Author: lwiezycki

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

Highlights of Our 2023Annual Awards and Holiday Party

I want to thank all those members, and plus 1’s, who came out to Philippe Park on Sunday to join in the food, fellowship, and fun for our 2023 Annual Awards and Holiday Party!

As usual, the food was amazing and yummy! We had tastes from all over the world!

We had a great turnout for our “Clothes Pin” exhibit and the stories were educational, inspirational, and funny!

I think everyone present won a raffle prize! Thank you Jim McWilliam for adding to what the club purchased!

Thank you to the Board of Directors, plus Lorrie Maniscalco, Susan Huckabay, and Lourdes Fusco, for putting the party all together and cleaning up in record time!

Thank you to those who donated and who purchased the items for the Silent Auction.

The Annual Awards

We had 18 members qualify per the eligibility rules listed on our website. https://mytbcc.com/about/competition-rules/

Congratulations go to:

1st Place – Liwen Tao, 2nd Place – Sylvia Fernandez, 3rd Place – Lee Brand, 4th Place – Kathy Thompson, 5th Place – Lourdes Fusco, 6th Place – Karen Robinson

Special thanks were given to me (thank you) and to our two Pros, Robert Rostick and Jim Sykes.

Jim Sykes brought his herd of cameras and was taking video and stills most of the afternoon so here is the highlight video, if you missed coming or want to relive the day!

We missed all of our out-of-state members and others who could not make it, so I hope this video allows you to a least witness the fun and fellowship that this club is known for!

We will see you at our next Zoom meeting on January 18, for our first 2024 Exhibition/Comment Night (The assignment is Macro Photography (Redemption Assignment) – A creative image of anything at a 1:1 ratio or closer, no cropping).

Happy Holidays to All! 🎄

Lynn W.

2023 Annual Awards and Holiday Party – Sunday, December 3, 2023

On behalf of your TBCC Board of Directors, you are cordially invited to the TBCC Annual Awards and Holiday Party that will be held on Sunday, December 3rd, at Philippe Park in Safety Harbor (map below).

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST!

The fun gets started at 1 PM in Pavilion #8 and will go on until about 4 PM.

There are many big picnic tables in the pavilion, but you are welcome to bring your own chairs if you prefer. The club will supply grills, hand sanitizer, ice, plates, cups, silverware, napkins, and some basic drinks. There is no electricity so plan accordingly.

We are counting on all of you to bring all that wonderful food and drink that TBCC is famous for!

The food/drink signup form is below.

We will have our end-of-year awards ceremony for those who qualified in our monthly competitions.

Don’t forget our “pushpin” story display! Since we are not actually using “pushpins” in our outdoor venue, please bring one photo that is at least 8X10 (so everyone can see it). It should be on a piece of foam core or matted for rigidity while hanging from our photo lineup! This is not a competition but a chance for you to get up and tell everyone the story behind your image. So keep that in mind when making your image choice. Please only bring an image we have not seen before.

In addition, we are having a Silent Auction again. This auction will help us raise some additional funds that we need to continue to bring in the internationally known photography educators that we have been fortunate to have for the last few years.

If you have any photography-related items (equipment, books, prints, etc.) you would like to donate, please bring them with you on Dec 3.

Whether you donate an item or not, we hope you will bid on an item or items in the silent auction.

Be sure to get your free ticket when you arrive for our Annual Raffle.

Please join us for an afternoon of fun, food, fellowship, and photo sharing!

If you have any questions, please let me know at mytbcc@gmail.com

Lynn Wiezycki

PLEASE CHECK THIS LIST OF FOOD AND DRINKS TO SEE WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN ADDED:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vshyd8DXSsB5dBy5_fJPqayNhq-Nn2q0_CYDOWBehtk/edit?usp=sharing

SIGN-UP FORM BELOW FOR FOOD AND DRINKS (be sure to hit submit when completed).

October Education Night – Special Presentation by Alan Shapiro – “Shooting Food from the Comfort of Your Home”

Join us on Thursday, October 26, 2023, for a special presentation by renowned photographer, Alan Shapiro.

Summary of the Presentation

Alan Shapiro is a lifelong storyteller and a story gatherer.
These days, he just happens to always carry a camera.
Some days, when he isn’t roaming around some foreign city or garden, he likes to putter at
home in his kitchen and studio.
A walk around a farmer’s market can turn into a weekend adventure capturing his treasures
both raw and cooked.
A walk over to the refrigerator for a snack can have him grabbing “something from the door,
something from the crisper and something from the pantry” and running into his studio to
create for a few minutes or a few hours.
This is all quite fun for him but also has become a sort of constant “creative exercise.”
And as you will hear…it’s ridiculously easy.
Join Alan for an evening of stories, tips, and techniques about his experiences making art with
food and props and a spontaneous idea or two.

Alan’s Bio

Alan grew up on the creative side of the advertising world, working with clients around the world; telling their unique stories in very unique ways. He had the pleasure of collaborating with many, talented photographers and film directors. He became envious of their art and craft. At first, he saw it as a means of reducing his stress-filled life.

