- El Dorado Camera Club

Foothill
Focus
THE
Newsletter of the El Dorado Camera Club
Vol. 14, No. 1
Dedicated to Sharing, Learning, and Enjoying Photography
Spring 2004
Digital E-Book Review
By Bill Robinson
“THE 123 OF DIGITAL IMAGING,” an
interactive e-book created by Vincent
Bockaert, is an interesting and unusual approach to an imaging book. I
found it to be very useful and, in
many instances, enlightening.
The e-book can be ordered as
an executable file (an .exe file) that
you can download or you can order
the retail version via mail-order. The
demo version that can be downloaded
is a stripped-down version of the real
e-book, but it gives you a little flavor
of the real thing. When I downloaded
the demo, it intrigued me enough that
I wanted to buy the entire e-book.
The e-book is based around
the Adobe imaging products:
Adobe Photoshop 7 and CS, Adobe
Photoshop Elements 2, and Adobe
Photoshop Album 1 and 2. The
“123” in the title of the e-book refers to three steps of digital imaging
that the author has broken the process into:
♦ Step 1 – understand digital
imaging and select the right
camera (chapters 1-3)
♦ Step 2 – correct and enhance
your images in the
“Pixelroom” (chapters 4-12)
♦ Step 3 – manage, view, share,
print or develop your images
(chapters 13-16)
Sample page from the e-book, “The 123 of Digital Imaging,” featuring an interactive simulation
showing the effect of JPEG compression on image quality
In addition to the introductory
material, there are 16 chapters and
four appendices included in the ebook, for a total of well over 2,200 ebook “pages.”
Since this is an interactive ebook, you have many options as to
how you can proceed through the ebook: you can go through it in order
from beginning to end (which is what
I did) or you can jump around to anywhere you want.
There is obviously a lot of interconnected information within the ebook, which can be confusing if you
are not used to reading interactive ebooks online. I found it very useful to
go through it from beginning to end,
especially because there is a lot of
very useful information in the beginning. Even though much of the beginning information is review for
folks who know a lot about digital
imaging, there are “nuggets” of information that I found as I went through
it. One such nugget was the section in
chapter 1 about sensors, with tables
showing the relative sizes of various
digital camera sensors.
Each topic has an “Essential”
section and an “Advanced” section.
Continued on page 3
EDCC New Members
Welcome to our new members! Be sure to add their
contact information to your EDCC Directory:
Now
Showing
Rick Exstrom
Wythe Gallery
340 Main Street
Placerville, California
Janice McBride
Wythe Gallery
340 Main Street
Placerville, California
Nelson Passas
Gallery El Dorado
6180 Main Street
Placerville, California
Jim Taylor
River City Bank
348 Main Street
Placerville, California
Shelly Thorene
Trilogy Gallery
420 Main Street
Placerville, California
Russ Hooker
1400 Craydon Place
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
(916) 933-5958
[email protected]
Bill Robinson
WHR Studios
4581 Chrome Ridge Ct.
Placerville, CA 95667
(530) 626-9177
Keith McIntyre
3720 One Way Lane
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
(916) 956-7347
[email protected]
Susan Ott
P.O. Box 992
Shingle Springs, CA 95682
Shelly Thorene
Opens New Studio
In November, EDCC member
Shelly Thorene announced the
opening of her new photography
studio. Irons in the Fire is located at 429 Main Street, Suite
1, in Placerville. Shelly specializes in fine art photography,
photo restoration, and art workshops. She can be reached at
(530) 626-4992 or email
[email protected].
More Member News
The day after our Christmas
party, Claire and Herb Floyd departed for their permanent move
to Colorado. We thank them for
the years of contribution to our
club and we wish them well in
their new home.
New members John and Judy
Brantner spent two months in New
Zealand and the Pacific islands.
They will present a show of their
travel photos at our June meeting.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Membership Dues For 2004 Are Now Due
Dues are $24.00 per person or couple. Please send a check for
your membership dues along with member name(s) and contact
information, including address, telephone, fax, and email to:
Randy Wilkinson, Treasurer
El Dorado Camera Club
5540 Green Valley Road, Placerville, CA 95667
Membership dues notices are NOT mailed out to members, so
please remember to submit your dues as soon as possible.
Membership dues must be current by the February 2004 membership
meeting for inclusion in the Directory, to be published in March.
