May 1, 2014 Newsletter
Transcription
May 1, 2014 Newsletter
Black Hills Expressions Newsletter of the Black Hills Photography Club May/June 2014 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Spring is here! I think… It doesn’t exactly feel like it when the Black Hills is receiving snow as I write this message on April 28th. I will be glad when spring actually arrives and good weather allows us to get out and enjoy the newness of life that happens this time of year. You will want to attend our May club meeting on Tuesday, May 13th at 6:30PM. It will be a great time with lots of activity. Spring flowers are starting to bloom and young bison calves are being born. Soon we will see baby pronghorn and deer as well. I look forward to getting out and capturing the flowers and newborn wildlife in May and June. We could do with less wind as well. Deb Zimmerman will be presenting a slide show from her exciting trip to Africa last year. Club members can also sell equipment from their inventories. And Kaycee Baye will be taking photos of club members to be posted on our website. I hope you all attend and have your image taken. With the club at 100 members now, it is hard to remember all the names and faces. Hope to see you all there! I want to thank Dick Kettlewell again for judging at our April club meeting. I also want to congratulate everyone who submitted images for the competition. The number of entries grew from our last competition. Dick always does a great job judging for our club. Ted Ayers will be presenting his slide show again on May 15th at 6:30PM at Fish and Game West Campus and again on May 17th (time TBA) at Western Dakota Tech Library. If you have not seen Ted’s slide show, you will want to put these dates on your calendar. I encourage club members to shoot and submit images for our next competition subjects: June = Nature, August = Portraits, October = Historical. So take advantage of the (hopefully) impending nicer weather and start capturing your Nature images. Reminder to all club members: please submit 2 images per month to Ted Ayers for our 2014 Christmas Slide Show. Most of us have not been doing that, so I encourage all of you to take the time. Our field trip to Deadwood and Lead in April was cancelled due to bad weather, but I know we have more great field trips planned for May and June. Anne LeChette will send out club emails to announce them. A big thank you to Chasity Marcus and Ted Ayers for publishing this great newsletter. Your President, Harlan Humphrey MESSAGE FROM THE EDITORS We welcome articles, tips, photos, items for sale and other newsworthy information from members with a firm mid-June deadline. This is YOUR newsletter, and all members are welcome and encouraged to contribute.! ! ! ! ! ! Thank you, Chasity & Ted Meeker Ranch Field Trip by Barry Castetter It was an early rise the morning of March 29th for a 5:15 AM departure for Meeker Ranch outside the city of Custer. Having never been there, I was excited for the opportunity to visit yet another piece of rich South Dakota history. After turning off the paved road, the dirt road proved to be longer than expected and with active logging operations parked for the day, we found the gate to stop wheeled traffic and started our foot journey about a half-mile to the Ranch. The meadow itself where the Ranch sits is beautiful, and I quickly realized why rancher Frank Cunningham Meeker, a member of the Pony Express, found this place to homestead in the 1880’s. It was eventually used for storage and other purposes over the years until quickly deteriorating into disrepair. The ranch became famous when Jon Crane’s wonderful watercolors forever captured its beauty on canvas. The ranch was scheduled for demolition, but Jon stepped forward in an effort to save the history of this beautiful place. Long story short, he got the attention of the Black Hills Historic Preservation Trust who partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to help preserve the ranch. They re-shingled the roof on the main house and cellar to protect it from the hard South Dakota elements. Future projects are slated to fix some of the doors and windows. The goal is to eventually design a walk to the cabin with interpretive signs. If you have not had the pleasure of visiting this historic site, I strongly encourage you take the time to breathe in the history and capture your own images of historic Meeker Ranch. Roaming