Author: Kathleen Muhle

Our members enjoyed another successful zoom meeting in August. Logging in locally and from out-of-town to enjoy a few hours with our photography friends. Club news included updates on the newest and greatest additions to our web site, what pop-up activities to look for in the future, and a look back on our year to date events.

The members picked up photography tips from our guest speaker David Morefield of Fluffyshotme Fine Art Photography during his presentation of “Using White Balance Effectively” and enjoyed the Share and Learn segment “Foreground Mid-ground Background” with photos from 23 members. The meeting ended with the announcement for our Sept 15 program by Doug Sweet, Humble Camera Center owner, “Where is Photography Going” and our next month’s assignment “Man-Made Structures”.

The Agenda is attached for you to download and review. Have a fun Labor Day Holiday!

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We had another well-attended zoom meeting on Tuesday, over 40 members in attendance, and a record-breaking number of Share and Learn submissions! Wow, the club is showing that even with social distancing we can keep our social group active and growing. Thank you all for joining us and participating. And a big thanks to Chuck for his ever-impressive web skills, keeping our club virtually together.

Membership chair Pam Walton started the meeting by reporting that we had 5 new members join this month. We are now up to 80 members! Last year we started our Paypal online membership payments and with these virtual meetings, this has been a great benefit to keep our membership growing even without the person to person meetings.

Besides Membership, we heard a report from Activities Chair Anne Mullins. She is mindful of the current health concerns with traveling and social distancing so there are no formal activities planned for the near future. However, there could be some pop-up activities that will be posted on our web site or on our Facebook page. Some suggestions for a pop-up activity is a downtown architectural trip, local photo shot of Kingwood churches and within a 100-mile radius of Kingwood are many towns and sights that could be a quick day trip. Jim Schepens also mentioned a potential trip for next year to the Black Hills. Steve Hansen is currently in South Dakota and he was going to talk with Jim about ideas for that trip.

Chuck Dugand has been super busy during this pandemic. He has started a Wednesday Photographer Lunch with no agenda. Just meeting virtually with photography friends over lunch and talk about anything nonpolitical. This last Wednesday we talked about where our favorite places to go in our area for sunrise, sunset photos so he has created a google map under our resources. Look for his News article and Facebook article.

Another initiative of Chuck’s is a Mentoring Program. This is created to help our new and old members improve their skill in various areas of photography. We have had many members want to know how to operate their cameras or specific post processing issues so this is a start at bringing together a member with specific knowledge with a member that needs that knowledge. Checkout the Mentor’s Program tab on our website and let us know what you think of it.

Finally, Chuck also talked about the Post Processing SIG that has been ongoing. The lunch group discussed this and some suggestions were talked about to make it more interactive. Chuck does not want this to be a workshop so making it more hands-on is the goal. Look for more information from Chuck.

Jim Evrard talked briefly about the Portraiture SIG which has been badly hurt by this pandemic. Just because we cannot meet in person does not mean that each of us cannot practice portraits of family or friends. There are many good resources on the web and on our own resource page and we’ll continue to post articles on portraiture and lighting topics.

The August Workshop on “Re-envisioning your Image” is coming up. This is the final workshop of the series that Chuck presented (“Know your Camera” and “Creating Art”). He will focus on post-processing the image to tell the story we want to tell. Go to our website to signup for the August 1 virtual workshop. Now, putting out the hat for Chuck, he has done so many workshops and we are short a topic and leader for September and November. There are many topics that we have not heard from this year and he would greatly appreciate your help. Please consider contacting Chuck if you can help him out. Chris Summers is busy working on his October workshop “Children’s Portraiture” If you have seen any of his many posts on Facebook you know Chris has an excellent eye, that the portraiture of his grand kids are fun and expressive. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss this opportunity to hear how to take great family photos before the holidays.

Our July program “Architectural Photography” by Joe Aker owner of Aker Photography was filled with beautiful visions of buildings locally and all over the world. Look for a separate post on Joe’s talk and a link to the program that Chuck recorded. The talk was very well received and you’ll want to watch the recording if you missed it.

Finally, the next virtual meeting will be on August 18th. Jim Schepens has arranged for David Morefield, owner of Fluffyshotme Photography on “Using White Balance Effectively”. David is a local photographer that I actually met several years ago in Downtown Houston while doing some night shooting. Very personable and knowledgable. It should be an interesting talk.

Assignment for next month “Foreground, Mid-Ground, and Background”. Look for a separate post on the next month’s assignment.

It was so good to see so many of you even virtually. Please be well, stay cool and keep in touch with the club by watching for the Monday e-mail blast or follow us on Facebook. Check out a Wednesday Photographers Lunch for some laid back conversation and group chat.

The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.

Ansel Adams

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The Kingwood Photo Club has now officially entered the virtual world! This was a tremendous feat of accomplished by our IT Guru – Chuck Dugand! This was a formidable task and I’m sure I tried Chuck’s patience many times during the practices leading up to the meeting. As the meeting went very smoothly all the trial runs with Chuck definitely paid off. Thanks, Chuck! We are forever in your debt.

