August 2021

From the Board...

Greetings, fellow Camera Club members.

I am pleased to announce that the GVR Camera Club is open again. Our planned opening on July 12 marked the first step in the Club getting back to normal after the extended closure caused by Covid-19. Even though club attendance is usually very low during the summer break, we wanted to get the kinks out and take advantage of the rest of the summer to be fully prepared for the 2021-2022 season starting this fall. However, there are still challenges to overcome, and your help is needed to get the job done.

• At the top of the list is building up our staff of volunteer club monitors. Over the past year our group of year around monitor volunteers has diminished to the point that we had to scale back summer hours to just Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Look for Sam Schaen’s article on the importance and rewards of volunteering for this important club function here.

• Field Trip activities need to be planned and organized. Look for Sue Rock’s article on Planning for Next Season here.

• On-line activities during the past year have been so successful that we want to continue providing them for the membership in addition to returning to in-person meetings and presentations. Along with your continues support, work is underway to make that happen.

Our Club is successful because of the many members who volunteer to support the Club’s many functions. With your help we can look forward to a great 2021-2022 season.

Stay well.

Danny Valenzuela, Interim President

GVR Camera Club Reopens

After 15 months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic our club facilities have reopened. Detailed planning and execution for the July 12 reopening was successfully accomplished with the dedicated help of many club members that made it happen. Thanks to you all.

To those of you who haven’t fled north for the summer, you are now able to take advantage of all the post processing capabilities the club offers and enjoy meeting face to face again.

While many of the SIGs are still meeting only on-line, planning is in the works to hold meetings and presentations in person and on-line via Zoom. We all look forward to a great season starting this fall.

Consider Volunteering as a Club Monitor

The long shutdown of the Club’s facilities has taken its toll on the number of active monitor volunteers available to keep the club facilities open and available for our members. So much so that we had to reduce the Club’s summer open hours to just Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

What if you could…

• Meet new people…
• Make new friends…
• Learn some new skills…
• Develop new interests…
• Take advantage of the Club’s extensive library at your fingertips…
• ...all the while providing a valuable function for the operation of the Club’s facilities? 

Well, you can by volunteering as a Club Monitor. We need your help in expanding the monitor pool so we can maintain a full weekday schedule starting this fall.

Monitoring is a fun activity and helps the Club provide all the benefits that we offer to our members. Typically, monitors welcome and check in club members, answer the phone and inform those seeking information about the Club. You are not expected to know how to use the equipment. Volunteers are trained and paired with experienced monitors while on duty, and instructions and a training video are always available on-line for review.

Whether you're here year around or a snowbird, if you have interest and want to get more involved in the Club, I’d love to hear from you. Contact me here or by phone at 520-207-4364.

Sam Schaen, Monitor Coordinator

Photo of the Month

The August Photo of the Month is by Jeff Lierman, a gorgeous black and white taken on one of the Gammon's Gulch field trips. Congratulations, Jeff.

The Photo of the Month is chosen from the Photo of the Day series published on the Club's Facebook page from the 26th of the previous month to the 25th of last month. Keep sending the best of your work to Judith Pollard at jmp7741@gmail.com.

Special Display at the Club Library

With the monsoon in full force this year, it gives photographers the opportunity to find special shots of our Arizona landscape; clouds banking, lightning behind the Santa Rita’s, a rainbow, reflections in a water puddle, and best of all, the splendor of the desert greening and blooming.

And now that the Club is open, you can take advantage of the huge collection of books and magazines in the Club’s library. I’ve set up a special display of landscape photography books to help you get those great shots. Check one or more out and brush up on your desert photography.

Some of the titles:

·   Developing Vision & Style

·   Photographing the Landscape

·   Landscape Photography

·   The Landscape Photography Bible

·    Photographing Nature

·    Field Photography

·    Inner Game of Outdoor Photography

·    and more!

Check it out. Get creative. Have fun. Find more on the Club's Library here.

Becky McCreary, Librarian

I have my feet in the water, sitting in the sand, with a beer in my hand, celebrating the “Dog Days of Summer”.

Upon that reflection, I thought that I could use this time to teach and old dog new tricks. I decided to master a new piece of photo editing software this summer. So I’m learning to use Smart Photo Editor as my summer project.

And then I thought, with all of us spread across the country during the summer months, it’s difficult to keep education alive for our members. Let’s make a challenge to all our GVR Camera Club members; Choose a piece of photo editing software and try to master it this summer.

• Choose any photo editing software package. GIMP is an open source program, Photoshop Elements is a currently popular editor, and Affinity, Luminar and Topaz offer some powerful features.

• Visit the GVR Camera Club’s You Tube site and see if there are any videos on your chosen software.

• Go to You Tube and do a search on the software you’ve chosen. You’re sure to find some instructional videos that are done well.

• Check out the GVR Camera Club’s Special Interest Groups to see if there is a group studying your chosen software.

Since were all spread out across the country and the GVR Camera Club is only open on a limited basis, a DIY project may just be the thing you need, no matter where you’re located.

Stay active and stay safe.

This Month's Club Activities

Jump to SIGs

Jump to Travelogue

Jump to Field Trips

Jump to Photo Ops

Jump to Showtime

Jump to Speaker Series

Check the club calendar here for the latest information on all club activities.

Travelogue

On Summer Break

Although we are in fact on summer break, It's never too early to ask members to keep the next season of Travelogue in mind. Presentations can be comprised of stills and/or video in any combination with a length of between 10 and 20 minutes. We all would like to see what you want to share.

