The Johnson County Camera Club is a non-profit organization based in Prairie Village, Kansas. Members shoot both digitally and slides.

Meetings are the second Monday of each month, September through June.

Come share your photographic interests with other photographers. Learn through club programs and informative sessions. Take part in our intra-club competitions. Show and discuss your photography. Grow through helpful critiques and evaluations. Make new acquaintances who share the same interest and pleasure in photography.

Membership is open to all levels of experience. Whether you are a novice, advanced amateur, or professional photographer, your interest and talents are always welcome.

The Johnson County Camera Club extends to you an invitation to attend one of our monthly meetings!

Monday, January 14, 2013

The Aperture | January 14, 2013


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
-President Steve Wall presided over the meeting.
-        The December image exchange was a success with members giving and receiving images.
-        Some members also brought images for Show & Tell.
-        The meeting was adjourned.




At The Galleries – Michael Stone  (Photography currently on display)
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 meetingA 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

No comments:

Post a Comment