As a Chief Creative Officer at the world’s largest Advertising Agency Network Omnicom, he needed a
distraction. A friend gave him a camera. Then he bought another and another. His new hobby and daily “creative exercise regimen” turned into a joy-filled and all-consuming passion. Then, his first photo client called, followed by many more.
His work can be seen throughout the entire hospital set on ABC’s The Good Doctor, in launch campaigns for the Apple iPhone and Nikon as well as for Cadillac, OnStar, Lockheed Martin, Die Zeit, Ricoh, Cotton Incorporated, Scholastic, and numerous others. His work fills entire walls in Bose stores and Ritz Carlton Hotels worldwide and hangs in numerous private and corporate art collections. His macro, food, and still-life work can be seen in countless editorial publications and products from housewares to clothing to puzzles.
As much as Alan loves creating images, he genuinely loves to teach; sharing his workflow from capture through post-processing and printing. He is a super high-energy instructor with a knack for getting people out of their comfort zone as well as helping them discover and capture beautifully simple things in beautifully unexpected ways.

Instagram: @alanshapiro515
Facebook: @alanwshapiro

Website: https://www.alanshapirophotography.com/

A Few Examples of Alan’s Images

Who Should Attend

Everyone! Alan will get you seeing thing in your kitchen in a whole new way! These techniques can to used on food, but other small subjects as well!

How to Attend

We will send the Zoom invitation to all current (2023) members a few days prior to 10/26/2023.

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 Exhibit/Comment Night on 10/19/2023 and at our Education Night on 10/28/2023, for this special presentation.

Lynn Wiezycki, TBCC President

July Education Night – Special Presentation – Abstract Architecture Photography- Creativity in Composition by Angie McMonigal

Please join us on Thursday, July 27th, 2023 at 7 PM EDT for our next special presentation, Abstract Architecture Photography- Creativity in Composition by Angie McMonigal!

I hosted Angie McMonigal’s session at the 2023 Out of Chicago Live Online Conference earlier this year and knew immediately that she would be an amazing addition to our roster of special speakers!

Angie’s Bio

I’m a fine art and commercial architecture photographer based in Chicago striving to bring a detailed, thoughtful perspective to my work, whether for clients or through the workshops I lead. Having grown up surrounded by nature yet fascinated by the big city I’ve called home for more than two decades; I bring the meditative calm of my upbringing to a terrain that’s always transforming. Drawing from my education in the micro sciences (molecular biology, microbiology, virology) my focus is more frequently on bold architectural details rather than sweeping cityscapes, creating images that celebrate those unexpectedly iconic elements hiding in plain sight.

Presentation Summary

Join Angie for a discussion focusing on creative approaches to architectural subjects. Emphasis will be on architectural details and creating abstracts of the built environment. She’ll share how to uncover creative viewpoints and how to best utilize compositional tools to create more compelling images.

Examples of Angie’s Art

Who Should Attend

Everyone! Angie will get you seeing things where you never saw them before! This is not only a great exercise for shooting architectural abstracts, but it will also help with seeing more intimate scenes everywhere!

How to Attend

We will send the Zoom invitation to all current (2023) members a few days prior to 07/27/2023.

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 Exhibit/Comment Night on 07/20/2023 and at our Education Night on 07/27/2023, for this special presentation.

Lynn Wiezycki, TBCC President

June Education Night – Syncing Lightroom, the Latest Magic in Photoshop, and Much More! presented by Jim Sykes on June 22, 2023

A couple of years ago when Adobe first changed things up with LrC, Lr, and Lr Mobile Jim did a presentation but I think it was too soon! Most of us were just trying to figure out why there were so many Lightroom apps. Well, we are all a bit more used to all this Lr stuff and our phone cameras are comparable to our DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, so syncing what we shoot on our phones makes more sense being processed in LrC and stored on our home external drives and not cluttering up the phone’s storage.

Also, the Photoshop developers have been dabbling in the AI world lately and their latest update to regular Ps has added a new tool that is amazing. If you want to play even more, you can download Ps Beta (it’s free with your Adode subscription) and play with the new Generative Fill Tool. It is magic! We will spend some time with these new Ps tools.

Jim has some other tips and tricks up his sleeves to share as well!

Who Should Attend

If you use LrC and want to sync Lr with your phone or are curious about it, this is for you! If you want to see the latest magic that is in PS, this is for you! Jim may throw in some tips from other post-processing apps as well.

If you have questions about any of the Lr apps or PS be ready to ask them!

How to Attend

We will send the Zoom invitation to all current (2023) members a few days prior to 06/22/2023.

Non -Members – If you are interested in joining us to see what we are all about, we will send you a Zoom Invitation for one meeting 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 Exhibit/Comment Night on 06/15/2023 and at our Education Night on 06/22/2023.

Lynn Wiezycki, TBCC President