Newsletter of the Johnson County Camera Club
Established April 1963
jococameraclub.org
jococameraclub.blogspot.com
Meeting: January 14, 2012 (second Monday)
Time: 6:30 P.M. (chat time), 7:00 P.M. meeting
Location: Asbury United Methodist Church
Music Room
75th St. and
Nall Avenue, Prairie Village, Kansas
(Park behind the church;
meeting entrance is near the corner on the back of the building near
Nall.)
Meeting Agenda
Tom Strongman the auto columnist for
the Kansas City Star will put on a program for us. He will
be talking about the student group, "Minddrive", who've built 3
electric (at least partially solar-powered) cars. They drove one cross-country
last year. Minddrive is an organization for which Tom volunteers. The website
is: http://minddrive.org/ The following is from the website:
What We Do
MINDDRIVE uses real-world issues of our times to teach urban students, most who
have slipped through the cracks and are learning at a grade level below their
age group. We teach critical thinking, creativity, entrepreneurship and how to
improve their future outlook by expanding their vision for themselves.
We offer opportunities to succeed on many levels by addressing academic, social
and economic challenges unique to each student.
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE
The educational objective is to give the students the tools to process creative
thinking, see the potential for realizing dreams for a successful future and
instill a greater desire to learn in the students. The process involves a
unique pairing of an experienced automotive mentor with each student.
Our class called “AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN STUDIO” will continue the principal
objectives of the past Creative Studio classes that primarily taught applying
creative thinking to design projects connecting to the real world of business.
Core educational concepts of math, science, reading and history will be woven
throughout the work of the class.
Our “CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATIONS” class will focus on the tools of marketing as
if the Automotive Design Class were a commercial client. We will work with
students on how to tell a story through the written word, photography, video
and social media. The students will learn presentation styles and give several
“live” presentations throughout the summer at public events and in the
classroom.
Notes from Our Last Meeting
Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art - Block Building, 4525 Oak, KCMO (816-561-4000).
Hours:
Wednesday 10am-4pm, Thursday and Friday 10am-9pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday
noon-5pm.
"Heartland:
The Photographs of Terry Evans" Evans, a Kansas City native, is widely recognized as one
of the nation's finest landscape photographers. Known for her stunning views of
the Midwest, its people and its artifacts, the exhibit features 100 color and
black-and-white photographs from her extensive body of work -
Closes January 27.
"Bonjour
Picasso"
Renowned photographer, David Douglas Duncan, provides a behind-the-scenes look into
the intriguing Spanish artist's life in Cannes (1955-61). Including some of
Picasso's high-profile friends and former lovers, everyday moments, and a
commencement of a new work
- Closes February 10.
"Cabinet of
Curiosities" This exhibition of photographic specimens explores the connections
between science and art. It was inspired by the cabinets of the 17th Century,
in which the owners assembled collections of objects that reflected the
marvelous, unusual or extraordinary
- Closes February 10.
First
Art Gallery of Olathe, 11915 S. Strang Line, Olathe, KS.
Hours:
Wednesday thru Friday 3-9pm, Saturday 11am-9pm and Sunday 1-6pm.
"Photography by Jeff
Borker" - Closes January 31.
Tim
Murphy Art Gallery (top floor), Irene B. French Community Center,
5701 Merriam Drive, Merriam, KS (913-722-7750). Hours: Monday thru Thursday
9am-8pm, Friday 9am-4pm, Saturday 9am-3pm, and Sunday 2-4pm.
"Places, Parts,
Structures & Constructions" Local photographer Ric Cummings and mixed media artist
Ted Denton have combined their creative talents producing a unique and visually
engaging exhibition - January 17 thru February 16.
Note: Opening night reception Thursday, January 17,
7pm - 8:30pm. Public is invited.
Revocup
Coffee, 11030 Quivira (behind McDonalds), Overland Park, KS
(913-663-3695).
Hours:
Monday thru Friday 6:30am-7pm, Saturday 7am-5pm, and Sunday 8am-5pm.
"Photography by Ernie
Lowden" JoCoCC
member Ernie Lowden's photographs offer the viewer a wide range of subject
matter and pictorial genre, from traditional landscapes and nature, to
subjective abstraction - Closes (eventually).
The Editor’s Corner – Bill Staudenmaier
A column by C. W.
Gusewelle on December 30, 2012 caught my attention. Gusewelle begins by discussing his problems
as an absentee landowner of farmland in the Ozarks. He infrequently visits to hunt turkey or
deer. A tenant farmer grows crops and
maintains the land for him while he is at his main residence in Kansas
City. The farmer lives in one of the
houses on Gusewelle’s property. The
other house and land had belonged to Gusewelle’s parents. In occasional past articles he has talked
about how his cabin contains fond memories from the days his parents used the
cabin, items that are just a part of the place.
But the main point of his commentary has to do with
trespassing. Most often this is by
people from the city, hunters, would be hunters in particular, or those just
out for target practice. In one
situation, the tenant farmer, discovered that a hunter had shot a large buck in
the woods, sawed off the antler rack and left the carcass to rot or be eaten by
scavengers.
