All posts by Stan McReynolds

Monday, October 11th – Meeting – Aerial Photography by Steve Neer

Major Steve Neer has been a member of the Cumberland Squadron of Civil Air Patrol for 11 years.  He has served in many capacities, including
Squadron Commander, Emergency Services Officer, and currently Director of Communications for the Tennessee Wing.  One of the functions of Civil Air Patrol is aerial photography. As a Qualified Aerial Photographer.

Major Neer is in the air following weather or man made disasters for
damage assessment, determining the stability of roads and bridges, and
other important work.  If you’ve seen photos of the Gulf oil spills and
weather disasters, chances are they were taken by Civil Air Patrol. 
Major Neer and other members of CAP perform lots of other functions, but he wants to show you what they do in the field of aerial photography. 
It’s a practical application of photography that we don’t always think
about.  Join Major Neer as he shows the equipment used and shares some photos taken by CAP.

Getty Photo Challenge

In early 2020 just after the world put a mask on, the Getty Museum introduced an idea to creative people all over the world. The idea was presented to schools, clubs, bloggers, and all sorts. Many took the guidance of the Getty Museum to recreate works of art in their own vision. The challenge was that of mimicking the great artists of the world. How, you say? Well, the challenge was to take a masterpiece such as, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, and re-create it into your own version. This is done through art, crayons, drama, you name it, someone tried it.  Many chose to use photography to recreate the great masterpieces. For examples, Google ‘Images for Getty Museum Challenge’ . The point of the project is to study the masterpiece and then determine how it could be closely approximated through a photo.

Have fun with it! Get creative! We will present your efforts at this meeting. This is not a contest; just plain old fun. You should take a picture of the original images that you choose and then the next photo would be your recreation. We hope to see many examples. Visualize your surroundings with the great masterpieces in mind.  The list is endless and so are the possibilities. Some are serious efforts to duplicate as near as possible while others are a grand effort to cause laughter – the world’s best medicine.

Monday, August 9th Meeting – Composite Images

Producing a composite image is the process of combining two or more images into a single unified image where the images are seamlessly blended together.

The basics of creating a composite will be covered, via video tutorials, including: 1) use of layers in Photoshop 2) image selections based on lighting direct, temperature and point of view, and 3) Photoshop blending modes. Club member, Steve Kuss, will address attendee’s questions at the end of the video presentations.

A simple example of a composite image is a portrait of a large family gathering where no single images capture all the family members with their eyes open. A composite image, by selecting portions of the multiple images, can produce a desired family portrait where all member have their eyes open.

More complex composite images can create complete fantasy worlds.

The Aug meeting will be held at 7pm at the First Presbyterian Church (second floor meeting room) 20 N. Dixie Ave. Cookeville.

Monday, Sept 13 – Contest – Movement

For this contest members must submit an image showing movement. The images submitted by club members must indicate motion of the primary subject by showing a blur of the subject or background due to motion during the exposure.

During our standard contests, images are evaluated by three club members. For this competition, images will be judged and critiqued by an experienced representative from the Photographic Society of America (PSA).

Images will be uploaded to Photographic Society of America website for evaluations about 2 weeks prior to the completion.  During the evening of the competition, the PSA judge will appear via Zoom to present her critique of the images.

Exhibition
Members will submit their favorite images to share with the club. This is our members’ chance to show off what they’ve been working on lately! The exhibitions have become a member favorite activity. A slideshow set to music will display the member-submitted entries, and discussion will follow the slideshow. Images may be of any subject or from any time frame.

The meeting will be held at First Presbyterian Church, 20 N. Dixie Ave., Cookeville.

Monday, July 12th – Contest – Panorama

Panorama
For this contest members, must enter images that have wide horizon extent with the width of the image typically being 2 times or more the height of the image. The image can be achieved by using a one image from a wide angle lens or alternatively from series of images combined during post processing.