Around the Sonora Desert Environs by Ted Ayers During the past 7 weeks, I have been roaming around the Southern Sonora Desert environs chasing wildlife and searching for interesting places to photograph. My wanderings have included metropolitan Phoenix with its diverse landscape and hidden jewels, including the Desert Botanical Gardens, Boyce Thompson Arberatum, Butterfly Wonderland and Parks and Riparian Wetlands, Tucson with its historic and colorful downtown, Saguaro National Park, the Arizona Sonora Living Desert Museum and the Pima Air Museum. I also roamed further afield into the canyons of the Santa Rita and Catalina Mountains and the “Sky Island” area in search of some of the more unique wildlife and colorful birds that migrate through or summer in southern Arizona. Southern Arizona has been in a severe drought for some time so the Wildflower situation has not been good this year. However, the Cacti have put on a reasonable display of color, and the Saguaro are now blooming so I thought I would share some of my more interesting photos before we pack up to leave and exchange the hot sunny desert for the cooler Black Hills of South Dakota. The photographs range from Bees to Butterflies, Grasshoppers to Airplanes, Lizards to Coatamundi’s, Hummingbirds to Vultures, Cactus to Cathedrals, and Flowers to Garden Art. What a great area for a BHPC Field Trip!!! Something for everyone. Easter Extravaganza by Chasity Marcus Talks of Easter travels started in December when we decided to visit our best friends in Minneapolis with a plan to explore the Mall of America, specifically the American Girl Doll store and LegoLand. So when I pulled out the Easter decorations in early April, the kids were ecstatic and counting down the days... After a few rounds of Easter egg hunting, they decided to emulate the basketball tourney on TV and shoot a few slam dunks themselves. We broke up our 10-hour drive by spending a night in Yale, SD just outside of Huron, where my grandmother Ormalyn was born and remains the oldest resident at the age of 93. While she is still spunky and silly, she did break her leg just before Christmas. She wanted to give up, but four months later, she is back in her home, coloring pictures and kissing her great grandkids goodnight. Special moments for us all. Her table was imported from German relatives a century ago. The china cabinet on the left and the grandfather clock on the right were built by my late grandfather. Her home was also built by my grandfather as were numerous homes in the surrounding rural area. I would love to photograph some of them this summer as a gift for my dear granny. Life is so fleeting with young kids and busy schedules. I always beat myself up that I have not yet learned to shoot in manual mode, but truth be told, my purpose right now is to capture the moments before they pass. The final product may not be perfect, and I don’t have much time to play on Photoshop to make them perfect, so I do what I can and have some fun along the way. Lately, I’ve been playing with Photoshop Elements Effects. I figure every time I take a picture, process a picture, print a picture is a stepping stone not only to becoming a better photographer, but more importantly to becoming the story teller of my own family’s life adventure. Pictures are about composition and lighting, but they’re also about memories. I love when my kids sit next to me on the couch and ask to look at the “pictures on my ‘puter.” We reminisce and laugh while creating narratives, especially for the funny ones! APRIL 2014 BHPC Competition Results Judged by Dick Kettlewell CATEGORY: Black & White 1st - Anticipation by Thomas Hansen NOVICE 2nd - Very Soon Torstein by Thomas Hansen 3rd - Bear Butte’s Snowy Veil by Mary Hercher APRIL 2014 BHPC Competition Results Judged by Dick Kettlewell CATEGORY: Black & White 1st - Nebraska Thunderstorm by Duff McCafferty AMATEUR 2nd - Growth by Alysha Whittaker 3rd - Fly Fishing at Shootout by Colton Erk HM - Sundog by Anne LeChette APRIL 2014 BHPC Competition Results Judged by Dick Kettlewell CATEGORY: Black & White 1st - Needles Rappel by Dennis Laughlin ADVANCED AMATEUR 2nd - Photographer’s Eye by Joyce Sauer HM - White Lion by Deb Zimmerman 3rd - Ardmore by Eva Bareis APRIL 2014 BHPC Competition Results Judged by Dick Kettlewell CATEGORY: Black & White 1st - Baby Red Fox by Harlan Humphrey MASTER 2nd - Milky Way Gazer by Kaleb Zook HM - Lady