September 2020 

From the Board

The pandemic drags on….. Who knew back in April that we would still be concerned about when and how to reopen the Club and get back to our regular activities going into September?

GVR has not provided guidelines for reopening the clubs with dedicated spaces, but has asked the clubs to provide them (GVR) with the clubs’ protocols if they want to reopen.  We would, of course, follow the CDC, Arizona Department of Health Services, and Pima County Health Department guidelines such as requiring masks, social distancing, sanitizing of equipment, etc.  In addition, GVR requires that monitors be present for any club activity, and that all participants sign a liability waiver (obtained at the West Center box Office) that must be carried with them at all times while participating in club activities.

At this time, the board has not determined when the club should reopen regardless of when GVR allows the reopening.  Our primary concern, of course, is the health and welfare of our members.

In the meantime, there are activities such as Gene Komaromi’s and Sandy Ostroff’s SIGs that are available on Zoom. Holly Chorba is working on getting the Speaker Series up and running online via Zoom. And a few of us who lead field trips have been thinking about how to do trips, even if the club isn’t open, since most of the trips are outdoors. We’ll be working on that over the next month or two. See further information below in this newsletter.

Stay healthy and stay safe!

Linda Gregory, Interim President

Speaker Series to Reopen this Fall

It seems forever since we have been able to get together and share mutual photographic interests as a Club. Our Speaker Series ended last March due to Covid-19. Since that time, some of us have been meeting via Zoom and have enjoyed the teaching, learning and camaraderie experiences in a small group.

Beginning this October we hope to enlarge this group by inviting the entire membership to share these experiences via Zoom, starting with the monthly Speaker Series presentations. Zoom has the capability to provide a presentation by one and regulate participation from the audience. How to do that is something I hope to have down pat by October. If you or another club member is well versed in this already, please email me. I’m eager to learn!

The days and dates of the presentations will follow those that we have reserved at the GVR Santa Rita Springs Anza Room, which is the third Thursday of each month, October through April. We are planning to have our first presentation via Zoom on Thursday October 15, 2020 at 1:30 PM Mountain Standard Time. As the schedule develops the presenters and their topics will be announced on the Club Calendar and in the Newsletter.

Please email me if you would like to be a presenter! I will also be contacting several people who have expressed an interest in this.

Keep on stretching yourselves (and me, too)!

HAPPY TRAILS,

Holly Chorba, Speaker Series Coordinator

Photo of the Month

The September Photo of the Month is by Ed Hunt taken in Bayfield, CO. Congratulations, Ed, what a striking photograph!

The Photo of the Month is chosen from the Photo of the Day series published on Facebook 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.

Oh no! We’re still locked in by the Corona Virus and live classes at the GVR Camera Club are still on hold!  Although we’ve scheduled some tentative dates, we haven’t done any serious class planning for Fall and Winter classes. But that doesn’t mean that educational opportunities have ceased for Club Members.

As I've reported before, we have a couple of Special Interest Groups meeting on Zoom each week.

• The Multimedia SIG meets each Monday at 10:00 AM Arizona time. Contact me to get sign in information.

• The Studio and Fine Art Photography SIG meets each Monday at 1:30 PM Arizona time. Contact Sandy Ostroff for sign in information.

Because of the success of these SIG meetings, the Club has a couple of new online classes in development. An Android Phone Photography class will be available soon, and an iPhone Photography class is in the works.

Then there are some non-club learning opportunities that are worth mentioning.

• If you’re looking for a good basic photography class, there are several online on the Udemy website. They offer some excellent classes at $10.00 or so. One of my favorites is the one on basic Android and iPhone photography, which you can find here.

• Creative Live has some excellent courses that use sound pedagogical techniques. They are more expensive than the Udemy classes, but have greater depth. At specific times you can watch the “Live” classes for free.

• YouTube is another repository of photographic instruction. You may have to wade through multiple videos to find instructional gold, but it’s worth the effort. Just search on a photographic topic and start watching.

Don’t let your photographic skills dissolve during this pandemic. Find alternative learning experiences online to stay involved and learn a new trick or two.

Gene Komaromi, Educational Chair

This Month's Club Activities

The Camera Club remains closed and in-person club activities remain suspended in accordance with the latest government and GVR guidelines regarding the still evolving Covid-19 pandemic. We value the health and safety of all our members and encourage you to stay safe and sensible during these trying times.

Please check the club calendar at http://dev.gvcameraclub.org for the latest information on future club activities.

Field Trip Review of the Month

Gammons Gulch

One of the most exciting of our field trips is to the old west ghost town of Gammons Gulch. Originally this trip was a Carl Sparfield specialty. In recent years, it has been expertly organized by Danny Valenzuela.

Jay Gammons wanted to buy a ghost town, but not finding what he wanted, he decided to build one himself. Over the years it has become an authentic old west movie set and museum. Billed as a “Living ghost town that is AUTHENTIC and HAUNTING”, the town is constantly evolving. Additional buildings pop up frequently, usually built by a filming company that has leased the town as a set for use in movies or music videos set in the old west. Many times our trips there have had to be scheduled around a filming schedule.

The town itself is great to photograph, but each store or business in the town has hundreds of authentic artifacts to photograph. The town is a living museum, alive with western actors on hand to pose and act out western scenarios and stunts for our pictures. Their costumes are authentically made by the actors themselves. The trip is truly a once in a lifetime experience. 

Find out more about Gammons Gulch here. Check out a Chanel 9 video here. Some of my pictures can be found here.

We are in the process of scheduling a field trip to Gammons Gulch this fall on November 20th. If you think you would be interested in this trip, or have any ideas about other field trips in Covid times, please email me so we can keep you informed of any developments.

Sue Rock, Field Trip Facilitator

Special Interest Groups are fun and informative. Any member of the Camera Club is welcome to attend any of the SIGs. No need to sign up, just come on in.

When the Club reopens from the current closures, the SIGs will be meeting as listed below. Not all SIG's meet during the Summer months. Some are meeting on-line during the closures.

• Multimedia SIG - Gene Komaromi, moderator.
• Kino room - Mondays @ 9:30 am - Summer meetings are on-line. Send email to genek6@gmail.com to get on the mailing list.
• Learn what it’s all about. Bring your video project to share for comments & suggestions.

• B&W SIG - Wendell Werner, moderator.
• Ansel Adams room - Mondays @ 9:30 am
• Who knew black and white could be so complicated?

• Studio and Fine Art Photography SIG - Sandy Ostroff, moderator.
• Kino room - Monday's @ 1:30 pm - Summer meetings are on-line. Send email to gvrphotoartsig@gmail.com to get on the mailing list.
• Explore new techniques and broaden your skills.

• Hit me with Your Best Shot SIG - Jerry Marrion, moderator.
• Kino room - Tuesdays at 9:30 am
• Bring five examples of your best efforts to show.

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

• Field Trip SIG - Sue Rock, moderator.
• Ansel Adams room - Wednesdays @ 4:00 pm starting in October 2020
• Plan, arrange, guide and advertise field trips.

• Photoshop Elements SIG - Linda Gregory, moderator.
• Kino room - Thursdays @ 9:30-11:00 am
• Learn how to use the magic of Photoshop Elements post processing on your photos.

• Birds SIG - Mike McMinn, moderator.
• Kino room - Thursdays @ 1:30 pm
• Celebrate and share your best shots of our feathered friends.

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 check in club members, answer the phone, and welcome those seeking information about the Club. You are not expected to know how to use the equipment. Training takes about an hour.

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 GreenValleyCameraClub@wildapricot.org 

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