December 2024

From the President... 

Greetings, everyone.

Our club is really busy this year and we’ve had a great turnout for our Field Trips, Special Interest Groups and Speaker Presentations. My thanks to all our volunteers!

We are recruiting people to help in coordinating our activities.

• Club Monitors. If you have not signed up yet to monitor in the clubhouse, I invite you to contact us to get training. This is a great way to meet fellow members.
• Snack Brigade. We need a coordinator to organize snacks for our public presentations. If we get several volunteers the load is easily spread amongst the various meetings.
• Photography & Computer Workshops. Do you have a skill that you would like to share?
• Legal Advice. We need someone with a legal background to help on occasion to review club documents and policy.
• Displaying Photos. We have a great opportunity to share your photos in public. GVR allows us to display at various centers over the year and we have a nice display of member photos in the clubhouse.

In addition to photography I am an amateur astronomy buff. I recently attended the Sonora Astronomical Society’ Star Party at Canoa Ranch. They are a local group, and it was a fun evening. One of the ‘telescopes’ on display was a ZWO Seestar. This is essentially a tabletop digital camera on a GoTo base. It doesn’t have the ability of the bigger 14” telescopes they were using but it was fun to watch its display work up a sky image.

Happy Holidays – I look forward to meeting you at one of our events.

Kirk Hively, President

Danny's Camino Santiago Photos On Flicker

For the past 32 weeks the GVR Photography Club's Facebook account has posted three or four photographs of Danny Valenzuela's 32 day walk on the Camino Santiago. Each week's posting was from a particular day of his walk.

For those of you that would like to see more of his Camino Santiago photos, Danny has set up a Flickr account and has posted 32 albums, one album for each day from day one when he arrived in St. Jean Pied-de-Port, France, to the last day when he arrived in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The albums contain 993 photos in all, most of which were not posted on Facebook.

You can view all photos at your leisure by accessing his Flicker account at Danny Valenzuela’s albums | Flickr.

Keep Our Facebook Page in Mind

Thanks to members who have been sending in photos from their recent field trips. Keep them coming. We want to see your field trip and cultural event photos..

Be sure to send me your favorite photos so I can post them in Facebook. Those photos are also where I get to choose the Photo of the Month featured  in the newsletter each month. Your photo could be chosen next!

Sue Ready, Facebook Coordinator

Photo of the Month

The December Photo of the Month is by Linda Gregory, taken in the Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, Africa, titled Zebra Reflections.

Linda shares her thoughts, "The first part of my trip of a lifetime was Ultimate Africa, an Overseas Adventure Tour October/November, 2016 with fellow Camera Club member, Patty Ferguson. We stayed at several different camps in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.This photo was taken on October 28 at 10:50 am during our stay at the Kashawe Camp, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, Africa on our morning game drive. When we came upon a waterhole with elephants, antelopes, a variety of birds, and zebras, I knew this would be a great opportunity for reflection photos. This is my favorite of the many I took that morning using a Panasonic FZ200 bridge camera that can shoot RAW at 1200mm. Specs for this image are 108mm, F8, ISO 100, aperture priority, and spot focus."

Congratulations, Linda!

The Photo of the Month is chosen from new and archived photos submitted to Sue Ready, the Club's Facebook Coordinator. Keep sending the best of your work to Sue at suready@yahoo.com so we may continue to showcase the refined capabilities of GVR Photography Club members. Photos should be submitted in .jpg format and please include its title and location. -ed

Christmas is near, and childhood memories regarding Christmas flood my mind. My mother always bought our Christmas presents early, wrapped them, and hid them away. I looked at the whole process as a challenge. I had to peek and discover what Christmas morning would hold for me.

Spend a minute or two with me and we’ll take a quick peek in the GVR Photography Club’s closet to see if we can find a Christmas surprise. I found one, the GVR Photography Club will start a Wednesday Workshop Series on January 22nd at 1:00 P.M. This session will provide members with an overview of Special Interest Groups and other Club activities.

The GVR Photography Club’s Special Interest Groups are its primary learning activities. Check out the Club Calendar and visit a couple of SIGs to develop new skills. Trips allow Club members to put those skills to use; again, check the Club calendar for trip schedules.

Gene Komaromi, Education Chair

Library News

Making a list!