If you have a Travelogue to present for the season starting in November, please contact me here, or call me at (970) 596-1505.

Paul McCreary, Travelogue Moderator

Field Trips

Planning for Next Season

July Photo Opportunities

Southeast Arizona Birding Festival

• August 11-15 - Registration $20
• Expert-guided birding, wildlife and culture field trips, photography and bird-ID workshops, free nature presentations, vendors and activities.
• Find more information here.

Annual DOC Holli-DAYS Event

• August 14-16  - Free.
• Tombstone, Arizona
• Find more information here.

Tucson's Official 246th Birthday Fiesta

• August 20 - Gate opens at 5:45 pm - Festivities start at 6:15 - Free.
• Presidio San Agustin del Tucson Museum and the Turquoise Trail
• Find more information here.

Southern Arizona's Monsoon

• Now thru the end of Monsoon Season
• As Becky McCreary, our club librarian, wrote, "Find special shots of our Arizona landscape; clouds banking, lightning behind the Santa Rita’s, a rainbow, reflections in a water puddle, and best of all, the splendor of the desert greening and blooming."

Patty Ferguson, Photo Op Coordinator

Showtime

Closed for the Season

Look forward to another great Showtime series starting in December. 

Speaker Series

On Summer Break

Look forward to a new season of Speaker Series presentations starting this fall.

Special Interest Groups are fun and informative. Any member of the Camera Club is welcome to attend any of the SIGs. Not all are meeting during the summer break. Details below.

• Multimedia SIG - Grace Pitzer, moderator.
• Learn what it’s all about. Bring your video project to share for comments & suggestions.
  
• Mondays @ 10:00 am - Meetings are online via Zoom. Register here on the GVR website to join and get the Zoom link to attend.

• Black and White SIG - Wendell Werner, moderator.
• Members bring their images to examine the special qualities of monochrome photography and share editing techniques in composition and lighting.
• Tuesdays @ 1:30 pm - Meetings are online via Zoom every other Tuesday for the summer. Register here on the GVR website to join and get the Zoom link to attend.

• Studio and Fine Art Photography SIG - Sandy Ostroff, moderator.
• Explore new techniques and broaden your skills.
  
• Monday's @ 1:30 pm - Meetings are online via Zoom. Register here on the GVR website to join and get the Zoom link to attend.

• Hit me with Your Best Shot SIG - Pat Caniff, moderator.
• Bring five examples of your best efforts to show.
  
• Thursdays at 1:00 pm - Meetings suspended until further notice.

• Photoshop/Lightroom SIG - Al Crawford, Moderator.
• Study techniques found in Photoshop CS and Lightroom that are not found in other photo processing tools.
• Wednesdays @ 9:30 am - Not meeting during the summer break.

• Field Trip SIG - Sue Rock, moderator.
• Plan, arrange, guide and advertise field trips.
• Wednesdays @ 4:00 pm - Not meeting during the summer break.

• Photoshop Elements SIG - Linda Gregory, moderator.
• Learn how to use Photoshop Elements post processing on your photos.
• Thursdays @ 9:30-11:00 am - Meetings are online via Zoom. Register here on the GVR website to join and get the Zoom link to attend. Participants have the option to send a few photos to Linda in an email for processing here. Submit at least one day prior to the SIG. Put "Elements SIG" in the subject line and describe what you want improved. 

• Bird Photography SIG - Mike McMinn, moderator.
• Improve your bird photography skills and share your best shots.
• Wednesdays @ 1:30 pm - Meetings are online via Zoom. Register here on the GVR website to join and get the Zoom link to attend.

• Rebel Rousers SIG - Al Crawford, Moderator.
• Share your interest in Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras.
• Fridays @ 9:30 am - Not meeting during the summer break.

Camera Club Library

The Camera Club library shelves are full of photography related books for members to borrow. Subjects include tips and techniques, software, photographers, black & white photos, lighting, studio photography, IPhone techniques, landscape and wildlife shots, and many, many more.

Books may be checked out for three (3) weeks and renewed another three weeks if no one is waiting for the book.  We also have older magazines to enjoy. Stop by and browse the shelves!

Also, if you have books that were checked out before we closed for Covid-19, please return them to the library. Please contact me if you have questions.

Becky McCreary, Librarian

Monitor Notes

Help us provide all the benefits the Club offers to its members by volunteering as a monitor. As you take advantage of the Club's activities and its extensive digital processing equipment, consider sharing the effort in providing these services by volunteering as a monitor.

Monitors typically welcome and check in club members, answer the phone, and inform those seeking information about the Club. You are not expected to know how to use the equipment. Training takes about an hour. Review our Monitor training video here.

Contact: gvrcameramonitors@gmail.com for more information.

Green Valley Recreation Camera Club

The GVR Camera Club was established in the early 1970’s as one of many Green Valley Recreation organizations to serve its members and our community. Our main interest is photography, both still and video imaging. The Club has grown into one of the largest camera clubs in the country with over 750 active members.

The Club is located on the 2nd floor of the west wing at the Santa Rita Springs GVR Recreation Center. You may contact us at:

PO Box 1423, Green Valley, AZ 85622 or gvrcameraclub@gmail.com. 

Neil Wicai, Newsletter Editor - neilwicai@gmail.com - 575-224-1238