Page 2
Foothill Focus
Spring 2004
Betty Sederquist Becomes EDCC Honorary Life Member
During our January 15 meeting, President Lori Wahl
presented Betty Sederquist with an Honorary Life
Membership in the El Dorado Camera Club.
Betty is an instructor of photography at Consumnes River College (CRC) and leads photography
workshops around the world. Many EDCC members
first heard about our camera club through Betty’s
classes at CRC. In addition, Betty has led EDCC
workshops, made educational presentations during
our meetings, and has judged and critiqued the work
of EDCC photographers.
Life Memberships are awarded to individuals
who have made a significant contribution to the photographic community in El Dorado County. In past
years, EDCC Life Memberships have been bestowed
upon Dorothy Fields, Jim Ginney, Marion Pedlar,
Make Rafferty, and Herb Samuels. President Lori Wahl presents Betty Sederquist with a certificate of Honorary Life Membership in the El Dorado Camera Club.
Digital E-Book Review
Continued from Page 1
The Essential section gets you into
the topic quickly. It is primarily
meant for beginners, but is good to
go through even if you already know
a lot. The Essential sections are based
around Adobe Photoshop Elements
2.0 and Adobe Photoshop Album 1
and 2.
The Advanced section builds on
the Essential section and is more indepth and detailed. The Advanced
sections are based around Adobe
Photoshop 7 and Adobe Photoshop
CS. These are the sections that I
mainly concentrated on since I am
using Photoshop CS.
The main things I liked about
the e-book were the animations and
the interactive tables. I found most of
the animations to be clear and very
useful for showing me how a particular task can be done. The interactive
tables were an especially interesting
touch. You are presented with a table
containing buttons and graphics and
when you click on a particular button, the graphic changes to show you
that effect.
Spring 2004
Overall, I found this to be a
very worthwhile package and would
highly recommend it to anyone at any
level of digital imaging expertise, but
particularly to beginner-intermediate
folks. I have been around digital imaging for many years and found many
pieces of information that I could use
right away.
The 123 of Digital Imaging
Interactive e-book can be purchased
as a download or you can get it via
mail order.
The download version is 76
MB and costs $39.00 from
www.123di.com. (Note that all of
the extra items included on the retail/mail-order version, as noted
below, can be obtained on the web.)
The retail/mail-order version
costs $49.99 plus $4.99 for shipping
and handling. When you get this version, here is what comes on the CD:
• Full version of the 123di interactive e-book
• Trial versions of ACDSee (digital
photo software and picture
viewer) and ACDSee FotoCanvas
(photo editor)
Foothill Focus
• Freeware versions of Adobe
Reader, cdTree Standard (a file organizing utility), Panorama Tools
(tools to correct barrel distortion
and pin cushion distortion), and
Xpress Online Printing (connects to
online photo processing labs worldwide)
• Starter Edition of Adobe Photoshop
Album
• Tryouts of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop
• Shareware version of cdTree Pro
(pro version of the above file organizing utility)
• 30-day trial version of PTGui (a
panorama maker tool)
• Demo version of PhotoRescue
(digital image and data recovery
software)
Add this interactive e-book to
your arsenal of knowledge and see if
it benefits you as it has me. Go to
www.123di.com and download the
demo version to see for yourself. Page 3
In The Bag
By Karen Buckland
JUST BECAUSE IT’S COLD OUTSIDE, it doesn’t mean we have to
put our cameras away. You can be
very comfortable photographing
in cold weather if you dress properly. Of course, when photographing in cold weather our fingers
can really suffer if they are exposed to the elements while trying
to manipulate all of the buttons
and dials on our cameras. That is
when it pays to have a good hand
warming system as part of your
camera gear.
Although many gloves can
be too bulky to be functional, I
have found a combination that
really works well. First of all, I
use a good pair of lightweight
gloves or glove liners, which can
be used alone in moderately cool
weather.
My favorite lightweight
gloves are the Manzella Z-Base®
Silkweight Windstopper Gloves
($25 at REI). These gloves provide just the right mix of windproof warmth and breathability,
Page 4
incorporating a tough nylon shell
with Gore’s N2S (next-to-skin)
Windstopper® membrane. The
palms and fingertips feature a
textured, flexible PVC coating
for waterproof, abrasionresistant traction. This helps you
grip your camera and manipulate
the camera controls. Elastic
wristbands and cuffs provide a
custom fit and help seal in
warmth.
