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March 2024

From the President... 

Your Photography Club is alive and well. We have seen an increase in activity in many areas over the past few months. Attendance has been close to 100 people for each of the three presentation events. Attendance at our SIG meetings is increasing, and new classes have been offered in phone photography, astrophotography, star trail photography, and Audacity sound editing.

We have had 73 events and field trips between October 1, 2023 and April 8, 2024. This is due to the hard work of the Event Coordinators, Field Trip Leaders and the Field Trip Committee. A huge Thank You to all.

There is interest in starting new Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and two are under consideration. One is for users of Canon RF mount cameras, and the other is for Canon Mirrorless cameras. If there is sufficient interest, these two may become SIGs soon.

At the recommendation of Sam Schaen, our Systems Administrator, the Board approved electronic voting for the upcoming Board of Directors election. This will give every member the opportunity to vote. Look for more details in this newsletter.

If you have volunteered in the past year and have not received your invitation to the Volunteer Luncheon on March 7th at 11:30 am, please contact Monica Parker at mparker582@aol.com so we can include you in the roster of attendees. We need a count to order food, so please contact Monica today if you have not received your invitation.

And Thank You to those who have responded to the call for monitors. Tom Ransburg's monitor class has been an enormous success. We have 23 new monitors in various stages of training.

I am also happy to announce that we now have a functioning Snack Brigade to provide snacks at our events. Thank You to Norma Zarlow who stepped up and secured six members to assist in this function.

And finally, we still need backups for our SIG Coordinators, Systems Administrator, Showtime Coordinator, Travelogue Coordinator, and Speaker Series Coordinator. We also need Field Trip Leaders, so we don't burn out those who are carrying a heavy load. These are critical positions and your help is needed. Please contact me if you can help in one of these roles.

Danny Valenzuela, President

Upcoming Board of Directors Election

This year all current members of the Club will be able to vote on-line in the Board of Directors election.

There are six positions on the Board whose terms expire in April. A nominating committee consisting of Monica Parker, John Pilger and Linda Gregory has assembled a recommend slate of six candidates to serve two-year terms ending in April 2026.

The committee is recommending five incumbents, Kevin May, Todd Taylor, Tom Parker, Tom Ransburg and Neil Wicai, each to serve another two-year term. Patty Ferguson has decided not to seek re-election, so they are recommending a new candidate, Lynn Rozema, to serve a new two-year term.

We will be using an on-line voting application named Election Buddy. On March 24th, each current member of the Club will receive an invitation to vote via email. The email will come from the address:

GVR Photography Club<Invitations@mail.electionbuddy,com>

If you do not see an email from this address on the 24th, check your email junk or spam folder.

The email will include a personalized link that will take you to Election Buddy and allow you to preview the recommended slate of candidates and vote one time. You may vote for no more than six candidates. One or more may be a write-in candidate(s) of your choice, or you may abstain from voting. Voting will be open when you receive the email on the 24th and will close on April 7th at 5:00 pm. We encourage you to vote promptly when you receive your invitation to vote.

The results of the election will be announced at the GVR Photography Club Annual Meeting on April 8th. Please remember to vote.

Sam Schaen, Systems Administrator

GVR Photography Club Polo Shirts

Remember last month on Friday, February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow in the ceremony that morning at Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania. Per tradition, that means he predicted an early spring. Don’t get caught unprepared for this sudden surge of warmer weather. Be sure to order your official GVR Photography Club polo shirt now.

These Sport-Tek Micro pique Sport-Wick polo Shirts are made from lightweight 100% polyester tricot material, which is moisture-wicking and snag resistant. The shirts feature a flat knit collar, taped neck and side vents with set-in open hem sleeves and armhole accent. The shirts are available in men’s or ladies’ styles in gold or classic white and feature the GVR Photography Club logo.

