STATEN ISLAND CAMERA CLUB
November, 2016
Up Coming Events:
Nov. 28th NJFCC Fall Print Competition Hillcrest Camera Club
December 1st. Holiday Lights Workshop-Snug Harbor
December 15th Holiday Party-Carini Restaurant,10 Akron St.
President’s Message by Eric Mayr
This has been an exciting month where we had a successful still
life with flash modified workshop. The members also participated in a field trip to Clove Lake Park to shoot Fall foliage and
waterfall scenes. Even though models did not show up
at Floyd Bennett Field, photography members found an abandoned hangar and a beach for possible pictures. Also, this
month’s super moon shoot resulted in another successful fieldtrip. As always, thanks to the members who participated.
Up next month is a field trip to photograph Christmas decoration
and our annual Holiday Party. Do not forget that we get together
on the first Saturday of each month at Snug’s greenhouse at
10:00 AM and the cost is $20. Also, keep an eye on the SICC
Meet-up website for more upcoming events.
Photographing Holiday Lights
by Dennis
Have a Happy Holiday season with family and friends. See you
next year.
We will be holding our annual Holiday Party:
Date: Thursday, December 15th.
Place: Carini Restaurant at 10 Akron Street, SI (off of Richmond Ave)
Time: 7 PM to 10 PM
Cost: $26.00 per person. Guests are welcome
Menu Buffet:
Appetizer: Fresh Mozzarella Cheese And Mini
Slices of Pizza
Salad: Antipasto
Pasta: Cheese Ravioli With Marinara
Ziti With Meat Sauce
Entrée: Chicken Francaise
Sausage With Peppers & Onions
Arculeo
December is a great month to photograph bright, festive decorations. One of the most eye-catching decorations is also the most
challenging: Holiday lights. There are many different tricks and
techniques detailed below to capture the beguiling colors, glitters, and twinkles – pick the one(s) that work best for you and
your equipment, and make the most of this beautiful holiday
season!
Most holiday lights have incandescent bulbs, which are similar in
color to tungsten sources. Setting your camera’s white balance
to the "light bulb" icon will result in lights that will appear white or
slightly warm-white.
Most of the time, when photographing subjects such as lights or
candles, you are in a low-light setting. However, this is one time
when a flash is generally not a good option; so the first tip is to
turn off your built-in flash. Your choice of Exposure Mode, on the
Mode Dial, plays a major part in this. Any of the following shooting
modes will prevent the built-in flash from automatically trying to
pop-up and fire every time you press the shutter button half-way
down in a low-light situation:
 Any "Creative Zone" mode – P, Tv, Av, or M
 Flash Off (available on most recent cameras)
 Creative Auto (CA) modes, which allow manually turning
Flash Firing to "Off"
 Sports mode
 Hand-held Night Scene mode
There are three basic exposure tools to capture a great image:
ISO, Shutter Speed, and Aperture – various combinations of
these settings will optimize your camera to best capture this
(Continued on page 10.)
Club Officers for 2016 - 2017
President: Eric Mayr
First Vice President: Dennis Arculeo
Second Vice President: Mark Harris
Treasurer: Barbara Hoffman
Secretary: Carol Mayr
Competition Chairperson: Carol Mayr
Guest Editor: Dennis Arculeo
Webmaster: Dennis Arculeo
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
November Digital Competition Gallery
Award: Dahlia
Award: Dare to be Normal
Hilda Rubin
Ann Grodman
Award: Osprey with Fish
Denise Canlon
HM: A Meer MixUp
Henrietta Robinson
HM: Lady Slipper Orchid
HM: Dahlia #1
Dieter Bieler
Dieter Bieler
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Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
November Digital Competition Gallery
HM: Lovely Lady
Dennis Arculeo
HM: Moon Lady
Bob Green
HM: Slinky Slipper
Bob Green
HM: South Street Seagull
Dennis Arculeo
HM: Nice Peony
Lora Livshits
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Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
Page 4
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November Digital Competition Gallery
Award: Catching Some Air
HM: Cadillac Mountain
Len Rachlin
Denise Canlon
Award: Mirror
MH: Milk Weed at Clove Lake
Award: Waves
Ann Grodman
Lauren Arculeo
Ann Grodman
HM HERB Goldberger
Orchid 2
HM Rock at Clove Lakes
Joe Sorge
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
Page 5
CLIX
November Digital Competition Gallery
HM: Twisted Tree
HM: Waterfall and Brook
Barbara Hoffman
Joe Sorge
Portrait Photography Tips Every Photographer Should Master
Portraiture is one of the most popular types of photography and one of the reasons many people first pick
up a camera. Portraits focus on capturing the look and
personality of the subject. They can be formal and
posed or have a more candid feel. Portraits can be of
individuals, groups of people, or even pets.
Portraiture may seem simple and straightforward but it
can actually be quite difficult. Taking good portraits
requires a good understanding of light and knowledge
of how to pose your subjects and get the kind of expressions you want. It is a skill that comes with time
and practice. Here are some tips to get you started:
1) Choose the right lens
A variety of focal lengths work well for portraits and
which you choose depends largely on the look you are
going for. 35mmlenses are good for environmental portraiture when you are wanting to include some of the
scenery. 50mm and 85mm lenses are good mid-range
options and a lens like a 135mm prime or 70-200mm
zoom is great for getting up with having to be close.
Zoom and prime lenses can both work for portraits but
they each have their advantages and disadvantages.
