Happy Summer, ACC Friends:

In a few short weeks, Arundel Camera Club will be starting up our annual meeting schedule with lots of valuable programs and digital competitions.  We will also be providing opportunities for critique sessions September through December once a month, with some some of the highest rated judges and critique leaders we could find from Maryland and elsewhere. Digital competitions will also be held once a month.  In January, we plan at this point to reintroduce print contests to the schedule as in the past.

We know that many of you have been out there with your cameras, taking advantage of the great summer light.  While you’re doing that, don’t forget to start taking photos for the contests for the 2021-2022 competition year. In addition to the ever-present “open theme” contests, we will also have four new themes for contests.  Mike printed them in the June newsletter, but here they are again:

The Themes:

Reflections (October)

Reflection photography, also referred to as mirror photography, is when you use reflective surfaces to create an artistic echo of a scene. This type of photography can add an interesting spin to locations that are hotspots for photographers such as oceans, lakes, puddles, and even rain drops. They’re all subjects that are commonly used to create brilliant reflection photographs. Of course, less traditional resources such as metal, tiles, mirrors and anything with a shiny surface can also be easily incorporated into this type of photography. The reflection may or may not include the subject which is being reflected. Click here for examples of Reflections Photography.

Interesting Perspectives (December)

Perspective in photography is defined as the sense of depth or spatial relationship between objects in a photo, along with their dimensions with respect to what viewer of the image sees. By changing perspective, subjects can appear much smaller or larger than normal, lines can converge differently, and much more. The most common and often least interesting perspective is “eye level.” At first we were going to define Interesting Perspectives as “Anything NOT at Eye Level”. Try these (1) Shoot down on your subject. (2) Shoot up at your subject. (3) Lie down and shoot from ground level. Click here for examples of Interesting Perspectives Photography. 

Abstract (February)

This category should include images that are in some way altered from the usual way it is viewed. The photograph can concentrate on color, form, texture, pattern, line or other aspect of the object. The subject of the photograph may be an identifiable object, but should be rendered in a way that the identity of the object is secondary to aspects of form, color (or tone), lines, shapes, or texture. That is, the subject may be recognizable, but the photograph should not be representational. The distinction can be subtle, and ultimately will reside with the judge. Click here for examples of Abstract Photography.

Architecture (April)

The subject should be a building, group of related buildings, or other man-made structure such as a bridge or tower or a portion thereof. Both interior and exterior photographs are allowed. Images may focus on the structure as a whole or a part of it. Click here for examples of Architecture.

Hint of the week: Make five folders in Lightroom, or in whatever method you have for editing and storing images.  When you take a photo that you think might work for contests, drop a copy in one of the four theme or the open category folders. When contest months roll around, you’ll already have potential entries. 

Happy Shooting!

Ron Peiffer