Vol. 48, No. 7 ` President: Hal Geren - 745-7588 V. President: Gregory Smith Judging: Hal Geren Print Chairperson: Hal Geren

Secretary/Treasurer: Sean Duan N4C Reps: Doug Stinson & Hal Geren Newsletter: Doug Stinson Digital Chairperson: Hal Geren

December 2017 `

Meetings are held at the Fremont Cultural Activities Center, 3375 Country Drive, Fremont, at 7:30 pm. The Development meeting is on the 2nd Wednesday and the Competition meeting is on the 4th Wednesday of each month, excluding holidays. The Fremont Photographic Society website is: http://fremont.photoclubservices.com/

DEVELOPMENT MEETING The next development meeting will be held Wednesday, December 13th at 7:30 PM.

SPECIAL “SOLAR ECLIPSE” MEETING

Bill Preston will give a brief talk with some images and video from the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse, viewed from Idaho, including:

-Eclipse logistics (considerations for choosing a location to observe and shoot totality)

-Technical considerations for photographing the eclipse (cameras, lenses, filters and safety)

-Resources for preparing to photograph totality (exposure tables, shooting plan, automation) and links to helpful photo and astronomy websites (so you can prepare for the 2024 eclipse).

As an added bonus to this meeting, Geoff Bruce, an education technologist and avid photographer who joined me in Idaho for the eclipse, will give a presentation on hardware and software tools needed to capture high-resolution 360° panoramic video, giga-pixel imagery and other virtual reality tools. See his bio below.

Hope to see you there!

Geoff’s Bio:

Geoffrey Bruce is the Senior Exploration Software Architect for the School of Earth and Space Exploration and serves as lead of the Immersive Virtual Field Trips (iVFT) team at Arizona State University. He holds a Masters in intuitive learning in immersive virtual environments and his PhD work focused on exploration system design and novelty space in education environments.

He is an education technologist with over 25 years of experience including 5 years at ASU, 12 years as a Technical Director in the Education Division at NASA Ames Research Center, 4 years developing and running a virtual reality environment entertainment facility, and 2 years of

prior gaming development experience. He was also the technologist behind a number of award winning NASA educational technology products

As a special treat, we are asking ALL members who have photographs of, or related to, the solar eclipse to submit them for display through our usual projected image competition system. Simply log on to your account at https://fremont.photoclubservices.com, hover over “Competitions” and click on “Submit images to a competition”. Scroll down to “Wednesday December 13, 2017” and click “Select”. You can upload your images anytime between now and the meeting. There is no limit on the number of images you can upload.

Note that, while this is called a “competition”, no judging or critique will take place. We will simply display the submitted photographs for all to enjoy.

COMPETITION MEETING The next competition meeting will be held Tuesday, December 19th. NOTE: the meeting is on the 19th this month only to avoid the holidays. Competition closes: Tuesday the 18th at 7:00pm.

Categories

Print: Pictorial Mono Travel Photojournalism Projected: Pictorial Mono Creative Nature Special Category: Night Photography

Judge: Melanie Lewert

BIOGRAPHY: Taking pictures since she received her first camera in 1969, a Kodak Brownie Holiday, she became enamored with capturing the world on film. In college she purchased her first 35mm camera—Minolta 370—and found that she had a great eye for black and white. Until she moved onto a digital camera, years later, all of her work was in black and white—enjoying the use of contrast and shadows to tell her story. Since going to digital she has found a photographic voice that is unique unto her. She has won a number of ribbons and has shown her work in several shows, outside of her club’s annual exposition. Photography is more than a hobby for her, it’s a passion—the way she can capture and celebrate life. Melanie is a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA), Milpitas Camera Club (MCC), Fremont Art Association Digital Photographic Group (FAADPG), and Fremont Photographic Society (FPS).

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PHILOSOPHY: When I look at a photograph I wonder why the photographer took the picture and what they wanted to say—what’s the “story” behind the picture? There are a lot of photographs out there, but most don’t make you see or feel what the photographer saw and felt when they took the photo—a good photograph does all that and more.

Meetings begin at 7:30 and those who are entering prints should be there between 7:00 and 7:15 to complete the entry process prior to 7:25. Courtesy to the evening’s judge and fellow club members indicate that members be seated before 7:30.

Quote of the Month

“In photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject. The little, human detail can become a Leitmotiv.”

− Henri Cartier-Bresson

MEMBER NEWS What have you been up to in photography? Let me know at douglas-stinson@comcast.net!