The Photography Club Library has an annual budget for books. I browse and shop online and in used book stores for what I think the members would find helpful additions to the shelves. I never come close to spending the budgeted amount.

I need your help! Is there a book you have seen or heard about — a book that could help you and other members sharpen their photographic skills or inspire them to try a new creative application? If you facilitate a SIG I would love to find books to enhance the software or apps you are using. Please let me know what you need.

I am ready to go shopping and I hope you can help me make a list. Thank you for supporting the Library and have a wonderful holiday season.

Becky McCreary, Librarian

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 for the latest information on all club activities. Photography Club members are also welcome and encouraged to attend the Club’s monthly Board of Directors meetings. Check the Club Calendar for the date of the meeting and attend in-person at the Club, or remotely by registering using this link. The Board is always interested in comments and new ideas from the members.

Need help with your digital camera, smartphone camera, slide/print scanning, photo printing or a photo editing software application? Photography Club Volunteer Helpers are available to help. Log in to the Club’s website. Click on the three bars at the far right of the home page menu bar and select Volunteer Helpers. Once you've found a helper, scroll down to see their contact email listed. Help is just a few clicks away.

Showtime

Monday, 12/2 at 7:00 pm

We’re Back!

The season opening goes on at Desert Hills on the 2nd. I have an exciting line up for our first show of the season.

We travel around the country; Wisconsin, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and some regional places of interest. And a few animals from near and abroad will make you go, huh?

An interesting video about William Mortensen, considered one of the greatest visionary photographic artist told in Gene Komaromi style.

And a little Christmas spirit to get you in the mood for the holidays.

I hope to see you there.

Todd F Taylor, Showtime Host

Travelogue

Tuesday, 12/10 at 6:30 pm

Southwest Road Trip

Sherrie Lee Lucia

Christmas River Cruise on the Danube

Todd Taylor

Rwanda People and Places

Holly Chorba

My Travels

Robert Sanford

Paul McCreary, Travelogue Coordinator

Speaker Series

On Christmas Vacation

Kim Holmes, Speaker Series Coordinator

Field Trips

Recently, there have been some questions and confusion on the need to gather at the club prior to each field trip. “Why can’t we just meet at the field trip venue?”, you may ask. Let me take this opportunity to explain the requirement process.

1. GVR requires everyone participating in a field trip to sign a waiver absolving GVR of any liability. Prior to last year, a signed waiver was required for each-and-every field trip and had to be completed by each participant before our departure. GVR has since updated the waiver process so that now you complete a one-time waiver that’s good for as long as you are a club member. Your original, signed one-time waiver is kept on file and must be provided to GVR upon request (e.g., during compliance audits or if a club member is injured on a field trip). If you don’t complete and sign the one-time waiver, you cannot go on the field trip. This requirement has not changed.

2. It has always been the policy of the Photography Club that participants meet at the club at the designated “show time” versus meeting up at the venue. This process enables the trip leader to check off your name on the official attendance roster when you arrive and to ensure the required waiver is on file or is completed before departure. This sign-in and confirmation process cannot be done remotely. The attendance roster must be completed prior to departure and becomes a permanent record subject to GVR compliance audits. We must follow GVR rules if we want to continue providing field trips for our members. If you are not checked in at the club, you are not officially on the trip.

3. Many of our field trips have a waiting list. By having everyone meet at the club at a designated time, the trip leader can quickly determine if there are any “no shows” and this gives people on the wait list a chance to fill that vacated spot. That’s why it’s important for you to BE ON TIME. Note: If you are registered for a field trip but find out later you must cancel, let the trip leader and the Field Trip Coordinator know as soon as possible, especially on the morning of the trip! This allows our Coordinator time to contact someone on the wait list.

4. Stuff happens! Field trips are always subject to change. For instance, weather forces the delay or cancellation of a trip, the venue closes unexpectedly, the trip leader gets ill or has a family emergency, an accident along the route forces a detour, or we opt to go to a different location to enjoy a better experience (something which happens more often than you might think with birding and nature trips). Showing up at the club ensures everyone is alerted to any last-minute changes and enables the group to adjust to those changes. Imagine trying to get the word out to 20-25 participants individually -- by phone, email or text message -- some of whom may already be enroute to the venue. That’s an impractical if not impossible way to get time-sensitive information out to everyone quickly.

