Month: January 2024

February Education Night – Special Presentation – “Planning Spectacular Moon Photos with PhotoPills” by Joshua Cripps

Join us on Thursday, February 22, 2024, for a dive into the photographer’s must-have app, PhotoPills, and some moon photography, with our great friend, Joshua Cripps!

Presentation Summary

Do you have a folder of blurry, out-of-focus, overexposed blob, and boring photos of the moon? You are not alone! In fact, I have more of those than I can count. The moon is one of the most beautiful sights in the natural world, and yet it is frustratingly difficult to photograph well. However, by understanding the 4 main challenges of moon photography you can create spectacular photos of our moon. In this talk, I will teach you to overcome the challenges of moon photography, as well as demonstrate how to use the PhotoPills and PeakFinder apps to plan breathtaking moon shots. I will demystify the complexity of PhotoPills and show you exactly which tools you need and how to use them to create extraordinary images.

Joshua’s Bio

Joshua Cripps is a wilderness landscape photographer who has garnered widespread acclaim for his strong compositional style and dramatic use of light and color. His images have been published by National Geographic, NASA, CNN, BBC, Nikon, Outdoor Photographer Magazine, and many others. He is one of today’s most sought-after photography educators, speaking at conferences and leading photo tours in North and South America, Europe, and the Pacific.

Josh grew up in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada and has been exploring the Range of Light for most of his life. Since 2015 Josh has made his home in the Eastern Sierra, one of the most spectacular and photogenic mountain landscapes in the world.

In 2023, Josh founded The Mount Whitney Gallery as a way to share his passion for the stunning landscapes of the Sierra Nevada and beyond. Located at the base of stunning Mount Whitney in the small town of Lone Pine, California, the gallery features fine art prints of Josh’s signature photographs. The gallery also serves as a classroom where Josh teaches other photographers how to capture their own spectacular photos.

Examples of Joshua’s Images for which he used PhotoPills

Who Should Attend

Anyone who wants to get a great image of the moon and learn how to use PhotoPills! And we all know Joshua is a fun presenter! 

How to Attend

We will send the Zoom invitation to all current (2024) members a few days prior to 02/22/2024.

Non -Members – If you are interested in joining us to see what we are all about, we will send you a Zoom Invitation for our Exhibit/Comments Night only. Please send your Name and Email address with the Subject line “Zoom Invite Needed for MEETING on (appropriate date)” to mytbcc@gmail.com so we can get the invitation to you.

I hope to see you at our first outing in 2024 at Bok Tower Gardens on Feb 3rd, at our rescheduled January Education Night on February 8th, Exhibit/Comment Night on February 15th, and our Education Night on February 22, 2024, for this special presentation. It is a busy month! 

Lynn Wiezycki, TBCC President

2024 PhotoCamp Information and SignUp

Mark your calendars for our 2024 PhotoCamp on March 1st-3rd.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST FOR ALL THE IMPORTANT DETAILS.

For those who have not experienced PhotoCamp, this is an opportunity to share a weekend with fellow photographers while camping at one of Florida’s state parks. This year we will be camping at the Rainbow Springs Campground, which is located along the Rainbow River. (The map is below.)

We have reserved 5 adjacent tent-only campsites so the number of campers will be limited. But, if you don’t make it on the list of campers, you can drive up for just the day on Saturday.

If you are camping, you can arrive Friday evening and stay until Sunday morning. The campsite restrictions are as follows: 2 vehicles, 2 tents, and 8 people per site. The sites will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each campsite has water, electricity, a picnic table, and a fire ring. The parking lot (where extra vehicles and the Saturday-only folks can park) and bathrooms are very close to the campsites. Since there are a limited number of tents, a limited number of vehicles, and a limited number of people, allowed per site, it is important that you fill out the form below accurately so that our organizers can calculate the logistics as the event fills up. The reserved campsites have been paid for by TBCC.

Amenities include a campground store, showers and restrooms, and laundry. There is access to the river from the campground to fish, swim or paddle. 

Friday

Check-in time on Friday is: 4-6 PM

For those camping, please call Lee Brand for the campground gate code after 3:00 PM on Friday. (His phone # will be emailed to those who sign up only).

Friday night dinner will be at Swampy’s, 19773 E Pennsylvania Ave, Dunnellon, FL 34422. Meeting there at 6:30PM.

Hang out with your fellow early-arriving photographers.

Saturday

We have several activities planned for attendees. This is the currently planned itinerary, however, be aware that any of it is subject to change at any time up until and during the event.

If you are not camping, you can join us for just the morning photowalk or you can drive back to the campground (kind of on the way back to Tampa) and join us for lunch, our afternoon photographic discussion, our potluck dinner, and night photography. 

We WILL NOT BE VISITING Rainbow Springs State Park this year! Instead, we will be driving about 30 minutes from the Campground to Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens in Williston. 

There is a $12 per person admission fee for Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens.

