Club News

A special thanks to Steve Nicholson, Jamie Cleveland and Michelle Lane for being our judges for the Big Skies clinic.

Scott Prokop gave a presentation on September 11th of his workflow using Lightroom and Nik Software to create his signature look with his HDR images.  Here is a quick overview of his workflow. Step 1: You have to shoot at least 3 images bracketed in your camera.  Every camera is different so look into your manual.  Look for AEB or Exposure bracket in your menus.  Set your bracket to -2, even, +2, lowest ISO, turn off image stabilizer and use a tripod. Step 2: Import you photos into your favorite program.  Scott uses Lightroom.  He uses stacking to group the HDR photos to better organize them. Step 3: Process your HDR photos.  Scott uses Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2 for the majority of his processing.  Use the presets on the left to get you 90% there and then do the further refinements with the sliders on the right. Step 4:  Now that you have a great HDR image, there usually is some noise in the photo.  This is quite visible if you zoom into a blue sky.  Clean up the photo with Nik’s Dfine. Step 5:  Further enhance the sharpness of the photo by using Nik’s Color Efex Pro with the Tonal Contrast preset. Follow Scott Prokop’s blog for more tips and tricks You can save 15% when you order any Nik Software product by using this code: ScottProkop Scott uses the Nik Software Complete Collection which includes Dfine (noise reduction), Viveza (correct photos using U Point technology), HDR Efex Pro (create vivid HDR images), Color Efex Pro (many, many enhancement filters), Silver Efex Pro (create amazing black & white photos) and Sharpener Pro (sharpening solution).

Greg Johnson was not able to make it for his presentation on Tuesday so Scott Prokop has volunteered to share his tips and tricks inside the digital darkroom. If you missed the first meeting, we always welcome members to sign up and any of our meetings.

Saskatchewan photographer and Saskatoon Camera Club member Branimir Gjetvaj will be leading an Outdoor and Nature Photography Workshop on September 22, 2012. This photo workshop is geared towards novice and intermediate level photographers. The workshop includes three hours of class time and a hands-on photography outing in the late afternoon and evening. Participants will explore and photograph beautiful river valley landscapes along the North Saskatchewan River at Shekinah Retreat Centre, approximately 70 kilometres north of Saskatoon. This 287 acre (116 hectare) property offers great vistas as well as endless opportunities to capture intricate details in nature at the peak of fall colours. For more information visit www.branimirphoto.ca or visit the workshop page for more information. Dr. Branimir Gjetvaj is a Saskatoon-based photographer specializing in western Canadian landscapes. His images appeared in calendars, books, magazines and corporate web sites in Canada and internationally. Branimir leads photography workshops and photo tours, and presents lectures and audio-visual shows on photography, natural history and conservation biology topics.

We welcome new and existing members to our first meeting of the year on Tuesday, September 4th at 6:30pm at the Mayfair United Church (902 – 33rd Street West.  If you miss the first meeting, sign up at any of the following meetings. Agenda: Opening remarks Introduction of the Executive About the Club:  meeting times, judging nights Overview of the calendar of events Overview of clinics and competitions Submission and judging guidelines Overview of the website Presentations by the PRPA & CAPA Slideshow of last year’s best work Socialize Membership Fees: Single                                 $40.00 / year Family                                 $50.00 / year Student                               $20.00 / year Spouse of a Life Member $10.00 / year Check out our new brochure (best if printed on legal sized paper) for a list of all of our events this year.