A slow post. A short post. But a post nonetheless.
November 6th meeting.
Prints and digitals for Out-of-Camera were submitted.
Howie Levitz spoke on the topic of Shadows. In an interesting twist, this talk was done without the use of the projector or other traditional visual aids. Howie spoke of light and shadows in depth. Some of the highlights of the discussion (with a few of my own thoughts) included:
- Shadows are “light, interrupted”. Also, simply a “dark area where light is blocked”.
- There are different levels of dark within a shadow. Whether you bring out the subtle details within a shadow or bump up the contrast to make the shadow more intense is entirely up to you as the artist, BUT know why you are doing it. What are you trying to accomplish?
- Shadows can have soft or hard edges. They can give hints of time of day, depending on their lengths. They can enhance the 3d appearance of an object by how they are cast on its surface. In essence, not all shadows are equal. Some have more personality than others.
- Shadows (and light) can show texture, hide portions of a scene, create patterns/shapes, enhance the 3D appearance of things.
As they relate to the competition… The shadows of your image are not an incidental afterthought. They don’t “simply exist” somewhere in your photo. The shadows do not have to be the actual subject of the image, but they should be a primary element. The shadows should contribute to the appeal of the image.
November 20th Meeting
Our next meeting, this Tuesday, will be when Out-of-Camera gets judged. It is also the deadline for getting in your Shadows entries.
Holiday Party
December 16th (a Sunday) will be the Holiday Party. In a change of venue (I think we still have some members waiting on their orders at last year’s place), we will be meeting at Mascots at 6pm. Topic for the photo contest will be (per the usual) Holiday related images. Specifically, December holidays.
Upcoming Photo-Ops
- November 22 – Thankful 5K Run and Pie Sale. People running a race before eating their Thanksgiving Day meals. Plus, there’s pie. The only way to make this even any better would be if the runners had to dress up like turkeys, there was only one pie, and they had to run to catch the pie before anyone else. Oh, well. Maybe next year.
- November 23 – Moonlight Owl and Wildlife Prowl. $3-$8. 5:30pm-7:00pm. A moonlit stroll at Pleasant Valley. Tea and hot cocoa after the walk.
- Until November 30th – Pittsfield Photo Challenge. A photo contest with prizes in Pittsfield. Accepting entries until the end of November. I would love to see someone from the club win this.
- Also Until November 30th – Smithsonian Photo Contest. Lots of competition, but you can enter multiple times and there are plenty of categories to choose from. This one is worth a look, if only to draw inspiration from the images that have already been submitted!