By Kathy Krant

An effective element of good photographic composition is the use of “leading lines” which draws the eye to a specific part of the frame or center of interest.  It might be a path, road or fence which winds through the frame to a vanishing point in the distance.  In nature it might be a shoreline, a river or row of trees leading you to your subject in the background.

Identify your strongest lines and consider how to enhance your image by creating depth and perspective positioning those lines from the foreground to the background.  Create a visual journey from one point in your image to another.  Position your image so the lines lead into the frame and never out of the frame.  Sometimes it’s as simple as moving yourself to change perspective and make your image more purposeful. Continue reading →

By Wanda Krack

Equipment needed:

1. A camera that allows manual settings
2. A tripod, a sturdy one if there is wind
3. Preferably a wide angle lens or a semi-wide angle. A lens that allows you to include all of the space that you want in the image.  I use a 14-24, and have used an 8mm fish eye to include the entire sky.  If you don’t have a wide angle, you can take several shots panned, and stitch them together using Photoshop or similar software.  If you do this, try setting the camera for vertical orientation, overlapping almost 50%, thereby capturing more of the foreground, or more of the sky.
4. An external shutter tripper, or use the delayed shutter setting on the camera, to prevent any shake.

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By Walt Carlson

Hong Kong, a city I never expected to visit; but, one that I can’t believe I had a chance to go.

Victoria’s Peak is the highest point in Hong Kong with breathtaking views of the city, especially after dark.  The iconic Big Buddha sits on a mountaintop in an area accessible by sky gondola, bus, or an all-day hike to the top while cows can be found roaming free in the gardens at the base of the site.Many locals travel by ferry on weekends and holidays to visit the nearby fishing village islands where they select their dinner from the open-air fish market.  The meal is then prepared at the restaurant next door and ready to eat approximately 30 minutes later, served on large lazy Susan tables which are typical of Chinese dining. Continue reading →

 By Leann Walker

“Are we there yet? How much longer? I am BORED!” These are all common phrases heard by most parents on any car trip longer than 30 minutes. While we commonly think that this is something that only children do, at a recent camera club meeting I felt like I was in that car with some of my fellow photographers. Phrases of “I hate winter… my images are so bland, It’s too cold outside; there’s nothing for me to photograph, I’m so tired of shooting the same old stuff!” These comments took me back to the days of creatively entertaining my three daughters on a road trip. I felt like there had to be a way to be creative and inspire others during a magical time of year – Christmas.

While obviously not my creation, an internet search revealed a 365 photo-a-day project as well as a photo of the month project. These projects presented a topic or subject to be captured each day and received a new subject the next day. The subjects presented were so simple or so common and with very little creative thought; I felt like our new members were craving knowledge as well as inspiration. Armed with a slew of ideas from different photo-a-day programs, my plan was born. I decided to create and implement the “31 Days of Christmas.” With input from the board of directors and Camera Club President, Helga Skinner the project came to life. Each day was to be a different theme. There were no rules, except to be creative and look at the topic through the eyes of a photographer. The topics were very broad such as “together” or “looking up” to allow maximum creative exploration but there were also educational topics such as bokeh (intentionally adding blur to a background or image), macros or close-ups, landscapes and reflections.

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