My second choice in lightweight gloves are the Manzella
Z-Base Outlast Grip Glove
Liners ($12 at REI). These also
feature a textured surface on
the palms and fingers for excellent grip. The fabric utilizes
Outlast Temperature Regulation Technology which absorbs, stores, and then releases
your body heat as needed to
help you stay comfortable.
(They do not feature the windstopper fabric, however.) The
gloves are seamless knit for a
smooth fit with rib-knit cuffs to
keep out the cold.
In colder weather, I find
it necessary to add an additional layer over the lightweight gloves or glove liners.
I have found the REI Wind
Pro Glove/Mitt ($36 at REI)
to work well for this purpose.
These gloves combine the
Foothill Focus
warmth of a mitten with the
nimbleness of a fingerless
glove. The mittens easily convert to fingerless gloves by
folding the fingertip cover
back over the knuckles. The
cover secures in place with a
Velcro ® tab. The fabric is Polartec Wind Pro ® which provides warmth, durability and
breathability without the
weight and bulk of traditional
insulating fabrics. The palms
are covered with Pittards ® Carbon Leather, providing excellent grip.
When the temperatures dip
well below freezing, I place a
pair of Heat Treat Hand Warmer
packets ($1.50/pair at REI) inside of the mitten covers of the
glove/mitt. This way I can warm
up my fingertips when they start
to get to cold, yet still uncover
my fingers easily, exposing only
the glove liners, to manipulate
the small buttons and dials of
my camera.
I have used this hand warming system for hours at temperatures below 20°F. Now I just
need to figure out how to keep
my camera batteries warm! Spring 2004
SLIDE SHOOTERS COMPETITION — FEBRUARY 19, 2004
Date:
Location:
Judge:
Theme:
Entry Time:
Judging Begins:
For More Info:
Thursday, February 19
ERA Meeting Room
4064 Flying C Road, Suite 19
Cameron Park
PSA-Qualified Judge to be announced
Water
6:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Al Rotting at 676-0649
email: [email protected]
Categories
Judging will follow PSA format. Ribbons will be
awarded for each category of each division. All 12 point
winners will receive a Blue “Honor Award” ribbon. First,
Second, and Third place will be selected from the 12-point
winners. Awards will be in the following divisions:
• Nature (no hand-of-man)
• Landscape/Scenic
• Animals
• Portrait
• Open
• Theme: Water
Definitions
Each competition has a different theme. Use your imagination
when expressing the theme photographically. The “Best of Theme” winner will receive a $25 prize!
In the category "Nature (no hand-of-man)" the subject should be
untouched by people and there should be no recognizable evidence
anything made by people in the photograph.
The "Open" category is the place for pictorial prints including
architecture, still life, and other subjects which do not fit into the other
categories.
The "Theme" category may contain photos that would otherwise fit
into other categories if they were not related to the theme. In other
words, you could have a theme photo that is a landscape, a theme photo
that is a portrait, a theme photo that is a still life, etc. The only requirement is that the photo express the theme of the competition.
Entry Instructions
Bring your slides in standard slide mounts, to the assigned
room as soon after 6:00 p.m. as possible. This will be a nonnarrative presentation (which means individual slides will be
projected without sound). Create a suitable title for each
print. Be sure to follow the competition rules on entering.
Place your slides in the category which best fits the description given.
Slide Competition Rules
1. Fee per entry: EDCC members, $2.00 per entry; NonEDCC members, $3.00 per entry.
2. No limit to the number of slides entered.
3. Photographs must have been exposed by entrant since
January 1998, but may have been processed by others.
4. Slide formats accepted are 35mm, 6x6, and 6x7.
5. Slides must be properly mounted in standard slide
mounts.
6. All entries must be labeled on the slide mount with entrant’s name, division,, and title.
7. Please identify each slide with a red dot on the lower left
hand corner of the image in its upright position so that we
know which way up to put them in the slide tray.
8. Photographs submitted in previous EDCC slide competitions not eligible. (Slides may be made into prints for entry into future EDCC print competitions.)