PHOTO COMMUNITY NEWS

N4C BOARD CLARIFIES USE OF GRAPHICS AND DEFINITION OF “OWN WORK”

With the growing popularity of software that allows images and graphic elements to be easily added to photographs, the question continues to be asked, “Are these modified photographs allowed in N4C competitions?” And, if not, should the competition definitions be changed to allow them? These, and related questions, have spawned many discussions among N4C Board Members.

First, we should make it clear that the N4C Board is not trying to define what a “valid photograph” is. What we are doing is defining what the N4C competitions are. To use an analogy from sports, in soccer, only the goalkeeper is allowed to control the ball with their hands. There could be a sport where all players can use their hands -- it just wouldn’t be soccer. The, possibly arbitrary, rules define the competition.

After much deliberation, the Board decided to reconfirm the existing definitions as best expressing the spirit of our competitions. One clarification of the rules was made. The definitions of the competitions can be found at http://n4c.org/definitions/, and it behooves everyone who participates in the competitions to familiarize themselves with these definitions.

The key part of the definitions, which apply to all divisions (e.g. Pictorial, Creative, Travel, Monochrome, Photojournalism and Nature) is that everything that appears in the final image must be the entrant’s own work. This means that images downloaded from the Internet and images or graphics from a software program’s library, to give just two examples, are not allowed.

For images submitted to the Pictorial and Creative division, composite images are allowed. The final image may consist of one or more photographic elements (for the purposes of this article, a “photographic” element is one that originates as an image captured by a light-sensitive medium or device, such as a photographic emulsion or the sensor in a digital camera). An area of confusion is the use of non-photographic elements in a composite image. Examples of non-photographic elements are digital drawings, scanned drawings, graphic elements and text; in short, any image that is not “photographic”. Unless a particular division’s definition excludes them, non-photographic elements are allowed provided the entrant created them. However, non-photographic elements must not predominate the image. In other words, the final image must remain a photograph (with some additions), and not a piece of graphic art. “Predominate” may be an ill-defined term, but like many things in these competitions; it is up to the judge’s subjective opinion to make this call.

There was one area that needed clarification: text created with, for example, Photoshop’s Type tool, is considered the entrant’s own work and is therefore allowed.

As the photographic art continues to evolve, we expect these decisions to raise controversy, and there is always the possibility they will be revisited in the future. If you have an opinion on these definitions, please share them with Doug Stinson, our club’s representative on the N4C Board.

FPS NOW HAS A FACEBOOK PAGE

The Fremont Photographic Society now has a Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/FremontPhotographicSociety

The purpose of this page is to increase the community’s awareness of the Society and its activities, and, hopefully, increase our membership.

If you have a Facebook account, you can help by going to the page and clicking “LIKE”, and by sharing the page’s posts on your Facebook Timeline.

We would like to feature members’ photos as the page’s cover photo. Please send your photos to douglas-stinson@comcast.net. The photos should be 1640 pixels wide by 630 pixels high. The subject should in some sense promote the society, it’s activities, or photography in general.

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PHOTOGRAPHIC OPPORTUNITIES

S-3 PHOTO WALK

The S-3 Photowalk group sponsors a free field trip on the 3rd Saturday of each month. Ralph Cooksey-Talbott, a well-known local photographer and former student of Ansel Adams, leads the trips.

For more information check out: http://s3-photowalk.com/ or call Ralph Cooksey-Talbott at 510-742-0548.

OTHER INTERESTING THINGS TO PHOTOGRAPH

• Holiday on Union Street, San Francisco: http://www.unionstreetshop.com/Holiday_Events_Union_Street.html

• SF Lighted Boat Parade, Dec 15, 6:00PM-8:00PM: http://www.visitfishermanswharf.com/events/lighted-boat-parade

• Santa / Skivvies Run, Dec 10, 11:00 AM, The Castro: http://santaskivviesrun.org

• SF New Year’s Eve Fireworks, 11:59PM Dec 31st, Embarcadero: https://www.sftourismtips.com/new-years-eve-fireworks-in-san-francisco.html

• San Francisco Light Art: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=11WrohWPAFi0_pGfTyClAMUbCNhix9TTi&ll=37.70855386146797,-122.43012765000003&z=12

• Super Blue Moon eclipse: http://earthsky.org/tonight/super-blue-moon-eclipse-on-january-31

• Sonoma County Roller Derby events: http://sonomacountyrollderby.org/events/

TALKS, PRESENTATIONS, SHOWS AND WORKSHOPS The website bayareaphotoscene.com contains the most complete listing of San Francisco Bay Area photography-related events. Become a registered user to receive customized content and sign up to be notified of newly listed events.

