For your viewing enjoyment

Here is an image that I found I can't remember where on the Internet. Posted  because... well just because I really like it.
Byron

Worldwide Photowalk 2010 Winners

This one won The People's Choice Award.

This is the image that was officially chosen as Best In Show. Personally I don't get it, but as we are constantly reminded the concept of "best" is nebulouos there is really no objective way to choose.

                                                                                                         

And here is the La Crosse People's Choice Award Winner. Congratulations Eileen Peterson!

Byron

WWIG September Meeting

I'm sure that you are familiar with the phrase "the dog days of August" and, more to the point, the concept. Well for me if the days recently have been dogs, they are not cute little puppies or loyal companions but sort of combinations of vicious Doberman, howling Rottweiler, and snarling Bull Mastiff. My apologies to anyone who actually cares about the lateness of this information and the tasks that I haven't completed in time for the meeting (I, for one, do care but let's not belabor the issue).

There will be a meeting on THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 2nd at 6:30 pm at my home ( N2207 Pammel Pass W. in Bridal Coulee)
Meeting Schedule (which is flexible and can be adapted at the will of the people-- if nothing else the WWIG is democracy in action!)
6:30-7:00  Social Hour and informal viewing of prints. Please do bring prints to show to your friends and colleagues. Refreshment provided by Susann Annis (the pastry maker formerly known as "The Queen of Cheesecake").
7:00-8:00  Presentations by Jennifer Bucheit, Jamie Heiden, Byron Annis and Scott Kelby
8:00-9:00  Open discussion-- give and take encouraged-- of Topic of the Month images, the prints and digital images that were brought to the meeting, as well as techniques, gear, places to shoot, and recent trips and anything else that anyone wants to discuss. Remember, the Topic of the Month is Things That Are Not What They Seem To Be.

A note about digital images: Use of our Flickr Group is not ready for prime time, although we are almost there. If you are bringing digital images, please put them on a flash drive and make sure that they are clearly labeled. PC based please.  I don't care about the format you use but it should be easy to identify. Here is an example of how I would do it. Make a folder and label it WWIG Sept. For the image files something like this smith_greatphoto1.jpg works just fine. We will no longer be using a digital projector. The images will be displayed on a large screen HDTV. Color accuracy is very close to what we see on the monitor and is a significant improvement. Although we all enjoy seeing your finished masterworks, there is much to be gained  -- for you and your fellow photographers-- when you bring problem images for discussion.
Finally at this meeting I want to update our membership list and confirm email addresses and phone numbers, select future topics of the month, and let you know about our October special guest speaker. Beyond this there will be no business meeting, and, as always, no dues... no officers, no committees, and no competition.
Byron

St Rose Convent

Larry Lindesmith posted this image on the La Crosse Photowalk 2010 Flickr site along with several others that he took during our visit to St. Rose Convent prior to the actual Photowalk.What an outstanding photograph! I'd love to see it printed really big-- how about 17 by 22inches or even larger.
Byron

Message from Wisconsin Digital Forum Group

This message was forwarded by Owen Johnson, President of the La Crosse Camera Club and might be of interest to some of our members. I would attend this meeting but can't because I'm having surgery that day. I am going to try to attend one of their subsequent meetings however to find out what this club is all  about:

Wisconsin Digital Forum Group
Hi Everyone....Hope you have all had a great summer....Fall is just around the corner.....and it's time for our monthly Digital Forum meetings to begin. Our first meeting of the season will be Wednesday, Sep. 8th
Jeff will be giving us the "what's new with CS 5"  7:00PM
Menomonee Falls Library 
6 N8436 Pilgrim Rd.
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051


The Wisconsin Digital Forum Group is hosted by Jeff Klug & Lynne Rieger.


 We are in the constant process of updating our e-mail address list.... If you know of anyone interested in attending who in the past has not been receiving the e-mails but has not received this one..... please e-mail me or have them e-mail me with their name & e-mail.


There is lots of space at this location, so please feel free to invite any friends, family, photo club members, etc. that are interested in the challenges of digital photography.
SPECIAL NOTE
We are looking for a couple of additional instructors to present programs this season. If you are, or know someone who would interested in presenting a program, kindly contact Jeff at kpw1255@aol.com.
ALSO....Jeff and Lynne are always looking for suggestions for topics suitable for discussion at these digital forums. Your thoughts, opinions and suggestions are very much appreciated.
Geri Laehn
Wisconsin Digital Forum Group
sponsored by WACCO (Wisconsin Area Camera Club Org.)
GeriLaehn@Gmail.com

Angkor Wat

Photos of Angkor Wat at sunrise like this one have been done about a half a gazillion times, but this image has something special. I did a search on Flickr for Angkor Wat and saw that there were over 460,000 images. My rough estimate is that about 20-25% were essentially the same as this one. I've been thinking about why this shot stands out and have formed some opinions. I'd be interested to know if any of you, dear readers, think that this image is special and have ideas about what separates  it from the  pack.