Stay cool and stylish this spring. Stop by the Photography Club to confirm your size using our sizing set display on the wall next to the Bob Martin Matting Room door. Then place your order with the monitor on duty. Please get your order in by March 15th. We’ll be placing a group order shortly thereafter. The shirts are $30. Payment can be made by cash or check.

Printing Color Critical Work in the Photo Lab

In our last newsletter I described our new desk lamp, used to view and compare printed photographs to the club’s display monitors. The ILFORD ILFOLUX graphic-arts D50 lamp reflects the range of colors, or spectrum, as seen on our calibrated monitors.

But what if when you compare, the colors on the photograph you printed are noticeably different from what you see on the display monitor? What would the difference in colors indicate?

First, let’s see how the photograph gets from the camera to the printer. A digital photograph is a file consisting of numbers and a color profile. The camera’s profile defines what numbers to use for each color, and the profiles in the display and printer define what colors to produce in each device from the numbers in the file. The camera’s profile is first converted to the display monitor’s profile, and is then converted to the printer’s profile when you print the photograph. The profiles keep colors constant from device to device. The numbers do not change unless you change them in post processing your image.

So, what do you do if the monitor and the printer don’t match? It is almost never the camera or the printer at fault. Often an out-of-calibration monitor is the problem. Any analysis of what went wrong requires an analysis of your image processing. I print the camera’s original photo first which uses the camera’s numbers and profile. This simplifies the conversions, eliminates the monitor and provides clues to a more accurate reproduction.

Here is a common situation. Your image is too dark and you brighten the monitor. You changed only your monitor’s light, not your photo’s numbers or profile. Remember, the printer’s profile conversion is from the camera’s profile, not the monitor’s profile. This is where monitor calibration is so important. Our monitors are calibrated to the graphic arts standard, a temperature of 5000K. This ensures the profiles display the numbers correctly on the display and printer.

But there is yet one more element to consider with the printer, selecting the appropriate printer profile. More about that in next month's newsletter.

Stephen Herron, Technical Committee

Here is a common situation. Your image is too dark and you brighten the monitor. You changed only your monitor’s light, not your photo’s numbers or profile. Remember, the printer’s profile conversion is from the camera’s profile, not the monitor’s profile. This is where monitor calibration is so important. Our monitors are calibrated to the graphic arts standard, a temperature of 5000K. This ensures the profiles display the numbers correctly on the display and printer.

But there is yet one more element to consider with the printer, selecting an appropriate printer profile. More about that in next month's newsletter.

Photos for GVR Center Exhibits Needed

We need your photos!  We have room for 10 photos at the GVR West Center lobby and 20 more to update the Club spaces. 

I encourage all members to join the current group of those who are exhibiting. If you wish to participate, you can find newly updated instructions on the Photo Exhibit Guidelines page here.

Feel free to drop off your mounted or framed photos at the club.  If you have a preference where your photo is displayed, place a note on your submittal paperwork.

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 March Photo of the Month is by Verne Wandell, taken while on safari last August at the Loisaba Conservancy in Northern Kenya.


Verne recalls, “I think that the Cheetah is my favorite of the African felines. This bold and efficient hunter is a master of camouflage as well as speed. This shot was captured in the Loisaba Conservancy of Kenya. The shot features two Cheetah adolescent cubs, most likely siblings.  It was shot with a Nikon Z8 and Tamron 150-600 lens @ 360mm, f/8, 1/1250, ISO 9000.“

Congratulations, Verne!

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

It’s time to get my grandmother’s crystal ball out of the closet so we can look forward to our next season at the GVR Photography Club. This is the time of year when we plan educational activities for the fall and winter seasons.

A crystal ball isn’t needed to know that many, maybe even most of our members, use their phones as primary cameras. Over 200 members have attended phone classes this winter, indicating a need for more phone-oriented photography experiences in the fall.

Grannie’s crystal ball may not be the most accurate device for predicting what the GVR Photography Club needs, but a modern survey could. A member survey is in the design stage and will be distributed sometime this month.