Chuck told me after the meeting that we had about 33 members at one time so a really good showing for our first virtual. I’ve attached the agenda for your reference and if you were not able to attend you can checkout the club’s activities.

A quick summary of activities and notices, past and present, that were noted in the agenda.

Please use our Website and Facebook to keep up with club events between meetings. With so much uncertainty, Anne Mullins, Activities Chair, is not formally planning any outings. However, as we learn more about how Texas will phase in a restart of our economy there will be pop-up activities posted on our Web page and Facebook. Hopefully, by the May meeting, Anne will have some ideas for the remainder of the year and she can have her activities group meet for a planning session soon after our May meeting.

Our Special Interest Groups are on hold. Chuck has conducted one virtual Post Processing SIG. Portraiture SIG is waiting till we can again meet in the Kings Point Community Pool Room. For the portraiture we are in need of models. Our model from last year has left Kingwood so if you have a suggestion please let us know at treasurer@kwphotoclub.com.

Chuck is still planning our Library workshops with signups on our Website. Jim Schepens is presenting a virtual workshop on iPhonography in May. In June I’ll be doing one on Macro Photography that we think can be held in the Library, if not we’ll make it a virtual workshop. In October Chris Summers will present Children’s Portraiture. There are still 3 months that need a presenter; August 1, September 5, and November 7. If you’d like to share a photography skill with the public please contact Chuck at Admin@kwphotoclub.com. He will be most appreciative.

If you’ve been reading the articles that come out in our Monday’s e-blast you have read about our recent project: Front Steps. There is so much enthusiasm in our community for these photos. Chuck (our hardest-working member wearing many hats) still can use additional photographers to cover areas not currently covered. Our project will be featured on the Tribune’s Website and possibly in their Tuesday paper so we are looking for more appointments and don’t wish to disappoint any Kingwood resident. The time involved is minimal so please consider joining our group and bring some smiles to your neighbors. Go to our Home Page on the web site, click on the Front Steps Project button, and scroll down to see the photos that we’ve already taken. I think Bill Beard and Chris Summers are one and two with the number of photos they have already posted.

Our May program was originally all about members selling, swapping, giving away photography equipment they no longer use. That will be impossible with a virtual meeting in May so we are postponing this event. We also need input from you to gauge participation. Chuck has put together a small survey that he will post with a few questions. Once we get the results of this survey will be back with more information regarding this event.

Finally, our next meeting is on May 19th. We are planning another virtual meeting and our speaker, Kathy Adams Clark, has agreed to do a zoom presentation. She was our speaker for April and that meeting was canceled so we are very pleased that she could make time for us in May. Her topic “Lessons Learned in Isolation”.

I don’t know about you but I have cabin fever and looking at past vacations brings visions of future vacations. This leads me to the Share and Learn assignment for May: ” Vacation Visions”, where you’ve been, and where you’d like to go! More on that in another post. Stay well enjoy getting outside in our beautiful spring weather and an early Happy Mother’s Day to all our moms in the club!

The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!

Ansel Adams

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As we are all trying to keep a safe social distance of 6 feet or more this agenda is something you can get “up close and personal” with. We had an excellent meeting planned with a full agenda and a wonderful speaker. I received many more Shares and Steven Hansen did four “Behind the Lens” for our Learn section. On a personal level, I’m in Utah with the family that is keeping me away from any casual shopping, just need to brace for that flight back home.

As we normally open our meetings with a prayer I’d like to ask that we all pray for those who are affected with this virus, for the gift of patience for those on self-isolation and particularly for our members who are currently suffering from an acute illness. I’d ask we be gifted with the strength to endure and the ability to see and share the beauty of the world through our cameras. I ask this in His Name, Amen

Our treasurer, Jim Evrard prepared several financial slides for our Annual Financial Report. The club is financial in good health. Last year we added the ability to pay online and ended the year with 87 members, 32 of which used PayPal. This year membership is tracking similar to last year with 66 members. Our 2020 budget estimated income of $1,475 with estimated expenses of $1,585. This will result in a projected loss of $110. Cash balance as of 3/10/2020 $3,877.

Activities chair Anne Mullins is backing away from organizing any additional day trips for now. The club did have several trips before Covid-19 and Bill Beard created an excellent video that you can see here:

https://kwphotoclub.com/new/activities-video-by-bill-beard/

Chuck has begun his Sunrise Sunset photo walks at East End Park. He has been posting on Facebook with reminders. Our SIGS are also going online. Chuck has added a video of the first Post Processing SIG, organizing Lightroom. Portrait SIG will also have some online information we are just not as organized or as fast as Chuck.

Stuck at home should be an excellent time to organize your camera equipment. We’ll be optimistic that we’ll have the May Program Camera Sell Swap or Giveaway so look for a sign-up sheet in April.