5. The upper-level parking lot adjacent to the bridge is the designated meeting area for field trips. Most trips leave before the club is open, and we can't see you sitting on the outside benches in front of the club.

6. Our field trip leaders are unpaid club members who devote their talents, time and energy to making these trips happen. By keeping things simple, we find more members are willing to serve as trip leaders which, in turn, enables the club to offer more field trips.

Please understand the process we have in place ensures we can continue to provide fun and interesting opportunities for our members to gather, enjoy an outing, and make new friends. If you think about it, our process is consistent with what professional tour companies do -- you sign waivers, you show up at designated gathering spots as scheduled (or you get left behind), you stay with the group, etc. If you’re more into individual travel or looking for a more personalized experience, be sure to check out the Photo Opportunities below in the newsletter.

Please go to the Club's Website Field Trip page to check out and sign up for any of the currently scheduled field trips. If the trip is already full, please sign up anyway. The system automatically generates a waitlist and this is the only way we know whether to schedule an added trip to that location. You will also be offered the opportunity to register for the new trip before it is opened to all. Another reason to always sign up is if someone cancels (even on the morning of the trip) you will be called to see if you are able to attend.

Helpful Hint: Be sure to sign up yourself and your spouse/significant other at the same time for a field trip. More than once a member has signed up, then waited to hear back from their spouse/significant other before signing up that person, and more than once the member goes on the field trip and the spouse/significant other ends up on the waiting list. Maintain domestic tranquility and friendships – sign up everyone you want to go at the same time.

To continue with our record number of trips, we need members to step up and volunteer to lead our field trips. Most, if not all, of the trips have already been conducted in the past, so it’s just a matter of picking the date, contacting the venue, and enjoying the day. We’ll gladly step you through the process.

Our next Field Trip Committee meeting will take place at 2:00 pm on December 4th at the Arizona Family Restaurant. Feel free to join us and bring your ideas for future field trips!

As always, for questions or comments, email me at mparker582@aol.com or text (618) 304-1164.

 Monica E. Parker, Field Trip Facilitator

Photo Opportunities

We are always looking for recommendations for future photo opportunities. Please feel free to contact me If you have suggestions for upcoming events of interest.

Tom Parker, Photo Op Coordinator

Special Interest Groups are fun and educational. Any member of the Photography Club is welcome to attend any of the SIGs.

Click on any of the links listed to get more information on each one.

Multimedia SIG
Black and White SIG

Studio and Fine Art SIG

On Assignment SIG

Photoshop/Lightroom SIG

Canon R Series SIG

Photoshop Elements SIG

Monitor Notes

Monitors typically welcome and check in club members, answer the phone, and inform those seeking information about the Club. We are all indebted to the dedicated team of monitors who volunteer to keep the Photography Club open. Many thanks to all of you.

We are always looking for additional monitors. Help us provide all the benefits the Club offers to its members. 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.  You are not expected to know how to use the equipment. Training takes about three hours.

Contact: gvrcameramonitors@gmail.com for more information.

Photography Items

Wanted

or

For Sale

For Sale

Canon PixmaPro-100 Printer

8 ink dye-based system, Prints 13”x 19” photos

I have printed about a dozen photos with this unit with great outcomes

Price: $100 or B.O.

Contact Larry Wolf at towolf@msn.com or 520-591-8985

All items:

• May be placed only by current, past or families of past members.
  
• Must be for used photography related equipment.
  
• Must include your name, or the name of the past member, and contact information.
• Should be submitted to neilwicai@gmail.com.
• Must be placed by the 25th of the month prior to the month of listing.
• Will run for one month, but may be resubmitted up to three times to be listed again.

GVR Photography Club

The GVR Photography Club is one of the largest photography clubs in the U.S. with over 600 active members. Regardless of your skill level, you'll have fun honing your skills in taking, editing, and presenting photos and videos. Share your photographic passion with others. Take FREE courses and join our Special Interest Groups to get the most from your digital camera, smartphone, action camera, or drone. Learn the ins and outs of post-processing software. Use our state-of-the-art equipment to digitize and edit photos, slides, and videos. Go on Club Field Trips to practice your photographic skills. Exhibit your photos/videos at our Showtime and Travelogue events. Come make friends and photographs!

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  gvrphotographyclub@gmail.com. 

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