Our Special Interest Groups are well attended, and most of our classes and activities, “sold out,” a fact that highlights another Club need, for members to lead activities. I hesitate to call members who have skills to share, "Instructors" or "Teachers," as those terms seem to scare volunteers away. We'll start using the term, “Presenter,” for those willing to share skills. The Club has some pre-recorded materials and will have some other pre-planned lesson activities to share. The only skill required is turning on the TV. We’ll be recruiting “Presenters” this fall.

One final note, I’m the facilitator for the On Assignment SIG and sadly, we need to make another date change for that SIG. The SIG had a meeting scheduled for March 7th, assuming the Volunteer Luncheon would be finished by 1:00 PM. Additional activities have been added to the luncheon schedule, and it may well run beyond 1:00 pm. So, with regret, the next meeting of the On Assignment SIG will be on March 14th at 1:00 PM. Please disregard all of the automated email reminders for that SIG. We’ve discovered we have lost control of our “AI” for that SIG.

Gene Komaromi, Education Chair

Library News

The library’s March display is Depression-era photography.

March 1936: Eighty-eight years ago, photographer Dorothea Lange drove down a Nipomo, California dirt road marked with only a hand-printed sign, “Pea-Pickers Camp.” What she found has become a poignant portrait of the Great Depression.

“I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother as if drawn by a magnet,” Lange told Popular Photography magazine in 1960. She did not ask the woman’s name, nor her history, but did learn that she was 32 years old and the mother of 6 children. Harsh weather had decimated the pea crop and the family was living in a tent. She had earlier sold her car’s tires to buy food. Now on the brink of starvation, they were eating produce killed by the freeze, and birds that her children caught and killed.

Florence Owens Thompson, a full-blooded Cherokee, will forever be recognized as the Migrant Mother.

The display is made up with books on loan by member Paul McCreary, as well as those from the library shelves. They may all be checked out.

Reminder: Please return borrowed books before leaving for the summer. Thank you.

Becky McCreary, Librarian

This Month's Club Activities

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 3/4 at 7:00 pm

Our club members have come through with some great videos to share with you. But, before we watch those videos I will show the third installation of “The History of Cinema, The Talkies”. It wasn’t easy going for the creators of adding sound to movies. A lot of deceit and back stabbing took place between the different studios and their preferred method of adding sound to film. Some studios didn’t think the general public was even interested in movies having sound. Boy were they wrong and they ultimately paid the price.

March’s SHOWTIME will take us to several foreign lands, a few different states, some physical, others a state of mind. Many different perspective’s to consider. Quoting Ed Sullivan, you remember him, right? He always started his show with “We have a really big show tonight”, and on March 4th, we do too.

Please remember SHOWTIME is your opportunity to share all the hard work you put into making videos and/or slideshows. Join us at our club's Multimedia SIG if you need a little help and encouragement. We met Monday mornings at 10. We’ll help get you started and on you way to making great presentations.

If you have any presentations you would like to share, please email them to me at gvrpcshowtime@gmail.com. You can use the free WeTransfer or Filemail app to send your work, or you can drop them off on a thumb drive at the club. I will pick them up and return them to you.

Thanks to all the club members who have provided material for the show.

Your Host,

Todd Taylor, Showtime Coordinator


Travelogue

Tuesday, 3/12 at 7:00 pm

We have another wonderful live Travelogue presentation for you to enjoy this month at  the Desert Hills center auditorium. Questions and answers will follow each Travelogue. Come and enjoy traveling with us.

Israel, Jordan and Egypt

Sam Schean and Marilyn Gaizband

Real Affordable Costa Rica

Sherrie Lee Lucia

In the Steps of Van Gogh

Larry Springford

Scotland

Susan Hershey

If you have a program to share, drop off your thumb drive with a .mov or .mpeg4 show of your adventure at the Club. Leave them in the Travelogue folder with brief information about your work. Try to make your Travelogue less than 20 minutes. If you have questions, please contact Paul McCreary at 970-596-1505 or email me here.

