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Upcoming Meeting 03-25-2014 Topic

Tony's Presentation

Tony’s Presentation

Club member Tony Gomes will be giving a presentation regarding achieving sharpness in images and will be covering several aspects of sharpness. Read the following message from Tony:

Getting a sharp picture what does it take.
2 months ago I was at Circle B Bar reserve in Lakeland and I ran into a group of people that included a middle aged lady with a Nikon D800 Camera and the new Nikon 80-400 AFS VR zoom lens. I asked her how she liked her equipment and her reply was it would be great if she could get a sharp picture out of it and she was planning to send it back. This is a $6000 combo and she was disappointed. I tried explaining Autofocus micro adjust and lens -Body tolerances. She shrugged me off suspiciously saying she never heard about that.
I know that pain, having struggled with my own equipment for years. Returning them to Nikon and getting them back in the same state, that is Nikon saying that they are within specs.
My talk is aimed at preventing people from having similar bad experiences.
However our perception of sharpness varies with our photographic development and the size of enlargement that we make.
I would like to walk you through the factors that contribute to a sharp picture.
Having said that if you look at National Geographic 100 most important pictures. Most of them are out of focus.

Please read up on : AF micro adjust, MTF charts, Focal plane, Chromatic aberrations, Vibration reduction, Predictive AF, Autofocus by phase adjust, autofocus by contrast adjust. Camera shake. Focus Shift, field curvature, lens resolution, lens contrast, Dot gain by printers, Diffraction, noise as a sharpening tool, Deconvoling technology.
See you on March28.
Please note this is to be an interactive discussion.

Information for those that signed up to photograph the Mud Endeavor

Hello to everyone who signed up to photograph the event,
I toured the venue for the Mud Endeavor today and here are some important things for the photographers to know:
The address is 10444 Beggs Ln, Brooksville, FL 34601.
Your name will be on a list at the entrance for you to be admitted.
Follow the signs for parking and meet at the registration table no later than 7:30 AM.
You will be assigned a station at the 7:30 photographers briefing. A few stations are within walking distance. Those assigned to farther stations will be transported out and back by ATV. Many of you will have the opportunity to rotate stations with other photographers during the course of the day.
You will be issued a vest that identifies you as an official photographer with all-access.
There has been rain recently so everything is especially wet and slippery.
The terrain is rugged and muddy. You and your vehicle will probably get dirty.
Wear appropriate clothing and shoes and bring more to change into at the end.
There are very slippery uphill and downhill slopes – be extremely  cautious to avoid falling down with camera gear. I speak from firsthand experience. On the very first slope I walked up during my tour I only made it 3 steps before doing a face-plant in the mud.
Bring whatever you need with you when you go to your station. You won’t be coming back until the end of the event sometime in the mid-afternoon. Some suggestions: water, snacks, hat, sunscreen, toilet tissue, extra camera batteries, memory cards, etc.
If you take it out, you bring it back. Leave nothing on the course or in the woods.
Use a Sharpie marker to put your initials on your memory cards and bring at least 2 per camera. Shoot and turn in JPG files only, no RAW files!
Halfway through the event a runner will collect your memory cards and you will start using fresh cards.
You will return to the finish area at the end of the event with your memory cards from the second half to be downloaded. You will turn in your vest at this time as well.
All of your cards will be returned with your files on them. Remember that you and the event promoter have mutual, non-exclusive rights to the images. You can do whatever you want with the images as can the promoter. The main intent is to provide participants with souvenir images from their day at the event. The event promoter might use some images for promotional or any other use.
There will be food and drink vendors at the registration/start/finish area. You may be able to get something to eat and drink before and after the event. Remember to carry your lunch/snacks/drinks out with you to your assigned station.
My phone works on-site, use the number below to contact me if necessary.
813-641-4470
Thanks  – Jim S

Mud Endeavor Photo Opportunity

Anyone in the club who is interested in doing some event photography for fun or as a learning experience is invited to join me at the Mud Endeavor race in Dade City on March 1st. You must sign up in advance and I will be resposible for you. I have photographed this event in the past and I will get together with everyone who signs up in advance and give them a briefing regarding shooting the event. This is a fun event and provides a lot of great photo opportunities. There is a very large obstacle course set up for participants that is filled with mud and water.

