WWIG June Meeting ~ Program

The WWIG will meet at my home (N2207 Pammel Pass W. in Bridal Coulee) at 6:30pm. Please remember that Roger Grant who will be location lighting and has asked that everyone bring a camera. Several photographers who have not yet been involved with our group will be attending tomorrow's meeting. Please introduce yourselves and make them welcome-- this has been a tradition with the WWIG and is one of our strengths. Finally, this meeting will be, I think, a first. Yes there will be no overt or subtle whining from the host about lack of submissions. Your participation in the Topic of the Month and Digital Challenge has been fantastic. Thanks to all of you!

I cruised around to various sites in search of some great images to lead off this post but the few I found couldn't be appropriated. Perhaps you may find a couple of photos taken at the wedding we attended in Japan. The first is the group marching into the temple and the second is of my daughter Allison Christie and grandson Damian. They are wearing kimonos at the request of the bride and her family.

THE PROGRAM FOR THE JUNE MEETING OF THE WWIG

SOCIAL HOUR AND PRINT VIEWING-

Susann Annis is currently visiting family in Colorado but before she left she accomplished 2 important things. She make a cheesecake-- one that you haven't seen before and it's one of her very best-- and she taught Byron how to make her kind of coffee. She has also put herself on call for coffee phone consultation if necessary. I expect a big group tomorrow evening and will try to have enough of everything for all. If you bring prints please be sure to take them to the basement and put them in a place that will illuminate well.

PRESENTATIONS-

• Roger Grant on location lighting 
• I attended a one day seminar in Minneapolis given by Joe McNally and David Hobby on lighting using small strobes. I will show a short video of McNally's work and a couple of brief segments of  a 2 disc video tutorial. Members delve into this subject in more detail can borrow the video.

ANNOUNCEMENTS-

• Future meetings.
• The next Topic of the Month and Digital Challenge
• Another reminder about our display at the La Crosse Public Library in August.
• A proposal for an activity at Christmas time.

ASK THE EXPERTS-
Byron Annis wants to know exactly how a "macro" lens differs from a prime lens of the same focal length (or, for that matter, a zoom lens).
Byron Annis took this photo years ago using a flash. He has never been able to repeat the result although he knows that there is a way of doing so. Help!

IMAGES- The main event.

• The Topic of the Month
• The Digital Challenge

• Show and Tell:

Members present anything related to photographic technique, gear, digital imaging, books, videos, etc. I am going to show you what you need to do good insect photography. A used camera and lenses are going to be put on offer as well

• Open Mike-- Digital images previously submitted by members via e-mail will be displayed and prints will be viewed by the group. Comments are encouraged.

Byron

More about the June 1st WWIG meeting

I have posted photos that I have found on the Internet that impress me in the posts I make in the run-up to the meeting. This one is stunning. Once again from Trey Ratcliff's blog Stuck in Customs. This photo was taken on the Li River in China. I assume that he used HDR because he almost always does and it looks to be the case here. This is also an example of his texture work.

We haven't had any questions for the Ask The Expert segment which is amazing. I do have a question and look forward to hearing what the experts have to say. Here is the question: how do prime lenses differ from macro lenses? Is a prime lens combined with extension tube or teleconverter work in the same way as a macro?

I am offering a camera for sale. I don't plan to discuss it at the meeting but will have the camera and lenses on display and a spec. sheet for anyone interested. On offer will be a Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 18-200mm lens as well as a Tamron wide angle lens, a Sigma 50mm prime lens, Sigma 70 to 400mm zoom lens.

Now that you have been exposed to shameless mercantilism let me tell you some very interesting camera news from the collector community.

Leica was the first to introduce a 35mm film camera with interchangeable lenses. Prototypes were made as early as 1913. This camera, the 'O' was made to test the market before introducing the Leica A in 1925. 31 were manufactured and sold in 1923. The camera pictured here recently sold at auction for $1,890,000. The Nikon that I want to sell looks a hell of lot better and will be going for somewhat

less.

More tomorrow.

Byron

WWIG ~ Next Meeting June 1, 2011

The next meeting of the Western Wisconsin Imaging Group will be at 6:30pm on June 1, 2011 at our home (N2207 Pammel Pass West).

I have inserted this photo for two reasons: first, to introduce you to a series of pictures that I took at the formal wedding ceremony of my son Charles Annis and Kaori Yoshijima on May 2nd and, second, to show you that I need a lot of help with location lighting for portrait photography. The problem with this photo is quite obvious and annoying-- the dark shadow across Kaori's forehead  and eyes.  Is any help available? Well, glad I mentioned it... because this is an issue that Roger Grant will be addressing in his presentation at the upcoming meeting.

I am happy to tell you that Roger Grant has kindly consented to discuss Portrait Photography and at the upcoming meeting he will do his initial presentation entitled Available Light Location Photography. Roger has asked that everyone BRING A CAMERA. I will show a short video featuring  the work of Joe McNally and just a couple of short segments of his long instructional DVD on location lighting with small strobes.          

Today I discovered that the WWIG e-mail contact list I maintain in Windows Live has morphed and that several names have inexplicably been dropped out. I am concerned that some of you may not have received the Digital Challenge image that Roger sent out. I am posting here and if you would like a higher resolution copy please e-mail or call  me (788-1812).

Here are some further meeting reminders. The Topic of the Month is Barns. Please do submit questions for the "Ask the Experts" Segment. By the way, are you wondering how the experts are? That would be anyone who who feels that they can answer the question being asked. Finally, we have the "Show and Tell" --an opportunity to show interesting gear, techniques, books, etc and the presentation of prints and digital images, what I have been calling the "Open Mike" segment. Send your queries and digital images to me by email (bannis4@centurytel.net) and I will post the questions on this blog as well as having your images ready for projection at the meeting. Incidentally, if you have trouble e-mailing your images call me and I will be happy to assist you.

Please indulge me for a moment and let me remind you once again that the success of our meetings and the future of our group depends on the active participation of all the members.

I hope to post fairly frequently on this blog during the next week. Please come back often to stay in touch.
Byron