Know about an event related to photography? Send the info to douglas-stinson@comcast.net and it will be added to the website. Note: currently the plan is to list only free events and those sponsored by non-profit / educational organizations.

CONTESTS AND CALLS FOR ENTRY HOME SHOW AT SFO MUSEUM

PhotoAlliance invites entries for a photographic competition juried by distinguished professionals with winning entries exhibiting work at the SFO Museum located at the San Francisco International Airport and online @ photoalliance.org

This unique venue provides unparalleled exposure for your work as more than 50 MILLION passengers per year pass through SFO.

For more information go to: http://www.photoalliance.org/2017-exhibition-sfo-museum

CALLFORENTRY.ORG

The website CaFé provides a list of many Calls for Entry and contests.

Other Contests

https://www.all-about-photo.com/contests-for-amateurs.php

https://www.all-about-photo.com/contests-open-to-all.php

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ARTICLES OF INTEREST

• What is a photograph?: https://www.lensculture.com/articles/international-center-for-photography-what-is-a-photograph

• Halloweens of SF’s past: Long-buried photos dug up from archive grave: http://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/Halloweens-of-SF-s-past-Long-buried-photos-dug-12310201.php

• Photographing birds in flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXboyMNmCZU

• An Intro to Panning Your Camera for a Blurry Feeling of Speed: https://petapixel.com/2017/11/24/intro-panning-camera-blurry-feeling-speed/

• Lens Culture’s “Best of December”: https://www.lensculture.com/articles/lensculture-editors-best-of-december-deadlines-for-competitions-workshops-residencies-and-more

• City’s oldest photographer takes walk on the noir side: http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/nativeson/article/City-s-oldest-photographer-takes-walk-on-the-12260038.php

PHOTOGRAPHY RESOURCES

• Adobe Stock has a good explanation of what images can be used for commercial purposes and when a release is required. Note that different rules apply to images created for personal use, journalistic or Fine Art purposes. https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/legal.html

• Do’s and Don’ts of memory card use: http://blog.jeffcable.com/2016/12/why-you-should-not-delete-images-on.html

• Searchable listing of local exhibits, talks, artists receptions, workshops, conferences, etc. related to photography: https://bayareaphotoscene.com

• The Fremont Photographic Society Website includes back-issues of The ShutterBug and tutorials for download: https://fremont.photoclubservices.com/

• The N4C website for information about competition rules, programs, resources, etc.: http://n4c.org/

• The N4C website for competition results: https://n4c.photoclubservices.com/

• Lighting tutorials. Click on the image to learn how it was made: http://bit.ly/2oxVoVD

• Test data for lenses and cameras: https://www.dxomark.com/

• Reducing blur from camera shake: http://bit.ly/2mn3n3u

• Lots of info on inkjet printing from Red River Paper: http://bit.ly/2fMNpxi

• Information on color spaces, device profiles, and conversions: http://www.dpbestflow.org/color/color-space-and-color-profiles

• Map of interesting photo locations within a 4 hour drive of San Francisco: https://www.davidcolemanphotography.com/resources

• Do your own resolution testing (free software image analysis software, too!): http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html

• Information on cleaning sensors: http://www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com and here: http://blog.jeffcable.com/2017/06/dust-spots-on-sensor-of-your-digital.html

Can you recommended good sources of information about photography, or better sources than the ones listed here? Let me know at douglas-stinson@comcast.net.

Competition Results

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COMPETITION LEVELS N4C supports multiple competition levels in each division. The Fremont Photographic Society has elected to stay with two levels only: Basic and Advanced. Any member can compete in either of the two levels. For example, a member can compete in Pictorial at the Advanced level and in Monochrome at the Basic level. A member is free to change from one level to the other at any time.