Another time, Gusewelle, wearing camouflage, armed with a
shotgun, was hunting turkeys, sitting
and patiently waiting for the birds to come to him when he saw someone dressed
in bright orange coming towards him carrying a long barreled pistol. He called to the intruder and suggested he
leave by crossing the same fence he had just climbed over.
When I read this last story my first thought was that Gusewelle
was lucky the guy didn’t shoot him in fear or surprise. But it nevertheless does point out a problem
with city dwellers. I think that we tend
to have a national park mentality. In
other words we tend to want to believe that open land belongs to everyone, as
in our parks. We sometimes forget that
farmland belongs to someone, but not everyone.
Once, on a trip through the back roads around Wathena,
Kansas I stopped to talk to a farmer who lives near property once owned by my
grandfather. Ed has “No Trespassing
Private Property” signs along the road by his land. We talked about the signs. Too many mushrooms
gatherers and game hunters who presumed it their right to walk on his land. Ed said he really didn’t mind as long as they
got his permission first.
For years I’ve shot photos of a certain house and
buildings from the road, even though they are deserted, I’m aware that someone
owns the land and buildings. My point is
this, even though we may know there are no active owners living on the land it
may be the case of an absentee owner as is Gusewelle. To assume you may trespass on private land
without permission, even if it is only to photograph, is not only ignorant but
may also pose hidden danger.
The farm my grandfather owned eventually passed to his
eldest son Lawrence. In grade school my
dad and I used to go up and spend the weekend, he to help my uncle with the
farm work, and me, to wander as I chose over the land. Dad always asked where I planned to go and
then informed me of what to avoid. As
was the case at that time there were old wells, unused for years, after my
uncle stopped raising cattle. These
still had manual pumps that were visible, but Dad warned me not to stand on the
wooden platform support or mess with the pump.
After years of neglect he was certain the support might be rotting
away. Being curious of course I just had
to see for myself. Sure enough, I found
a well down at the bottom of a hill with pump intact. Standing off to the side I tried pumping some
water out of it. Nothing, the pump just
swung loosely below ground. I also
realized dad was right, not much held the pump in place except some warped
weather beaten boards.
This I why I feel it best to check with the landowner and
ask questions, you never know what might be hidden there. Springs are another example. While most are probably safe to drink from,
you really don’t know whether there may be pollutants in the water such as
agricultural pesticides.
Seek permission first.
You will get to know the owner and in some cases may make a new friend.
Images for Show and
Tell
There is always a
possibility at all of our meetings (if time permits) for member images to be
shown and discussed. Please see the
information below regarding sizing of images.
All images should be sized for 1024 pixels on the
longest dimension and saved as jpeg.
Images should be renamed to include the artist’s last name in the first
characters of the title. Check your
image, if it looks blurry or pixilated (unintentionally), you may have started
with a low resolution or highly cropped image.
In this case, you may need to increase the setting in the resolution box
to improve the image; but be sure to retain 1024 on the longest side. Submit JPG files on a flash drive tagged with your
name. Drives will be returned
after the images have been loaded into the computer for projection.
Subjects for the Year-End 2012-2013 Photo Contest
Submittals
for our Year-End-Contest are due at our May 2013 meeting. Only images shot since May 2012 are
eligible. There are nine subjects to
choose from. You may select a maximum of
six subjects with a maximum of two entries for each of the six subjects chosen. A professional photographer will judge the
contest, with the results to be presented and discussed at the June 2013
meeting. A comprehensive list
of the rules may be found in the June 2012 newsletter which is on the JCCC
website.
2012-2013 Year-End-Contest Subjects
- Architecture
- Critters
- Square
- Cloudscapes
- Happiness
Is
- Saturated
- Pattern
Interrupted
- People
- Vintage
Please patronize the following area businesses when you need
photographic supplies or camera repairs.
Overland Photo
Supply, Inc. 8700
Metcalf, Overland Park, KS 66212 (913) 648-5950, FAX (913) 648-5966, e-mail – sales@overlandphoto.com, Hours: M-F 10-7, Sat 10-5
Crick Camera
Shop 7715 State Line Rd. Kansas City, MO 64114
(816) 444-3390, e-mail - crickcamera@sbcglobal.net Established in 1946
The Aperture, newsletter
of the Johnson
County Camera Club, is published monthly. Meetings are held the second Monday of each month,
unless otherwise announced, at the Asbury United Methodist Church. Short articles written by club members, or
selected from other sources of possible interest to club members, may be sent
to the editor for inclusion in the newsletter.
Membership dues of $25.00 for one year are to be paid during the month
of September, which is the beginning of the club year. Anyone who joins the club after March 1st.
will not be required to pay dues and will not be eligible to participate in the
year end competition.
For additional information or questions on the Johnson
County Camera Club, activities, meetings, and membership contact the following
members:
President -
Steve Wall 913-782-6339 seeque2@gmail.com
Vice-President - Erin
Schuerman 913-322-3959 schuermanerin@gmail.com
Treasurer -
Michael Stone 913-469-5724 mstoneopks@kc.rr.com
Newsletter Editor - Bill Staudenmaier 913-381-0264 wstaude@sbcglobal.net
Program Committee Chair
- Erin Schuerman
Program Committee Members
- Steve Wall, Brian Schoenfish,
Carol Barlau, Ernie Lowden, Carol Henderson, Bruce Hogle