Exhibition
Members will submit their favorite images to share with the club. This is our members’ chance to show off what they’ve been working on lately! The exhibitions have become a member favorite activity. A slideshow set to music will display the member-submitted entries, and discussion will follow the slideshow. Images may be of any subject or from any time frame.

Mon, June 14th – Annual Club Picnic

Our annual picnic is on the evening of June 14th (regular club meeting night) starting at 6PM. Gary is hosting the picnic at his home. Please sign up for the picnic on our website, so we have an estimate of number of members and guests who will attending. Members are requested to bring their own main course, side dish or dessert to share with others.

Bring your camera. This year we are doing a scavenger hunt as part of the picnic.

In accordance with current Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, only attendees that have been not fully vaccinated are requested to wear a mask.

May 10th – I Can Do (on my phone) What You Can Do in PS and Lr Better by LoisAnn Shannon

Cookeville Camera Club member, LoisAnn Shannon will give a presentation during May’s club meeting. Our meeting will be held at Stonecom, One Stonecom Way, Cookeville.

LoisAnn Shannon is a photographer based in Chattanooga TN. She has years of experience shooting local ballet, theater, and opera performances. LoisAnn is also a digital artist who loves to take photos of nature and local attractions. She enjoys traveling and snapping photos of her various adventures.

In her spare time, LoisAnn loves to be “by the water”, whether it’s swimming at the beach, relaxing at a lake, or rowing on the river. LoisAnn is also a fan of opera and ballet, and has enjoyed practicing and performing ballet for several years. LoisAnn enjoys classical music, and played cello in the Chattanooga Community Orchestra for four years.

It is said that THE BEST camera is the one you have with you and more often than not, it’s the camera  you have in your pocket or purse. Today, using editing apps, not only can one take good camera phone photos, they can be edited on the spot and posted on location. There’s something very satisfying about taking shots and editing them before you even leave the location, rather than getting home with a few hundred photos to cull, edit and post [which often doesn’t happen]. Using phone apps, beginning with Snapseed, we will discover that many common tasks often accomplished in Photoshop can be done on one’s phone [sometimes more easily and with fewer steps]. Hence the title, “I Can Do (on my phone) What You Can Do in PS and Lr Better”.

Monday, May 10 – Contest – Water

Water
Members can submit any image associate with “Water” for this contest. This includes but not limited to, still water (ex lakes), running water (ex streams, waterfalls), or frozen water (any form of ice).

A presentation will be given by club member Lois Ann Shannon.

The meeting will be held at Stonecom. Address is 1 Stonecom Way, just of Old Sparta Rd.

Arrive early to socialize. Meeting starts at 7.

Photo Exhibition

Members will submit their favorite images to share with the club. This is our members’ chance to show off what they’ve been working on lately! The exhibitions have become a member favorite activity. A slideshow set to music will display the member-submitted entries, and discussion will follow the slideshow.

Sat, April 17-Johnson’s Photo Shoot

Annual photo shoot held at Johnson’s Nursery at 1717 E. Spring Street, Cookeville. We prefer to shoot before they open, so please be there at 7:00 am and prepare to shoot until 9:00am. Please park on the side of building.

A tripod is recommended and black or white poster board to use behind plants or flowers. Be as creative and take as many photos as you wish.

April 12 – Adaptive Light by Ron Baker/Photo Art

We will be visiting Ron’s Studio and Art Gallery – PhotoArt, located at 31W Spring Street for a presentation which begins at 6:30pm. Please observe Covid 19 precautions when visiting the studio. Masks must be worn in the studio and we will practice social distancing. Parking is in rear of building.

Ron Baker, is a professional photographer with over 20 years experience. He is also involved with all aspects of fine art. Ron has a BFA from Miami University, Oxford, OH in drawing/painting, graphic design, photography and an acquired wealth of professional experiences.

Ron developed a vision that would effectively bring it all together under one roof. His passions for art, photography and sharing knowledge is what PhotoArt is all about.