Minutes for April 11th Photoclub meeting

[anna mccolm]

Avril opened the meeting and welcomed Gwen and Curt back from Mexico.

She introduced Julian Bruce, our newest club member, to the group. Welcome Julian.

New Business:

                      Judy reminded everyone of the artist's sale at Mahon Hall April 21 - 22. This is organized by Amy Melious; 20 vendors will be selling left over studio equipment, brushes, mats, frames etc. as well as some original Art. Mahon Hall 10am - 4pm both days.

                      Judy has received photos from 8 Club members for the Spring/Summer slide show that can be seen at the Hospital. If anyone else would like to get in on the act they can send their (Salt Spring) images to Judy before midnight on Sunday. You can send them directly to her, in the largest format you have, or ask her for an invite to Dropbox. Her email address is - [e-mail]

                      Bob Fenske is showing some of his Street Photography at the library, in the Program Room. The opening was well attended and the show has been extended until May 2nd.

                      Gallery 8, in Grace Point Square, is showing some new works (including some by our very own Avril Kirby) and has an opening this Friday 13th at 6pm. It is the Gallery's 9th anniversary.

                       Avril is also showing some new Photomontage images at the Vancouver Island School of Art. This is a 3 person show (the other two artists are Collette Baty and Mark Goodwin) and the opening is also this Friday 13th from 6pm - 8pm. Choices, choices. The show is on until the end of April and will be open during school hours and at some weekends. The school is at 2549 Quadra, between Bay and Hillside.

                      The Core Inn is hosting a Youth Photo Contest, beginning in May, and is looking for a couple of judges. Bob Fenske volunteered and if anyone else would like to be a judge it's probably best to get in touch with the Core Inn for more details.

                      Anna (aka I) asked for a show of hands to see how much interest there was among the group for creating images of Electric Vehicles to put on the walls of the barn at the farmers Institute. The Electric Vehicle show will be held on the weekend of June 23 - 24. Several people were interested and Maggie kindly offered her 3 electric cars for a photoshoot session. It will be at her house on Sunday May 20th from 10.30am - noon. She will provide lunch and champagne - just kidding! There will be 2 Model S's (one red and one white) and a yellow Roadster. She lives at 222 Wright Road, near the top of Cranberry Road.

                   Jana gave us an update on the other EV Show. She has now received all payments. The sitting schedule was passed around for interested members to sign up for two shifts. The Club decided not to advertise in the Times Colonist this year (a savings of $60) as most people hear about the Show from the Driftwood, friends and the social media. Jana will get the entry forms on the website soon so we can print them out and fill them in. Wendy has volunteered again to make the labels and would appreciate getting the information about the photos (names, prices etc.) as soon as possible so she is not doing them all at the last minute.

This year there will be a People's Favorite Choice and the winning photographer will receive dinner for two at Harbour House. This clever scheme has a twofold benefit; Firstly it will encourage people to spend more time in the Gallery and really look at the images so they can make a choice and secondly, Jana will be able to get some useful information (such as email addresses) to help with the next year's advertising.

Maggie would like each participating EV photographer to send her one of their images and a quote, if you can come up with something. She will use 3 of these images and one quote to create her Press Release. There will be a short PR and a longer, extended version which will get printed in the Marketplace and, hopefully, the Driftwood. Her email address is - [e-mail]

                Jean Panapinto has been inspired by the book the Victoria Photoclub has put out showcasing their best images. She would like to publish a photobook with the images from this year's EV show. She's been investigating affordable printing options and will probably use Shutterfly as they provide a fast service. Please send your images to her - [e-mail] - and a blurb to go with them. She is thinking of including some images of Gallery 8 too. If there is interest in the book she will get more copies published.

             Kehsia tried to set a time and place for this Sunday's photowalk. The low tide on Sunday is at 12.44pm so she was thinking of meeting at a beach. We ran out of time before anything was decided and she will hopefully post a place and time on the Website.

The educational part of the meeting:

Bob Fenske shared with us his love of Street Photography.

"If your photo is not good it's because you're not close enough" Robert Capa 1913 -54

Street photography is controversial, challenging and rewarding.

Initially there can be some fear to overcome - fear of invading someone's personal space and privacy, fear of being attacked or arrested, fear of being noticed or yelled at.

Bob has found that many people are flattered by having their photograph taken and that interacting with your subject will likely be pleasant and confidence building. If someone has noticed his action he will often smile or wave at them and sometimes hands out his card that has his name, his purpose (Candid Street Photography) and his contact information on it. It also says 'Thanks for the photo. Contact me for a copy of your photo'. He will willingly delete a photo if it has upset someone.

Some helpful tips are to look inconspicuous and use a small camera.

Initially he started by taking hip shots - his camera slung over his shoulder and falling at hip height. This takes practise and you may well not get the desired result! It's a good starting point though if you're uncomfortable sticking a camera in someone's face.

Bob suggested looking at images from some of the more well known Street Photographers. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand, Vivian Maier, Helen Levitt, Diane Arbus, Joel Meyerowitz and Bruce Gilden. Many of these artists photographed in New York. Bob himself photographs a lot in France and also in Vancouver, Victoria, Salt Spring and Germany.

You don't have much time to capture a decisive moment and then compose, focus and press the shutter. It helps if you have ideas of what you're looking for- it will help you to notice those things. Bob, for example, notices hands and facial expressions and angles, particularly triangles, that are formed by body positions.

He talked briefly on colour versus black and white. One has to ask 'Does the colour help or hinder the image? Does it distract from the subject matter?' In one of his images he left some colour in to highlight an aspect of the photo. I think it was a bag and a hat - he wanted to draw attention to their textures. As always with photography it is our choices that make our images our own.

Next month's challenge:  Go somewhere crowded (the Saturday market was suggested) and take a candid image of someone. Then approach your subject and engage with them. The idea is to lower the fear factor and elevate the confidence and reward factor.

                

                       

[Avril Kirby]

Well done, aka I! Good minutes and very thorough.

[Margaret C. Benmore]

Great Minutes Anna.... Bob's session sounds interesting... and as always a very busy Club... 

Thanks again... mcb