June 5th at 7 pm via Zoom. Image sharing will be on the theme of Black and White. Purpose is to become more familiar with creating black and white, monochrome, or duotone images.

It can be easy to avoid getting out in the rain to take photographs, but once over that hurdle of handling equipment and being dry yourself, what can we create?  Rainy days are often gray and soft; water droplets glisten on plants and overlapping ring patterns in water are endlessly captivating.  Our members shared a range of perspectives at our June meeting.  They showed that rainy days can be great days for creating images with both mystery and beauty.

Don’t forget to check out the SOAG 34^th Annual Juried Photography show in Ithaca.  It’s open until July 2.  We have four members with images in the show.  Special congratulations go to Randi Millman-Brown for her award! 

The “wild, wacky, and wonderful” world of desert plants was the subject of Kathy Rasmussen’s polished presentation at our May meeting.  We don’t often get to see such a great collection of nature photographs from a completely different ecological zone!   Many thanks to Kathy for making it a great meeting.

Kathy attended an Out of Chicago workshop in February this year at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. She provided us with insights and tips, as well as demonstrating the benefits of attending.  Out of Chicago runs numerous events a year, and also provides very useful ‘snippets’ of free content and webinars.

Kathy’s image (K.M. Rasmussen copyright 2023) with raindrops at the base of the “Bald Cholla” (Cylindropuntia cholla) is perfect for our June Meeting.  Join us at for a photo sharing evening on the theme of “Rain”.  This one should be “wet and wonderful”! Member Connie Stirling-Engman will also share some of her (very wet) experiences and images from her underwater photography in the Caribbean.   

Meeting – June 1^st, 7pm – on Zoom.  Images need to be submitted by 5pm on the day.

Join us for a presentation this week by Kathy Rasmussen – tips and lessons learned from a very special Out of Chicago Workshop in February at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. We will meet via Zoom at 7pm on this Thursday, May 4th. There will be lots of images and ideas shared!

Detail and drama were highlights of the images shared at our April ‘Nature in Black and White’ meeting. The photographs included landscapes and intimate details with plenty of texture and dramatic contrasts. Enjoy the images!

The March meeting stretched members to think in series – how can three images work together to create something greater than the parts? Some very interesting sets were shared, below are just two of the selection shown with the set in one frame. What do you think? Many thanks to Patrick and Don for sharing these.

Our next meeting is coming up soon! On April 6th we will explore photographs with the theme ‘Nature in Black in White.’ Time to think about contrast and light. Looking forward to the results. Maybe the images shared here will provide some inspiration.

February went by in a flash! Tomorrow is our March Meeting, Thursday the 2nd March 2023 at 7pm. The challenge is to create a set or a series that complement or contrast or intrigue – plenty of room for creativity in thinking about how images work together in pairs or threes. Muhammad Arif’s Tulips provide some lovely inspiration!

The February meeting was delightful – a feast of images that showcase the talents of our diverse group. Many thanks to everyone for your great work and sharing it with us all.

Our February 2 meeting will feature Best of 2022 images! Time to pull out your work and look at it with fresh eyes. Reminder – each participant shows only three images – a good chance to practice your selection process! The photographs only have to pass your own criteria for ‘best of’ – be creative or focus on the meaningful or the experimental.