Terry Heggy
In January, local photographer Bob Hills gave a presentation to the Photography Club about creating eye-catching photographic art with techniques such as intentional blur, double exposures, and overlaid textures. The techniques he demonstrated achieve images that are thought-provoking and moody, turning a static image into something that tells a story through the feelings the viewer experiences.
The club also selected “macro photography” as a focus for the month. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, just think of macro photos as extreme closeups where special lenses, lights, and techniques are used to provide crisp detail of tiny creatures, objects, and surfaces. Because focus is hard to achieve at such close quarters, success with this type of photo often requires creativity, patience, and precision. But trying it is a great way to open your eyes to the amazing world of tiny things that we don’t frequently bother to notice.
February’s theme of “landscape photography” provided club members the opportunity to learn more about getting great pictures outdoors. At the end of each month, members submit photos to share in a group meeting, so we get to learn from each other as well as appreciate the artistry that emerges when we focus on a specific topic. The theme for March is “black and white” photography, so if you’re interested, you should check out our website and join us.
February was also the month for our annual “Best of the Year” session where members share their best work from the past year. Each photographer contributes a unique perspective that makes us realize that anyone can learn to share their artistry and vision with people who appreciate their contributions. All Photography Club meetings are open to everyone in SaddleBrooke, and we’d love to see you at the next one. There’s a tab for our online calendar at www.photosb.org.
As you’ll see on the calendar, we also have weekly meetings in the Topaz Room (MountainView Art Complex) where we get instruction and hands-on practice in such topics as smartphone tips like how to take panoramas and how to offload your photos to free up camera memory. Our monthly “camera techniques” sessions teach how to use the not-so-obvious features of your camera to make better images with less effort. Whatever gear you’re using, you’re sure to learn some tricks to help you use the tools you have to create pictures that will make your memories last. And our software sessions solve some of the mysteries of the programs and apps you might use to make your photos even more spectacular. Come join us!