OUR NEW REGULAR MEETING LOCATION
ERA Realty Center
4064 Flying C Road, Suite 19, Cameron Park
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: From the Placerville area, drive west on Hwy 50 to the Cambridge Road exit. Turn left on Cambridge
Road (go over freeway). Turn left on Flying C Road. Turn left into the ERA Business Complex parking lot. Stay to the right. The
meeting room is between the Pool Table Store and the Select Group Marketing Department offices.
Thank you to the ERA Realty Center for providing this meeting location
You can visit their website at www.erarealtycenter.com
Spring 2004
Foothill Focus
Page 5
FALL PRINT COMPETITION RESULTS
November 20, 2003 — Theme: Red, White and/or Blue
B&W Nature (no hand-of-man)
… Glenda Bell.................. Sand Mountain
† Christine B.-Dost ......... Jelues
Two Entries
Color Landscape/Scenic
… Jim Taylor.................... Lee Vining Creek
† Al Rotting..................... Redwood Forest
‡ Karen Buckland ........... Red Lake Road
B&W Landscape/Scenic
… Mark Keith ................... Rail Yard
† Mark Keith ................... Brandon Harbor
Two Entries
Color Animals
… Jim Taylor.................... Avocets
† Donna Rinkleib ............ Watch Out
‡ Karen Buckland ........... Wild Turkey
B&W Animals
… Bob Smith.................... Intruder, London
One Entry
Color Portrait
… Jeanine Mays .............. Quality Time
† Jim Taylor.................... California Gull
‡ Jeanine Mays .............. Berle
B&W Portrait
… Jeanine Mays .............. Courtney
† Bob Smith.................... Buddhist Monk Cambodia
‡ Jeanine Mays .............. Let’s Rally
B&W Open
… Shelly Thorene ............ Catching Clouds
† Mark Keith ................... Old & Tired
‡ Christine B.-Dost ......... Mardi Gras Masks
Color Nature (no hand-of-man)
… Karen Buckland ........... Foraging in Snow
† Betty Rotting................ California Autumn
‡ Al Rotting..................... Sierra Nevada
Color Open
… Al Rotting..................... Unexpected Beauty
† Jim Taylor.................... Wisconsin
‡ Al Rotting..................... 4th of July
Alternative
… Arthur Bell.................... Pleasantville
† Bill Robinson ............... Hugging a Giant
‡ Bill Robinson ............... Flower Shop
Theme — Red, White and/or Blue
… Jeanine Mays .............. Within Us
† Cyndee McKelvie......... Proud of Mom
‡ Janis Arwell ................. Proud to Be an American
Best of Theme
Jeanine Mays’ photo, “Within Us,”
was the winner in the “Best of
Theme” category for best representing the theme “Red, White and/or
Blue.” A $25 prize was awarded for
the winning entry.
What lies behind us
and what lies before us
are tiny matters
compared to what
lies within us
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Page 6
Foothill Focus
Spring 2004
Digital Image Archiving with CD & DVD Media
Excerpted from an email by Walter
Starck; submitted by Lori Wahl
The recording medium in a CD-R
disk is a photo sensitive dye. Like all
dyes (including those used in color
film) they can change over time and
can be adversely affected by heat,
humidity, light, and chemicals.
Unlike the dyes in film however, the
dye layer in a CD-R enjoys considerable protection by being hermetically
sealed between two sheets of polycarbonate plastic.
If stored in a cool, dark, dry place
the readability of a CD-R will most
probably considerably exceed the useful life of a transparency and, if it is
readable at all, the image will be exactly the same as it was originally. The
image data on a disk can also be
quickly and easily updated to a fresh
disk or any other digital media at any
time without any loss in quality.
CD-Rs use one of three different dyes. These are phthalocyanine,
azo, and cyanine. The longest lasting CD-Rs, based on longevity testing, use phthalocyanine dye and
gold reflective layers. Phthalocyanine with gold & silver reflective
layers are next, followed by
phthalocyanine and silver or azo
and silver. Cyanine on anything
(only silver today) is the worst performing disc. Mitsui Gold CD-R &
Kodak Gold Ultima are high quality
phthalocyanine & gold disks and, if
archiving is your aim, these would
be your safest bet.
Editor’s Note: Kodak discontinued the making of their Gold Ultima
CD-Rs in January 2002.
In addition to dye stability, the
quality and sealing of the reflective
layer, the laminating of the disk itself, plus the quality of the polycarbonate plastic used are all important
to longevity. In short, not all disks
are the same and you get what you
pay for.