Update: The 2014 course will be in a new location in Brooksville. The course for the participants will be 6 miles long and will be laid out within a 100 acre tract of land in an old limestone quarry.

Here is a link to see the location of the new course:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQuUBKlpNbE

Here is a link to see images from last year’s event:

http://mudendeavor.com/photo-gallery-hidden-creek-4-20-13/

If you sign up you will be provided with all-access credentials and may roam the course freely taking photos. You will be expected to take between 500 and 1000 jpg photos during the event. You will be allowed to to keep your photos and use them as you wish. You will also be required to allow me to copy your memory cards at the end of the event for the promotor. Your images will not be sold but they will be made available to the race particpants to view and/or download.

Please use the form below to sign up. Thanks – Jim Sykes

Information regarding the live photo critique broadcast:

Scott Kelby and Joe McNally will be doing a live broadcast from the Improv in Ybor City on Tuesday evening, February 4th. Members of our club have been invited to be audience participants for the event. Doors will open at 5:30 P.M. Guests will be seated and then given a briefing regarding what to expect during the broadcast. The broadcast will run from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. Scott and Joe will be giving critiques of images submitted in advance by audience members.

If you wish to have an image considered for a critique during the program you must submit it to the email address sbell@kelbymediagroup.com using the subject line: “Behind the Lens Submission”.

Your image must be a minimum of 1080 pixels on the long side and at least 72 ppi. This is the bare minimum acceptable size and resolution, larger size and higher resolution are preferable. Remember, if your image is selected everyone wants it to look good on the broadcast. Your name must be either be part of the image file name or appear legibly as a watermark on the image.

Sign up is closed now.

1600 East 8th Ave C-112. Tampa, FL 33605

2014 Competition Assignments

The assigned categories for 2014 have been decided and are listed below. This list is also published on the Competition Info Page for reference at any time. If you have any questions regarding any of the topics please don’t hesitate to ask Robert or Jim for clarification.

Jan       Landscapes
Feb      Vertical Composition (Present a strong composition in vertical orientation)
Mar      White on White or Black on Black (Image may contain some color but must be primarily a white subject against a white background or a black subject against a black background)
April     Story Board ( 3-5 images that when presented together tell a story)
May      Animals in action (Not standing still or dead on a plate)
June     Abstract (The use of color, tones, shapes, patterns, etc in your photograph to represent a subject without necessarily providing recognizable visual references for the viewer)
July      Display of Human Emotion (People displaying a recognizable emotion, not an image of some other subject intended to to evoke an emotion in the viewer)
Aug      Macro
Sept     Adventure sports (This does not mean organized, team sports like baseball, football, soccer, etc. Think rock-climbing, skydiving, white-water rafting, mountain biking, snowboarding, etc)
Oct       Emulate the masters (Create a photo that emulates the work of a recognized master in any form of the visual arts. Be certain to bring a photo of the master’s original work for comparison)
Nov     Photograph a public performance (Photograph a dance performance, theatrical play, music concert, etc)

Holiday Party Info

Our annual holiday party will be held on December 12th. 7:00 PM at tRG studio. As always, we will be having a print show – please bring a print to hang and be prepared to talk briefly to everyone about your print. We will be awarding the prizes for the competition winners and we will have a few other fun surprises You are welcome to bring a guest and please bring an appetizer, entree, dessert, or drinks to share. We have tableware, cups, ice, and decorations covered already. You may use the following form to let everyone know what you are bringing. This list can be looked at first so that you can see what others have already signed up to bring and avoid duplicates.

If you are able to stay after and help with the cleanup please use this form to sign up: