July 6, 2011 Meeting: 1st Post

The next meeting of the WWIG will take place on July 6th. This is the first of what will likely be several posts about the meeting. There are 2 items I want to address in this entry.

TOPIC OF THE MONTH-- If you were at the June meeting you know that the Topic (or, more appropriately, the assignment) is to take a photo of a stranger. It is realized that for many of us this  is onorous and offputting-- that, of course, is why I chose it. I, personally, dread the prospect, but then again I really didn't want to undergo a colonoscopy. I requested the procedure because the potential benefit far outweighed the unpleasantness. Likewise, some of the most treasured and meaningful images in my portfolio are of people who were strangers to me when I made the capture. I've not always done a good job of asking permission, but I am trying to make it a practice to politely approach people and with sincerity engage them in conversation before taking the shot; and to respect their wishes if they object.

If, of course, you are really put off by photographing a stranger, submit a photo of any person that you feel has some special quality.

THE DIGITAL CHALLENGE-- I have selected from my files 3 images that are uploaded here and will upload one that Theresa Smerud gave me. Because I want to get the ball rolling this evening I'm posting them now, but because the hour is late I won't make any comments about the images at this time but will over the next couple of days. The challenge is to retouch any one or more of the portraits in any way that you feel appropriate.

Considerably more information about these images will follow, but for now I do want you to know that these are all JPGs and the only alteration done has been cropping. RAW files are available for the first 3 images.

Take a look and see what you think. I would very much appreciate any comments or questions that you have.
Byron