NOVEMBER COMPETITION RESULTS Judge: Ian Bornarth 17 prints & 55 projected; 72 Total

Monochrome Prints - Advanced

1st (Best in Show) Luminescent Lake Greg Geren

2nd Autumn Light Greg Geren

3rd Written in Sand Douglas Stinson HM Cathedral Rock Raul Lopez

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Creative Prints - Advanced

1st Unzipping the spring Marina Grabovskaya

2nd I believe I can fly… Marina Grabovskaya

Pictorial Prints - Advanced

1st Sierra Autumn Greg Geren

2nd Aspen Light Greg Geren

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3rd El Capitan in the Clouds Raul Lopez HM Bass Harbor Lighthouse Raul Lopez

Nature — Advanced

1st Wild Turkey Scratch; Nevada City, CA Greg Geren

Special Category Prints — “Collage”

1st Deconstructed building Marina Grabovskaya

Photojournalism Projected Images - Advanced

1st Bubbles are fun! Little girl has a blast creating giant

soap bubbles at New York City street fair Jason Cheng

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2nd Little girl with the pretty fairy at Oakland's Festival of

Lights Jason Cheng

3rd Spanish Bullfighting Ritual [1 of 3] Marina Grabovskaya HM Lick Observatory Photographers Bill Preston

Monochrome Projected Images — Advanced

1st (Best in Show) Windowed Reflections at China

Beach State Park Paul Kessinger

2nd Foggy Northern California Coast Rick Brandt

3rd Ominous Clouds Over Crypt at Mountain View

Cemetery Paul Kessinger HM Cheetah Sree Alavattam

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Travel Projected Images – Advanced

1st Chaotic Traffic, Cairo, Egypt Robert Bynum

2nd Wildebeest crossing is a major attraction and

spectacle to watch in Masai Mara, Kenya Sree Alavattam

3rd Lines of the Louvre Rajeev Shankar HM A tuk tuk rickshaw zooms by the Cambodian

Countryside Rajeev Shankar HM An Egret (Egreta thula) Appears to Take Off

Vertically From a Rocky Ledge Wayne Angeloty

Pictorial Projected Imaged– Advanced

1st Gamble Garden Beauty Rick Brandt

2nd Empty Bay Area #2 Yerba Buena Bill Preston

3rd The Girl in the Red Hat, Dia de los Muertos

Celebration, San Francisco's Mission District Paul Kessinger HM Boreas Pass, Breckenridge, Colorado Sree Alavattam HM Against the Current Wayne Angeloty

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Special Category Projected – “Collage”

1st Kids around the world Marina Grabovskaya

2nd SF Pano Ian Conger

Notes on FPS Scoring

Points are assigned as follows: 1st Place 20 2nd Place 18 3rd Place 16 Honorable Mention 14 Non-placing (Did not receive HM or higher) submission 8 Image/Print of Month, add 5 One Honorable Mention is allowed for every ten images submitted to a competition. For example, if 23 shots are submitted to the Pictorial Print competition, there will be two honorable mentions available. However, the number of awards issued is at the discretion of the judge. Up to 6 printed images and 5 projected images may be presented each month. Each sub-category (i.e. printed pictorial) is limited to 2 entries per member per month. Any picture that places 3rd or higher automatically will be collected and submitted to the monthly N4C competition, unless otherwise requested. An exception is for the Special Category, which does not have a corresponding N4C category. N4C participation is optional.

N4C Winners

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N4C MONTHLY COMPETITIONS All winning images (3rd and above) from the club’s monthly competitions are automatically entered into the next month’s N4C competition, unless requested otherwise. The Northern California Council of Camera Clubs (N4C) is an organization of camera clubs in the bay area and surrounding region that sponsors a monthly competition of the winners from18 member clubs.

The monthly N4C meeting is held the second Monday of each month from 7:30 to 9:30pm (no competition in December). Each club’s representative or alternate attends the meeting. The meeting takes place at:

United Methodist Church 1600 Bancroft Avenue San Leandro, CA 94577

Fremont Winners in the N4C November Competition

Creative Prints – Advanced (27 Entries)

1st Freeing herself from the feeble body – power of

mind over matter Marina Grabovskaya

2nd Grinding Out a Firey Drink Paul Kessinger

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Monochrome Projected – Advanced (26 Entries)

