jim Ross and myself critiquing photos that mem-

bers have brought in to help them fine tune their photos for competition.

At a recent meeting, I was asked how to add a vignette to a photo. A vignette is basically a

shading around the edges of the photo and help in drawing or guiding your eyes towards the center of

the photo or direct your attention to the subject. Kind of like adding a thin black cloud. Ideally you

would use this effect on very bright photographs that tend to fight for attention.

Adding a vignette in Photoshop is quite simple. I usually reserve this as the final procedure in

my post processing. Once I have finished the rest of my post processing, I add a layer and create the

vignette. Here are the steps…

1. Add a layer on top of the photo

2. Have your Background Color set as Black

3. To Fill with the Background color press Ctrl/Backspace

(Mac: Command/Delete) or press Shift/Backspace (Mac: Shift/

Delete) to achieve a black fill

4. Select the Rectangular Marquee

5. Set the Feather rate at a desired pixel and drag a marquee box

around the edge of the entire photo. For larger photos, I use about

250-350px. For smaller photos, I use around 50-100px

6. Press the Backspace key (Mac: Delete)

You should now have a vignette

around the edge, simply adjust the opacity

to achieve you desired effect. Depending

on the size of the photo or your desired

taste, you may want to play around with

this procedure a few times.

You can also experiment with differ-

ent styles of vignette. For portrait photos,

try using the Elliptical Marquee vs the Rec-

tangular Marquee.

Before vignette

Finished photo After vignette

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Article and photos Courtesy of PSA

Purpose of the Photo Travel Definition

The PSA Photo Travel Division (PTD) is reality-based, like the PSA Photojournalism and Nature

Divisions. The objective of PSA Photo Travel (PT) is to show the world as it is found naturally. The pur-

pose of the PT Definition is to guide PT photographers towards making images that show how our

world really is, rather than to arrange it and to manipulate images to obtain the “best” photographs.

PT images should be a true record of that scene. The PT Definition is also a guide for exhibition judg-

es to ensure that images that violate the definition are not accepted.

Photo Travel image expresses the characteristic features or culture of a land as they are

found naturally. There are no geographic limitations.

In the case of landscapes or buildings, it is not necessary to know “where the place is.” The

image only needs to have identifiable features so that the place can be recognized by someone visit-

ing it.

PSA Travel Definition

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Images from events or activities arranged specifically for photography, or of subjects directed

or hired for photography are not appropriate. Setups can be identified when many images of the

same or similar scenes are submitted to exhibitions, or when they depict unnatural actions or behav-

ior by the people shown in the photo.

Close up pictures of people or objects must include features that provide information about

the environment. The purpose of this requirement is to eliminate photographs that could have been

taken in a studio instead of the natural environment of the person(s) shown in the photograph.

Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image, except by

cropping, are not permitted. Image manipulation by removing, moving or adding objects is often diffi-

cult to spot and to prove. When judges suspect a violation that should be investigated.

The only allowable adjustments are removal of dust or digital noise, restoration of the appear-

ance of the original scene, and complete conversion to greyscale monochrome. Other derivations,

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including infrared, are not permitted. All images must look natural. Oversaturated, overly sharpened

and other images with unnatural artifacts, such as halos or strong vignetting, should be given lower

scores in judging. Extreme fish-eye images that are distorted do not appear natural. Partial desatura-

tion of areas of the image does not look natural and is not allowed.

Entire PT Definition: A Photo Travel image expresses the characteristic features or culture of a

land as they are found naturally. There are no geographic limitations. Images from events or activi-

ties arranged specifically for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography are not

appropriate. Close up pictures of people or objects must include features that provide information

about the environment. Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original

image, except by cropping, are not permitted. The only allowable adjustments are removal of dust or

digital noise, restoration of the appearance of the original scene, and complete conversion to grey-

scale monochrome. Other derivations, including infrared, are not permitted. All images must look

natural.

Additional Comments: Judges of PT exhibitions should ask themselves the following ques-

tions when judging each image:

1.Does this image meet the PT Definition, in particular, does it look natural?

2.Is this image the result of a setup (i.e. is it staged), beyond reasonable doubt?

3.Does it meet the definition of the theme, if the exhibition has theme sections (e.g. are landscape

images submitted to “People” sections, or people images submitted to “Scapes” sections?

4.Images that are being judged as not meeting the PT Definition should be scored lower, regardless

of their photographic merit. However, disqualification should be used only in extreme, unambiguous

cases.

For additional information, contact Nadia Filiaggi, EPSA, PTD Exhibition Standards Director,

[email protected]

Authorship: Tom Tauber, APSA, EPSA

Assistance: Lynn Maniscalco, Hon FPSA, EPSA

With contributions, approval and distribution by PT Division

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January: Norge Ski Club Winter Tournament

The annual Norge Ski Jump tournament traditionally

happens each year on the 4th weekend in January. Top

-ranked ski jumpers from around the world compete in

the annual tournament. The competition takes place on

the giant slopes just two blocks north of Routes 14 and

22 in Fox River Grove, Illinois. The event is the oldest

continuously-held ski-jumping tournament in North

America. Spectators can view the tournament on the

hill as well as experience vendor booths, food and

drink.