If you would like to see a collection of exceptional photos from the larger Angkor temple complex visit Stuck in Customs (see link in column on the left). I was at Angkor in 1988 when it was something of a big deal-- and actually forbidden to US citizens. Apparently now it has become something of a Khmer theme park, but still, I wish I could  return.

Byron

WWIG PhotoExchange on FLICKR

The WWIG now has a Group on Flickr WWIG PhotoExchange. It is, at the moment, a work in progress, but it is hope that it will be functional before our next meeting on Thursday September 2nd and that members wishing to submit digital images for presentation at the meeting will be able to do so. More as new developements occur. By the way, I have tentatively lined up a speaker for our November meeting and I think that you will be  pleased with the guest. Finally, I am hoping  to use an up-to-date HDTV to display your images and Powerpoint presentations at the next meeting. This should be an improvement over the digital projector used previously, which proved to be very unsatisfactory (I never figured out how to do color calibration and couldn't adaquately control contrast and brightness either). I am committed to getting the images displayed properly and will keep working on it until I do.
Byron

A Worksite I Envy.

This is Leo Laporte, a well known tech guy and longstanding presence on the Internet, cable TV, and radio. The photo, by the way, was obtained on the terrific blog Stuck in Customs (see prior post for link) and is an HDR image. I especially admire it because it is not at all obvious that HDR was used. I presume it was selected because the non HDR that came from the camera was problematic. This is something that Scott Kelby posted on his blog on this subject a while ago: "I too use [sic] to love [HDR]…now, not so much…and for some reason, once I quickly identify the HDR effect, my opinion of the picture drops a notch."  I am very committed to HDR but like Kelby if the effect is obvious my opinion drops, but in my case a lot more than a notch.

Byron

Two Photo Competition Websites

For those of you who would like to participate in photo challenging photography contests I suggest that you check out these 2 very well organized and presented online photo contests:

1. DPChallange
2. Digital Image Cafe

If any WWIG members start to participate in the contests featured in either of these sites, I'd very much like to know about your experience. I have the impression that both would entail a good deal of work but would be quite instructive and rewarding.
Byron

Real Photos That Look Fake

If you Google "Real Photos That Look Fake" you will come accross many sites where such photos are collected from the Internet and posted. they are quite redundant. This one:  http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-cool-photos-pg,0,2713292.photogallery is the most complete with 166 images. Many, if not most, are pretty lame but there are some that are clever or in other ways interesting.
Byron

A question regarding the concept of "an Original".

Hi All,

I, Jamie Heiden, am looking for some input.  I have been asked often where my "Original" is?  In other words, I have customers who are looking to purchase a piece but rather than the piece being one of a numbered limited edition, they would like to purchase the original.  I can easily define this concept of "the original" when dealing with watercolors or oil painting or even traditional darkroom printing but when it concerns digital imaging I have difficulty.  In darkroom printing the original is produced using the development process and then prints are made another way.  So, one could have the original on photographic paper printed in the darkroom and the limited edition prints produced via scanning into the computer and printing with the Giclee process.

 Can digital imaging have an original?  Could I label an original one that is printed or presented differently -for example, an image that is printed larger and varnished and framed without glass as opposed to printed, matted and framed under glass (like all of my limited edition series would be)?

This may be a question better asked in person because it can get a bit confusing... but if any of you have any input now, I would appreciate it. 

Thanks,  Jamie

Future of the WWIG blog

I enjoy some aspects of maintaining this blog and wish that I could make daily entries to it. Frankly, the long intervals between posts is really hampering the quality of this endeavor. Visiting the blog would be a lot more rewarding for all of  us if there would be more of a reason to stop by regularly. I have previously pleaded, cajoled, and whined in asking WWIG members to post entries or comments but, let's be honest, there hasn't been much of a  response. It is realized that making entries and comments is cumbersome, but I have posted directions on how to do it and offered to demonstrate the process to anyone who needs the help (see July 13, 2010 post).

So, it is now time for the nuclear option. I'm have posted poll to see if there is sufficient interest in continuing this blog (see Poll at the top of the  column on the right). If there is, I am going to insist that other members share in the joys of posting. If we can't get a regular rhythm established, I'd rather let this blog wither on the vine than continue a half-hearted performance.

Please do respond to the poll. Comment here, e-mail or call me if you have questions or comments that you don't want to make public.

Byron

A Highly Recommended Blog

As you probably have noticed I have done some housekeeping on this blog. There is a new and improved graphic appearance, the image in the header has been changed and will be rotated on a more or less monthly basis, and I have begun to update the list of links to recommended photography blogs. Click here to link to today's entry Stuck in Customs-- a blog by This is a remarkably rich blog though not without some flaws-- mostly a result of the authors hyperactive style and self-promotion as well as his blatant commercialism, which I can't really blame him. I've spent a good deal of time here and still haven't seen everything it has to offer. I particularly appreciate that he posts a picture every day along with the text. The image above is from his very long list of images he has found on the web (see Things That Inspire Me), a collection of very interesting images some of them quite bizarre. I happen to share many of his tastes, especially images that really bend the curve (as well as the music of David Darling-- who knew that anyone else in the world does so?
Byron

An Interesting Treatment of Clouds

Ferrell McCollough is the author of what I consider to be an exceptionally good book about HDR (a venue that has become very crowded). I occasionally visit his blog Before the Coffee -- he posts infrequently-- and was quite taken with this photo, especially the treatment of the clouds.

