IN Focus Newsletter | Page 1 - 7

Inside This Issue

Who is Dave Waycie?

From the President

Tom Lobacz to have photo exhibit

Unfamiliar Territory

September Competition Results

City field trip with Doreen Miller

Upcoming Schedule October 2011

Saturday, Oct 8 –12 pm CACCA meeting and competition, Arlington Heights

Sunday Oct 9 – 9:00 am Photo Op to Volkening Heritage Farm, Schaumburg

Monday Oct 10, –7:00 pm Club Meeting – Bring Your Camera Night

Saturday Oct 15 – 3:30 pm Photo Op to Chicago. Meet at Prairie Lakes

Monday Oct 24 -7:00 pm Club

Meeting – Nick Wrzesinski of

SmugMug will give a presentation

November 2011

Saturday, Nov 12 – CACCA Meeting

Monday Nov 14 – 7 pm Club Meeting

Sunday, Nov 20 – CAPS Seminar

Monday, Nov 28 – 7 pm CLUB COMPETITION - Prints, DPI images

Image by Dave Waycie

Who is Dave Waycie?

As your new Vice President, I thought it might be a good idea to let you

know who I am and how I got here. I've been a member of the

DesPlaines Camera Club for a few years and have met and spoken to

many of you, but I haven't had a chance to get acquainted with

everyone.

I got interested in photography in the early 70's when I bought my first

SLR, a Minolta SRT-101. A great camera, with no automation, though it

did have a built-in light meter. I'm actually glad that this was the days

before auto-focus, auto-exposure cameras. Otherwise, I doubt I'd have

learned nearly as much about exposure, f-stops, and all that.

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Des P laines Camera Club � Des P laines, IL � October 2011

IN FocusIN FocusIN FocusIN Focus

IN Focus Newsletter | Page 2 - 7

DES PLAINES CAMERA CLUB

President…..Tom Mulick

Vice President….Dave Waycie

Treasurer….Irene Szilagyi

Publicity… Pat Turner

Recording Secretary…Kay Michaely

Program Director…Tom Mulick

IN Focus Editor…Sue Lindell

Tom Mulick, DPCC President

From the President:

The Des Plaines Camera Club, like

photography, is in a state of flux. We

are adapting and evolving to keep

up with the changes around us.

We’ve had two meetings in

September. The first was

organizational and the second was

our first competition of the new

season. With several new members

and a lot of interest in learning, we

are moving toward that endeavor to

learn and become better

photographers.

I’m happy to report that that some

members who joined the club last

year and the new members that

joined this year are fully involved and

even competing

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In Kansas City, Missouri – image by Dave Waycie

Early on, I also began processing and printing my own black and white

photos. I think I got just as much satisfaction doing the darkroom work

as taking pictures. I generally shot either black and white, or color

slides. Print film was for family snapshots, I guess. I even got involved

with color printing at one point, using the Cibachrome process for

printing directly from color slides.

My photographic subjects back then were basically the same as today:

landscapes, including "cityscapes", general nature subjects, the

occasional abstract image, and photojournalism.

At that time, I also developed an interest in woodworking -- designing

and building furniture. Well, a woodworking shop doesn't mix well

with a darkroom in the same basement. You wouldn't believe the dust

problems! Eventually, woodworking took over, and for several years,

the only photography I did was snapshots of the kids, vacations, and

family gatherings. While I worked in industry for many years (usually

Marketing), I turned my woodworking hobby into a profession for my

last 12 working years.

When I retired in 2007, I decided I had done enough woodworking for a

couple of lifetimes, sold lots of tools and equipment, and got back into

photography. I had done some digital photography, starting in 2001 or

so, but the DSLR world was really exciting.

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IN Focus Newsletter | Page 3 - 7

From the President continued:

That being said some of these new

members have won awards and HM’s

at the last competition. I encourage

everyone to become involved in

competition - especially in DPI. If you

don't submit pictures, at least

observe, as we can learn just from

viewing another photographer's

works.

We had several club members take

pictures at the Des Plaines Park

District Fall Fest and I thank them.

We will continue to be active in

community events.

