April 2024

From the President... 

As I near the end of my term as your Club President, I think about the many club accomplishments we have reached over the last two years.

• Without a doubt, the completion of the club redesign is in my opinion the best thing that has happened to our club. The redesign has opened the door for us to provide additional services to the membership. A larger classroom has allowed our SIG attendance to grow. Some of our education classes have been filled to near capacity. The smaller Ansel Adams room has given us flexibility to schedule smaller group functions, and the Photo Lab seems to be the right size with adequate equipment and software to meet member needs. The addition of sconce lights in all three of these rooms has allowed better viewing of our video presentations and has provided the ability to take notes without having to turn lights off and on. All this, thanks to the Board of Directors having the foresight and vision to anticipate and meet our needs.
  

• Our educational programs continue to bring members back to the club and have increased camaraderie. Plans have already been discussed and are being developed for the return of the 5 to10 week photography course. Plus additional resources have been added to the Resource page on our website.
  

• New books have been added in the library to assist members with their current needs and keep them up to date on current trends.
  

• Monitor training classroom sessions have been scheduled and will continue in the fall. This helps ensure an adequate cadre of monitors and keeps them updated and able to serve you better when you come to the club.
  

• The number of field trips have increased dramatically, and new field trip locations have been added. Field trips are also being developed for this summer for those who make Green Valley their home year-round.
  

• Our membership is growing thanks to the marketing efforts of our marketing committee. Shirts and caps, which help promote exposure throughout Green Valley, have not been in demand as we thought, but the opportunity to order them remains available.
  

This year our membership meeting will include the opportunity to socialize and enjoy a great dinner while hearing about the above accomplishments in greater detail. Plus, I will be sharing a video presentation on my experiences as I walked the Camino de Santiago last year. I look forward to seeing you for a fun evening at the Desert Hills Center on April 8th.

As we look to the club's future, there are serious needs that must be addressed as soon as possible, or we may see a critical shortage in our ability to continue providing quality services. This is regarding the need for back-ups for all our functionaries, particularly web and administrative functions. We are not a young group, and the aging process does slow us down. Plus, those that are currently serving in vital positions in the club also deserve to travel and enjoy the activities they look forward to in Green Valley. Having someone learn and step up when the need arises is how we stay relevant as a club. Please consider doing your share to learn how you can help and serve in a critical function's role.

We do all we do because we have dedicated and diligent volunteers who work tirelessly to serve you and make our club the best one in Green Valley. I thank you for all you have done by honoring our club as a member, and by stepping up and performing the functions that make serving all our members a possibility.

Finally, thank you for all the support you have given me as your President the past three years.

Danny Valenzuela, President

Printing Color Critical Work in the Photo Lab

In my previous articles, I described a digital photograph as a file consisting of numbers and a color profile. Generically speaking, there are three types of profiles, an input profile, an abstract profile, and an output profile. As the names suggest, an input profile describes the source of the image, such as a particular camera or scanner, and the output profile describes the particular display monitor or printer output device. The abstract profile, sometimes called a connection space, converts from the input profile to the output profile. This in-between profile provides profile-to-profile color management and allows the input colors to be displayed on any output device.

But it is the output profile that defines what colors are produced on the output device. In the case of the printer, many output profiles are available, primarily to accommodate the various options you may choose when printing your image. The best printer output profile is chosen when you select the options appropriately.

For example, you want to print an image from Photoshop to one of our two Epson Surecolor P800 printers in the Photo Lab. After you select one of the Epson printers, a print window appears where you select other available options. In the Color Management section, you should, 1. Under Color Handling select Photoshop Manages Color, 2. Under Printer Profile select Epson Surecolor P800, and 3. Be sure you have selected matte or glossy paper as appropriate for the paper and printer being used.

The important take-away is that although you can never see what the camera saw, profiles are designed to reproduce your image on numerous display monitors and printers to optimize the accuracy of color output. And using the new ILFORD ILFOLUX color viewing lamp provides an accurate comparison of display monitor and printer output.

Stephen Herron, Technical Committee

Displaying Photos for the Photography Club

Greetings!

We still have room for your new photos for our refresh and update of photo displays in the club. This is a great opportunity for those of you who have not displayed your work before.

I placed recently submitted photos at GVR West Center on 3/21/24.   Our next formal GVR Center exhibit will be at East Center in December 2024.

You can find newly updated instructions in the Photo Exhibit Guidelines page on the Club's website here.

If you have questions please contact Kirk Hively, kehively@yahoo.com (520-349-5593) or Julie Howard (402-202-4423).