February: Eagles at Starved Rock

From the Visitor Center Parking lot, take a short hike to the

top of Starved Rock for live eagle viewing. Drive across the

river to the Illinois Waterway Visitor Center for eagle viewing

from their observation deck and an educational

presentation all about eagles. Check out the Frozen

Waterfalls & wild life. Dress warmly.

Fuel up for your outdoor adventure

Located in the Starved Rock Visitor Center, Trailheads offers

a menu of favorites such as corn dogs, soft pretzels and

nachos to sweet treats, including our homemade fudge,

Artisan ice cream and soft serve cones.

Enjoy a casual dining experience in our warm, welcoming

restaurant. Our on-site restaurant at Starved Rock Lodge is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner

March: Milwaukee Scavenger Hunt

The very best way to enjoy a scavenger hunt is go with

friends. Camera Club friends. As many as you can cram in the

car! Every odd thought can lead to an answer. Taking a photo

of Milwaukee's art treasures along the way as you’re led from

treasure to treasure. Unfortunately due to the World Wide

Epidemic, this excursion was cancelled.

Visit the Lake County Camera Club website calendar for more information of upcoming excursions.

Club Excursions

Photo courtesy of Sue Baron

Photo courtesy of Sue Baron

Photo courtesy of Anthony Roma

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Recognitions...

The 2019-20 season continued into the winter season. The Lake County Camera Club recognized sev-

eral awards for photographers and their accomplishments for the second quarter.

JANUARY

“Churches and Chocolate Tour” Dwight Johnson

DPI - CACCA Award

“Waiting for Insects” Sue Matsunaga

DPI - CACCA Award

“A Light in the Palace Courtyard” Bob Kruzic

Lg Color - CACCA Award

“Wild Dahlia” Sheri Sparks

DPI - CACCA Award

“The Alchemist Considering” Tim Elliot

Sm Color - CACCA Award

FEBRUARY

“Night Reflections” Bill Sullivan

Lg Color - LCCC HM

“Patriotic Milwaukee River” Bill Sullivan

Lg Color - LCCC HM

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“Focus” Bill Sullivan

Lg Monochrome - LCCC Award

“Night River Cruise” Bill Sullivan

Lg Monochrome - LCCC HM

“Twilight in the City” Bob Kruzic

Lg Color - LCCC Award

“A River Runs Through It” Bob Kruzic

Lg Monochrome - LCCC HM

“Party Lights on the Lake” Bob Kruzic

Sm Color - LCCC HM

“Pilsen CTA Stairs” John Williams

Lg Color - LCCC HM

“Under Wisconsin Capitol Dome” John Williams

Lg Monochrome - CACCA HM

“Darkside of Anticipation” Karen Gallwitz

DPI - LCCC Award, CACCA Award

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“White Hat” Karen Gallwitz

DPI - LCCC HM

“Amur Tiger” Kate Scott


“Perched Primate” Kate Scott


“Staircase of Splendor” Linda Kruzic

Lg Monochrome - LCCC HM, CACCA

“The Alchemist” Liz Rose Fisher

Sm Color - LCCC Award, CACCA HM

“Shadow Dancer” Liz Rose Fisher

DPI - CACCA Award

“The Private Eye” Liz Rose Fisher

Sm Monochrome - LCCC HM, CACCA Award

“Factory In Ruins” Mike Burgquist

Sm Color - LCCC HM,

15


“Shooting Star Under Dark Skies” Mike Kukulski

Sm Monochrome - LCCC Award

“Twins” Sheri Sparks

DPI - LCCC Award

“Ice For Sale” Sheri Sparks

Sm Monochrome - LCCC HM

“Winter Visitor” Sue Matsunaga

DPI - CACCA Award

“Male Hummingbird” Sue Matsunaga

Sm Color - LCCC HM

“The Mary D. Humes Rests” Tim Elliott

Lg Color - LCCC Award, CACCA HM

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“The Lighthouse of Coqville” Tim Elliott

Sm Color - LCCC Award, CACCA Award

“Tranquil East Fork Falls” Tim Elliott

Sm Color - LCCC HM

“Standing in the Shadows” Tom Brandt

Sm Color - LCCC HM, CACCA HM

MARCH

No competitions were held in March due to the World Wide Event closing

all facilities, venues, and halls.

CONCRATS TO ALL HONORS WINNERS!!!

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Club Resources...

http://caccaweb.com

Featured Website...

This quarter’s LCCC Member Featured Website is Bonnie Dawson Photography

Owner/Operator - Bonnie Dawson

https://bonniedawson.photography

https://www.artscameras.com

https://www.huntsphotoandvideo.com

https://psa-photo.org

https://www.redrivercatalog.com

http://www.stevegettle.com

http://caccaweb.com

exposures newsletter - spring 2020 · black and white is pretty clear, right. some black and some...

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