Evelynn by Markus Erk 3rd - Little Elk Creek by Harlan Humphrey * 7 Tips for Raptor Photography * (For non-captive, wild birds) 1) Burst mode’s best. When birds blink, their second eyelid (called a nictitating membrane) opens and closes, which can result in strange looking images. Since an in-focus eye is one wildlife-photography “must,” burst mode ups your chances of capturing keepers. It also helps collect quick action such as birds fighting over carrion, landing, and taking off. 2) Wary is the word. Nobody had to teach raptors about stranger danger—these birds are born nervous! Quick movement catches their eyes the most. In and out lens movement may even give them pause. Act like a statue, staying still as much as possible. Nervous birds will look at you; if one does, FREEZE! If not careful your actions will scatter your subjects—for the rest of the day. Allow raptors to relax after you shoot your landing shots. A raptor on one foot signifies a relaxed bird. A bird stretching its wings might make you think he’s relaxed, but not necessarily! If he has sat still for a while the opposite is probably true—he’s probably preparing for take-off. 3) Keep concealed. There’s a reason we use the phrase “eagle eye” : raptors will see you before you see them (see tip #2). Your best bet’s to work from a blind. Often a vehicle works well as a blind, especially if you bring your biggest lens and sit extra still for a while after shutting off the engine. Since I’m talking about photographing non-captive birds, plan on staying far away from these subjects. 4) Stay silent. Raptors can hear well. Vertically offset ears located just behind the eyes help hone in on sound location. Some species get extra ear-range from facial disk feather arrangement. Your voice and your shutter—especially non-stop actuation—could cause the birds to leave for the day. If you must talk, keep your voice down. And use short bursts when shooting. 5) Lookout for landings. Focus on where a bird is headed before she arrives. Like airplanes, most birds (including raptors) take off and land into the wind. Considering when the light’s best for photography, an a.m. east wind and a west wind in the afternoon, means you’re in luck! 6) Prepare for lift-off. You get some of your best action shots as birds leave. That means you’ve got prepare for take-off. Good news! Raptors also prepare for take-off and will give you plenty of signs that they’re about to depart. A bird looking into the breeze and/or crouching is a bird about to take-off. So, too, is a bird that defecates. 7) Practice patience. Patience pays in wildlife photography, especially when shooting raptors. Don’t fire away at a perched bird just sitting there. You’re creating lots of boring images and running the risk of scaring your subject away with the sound of your shutter. Wait for natural behavior, the kind of show a relaxed bird puts on: stretching, preening, calling, eating. Wait for her to do something before taking your shot. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wildlife photographer, Jeff Parker, leads the naturally curious on photo tours throughout North, South, and Central America. Join him & Explore in Focus™! Questions about bird photography? Give Jeff a call or send him an email. He’ll be happy to help you out! Click: www.ExploreInFocus.com ~ OR ~ Call: (512) 378-3355 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MEMBERS MARKET Chasity Marcus Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 DG 1.4x Extender: $250 * mint condition Vivitar Series 1 90 mm, f 2.5 Macro Lens: $350 * universal mount * can be adapted to Canon, Nikon, Pentax or Minolta * manual operation only * very high quality lens in near mint condition Vivitar Series 1 800mm f8 Mirror Lens, MF Universal Mt: $150 * new in Box. Sigma 70-‐300 f4-‐5.6 DL AF Lens for Canon EOS: $125 * mint condition Ted Ayers @ [email protected] -‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐-‐ Kodak Eastman Beau Brownie 2A with case: $140 * mint condition Jacqueline Rinehart @ 591-‐2943 BIRTHDAYS MAY: JUNE: 4! Teresa Espinoza 3! Karen Marchiando 6! Tom Huwe 8! Carol Keierleber 12! Sheila Knight 8! Jim Hatzell 17! Harold Snyder 14! Steve Reffey 20! Bernie Butcher 18! Kaycee Baye 20! Anne Larkins 20! Becky Fish 24! Duff McCafferty 21! Jackie Rinehart 26! Krista Hofer 21! Dave Vaughn 29! Janell Gibson Chasity Marcus
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