Have you wondered why some pictures are more appealing than others?  Have you wondered why some photographers consistently win the praises of judges and critics? In many cases it is because of excellent composition. This workshop is all about successful composition.

Our own Skip Weeks will present 15 elements of photographic composition that will make your images more dramatic, engaging, and appealing. Skip will lay the foundation for your understanding of the power of composition by discussing such basics as the Rule of Thirds, then move on to touch upon framing, cropping, symmetry and many other elements of good composition. If you are in the Wasatch Camera Club Mentoring program you won’t want to miss this as it is one of the modules. But, we are also presenting it as a Workshop so all members are invited to attend.

Date/time: August 7, 7-9pm

Location: SLC Main Library

RSVP:  workshops(AT)wasatchcameraclub(dot)com

Join us for our Shooting Off-Camera Flash Workshop. This workshop will be lead by our own Doug Pizac and will feature two sessions. The first part will be on July 10th at the downtown library at 7pm. Doug will be discussing the use of off-camera flashes starting with a very basic, conceptual approach and finishing the evening shooting one of us in various lighting setups. You will learn what to look for in flashes, the ins and outs of light modifiers, controlling the flashes via syncing, cables, and transmitters/receivers, and how to set up basic shots.

For the second session we will meet outside (date and location TBD) and using one or more station setups, plus models, Doug will direct you and your camera in how to capture that perfect off-camera flash image.

Where: Salt Lake City Library Conference Room L-1. (Note this is next to the Children's Library on the lower level.)

Join Tom Szalay (educator and photojournalist) for an evening exploring and photographing the human environment that is downtown Salt Lake City. Tom has a wonderful instinct for recording the story of people and places in images and enjoys sharing his experience with others. We will meet Friday evening in anticipation of capturing the transition from commuters to weekend visitors (and perhaps avoid the direct heat!). For those interested, we expect to meet up after to share images.

Meet at 6:00pm, Friday, July 6th at the Gallivan Center near the big sundial monument (look for the shiny monolith with a boulder on top toward the middle). The Gallivan center is within the block bounded by South State, South Main, 200S, and 300S.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Bring a variety of lens – making sure not to forget mid range and wide angle lenses). Tripods are not likely to be useful. We will be meandering around downtown – nothing strenuous but prepare for some walking.

COST: Free

WHERE: Downtown Salt Lake City - Gallivan Center

Please RSVP to fieldtrip(at)wasachcameraclub(dot)com

Our recent workshop on focus covered the very fundamental topics of shutter speeds, f-stops and ISO settings and how they affect one’s ability to achieve the focus required for particular subjects. As many members check the landscape box on their membership application it was fitting to begin with perhaps one of the most challenging subjects to keep in full focus – that of landscape. The presentation went on to cover portraiture and sports photography and the challenges each presents.

Among the attendees there was some pretty strong interest in “back button” focusing, i.e. programming your camera to separate the focus function from the half shutter position. In this instance, most photographers also decide to use only the center sensor for focus to ensure the exact point of focus. (The back button focus approach was strongly encouraged by Ron Wyatt who presented a sports photography workshop at Pixels recently.) If you’d like to find out more just Google “back button focus” and you’ll find a ton of information.

The Focus on Focus workshop is part of the club’s ongoing mentoring project. If you have interest in being a mentor or being mentored contact our Mentoring Director Charli Bova here.

The Mentorship program was launched on May 12th with the Exposure module.  It was lead by Charli Bova and attended by 7 members.  The relationship of ISO, aperture and shutter speeds in capturing the "correct" expose was presented.   How aperture controls DOF as well as shutter speed controls motion in photography were reviewed.  Everyone became familiar with their own camera, camera menus and camera programing before we went out into the the field.  We then used  the camera's meters and histograms to get the artistic exposure we were looking for.

The next module, Focus, is going to be presented in a workshop format on 6/12 by Keith Hill.  Please bring you cameras and User's Manuals to the session.  If you have questions about your camera's function, this will be the time to get some individual and hands on instruction by more experienced members.

Following Focus will be modules on Composition and Digital processing are being developed.

Please contact me at mentor(at)wasatchcameraclub(dot)com to be on the email list for future modules.  You must be registered to participate in the module so there are enough mentors, space and handouts to meet the needs of the group.

Very old dead critters, architecture, butterflies and gems – what a diverse pallet of subjects all rolled into one field trip!  You can browse the museum at your leisure to photograph the displays or the wonderful architecture of the new building.  Additionally, the curators of gems & mineralogy and entomology are going to set aside a special room for us to photograph some of their specimens, and they’re looking forward to our being there!  I’ll be bringing four task-lighting lamps for additional lighting, but it’s also suggested to bring a backdrop fabric that you’d like to photograph on – specimens will be light and dark, so a variety colors and textures will provide lots of possibilities.  This will also be a good opportunity to practice some of the macro techniques that you learned in the recent macro workshop!

Location: The Natural History Museum of Utah at Red Butte

Date and time:  Wednesday, June 6th from 6:00 to 9:00 pm

Fee: The museum has an entry fee of $9.00

For a club event of this nature the museum will require that we sign a release stating the images will be used for personal use, or if used for commercial purpose the museum is entitled to a percentage of the proceeds from that use.

Please RSVP to fieldtrip(at)wasatchcameraclub(dot)com