Great meeting starts the New Year!

Thanks to all who attended last week's meeting. Sorry about the delay in getting this info posted. Randy Allen (that would be me...) will be taking over for Dave Coblitz as the section chairperson. I hope I can serve you as well as Dave did in the past.

We had a great meeting and went over many items pertaining to the iPhone and iPad which many of you apparently use. There's a phrase in the photography world that goes something like this- "the best camera is the one you have with you". Considering we almost always have our phones with us - they could very well be that camera when we need one. While we spend all kinds of time going over manuals and learning about our DSLR's and high tech equipment, many overlook their phone and other portable peripherals as valuable tools in their day - to - day photography lives.

Now some will say that the phone does not have the quality, or that there is limited processing you can do, or that the flash is an issue, or ....... and I will say - Yes - your phone has limitations. But as technology advances - those issues will become much smaller issues. Today's iPhone 4S has an 8MP camera and takes great photos! The photos we received back from Mars for instance are taken with a 1.2MP camera. And look at what you can have in your hands!

So now is the time to start learning more about how to use that tool you carry with you every day!

Here are some ideas:

1) Use your phone while you are scouting places you would like to shoot. Shoot some shots and geo-code them so you can come back to that exact location and in the meantime - you can be mulling over the time of the day, weather and lighting aspects while having in your possession some shots of the area.

2) Use your phone to grab one of a kind shots you can't go back and get. Be sure to understand how to use your phone's camera to the best capabilities. Now - many cameras will not allow you to blow your photo up to really large sizes - you can indeed get some quite respectable camera phone images that will print very nicely. Want to see some great iPhone photos? Go here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/takenwithiphone/

3) Use your iPhone to take photos and transfer them to an iPad to edit them. This gives you a much bigger screen to work with and many more options.

I'll be blogging a little more on this subject later - but this will get you started. Anyone having any questions about phone camera photography - give me a holler at randy@rsaphoto.com.

**********************************************************************

On another topic - If you have any ideas for presentations at our next meeting on February 20th, please let me know!

Happy New Year to ALL!

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year! We start off 2012 with a presentation by Randy Allen (me) at our January 16th meeting dealing with the iPad and iPhone / Smartphones and the various Photography and Art apps that are available and work well. If you have an iPad, or iPhone, or other smartphone - be sure to bring them to the meeting. If you wish to be somewhat prepared - here are some of the apps we will be showcasing:

Photoshop Express
100 Cameras
PhotoStudioHD
ToonPaint
Sketchbook Pro
Photosynth
360
Instagram
iTimeLapse
iMovie
MySketch
iDraw
Inspire Pro
ArtStudio

and for a portable Portfolio of your work - Xtrafolio

Some of these apps are free, but most will cost you. If you would like to see them in action before you purchase - be sure to be at the meeting! See you there!

Happy Holidays to All!

Thanks to all who made it to the Holiday get-together. We enjoyed food, beverage, great discussions and everyone left with another artist's photo-art in hand. (Well almost everyone...)

Dave Coblitz led a brief section meeting discussing:
1) Status of the Guild -
a) Guild needs volunteers
b) Financial needs at the Guild
c) Building repairs / Maintenance
2) Photography Section fund raiser / 911 sales status
3) Upcoming January meeting topic (January 16th, 2012) will be led by Randy Allen and will include topics centered around the latest trends in digital photography with smart phones / related photo editing and portfolio software in use on the iPhone/iPad - many of which are available for other devices. People expressed lots of interest in this topic and Randy is very familiar with many iPad/iPhone applications centered around photography, art, sketching and drawing. There will be a subsequent Blog post listing various App Store / Android software that will be covered in Randy's presentation.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!

December 19th Informal Holiday Celebration

The Photo Section's holiday celebration will be held at the Guild 7:00 PM Monday, December 19.

There will be food and refreshments. Take along some food to share. Take along a camera friend, a date, a spouse, or all three. This meeting is a light-hearted social event.

There will be an optional Print Exchange. If you wish to participate, bring an 8x10 (or so). Everyone bringing an 8x10 will have an opportunity to exchange theirs for someone else's 8x10. It is a chance to share your work, and to receive a nice gift as well.

NOTE: Please do not bring any alcoholic beverages to this gathering. Thank You!

Look forward to seeing everyone there!

911 Foundation Fundraiser

As a reminder to everyone - images from Art Hill in commemoration of the events of September 11, 2001 are available at the Guild Gift Shop. A significant portion of the funds raised from the sale of these images goes to americas911foundation.org.

Canon Ink Cartridges available

I have 7 BCI-6 cartridges from my Canon i9900 (which died a tragic death on Friday). They were installed in the printer but have lots of ink left in them. Several were brand new when I installed them. I have sealed the ports and placed them in a zip lock bag. Any guild members interested in acquiring these FREE of charge - please contact me at: 636-675-1258 or randy@rsaphoto.com

November Meeting Minutes...

Next meeting will be on Dec 19th & will be our annual holiday party & photo exchange. Each person who wants to participate will bring an 8x10 print to exchange.

Nov meeting program was a talk by Deborah Pratt on her journey from painter to photography and what sensibilities inform both in her work. Helen Hume also talked about the two pieced she has in the current show & how her photographic piece & painting relate to each other.

The upcoming 125th Anniversary party was announced. Dave Coblitz once again requested volunteers to help run the group. Dave Groen voluntered to plan the Dec meeting. Randy Allen volunteered to tale over for Eric Bloemker as our web master/blogger.

Jim True reported on exhibit committee progress.