Paul McCreary, Travelogue Coordinator


Speaker Series

Monday, 3/18 at 3:00 pm

Mining for Gold in Arizona

Our March program will be a presentation by a member of the Desert Gold Diggers from Tucson. Desert Gold Diggers is a non-profit club that is devoted to all aspects of small-scale mining, including panning, sluicing, and metal detecting. The club currently has numerous claims in southeastern Arizona. They are constantly evaluating and adding additional claims. Members of this club have outings where they dig for gold and exchange ideas.

Their speaker will give ideas and information on the various aspects of prospecting and mining. He will provide a little bit of history on mining in Arizona and information about their club. He plans on bringing a couple of tools-of-the-trade.

Join us in the auditorium at Desert Hills Center for this live presentation. Perhaps you will contract “gold fever” after attending. I look forward to seeing you on the 18th.

Kim Holmes, Speaker Series Coordinator


Field Trips

Super Venues - Serious Fun

Thank you so much for your support of our trips! Many of the March trips reached their capacity quickly. The Rancho de la Osa trip's waitlist was activated in two hours and nine minutes! Forget the old adage about March going out like a lamb. When it comes to field trips, March comes in like a lion and just continues roaring!

On a more serious note, there has been some misunderstanding recently of who can come on the field trips and how guests may sign up for the trips. Members of the Photography Club who have a valid GVR card, have signed a GVR Waiver of Liability and have registered and paid for the trip (if required), may participate on a Photography Club field trip. A valid guest, per GVR rules, must live at least 25 miles away, have a GVR Guest Pass, sign a waiver, register on our website and provide payment (if required). They then will be allowed to participate only if the wait list for that particular trip has not been activated.

I would also like to remind you that the trip leaders, through their time and effort, make these field trips possible. The venue sets the cost, attendance limits, and time constraints. If the venue allows, we will make every effort to set up a second, or even third trip to try to accommodate everyone who is waitlisted. Your patience and understanding are sincerely appreciated.

Check out the field trip lineup on tap for March 2024:

  • Tucson Windows and Doors 3/3/2024
  • Rancho de la Osa 3/6/2024
  • Field Trip Committee Meeting 3/6/2024
  • Tubac Hawk Watch 3/12/2024
  • Equine Voices 3/13/2024
  • Tohono Chul 3/14/2024
  • Oasis Bird Sanctuary & Forever Donkey Rescue 3/19/2024
  • White Stallion Ranch 3/20/2024
  • Birding/Nature Hotspot 3/26/2024
  • Gadsden-Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum 3/27/2024

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

Watch for our E-Blasts on future trips. 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

The weather is starting to warm up, cabin fever has peaked, and folks are ready to get out and enjoy the outdoors and one another’s company. This month’s photo opportunities run the gamut, from the Arizona Renaissance Festival to street fairs, book festivals, artists markets, and a car show. The first weekend alone is jam packed with photo opportunities including two pow wows, the University of Arizona Rodeo, Rails in the Garden, and the largest Western-themed steampunk convention in the nation. If you want something more exciting, check out Monster Jam® involving 12,000 pound trucks with 1,200 horsepower engines tearing up the dirt. Don’t forget to get smart on the video feature of your favorite picture taking device, there’s a lot of action to catch this month.

    Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention

    • Ongoing thru Mar 3, Event times and ticket prices vary
    • Casino Del Sol, 5655 West Valencia Road, Tucson, AZ
    • Find more information here.

    Arizona Renaissance Festival & Artisan Marketplace

    • Ongoing thru Mar 31, Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm – Fees vary
    • 12601 E. US Highway 60, Gold Canyon, 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

        • Daily thru May 31, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Ticket prices vary
        • 6000 East Valencia Road, 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.