Kirk Hively, Exhibits Coordinator

Photo of the Month

The April Photo of the Month is by Vicki Rapp Gabrielson, taken while on a Club field trip to Rancho de la Osa.

Vicki noted, "Someone else in the tour group first spotted a great horned owl resting in a eucalyptus tree. Our guide asked that we not get too close not to scare her (or him) off. I went back to the car to get my Nikon P900 and used the automatic setting at almost maximum optical zoom. Of the 5 shots I took, this was the only one that captured the entire owl. This picture was taken at 321 mm, f6.3, 1/160 and ISO 400."

Congratulations, Vicki!

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

The Photography Club is in the planning stages for next year’s activities. Here are a few of the activities we are working on.

With Covid behind us, we’re planning a Big Winter Class for 2025. Exactly when and how many sessions there will be is still in the planning stage.

We have noticed a change in the picture-taking methodology in our club, with over two hundred members taking iPhone and Android phone classes. We’re looking to enhance our offerings to support phone photography.

Our Special Interest Groups are more popular than ever and are the bedrock of our educational activities. The most successful Special Interest Group is Multimedia, moving the club into yet another area of focus. Two new Special Interest Groups were created this season and as interest grows in other areas, more can be created.

But your thoughts and ideas concerning our educational activities are important to us. The club has designed a quick membership survey to guide us in all this future planning. Click the link below and give the club your input.

GVR Photography Club Educational Survey

Thanks in advance for your help.

Gene Komaromi, Education Chair

Library News

Late winter rains have been good to our desert. The warming days bring green leaves to the ocotillo, Gambel’s Quail begin new families, bright flowers top green spiny cactus, and the dark bark of the mesquite contrasts the sunlit scene. It is a photographer’s studio!

The April display in the library is books on nature, macro, and flower photography. They may be checked out for 3 weeks so that everyone has a chance to enjoy them.

If you have borrowed books, please return them before leaving for the summer. I would like to complete a database of our materials, and missing books slow it down. If the book you borrowed is no longer in your possession, please let me know. I realize accidents happen, like inadvertently donating it to another group.

April is one of the best months the desert. Enjoy what it brings!

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

Tuesday, 4/9 at 7:00 pm

I have put together a great SHOWTIME for our final presentation this season. Thanks to the many of you who submitted videos, I really appreciate them all.

I will start the show with my final installment of Season one of “The History of Cinema, The First Stars.” Next, we’ll pay tribute to Carl Sparfeld for his years of service to our Club. Our Club wouldn’t be what it is today if it wasn’t for him laying a foundation for our activities. Then we’ll take a few trips to a variety of locales and subjects, including two different experiences with very different outcomes of being served Mexican Coffee. We’ll finish SHOWTIME off with a heartwarming story from volunteers helping to save baby’s lives, and the cherry on top is a short, sweet reading that Sherri Lee Lucia did for her grandchildren. It will be a great night for all.

Remember, this month’s SHOWTIME has been moved to Tuesday, April 9th at 7:00 pm. I’ll See you at the Desert Hills auditorium for snacks, drinks (BYOB) and a fun night of FREE entertainment. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Your host,

Todd Taylor, Showtime Coordinator

Travelogue

Monday, 4/1 at 7:00 pm

We're winding up this season's Travelogue events this month with four more excellent travel videos. And I may be able to squeeze in a few other short subjects.

Please note the change in both the date and location for this final presentation. We're back in the Anza Room at Santa Rita Springs on the first Monday of the month. Come and enjoy traveling with us.

Israel, Jordan and Egypt - Part 2

Sam Schaen and Marilyn Gaizband

Travels to Portugal

Sherrie Lee Lucia

Cruise to Norway - Part 2

Kirk Hively

Vietnam Memories

Phil Nicolay

Paul McCreary, Travelogue Coordinator

Speaker Series

Monday, 4/15 at 3:00 pm

Our April Speaker Series will be a presentation by Eamon Harrity of the Sky Island Alliance. Eamon lives in Tucson and is the Wildlife Project Manager at Sky Island Alliance. He will be presenting on several wildlife research programs, including the Border Wildlife Study, and Sky Island FotoFauna that monitors the diversity of wildlife throughout the Sky Island Region. Staff from the Sky Island Alliance have presented before and it is always very informative.

Join us in the auditorium at Desert Hills for this live presentation to learn more about this biologically diverse area, the importance of monitoring wildlife and how you can get involved and volunteer!

I look forward to seeing you on the 15th.