Kathy Adams Clark has given us several programs in the past and we are confident that she will be available for another meeting in the future.

The Learn slides from Steve Hansen are an insightful look at his thoughts and equipment for his shots. Steve has shared some of his performance photos in past months and these new photos are excellent. As he states in his Learn ” I love taking shots of individual band members while they are in the midst of a performance, especially those that are facially expressive”.  Impressive.

The Share assignment was “Framing” and you’ll find many great examples of ways to frame a photo that might be an inspiration for your next photo walk. You might be wondering where I am getting these assignments topics. In November 2018 Ken Fredrick gave a presentation and in it, he listed several “Composition Guidelines”. Rather than pick a subject, I thought concentrating on one of these guidelines would be more helpful in learning our craft. Your April assignment is “Leading Lines”. I’ll follow up with a separate News Post with helpful links for you.

Finally, I want to wish you all a Happy St. Pats day! Keep safe, wash your hands well, practice save social distance and remember your friends at the club. Reach out if you need something or just want to chat. We will endure and the saying goes “May you live in interesting times”!

Be well my friends, until we meet again! Kathy

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February is a new beginning for the club as we had our first meeting in the Fellowship Hall of the church. I had several members come up to me and voice their approval of the new room location. It is larger, lighter, a very large screen and an excellent projector. Hospitality liked the kitchen location off to the side and we had tables to sit at. Jim Schepens has reserved the room for us for all the months that are available so hoping we’ll see many more meetings here.

I mentioned the wonderful photos that were shared this month and it made choosing the header extremely difficult. Featured members this month are Connie and David Emerson with their owl photos, Chuck Dugand from the Humble Rodeo, Jim Tellijohann’s running cheetah taken in South Africa, Scott Meyer’s “Morning Flyaway” and finally two new members, John O’Brien and Ron Tribolet. Check out the post with our Gallery to see all the photos.

Last year I began a “Learn” section of our Share and Learn. This month I approached Chuck Dugand for his experiences with the Humble Rodeo. He has fast action in the ring and slow moments around the ring. Beautiful work as always from Chuck and it is a part of this agenda so take a look. The purpose of the “Behind the Lens” is to give other photographers a sense of what it took to get the shot or shots. From equipment to time of day to post-processing. It’s all there in a summarized form for you. I’m always looking for volunteers for a “Behind the Lens” so let me know if you’d like to feature one of your photos.

You’ll find a summary of all the club happenings in the agenda so if you could not make the meeting or want to refresh your memory take a look at it. The next library Workshop on March 7th is “Know your Camera, Photography Basics”, a new Pop-up Workshop on March 4th, “Building Websites” and we have two Special Interest Groups (SIG) workshops for”Portrait Photography” and “Post-Processing”.

For club activities too come, we have a day trip to Houston on February 27th “Houston Skyline Night Shoot” and an overnight trip to Fredericksburg from March 31 to April 2. If interested in Fredericksburg Jim Schepens suggested you get your hotel reservations done as soon as possible. More information is available for all these events on our website for members only. Ellen Taylor had a comment for all members that the activities are a great way to gain experience with your camera and on these trips, she has always found a more advanced photographer that will help. I encouraged members to join, reach out and meet a few people and enjoy time with other photographers.

Last months club activities saw our members taking photos at the Humble Rodeo. Margaret Molloy spoke very highly of the Rodeo Art Contest and as a teacher, she was in her element. There is a possibility that either she or another member could do additional photography in the future. Jim Evrard photographed the Humble Vocal Contest and he was amazed at the young talent that is in our area. Last year after viewing Steve Hansen’s rodeo photos I talked to him and asked if he could get our club involved, which he successfully did. So thank you, Steve, it was well worth the effort of all the members who participated.

Connie Emerson arranged our speaker, Michael Marvins and we viewed some exceptional examples of his photography from Central and West Texas. After the meeting, Pam Walton asked him about conducting a workshop and Mike was very open to working with the club sometime in the fall. Hopefully, more information to come. I’ll write a separate post about Mike’s presentation along with his Powerpoints.

A big thank you to our Membership team, Pam Walton and Theresa Crutchfield for the great job they are doing. On Tuesday they collected dues from an additional 10 members. If current members have not renewed by the end of March they will be taken off our member list for 2020 so please pay your dues by then.

Also, the refreshments provided by Ron Fovargue, Anne Mullins and David Emerson were greatly appreciated along with the Hospitality team of Maggie Halleck and Arlane Sponaugle. The Hospitality sign-up sheet still has many open months so please consider signing up next month as you treat yourself to a snack or drink.

Finally, I brought my big girl camera (as opposed to the big boy camera) to get some photos of our meeting. We really did have an excellent time. Look for my post on next month’s assignment “Framing”! Keep your camera at the ready!

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“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”
— Imogen Cunningham

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