Another new thing is the new home

of the Chicago Area Camera Club

Association in Arlington Heights. As

the name states it is made up of area

camera clubs. With its new home

there will be some adjustments and a

need for some new personnel at

meetings. I encourage members to

get involved at CACCA at the once - a

- month meetings. Jerry Hug is our

CACCA representative.

For many years our club has been a

member of the Photographic Society

of America (PSA). I am currently

investigating what benefits can be

had from our membership in this

organization. Last week, for example,

we learned DPCC members can

participate in some PSA

competitions. Jerry Hug is also our

PSA representative.

continued on next page

The new cameras and software are so complete and complex that

there is no end to the learning curve. The tools today's photographers

have are completely amazing, but I still go back to the early learning

about f-stops, ASA ratings (OK, it's ISO now), shutter speeds and light.

It's all about light.

I look forward to getting out and capturing some light with all of you.

By the way, I must say, my computer smells much better than my

darkroom did!

~Dave Waycie

Tom Lobacz on safari –image provided by Tom Lobacz

Tom Lobacz to have photo exhibit The Schaumburg Library will be displaying a collection of images

created by Des Plaines Camera Club member Tom Lobacz. The images

consist of photos taken of the people and wildlife of Tanzania. Tom’s

images are located on the first floor and will be displayed throughout

the month of October.

“ I like depicting people in their cultural surroundings and wildlife in

their natural environments” says Tom. “Those are my passions. I have

always been an adventurer of sorts – I have a lot of self imposed

assignments. I will give myself an assignment in an area, and then go

shoot it. I like to hit different places all the time, so I’m not sure what’s

going to be next.”

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IN Focus Newsletter | Page 4 - 7

From the President continued:

Fall is a great time of year for

photography. At the time of this

writing, our weather is great and

trees are showing a great deal of

color. I encourage members to take

advantage of this time of year.

George Lepp had a great quote

“good photography is a journey, not

a destination”. If you want to become

a better photographer, you need to

practice, practice, and practice. Try

to take pictures every day. Before you

know it we will be in the throes of

winter. This is always a good season

for taking pictures, although there

are always good pictures to take no

matter the season or what

equipment you currently use. What it

takes is knowledge of your

equipment along with some

dedication as well as the ability to

see with a creative eye. Many great

pictures are can be taken with a

point and shoot camera.

Have fun with photography.

Tom Mulick, President Des Plaines Camera Club

Current DPCC president Tom Mulick with past

DPCC president Jerry Hug – image by Sharon

Peterson

Tom Lobacz in a Jumping Dance with Maasai –

image provided by Tom Lobacz

Tom’s journey included a week of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, then

another 2 weeks of exploring and safari. Tom explains, “The main

purpose of the trip was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. After that, we

decided to visit some of the Maasai villages and also go on safari. I’ve

got a lot of interaction and different animals….it was just everything

you can imagine.”

“I would hope that the people who see my photographs…I am hoping

that they would recognize the beauty of people in different cultures

and the beauty of wildlife in their natural environment.”

When asked if he has a favorite image within the show, Tom pauses for

a moment before answering. “There is a picture of 2 hippos. If you

could create a facial expression- the hippos picture would probably be

the best demonstration of a unique and fascinating expression of

hippos.”

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IN Focus Newsletter | Page 5 - 7

Another picture specifically mentioned features a crocodile and bird. “There is a little interaction there that is

sort of unusual and unique.”

Tom has been interested in photography all his life. When he was 10-years-old, he began taking pictures with a

pinhole camera he made using an old coffee can. His darkroom was set up in his bedroom closet. The pursuit

of his hobby continued with educating himself through workshops, years of intense practice and eventually

abandoning film for digital technique. He knew Jerry Hug for years, and often heard Jerry talk about the Des

Plaines Camera Club. Three years ago Tom decided to join the club.

The Schaumburg Library is located at 130 S. Roselle Rd in Schaumburg. They are open from 9 am -10 pm

Monday through Friday, Saturday and Sunday noon to 5pm.

~Sue Lindell

Unfamiliar Territory As I entered the Arndt Field House for the first meeting of the year of the Des Plaines Camera Club, I must say I

had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was really excited to get involved with so many skilled photographers

and hopefully learn how to take better digital images. On the other hand, though, I was also I bit nervous.