This is his exclamation of how he achieved the effect:

"A simple composition along the Atlantic coast on a windy stormy day. The sand was blowing so heavily it created the appearance of fog as it whisked along the beach. I wanted to capture the look but wasn’t able, it was too subtle. This is an HDRB&W."

Byron

Update

Jim Terman recently sent these comments about our display at the La Crosse Public Library:

Congratulations to the assemblers and hangers of the WWIG exhibit at the La Crosse Public Library. Nicely done (see attached).
Jim Terman

Byron

Film for Polaroid SX-70 Camera

Impossible, a Dutch company, has purchased all of the remaining remnants of the defunct Polaroid company and has begun manufacturing film to be used with Polaroid cameras which has not been available anywhere. They recently have introduced and made available for purchase color film which can be used with the SX-70 camera. Here is the announcement from the Impossible website (http://shop.the-impossible-project.com/shop/film/600/fi_sx70_3_px70_ff_triple):

PX 70 FF Color Shade Triple Pack We are proud to present the first Impossible color material in a First Flush Edition available in a 2+1 Starter Pack (three packs of 8 images each). Starter Pack because this is just the beginning of Impossible's colorful adventure ahead. 2+1 free pack to give you the chance to extensively give our first color films a shot and test them beyond their limits

This information will be of limited interest but I'm just saying...
Byron

Update

Here are some updates and news you can use:

• From Owen Johnson, President of the La Crosse Camera Club: Reminder: The deadline to enjoy the earlybird rate of $45 for our North Central Camera Club Council Convention in September is August 16. This event is open to all photographers - Camera Club membership is not required. Check out our convention website http://www.n4clacrosse2010.com/ for highlights and register in the coming week to save a few dollars.
• The next meeting of the WWIG will be on Thursday September 2nd. More information to follow.
• If you haven't already done so, check out the WWIG print display at the La Crosse Public Library. You will be impressed and pleased with the work of your WWIG friends and colleagues.

Byron

WWIG Exhibit at LAX Public Library

Our prints have been installed on the balcony at the La Crosse Public Library. And what an impressive collection of printed images it is. All of us owe a heartfelt thank you to John Zoerb for arranging this exhibit, selecting the prints and hanging them. If you have a chance, do stop by the Library and take a look at your own and your colleagues work. Kudos to the Western Wisconsin Imaging Group!  

Shameless Nepotism

Recently my brother, Mel Annis, and his partner, Pat Cornett, sent an e-mail to let me know that they had updated their website-- now an absolutely first-class web photo gallery. I was quite awestruck by the number of wonderful images, the  extent of their travels to obtain these photographs, and the remarkable quality of the website-- which is, in fact, exactly what I have been looking for without success. Take a tour of this terrific website and collection of photographs at http://www.annis-cornett-photos.com/.

Here are a couple of examples of their work that I like:

Byron

WWIG Exhibit at La Crosse Public Library.

As you know the deadline for submission of prints to be included with our exhibit at the La Crosse Public Library is August 1st. Because this date falls on a weekend day, John Zoerb has kindly extended the deadline 24 hours. Prints submitted after tomorrow's deadline cannot be added to the group selected for display.

Scheduling the September meeting is problematic for me. I would much prefer to have the meeting on the 1st Wednesday of the month which is September 1, 2010 but I have to take my son and his family to the MSP airport that day. I am going have surgery in September and it is important for me to have it as early in the month as possible. Therefore I am asking that you indulge me and let me schedule the meeting for Thursday September 2, 2010.

Now for the photo topic for the September meeting. Do you remember when we all put suggestions on paper to be drawn out of a hat? I still have them and did just that this evening. Here is the result: Things That Are Not What They Seem. Frankly, I don't have any idea where to start with this one which actually will make it an intriguing, thought-provoking  problem to be solved. I'm looking forward to it and hope that  you will enjoy being really challenged.

I asked Jennifer Bucheit to give a brief presentation on a topic of her choice at the September meeting and she has graciously agreed to do so. I do intend to continue to solicit presentations for upcoming meetings-- be prepared to be asked. I'll be setting the entire meeting agenda soon and let you know it in more detail as we get closer to the time of the meeting.

Finally,let me remind you that the La Crosse Camera Club is hosting the NC4 annual convention here in La Crosse September 16-19, 2010. Please visit the website: http://www.n4clacrosse2010.com/ for lots of good information about the convention. The lineup of events looks really exciting and I am eagerly looking forward to being a part of the event.  By the way, Theresa Smerud will be one of the guest speakers and it is a source of pride that one of our own is being featured. It is a well deserved honor for Theresa.
Byron