The RenFest 08

Quick Field Trip -- The Rennfest (Renaissance Festival) is now open on weekends at its woodsy facility in Crownsville. Being a senior, I go every year on Labor Day when it's free. Why? Because it's a very colorful action spot for photos of people who are glad you're shooting them. It's also a lighting and camera technique challenge. Here's their site: www.rennfest.com/index.php

They open at 10am. Join me at the entrance on Labor Day outside or just inside until about 10:15, when I'll start walking around looking for interesting people. If we miss, have fun.

Here's the most popular album on my web page (over 4,000 hits), the Rennfest: www.pbase.com/merrymar/renaissance_03
where you can see all my missed focuses and bad exposures (that was way back in '03, of course). I haven't posted any shots from recent years...yet. It got a little better. Later.

Long-Range Digital Wildlife Photography

Reach out and touch something – without breaking the bank.

Our first speaker of this season on Sept 22 will be Tom Bowden, a part-time nature photographer from the southern Bay's western shore.

Tom will discuss various techniques and tips for long-range wildlife photography. He recently published a collection of his work in BaySplash Magazine. Balancing a day job as a corporate lawyer in Richmond, Virginia with his deep interest in nature photography, he shoots his subjects in his backyard, on the James River, and on Lancaster Creek on the Northern Neck.

And he shoots really long-range, without the really expensive equipment. Bring your questions and experiences - we'll have a lively discussion.

Our coming '08-'09 season's meetings will increase our members' participation. For our first half, we'll regularly bring in expert speakers for inspiration on special topics, while alternately making more opportunities to review member photos. Our formats for Showcases and Challenges will continue to stimulate what our members can do with photography by seeing the depth of talent we all share in the Club.

Meetings will also include topics to help develop skills over the breadth of today's digital methods that include discussions of the whole process from shooting through presentation in a variety of ways. Our Table Topics of past years will return, so that we can have small group discussions about a single subject.

We'll show what members are doing to visit interesting places on the Web through continuing our WebWalks, and we'll try to stimulate you with information about the mechanics of the digital photography process through our TechTalks. Occasionally we may also have a primary subject of the meetings dedicated to "how-to" in response to member requests to increase that area.

Programs are developed a few months before presentation. If you have a desire to participate in that process, please contact me. I'd like some help in deciding what is of interest and in the mechanics of scheduling, contacting, and follow-up on speakers. Let me know what you think.