2nd Rugged Pacific Coast near Point Arena Greg Geren

HM High Sierra Greg Geren

Points Earned Vol. 48, No. 7

December 2017

Total Points To-Date for the 2017-2018 Year Creative Prints Doug Stinson 8 Greg Geren 18 Marina Grabovskaya 100 Paul Kessinger 41 Monochrome Prints Douglas Stinson 24 Greg Geren 149 Jason Cheng Joy Wang 20 Marina Grabovskaya 8 Paul Kessinger 132 Raul Lopez 22 Wayne Angeloty Nature Prints Doug Stinson Greg Geren 76 Marina Grabovskaya 20 Joy Wang Paul Kessinger 16 Raul Lopez Photojournalism Prints Fred Hom Greg Geren 18 Jason Cheng Joy Wang 20 Marina Grabovakaya 72 Paul Kessinger 40 Rajeev Shankar 16 Raul Lopez Wayne Angeloty Pictorial Prints Arthur Widener Douglas Stinson 33 Fred Hom Greg Geren 140 Hugh Nelson Jason Cheng Joy Wang Marina Grabovskaya 93 Paul Kessinger 124 Rajeev Shankar 16 Raul Lopez 30 Wayne Angeloty

Special Category Prints Greg Geren 20 Joy Wang Marina Grabovskaya 132 Paul Kessinger Raul Lopez Travel Prints Douglas Stinson Fred Hom Greg Geren Joy Wang 58 Marina Grabovskaya 74 Paul Kessinger 54 Raul Lopez Creative Projected Images Charlie Day Doug Stinson 8 Fred Hom 16 Greg Geren 16 Gregory Smith 46 Jason Cheng Joy Wang Marina Grabovskaya 95 Paul Kessinger 52 Rajeev Shankar 52 Raul Lopez Ravi Masand Sean Duan Sreedhara Alavattam 34 Wayne Angeloty 24 Monochrome Projected Images Arthur Widener 22 Bill Preston 8 Charlie Day 8 Doug Stinson 32 Fred Hom 16 Greg Geren 66 Gregory Smith 16 Jason Cheng 50 Joy Wang 42 Marina Grabovskaya 26 Paul Kessinger 145 Rajeev Shankar 38 Raul Lopez Ravi Masand Sean Duan 92 Sreedhara Alavattam 80 Wayne Angeloty 24

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Nature Projected Images Charlie Day 16 Ed Kneler Greg Geren 54 Gregory Smith Jason Cheng 30 Joy Wang 8 Paul Kessinger 8 Rajeev Shankar 34 Raul Lopez Ravi Masand Robert Bynum 24 Sean Duan 16 Sreedhara Alavattam 70 Wayne Angeloty 89 Photojournalism Projected Images Bill Preston 14 Charlie Day Doug Stinson 24 Ed Kneler Fred Hom Greg Geren 16 Jason Cheng 54 Joy Wang 14 Marina Grabovskaya 83 Paul Kessinger 30 Rajeev Shankar 36 Raul Lopez Ravi Masand Robert Bynum 24 Sean Duan 16 Sreedhara Alavattam 26 Wayne Angeloty 38 Pictorial Projected Images Arthur Widener 22 Bill Preston 42 Charlie Day 24 Doug Stinson 88 Ed Kneler Fred Hom Greg Geren 88 Gregory Smith 61 Jason Cheng 76 Joy Wang 32 Marina Grabovskaya 74 Paul Kessinger 102 Rajeev Shankar 64 Raul Lopez Ravi Masand Rick Brandt 28 Robert Bynum 8 Sean Duan 84 Sreedhara Alavattam 88 Wayne Angeloty 78

Special Category Projected Images Charlie Day Doug Stinson 38 Fred Hom 18 Greg Geren 40 Jason Cheng Joy Wang 8 Marina Grabovskaya 94 Paul Kessinger Rajeev Shankar Raul Lopez Robert Bynum 34 Ravi Masand Sean Duan 8 Sreedhara Alavattam 46 Travel Projected Images Bill Preston Charlie Day Doug Stinson Ed Kneler Fred Hom Greg Geren 8 Jason Cheng 8 Joy Wang 8 Marina Grabovskaya 69 Paul Kessinger 16 Rajeev Shankar 34 Raul Lopez Ravi Masand Robert Bynum 26 Sean Duan Sreedhara Alavattam 36 Wayne Angeloty Total Points All Categories Arthur Widener 44 Bill Preston 64 Charlie Day 48 Douglas Stinson 255 Ed Kneler Fred Horn 50 Greg Geren 717 Gregory Smith 123 Hugh Nelson Jason Cheng 218 Joy Wang 210 Marina Grabovskaya 956 Paul Kessinger 760 Rajeev Shankar 320 Raul Lopez 52 Ravi Masand Rick Brandt 36 Robert Bynum 144 Sean Duan 224 Sreedhara Alavattam 398 Wayne Angeloty 261