        University of Arizona Open 4D Barrel Race

        • Mar 1, exhibitions 2:30 to 3:30 pm, race starts at 4:00 pm - Free
        • Tucson Rodeo Grounds, 4823 South 6th Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        TMA Spring Artisans Market

        • Mar 1-3, Fri & Sat 10 am to 5 pm, Sun 10 am to 4 pm – Pay-What-You-Wish
        • Tucson Museum of Art, 140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        85th Annual University of Arizona College Rodeo

        • Mar 2, performance begins at 2:00 pm - $5 admission
        • Tucson Rodeo Grounds, 4823 South 6th Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Wa:k Pow Wow

        • Mar 2-3, gates open 10:00 am - $10 admission plus $5 parking
        • Behind San Xavier Del Bac Mission, 1950 West San Xavier Road, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Rails in the Garden Tour

        • Mar 2-3, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm (Gadsden-Pacific Museum, Mar 3 only) – Donations
        • Various locations in the greater Tucson metropolitan area
        • Find more information here.

        Apache Gold Intertribal Pow Wow '24

        • Mar 2-3, Sat 12:00 pm & 7:00 pm, Sun 12:00 pm – $5 per presentation
        • Apache Gold Casino & Resort, 777 Geronimo Springs Boulevard, San Carlos, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Modern Streetcar and Walking Tour

        • Mar 5, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm – $40
        • Mercado San Agustin, 100 South Avenida del Convento, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Hidden Treasures of the Santa Cruz Valley Open Studio Tour

        • Mar 8-10, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - Free
        • Artist studios in Green Valley, Tubac, Tumacacori, and Rio Rico
        • Find more information here.

        Bull Riding in Tombstone

        • Mar 9, 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.

        Living History Day: Tucson’s Irish Connection

        • Mar 9, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm – included with admission
        • Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Tucson Festival of Books

        • Mar 9-10, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm – Free
        • University of Arizona campus, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Vigilante Sunday

        • Mar 10 and 24, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm – Free
        • Downtown Tombstone, 311 East Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Southern Arizona Home Show

        • Mar 15-17, Fri 11 am to 7 pm, Sat 10 am to 7 pm, Sun 11 am to 6 pm – $8.00
        • Tucson Convention Center, 260 South Church Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Marana Founders’ Day and Car Show

        • Mar 16, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, parade starts at 10:00 am - Free
        • 11555 West Civic Center Drive, Marana, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        2024 Sculpture Festival Show & Sale

        • Mar 16-17, 9:30 am to 4:00 pm – Free
        • The Post House, 3420 East River Road, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Oro Valley Spring Festival of the Arts

        • Mar 16-17, Sat 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am to 4:00 pm – Free
        • Oro Valley Marketplace, 12155 North Oracle Road, Oro Valley, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival

        • Mar 17, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, parade begins at 10:30 am – Free
        • Armory Park, 221 South 6th Street, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        University of Arizona Walking Tour

        • Mar 19, 9:00 am to 11:30 am – $30
        • Arizona Historical Center Parking Lot, Euclid and 2nd Street, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Monster Jam®

        • Mar 22-24, Fri 7 pm Fri, Sat 1 pm & 7 pm Sat, Sun 1 pm & 6:30 pm – prices vary
        • Tucson Arena, 260 South Church Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Fourth Avenue Spring Street Fair

        • Mar 22-24, Fri & Sat 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Sun 10:00 am to 5:00 pm – Free
        • 4th Avenue between East University Boulevard and East 8th Street, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Public Art & Murals Walking Tour

        • Mar 23, 9:00 am to 11:00 am – $30
        • Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
        • Find more information here.

        Murals & More of the 4th Avenue District

        • Mar 30, 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm – $30
        • Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, 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.

            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.
            Do you have any used photography equipment that you want to sell or are looking for to buy? List those items in the newsletter.


            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


            The GVR Photography Club is located in the Recreation Village of Santa Rita Springs.
            921 West Via Rio Fuerte, Green Valley, AZ 85622 
            Phone 520-648-1315

            If you have any questions or concerns please call the above number during business hours or email us at: gvrphotographyclub@gmail.com

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