Kim Holmes, Speaker Series Coordinator

Field Trips

Super Venues - Serious Fun

April is a transition month, which means many of our dear friends will be heading out to “cooler climes”. We still have a few field trips on tap and I hope you will join us.

The Field Trip Committee meeting scheduled for April 1st has been cancelled. Our next committee meeting will be sometime in the late August, early September timeframe. Never fear, for those of us who are die hard “bring on the heat” people, we will be visiting some of the many “cooler” museums and (pardon the pun) hot spots in the area.

I know I said this last month, but I can’t stress enough that it’s the trip leaders, through their time and effort, who make these field trips possible.

Check out the field trip lineup on tap for April and May 2024:

• Birding/Nature Photography to Arthur Pack Park on April 9th.
• Birding/Nature Photography to the Paton Center for Hummingbirds on April 23rd.
• Birding/Nature Photography to Mt. Lemmon on May 7th.

Make sure you go online and check out all the future field trips. They have been filling up fast!

If you have any questions, ideas for future trips or want to participate in our Field Trip activities, please contact me,

See you soon!

 Monica E. Parker, Field Trip Facilitator

Photo Opportunities

Tucson Botanical Garden

• Ongoing daily 8:30 am to 4:30 pm – $15
• 2150 North Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Raptor Free Flight

• Ongoing thru Apr 7, daily (except Weds), 10:00 am – Free with museum admission
• Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 North Kinney Road, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Pima Air and Space Museum

• Ongoing daily thru May 31, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Ticket prices vary
• 6000 East Valencia Road, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Gadsden-Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum

• Ongoing Sundays thru May 31,1:00 to 4:00 pm – $5
• 975 N. Miller Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

A Western Experience at Old Tucson

• Ongoing daily,10:30 am to 5:00 pm – $39
• Old Tucson, 201 Kinney Rd, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Historic Canoa Ranch

• Various events – dates, times and fees vary – registration required
• Historic Canoa Ranch, 5375 South I-19 Frontage Road, Green Valley, AZ
• Find more information here.

Arizona Poppy Fest 2024

• Various events – dates, times and fees vary
• Globe-Miami, Roosevelt Lake, San Carlos Apache Tribe Peridot area, AZ 
• Find more information here.

First Thursday at the Tucson Museum of Art

Tucson Folk Festival

• Apr 5-7, times, events, venues vary - Free
• Jácome Plaza, 101 N. Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Chevy Showdown 2024

• Apr 6, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm – Free
• Desert Diamond Casino Parking Lot, 1100 W Pima Mine Rd, Sahuarita, AZ
• Find more information here.

Ed Schieffelin Days & Donkey Dash 2024

• Apr 6, 7:30 am to 4:30 pm (Races start at 8:00 am) – Free
• Downtown Tombstone, 311 East Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ
• Find more information here.

Bull Riding in Tombstone

• Apr 6, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, pre-show at 1:00 pm - $15
• Shoot-Out Arena, 365 South 3rd Street, Tombstone, AZ
• Find more information here.

Fiesta Sahuarita

• Apr 6, 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm – Free
• Anamax Park, 17501 S Camino De Las Quintas, Sahuarita, AZ
• Find more information here.

Tombstone's Annual Rose Festival

• Apr 12-14, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm (Parade is on Apr 13 at 11:00 am) – Free
• Rose Tree Museum and Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ
• Find more information here.

Willcox West Fest: Chuck Wagon Cook Off & Ranch Rodeo

• Apr 12-14, Fri noon to sunset, Sat 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, Sun 8:00 am to noon
• Quail Park, 1138 North Quail Drive, Willcox, AZ
• Find more information here.

Spring Garden Tour

Spring Arts Fest at the Tucson J

• Apr 14, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - Free
• Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 East River Road, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Second Sundaze at the Tucson Museum of Art

• Apr 14, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm – Pay what you wish, (reservations required)
• Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, 140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Pima County Fair

• Apr 18-28, Gates open 3::00 pm weekdays, 11:00 am weekends - Admission varies
• 1300 South Houghton Road, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Rodders Days Car Show

• Apr 20, 9:00 am to 2:30 pm - Free
• Pima Comm. College-Downtown Campus. 1255 North Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

46th Annual Blessing of the Vines

• Apr 20, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm (Blessing at noon) – $30
• Sonoita Vineyards, 290 Elgin-Canelo Road. Elgin, AZ
• Find more information here.

La Encantada Fine Art Festival

• Apr 20-21, Sat 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Sun 11:00 am to 4:00 pm – Free
• La Encantada Shopping Center, 2905 East Skyline Drive, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

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

Wildlife Photography 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

There are no listings this month.

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