Spring 2004
Accelerated testing indicates
high quality disks will have a useful
life of about 200 years. This is
probably about as reliable as long
range weather forecasting, but from
everything we know it appears
highly likely that digital images
properly stored on high quality
disks will considerably outlast any
other current medium, including
film.
DVD disks use similar construction but employ different dyes.
Better quality DVDs claim >100
year longevity. This too can be
taken with a grain of salt, but synthetic dyes have been around for
over 100 years and dye technology
is pretty well understood. Polycarbonate has been around for almost
50 years, so it is reasonably safe to
assume that good quality CDs or
DVDs will probably outlast you
yourself.
Archiving to hard drives is
much more risky. Despite claims of
million hour MTBF (Mean Time
Between Failures) figures, most
drives only last a few years and
even new drives can (and often do)
stop working at any time. Unlike
CDs, hard drives are complex electro-mechanical devices with numerous points of possible failure and
deterioration. It is unlikely that
most of today's drives will be working only 10 years from now, even if
not used and carefully stored in a
cool dry place.
One hundred years ago only a
few photos were being taken, so
Foothill Focus
they are relatively rare and often of
considerable historical value. Still,
really, how interested are most of us
today in looking at them?
Now, every day, millions of
photos are taken, and thanks to digital technology vast quantities of them
will survive for a long time. From
now on future generations would
have to spend their entire lives just to
review the highlights of our own
lives. This just ain't gunna happen.
Already people are becoming saturated with this stuff. Only very few of
our photos will be of interest even 50
years from now. If we are realistic,
the number of images we have that
might be of real value for the long
term isn't large. A few copies stored
on high quality CDs will most likely
last long enough for future generations to decide if they are of enough
interest to further preserve by transferring to newer storage media.
A couple of copies of your most
important images on good quality CD
or DVD disks stored in safe places is
probably the safest form of archiving
one can get at present. If one really
wishes to do something that matters
to the future, things like spending
more time with your kids or beginning to recognize and dispense with
some of the more mindless, needless,
benefitless consumption we all participate in would be far more worthwhile than worrying unduly about the
archival life of CDs.
EDCC member Lori Wahl purchased 100 Mitsui Gold CD-R discs
with jewel cases from http://
www.synthemedia.com. She has resold some of these to members at a
price of $1.50 each, and has about
20 more she is willing to sell. Contact
Lori at (530) 642-2288 or email to
[email protected]
You can also find out more
about Mitsui media at http://
www. m it suicdr. com o r h t t p : / /
www.inkjetart.com. Page 7
Calendar of Events
Feb 19...... Slide Competition
Theme: Water
Mar 18....... Membership Meeting
Topic: Lighting
Apr 15....... Print Competition
Theme: New, But Old
May 20 ...... Membership Meeting
Forum: Printers and Papers
Jun 17....... Membership Meeting
Topic: New Zealand Travel
2004 EDCC Board of Directors
President
Lori Wahl ............... 642-2288
Vice President
Christine B.-Dost ... 295-3996
Treasurer
Betty Rotting.......... 676-0649
Secretary
Pauline Irwin.......... 644-4997
Membership/Publicity
Jeanine Mays ........ 672-0502
Visit our website at http://www.eldoradocameraclub.com
Newsletter Editor
Karen Buckland ..... 333-1534
The Foothill Focus is a quarterly newsletter published by the El Dorado
Camera Club. The club is dedicated to learning, sharing and enjoying photography. Regular club meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00
p.m., except July and December. Locations will be announced before each meeting. Visitors and non-members are always welcome to attend our meetings.
Print Competitions
Rob Stewart . (916) 425-3226
For further information about the club, including information about becoming a member, contact Jeanine Mays at (530) 672-0502 or email to [email protected].
The club is interested in submissions to this newsletter. To submit an article for
publication, contact Karen Buckland at (530) 333-1534, fax to (530) 333-2088, or
email to [email protected].
El Dorado Camera Club
P.O. Box 928
Diamond Springs, CA 95619
Social Director
Glenda Bell............ 672-6892
Slide Shooters
Albert Rotting......... 676-0649
Exhibit Coordinators
Nelson Passas ...... 626-3323
Marilyn Hrobsky..... 642-2524