Saturday morning, there will be a photo walk in Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens. We will meet at the entrance kiosk at 9:30 AM. We will wait until 9:45 AM and then go into the gardens.

This is a privately owned botanical garden that was created from an old mining operation. There are gardens, fountains, bridges, waterfalls, and swans to photograph. (See some images below.) The trails, some of which are paved, go from the entrance to the top of the site. There are stairs down to the lower level where you can get closer to the base of the waterfalls. There are a couple of pavilions to take a break in as well at the lower level.

When we return to the Rainbow Springs Campgrounds around noon, TBCC will host a lunch for attendees at the campsites. All food and drinks for lunch will be provided by the club. Donations of snacks and/or additional drinks will be appreciated, however. Please bring your own food if you have special dietary needs. Also, all food must be packed away in cars as the raccoons are very active.

Over lunch, and for a bit longer if needed, we will have a photography discussion moderated by Robert Rostick. The last three years have been quite enlightening!

After lunch, there will be time for campers to set up their camping gear on the campsite if you arrive that morning.

Around sunset, everyone will gather at our central campfire for a potluck dinner. Everyone who is staying for dinner should bring a food item to share with the group. TBCC will provide paper plates, cups, and plastic utensils for the potluck dinner. There will be options to cook food on the fire, grill, or on camp stoves.

After dinner, any interested attendees can join in some night photography, provided that weather or clouds don’t interfere.

For the remainder of the evening, we will enjoy time at the campfire as late as anyone wants to stay or stay up.

Sunday

Check-out time on Sunday is: Noon

PLEASE COMPLETE THE RESERVATION FORM BELOW BEFORE FEBRUARY 17TH:

Please be sure to fill in the form even if you are only coming for Saturday’s events so we have enough food for lunch.

Note: We will close the camping reservations earlier than 2/17 if we reach the maximum capacity for the camping sites.

Sign Up Form (All Attendees MUST Complete the Form)

Some Images from Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens

Maps to Campgrounds and Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens

Our First Outing for 2024 – Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales.

Join us on Saturday, February 3, 2024, for a visit to the iconic Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853 (map below).

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST.

This time of year, we can not only make images of Bok Tower and listen to the carillon within but also the camellias and maybe some azaleas and other cool weather flowers. 

This place is perfect for infrared images since there is so much green! 

An upcoming monthly assignment is ICM! That is another great technique to try in a botanical garden!

If you have any Lensbaby optics, that is another creative way to utilize what Bok Tower Gardens has to offer.

This is a great place to just have some photographic fun and practice our skills! 

When and Where

The ticket booth is near the main entrance as you drive in. Admission is $20 per person. Once you are through that gate, drive onto the main parking area at the Visitor Center. We will meet on the plaza in front of the entrance to the Visitor Center at 9:30 AM on February 3, 2024. We will wait until 9:45am at the plaza and then head into the gardens. So, please arrive on time!

We will walk around and shoot throughout the gardens until around Noon. They have a very nice cafe right at the entrance so if it is not too crowded we will have lunch there. If crowded, we will find a place outside of the gardens to eat lunch. 

What to Bring

Per the descriptions above, you can shoot just about anything here so the equipment depends on what you want to create! There can be a lot of walking involved so I would recommend a light kit. Remember your phone is a pretty good camera as well!

I hope you will join me and other members for our first official TBCC outing for 2024!

If you have any questions, please let me know. We will go over everything at our two Zoom meetings in January!

Lynn W.

January 2024 Education Night – Creative Lens Flare – Presented by Jim Sykes

POSTPONED UNTIL FEBRUARY 8, 2024

We are starting off our 2024 Education Nights with a presentation from our own Jim Sykes. On January 25, 2024, join us for a presentation on Creative Lens Flare!

This is an Exhibit Night Assignment for April so make sure you attend so you are up to speed on how to create these artist additions to your images.

Summary of Presentation

Lens flare is a type of optical aberration that occurs when light is scattered by the lens elements of a camera onto film or an imaging sensor. Although it can sometimes be a nuisance, it can also be used artistically as a powerful tool to create interesting photographic effects. Lens flare can be used to add a sense of mystery, to obscure part of a subject, or to create a sense of depth in a photo.

During our January Education Night, I will show you techniques to create various types of lens flare in an image and how those different types of lens flare can be used to add a surreal glow to a scene, to create patterns, starbursts, and other effects.

Samples of Lens Flares Images

Who Should Attend

If you want to be ready for the April Exhibit Assignment and/or have a creative technique to add to your art, then you should attend!

How to Attend

We will send the Zoom invitation to all current (2024) members a few days before 01/25/2024.

Non -Members – If you are interested in joining us to see what we are all about, we will send you a Zoom Invitation for our Exhibit/Comments Night only. Please send your Name and Email address with the Subject line “Zoom Invite Needed for MEETING on (appropriate date)” to mytbcc@gmail.com so we can get the invitation to you.

Lynn Wiezycki, TBCC President