Recently, I read an article about making new friends which pointed out that one usually experiences a period of

awkwardness at the beginning of any relationship, before commonalities, shared experiences and trust

attained over time make it easier to relate to one another. Will people like me? Will I say something ‘goofy’,

before members get to know me? How will I fit in? Certainly, these are questions that anyone new to an

established group might consider.

As I looked around, I felt a friendly vibe, as small clusters of people were busy in either intense discussions,

relaxed conversations or just sitting quietly. The room was a bit chaotic, but definitely welcoming. After signing

in, paying my dues and receiving my temporary nametag, I found a seat and prepared to take notes of my

observations as a new member, so I would be able to write this article.

After introductions, nominations of officers and a ‘Cliff notes’ style vote, our new president, Tom Mulick,

reviewed some of the success stories from previous years (‘bring your camera’ night, flash photography

workshop, postcard competition, etc.) and also reminded us that the club prices for matte board were v-e-r-y

low. The tone for the evening was set when he stated his desired goals for the year, namely that this club

should be the place where we could enjoy friendships in an environment where learning was the prime

directive. The understanding being that finding out “what makes a good photo” was to be a journey, not a

destination and to ‘have fun’ in the process. Each year, however, as the club has grown in membership, he said

it has become increasingly difficult to provide critiques for many of the images submitted for competitions or

review.

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IN Focus Newsletter | Page 6 - 7

One new way the club plans to alleviate this problem is the formation of small study groups (of 5 -> 7 people),

who would exchange their images and provide feedback / critique via e-mail. To see how this might work, Tom

asked for volunteers to form the first study group now and charged them with finding out how it works (or

doesn’t work). They could then help him to open it up for several more groups to be formed in the coming

months.

Our next meeting was announced as a ‘competition’ night, which sparked some debate as to whether those of

us new to the club should enter or just observe. While a ‘wait and see what it is all about’ approach seemed the

logical choice, others shouted emphatically, “Just go for it!” The key issue for anyone new jumping in was

knowing how to properly mount print images or how to correctly ‘size’ and ‘transmit’ DPI images [FYI – that

information can be found on the club website, as well as in the In Focus newsletter]. Even so, I knew I was still a

bit unsure of exactly how to get started. The mantra was clear, though: “learn by doing”, “have fun” and “begin

your journey”. In addition, Tom told us that anyone could get answers about their specific camera by coming a

bit early to any meeting, bringing the camera along and the camera’s manual; one of the members should be

able to help.

As the meeting came to close, I bought a few matte boards, returned my badge and felt invigorated. In the

weeks and months ahead, I hope to get past the ‘awkward’ stage of feeling like an ‘outsider’, as I get to know

people better, as I participate as fully as possible in club activities and as I ‘learn by doing’ and ‘have fun’ with

photography.

~ Bob Erickson

Competition Results

Time Trails by Pat Turner

The September DPI of the month was awarded to Pat Turner for her remarkable image, Time Trails.

The image was taken at the time trials at the Tour of Elk Grove, 2011. Judges were impressed at the panning

skill required to create the sense of motion, and scored it accordingly.

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IN Focus Newsletter | Page 7 - 7

Searching by Nora Liu

The September print of the month is Searching, by Nora Liu. "I would like to thank my wonderful friend Linda,

for so patiently sitting for me. The environment was simple, east window in the morning, small white cloth

reflector on the other side, material hanging on frame as background.”

Chicago Field Trip

On Saturday, October 15th

, the DPCC will have a field trip for night shooting in Chicago. This is the second night

shoot of the season, and is lead by our assistant program director, Doreen Miller. Doreen is a skilled landscape

photographer, producing stunning images of the city skyline.

We will be shooting the city skyline from the museum campus, in the area between the Shedd Aquarium and

the Adler Planetarium. Sunset will be at 6:11pm. For car pooling, we will meet at the Prairie Lakes Community

Center, 515 E. Thacker in Des Plaines, at 3:30pm.

The Des Plaines Camera Club is a proud member of the Chicago Area Camera Club Association and Photgraphic Society of America