Zoom lenses give you a lot of flexibility in framing your
shot while primes are known for being incredibly sharp
and producing beautiful bokeh. If your
subjects are often moving erratically (like kids or
pets!) you may want to use a zoom lens. If your subjects are more static, prime lenses may be a great
choice for you.
2) Focus on the eyes
Good portraits don’t necessarily need to have the
entire subject in focus. Many photographers love the
way a thin focal plane and blurred background draw
the viewer right in. Regardless of how much of your
subject you want to have in focus, the most important
thing to get sharp is typically the eyes. When selecting your focus point, be sure to center it on the eyes.
3) Be aware of your light
Light may be the single most important thing to understand when taking photos. If your light isn’t good, your
photo won’t be either. For outdoor shots, the light is
warmest and softest just after sunrise and just before
sunset. Many beginners find this “golden hour” light to
be the easiest to work with. If you need to shoot during
mid day, try putting your subject in the shade or facing
away from the sun.
(Continued on Page 10)
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
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Digital Competition Standings - Leader Board
No. of
Entries
Color Digital
Member
As of November 2016 Competition
Total
Points
49
6
Bob Green
6
Dennis Arculeo
45
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
Denise Canlon
Lora Livshits
Herb Goldberger
Ann Grodman
Barbara Mattera Hoffman
Len Rachlin
Dieter Bieler
45
45
44
43
43
43
41
5
6
6
5
4
4
Hilda Rubin
Lauren Arculeo
Joe Sorge
Bill Webber
Mark Harris
Henrietta Robinson
40
38
38
37
29
27
No. of
Entries
B&W Digital
Member
Total
Points
Barbara Mattera Hoffman
Ann Grodman
47
46
6
6
6
6
Len Rachlin
Denise Canlon
Dennis Arculeo
Joe Sorge
46
43
42
42
Lauren Arculeo
Herb Goldberger
Bob Green
Bill Webber
Hilda Rubin `
Mark Harris
Dieter Bieler
Henrietta Robinson
Honorable Mention
Moon Lady
Slinky Slipper
Lovely Lady
South Street Seagull
Osprey With Fish
Nice Peony
Dare To Be Normal
Dahlia #1
Lady Slipper Orchid
Dahlia
A "Meer" Mix-up
As of November 2016 Competition
6
6
6
5
6
6
5
4
4
4
Award
40
40
39
39
35
31
28
25
Award
Honorable Mention
Twisted Tree
Mirror
R Waves
Catching Some Air
Cadillac Mountain
Rock At Clove Lake
Waterfall & Brook
Milk Weed At Clove Lake
Orchid
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
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November Print Competition Gallery
Award: Still Life wiht Peaches #3
Award: Lower Manhattan
Len Rachlin
Carol Mayr
HM: Shine on Harvest Moon
Dennis Arculeo
HM: Bldg
Ann Grodman
HM: Silhouetted Girl
Bob Green
HM: Buildings
Ann Grodman
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
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November Print Competition Awards Gallery
Award: City Hall At Sunset
Scott Allen
HM; Veiny Leaf
Joe Sorge
HM: Still Life with Apples and Pomagranate
Len Rachlin
Award: Princess
Scott Allen
HM: All That Jazz
Dennis Arculeo
Sad News by Bob Green
Ann Grodman a SICC member has died at age 85 years old. Ann a
native of Brooklyn NY was born in 1931 and lived there all her life. She
grew-up in Bay Ridge and attended high school there. Afterwards she
graduated from Brooklyn College and for the most part stayed in Brooklyn in the Bath Beach section of Bensonhurst.
She met her husband, Marty Grodman at a Brooklyn Camera Club meeting and married him in 1957. In1960 Annie and Marty brought their
house from relatives. Their home over looked the Belt Parkway. Marty
was always by her side from 1957 to August 28th 1998 when he died.
Ann was always willing to help others, volunteer for many camera club
organizations.She became a life member of Brooklyn Camera Club,
holding various positions there. She was active in M.C.C.C.-Met Council
from the 1950's-2005, PSA Cosmo Chapter 1990's-2000, PFLI-Long
Island, on 'n off PSA member, she attended NECCC annual summer
photo conference on and off from 1960-2008.
She was also a member of Bensonhurst's Colorama Camera Club
under Henry-Sylia Mass, Trump Camera Club of Coney Island under
Arthur Kaufman, Pittsfield Mass Camera Club, Lens Friends Camera
Club that met Sundays at the Brooklyn Gardens.
Recently and for the past few years she has been an award winning
member of the Staten Island Camera Club. Her delightful and talented
imagery will be very much missed.
Annie will also be very sorely missed by those who knew her, lived
with her and shared her photography with others, etc.
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
November Print Competition Gallery
Award: The Dancer
Barbara Hoffman
Award: Metropolis
Scott Allen
Award: Building Reflection
Scott Allen
HM: Scurrying
Carol Mayr
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Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
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CLIX
Print Competition Standings - Leader Board
Color Print
No. of
Entries
Member
As of November 2016 Competition
Total
Points
Award
6
Len Rachlin
49
6
6
6
Barbara Feist
Bob Green
Dennis Arculeo
48
48
47
and Pomegranate
Posing
Silhouetted Girl
All Thar Jazz
Shine on Harvest Moon
6
Ann Grodman
41
Bldg.
6
5
4
Joe Sorge
Barbara Mattera Hoffman
Scott Allen
40
36
34
Still Life With Peaches
Honorable Mention
Still Life W/Apples
Buildings
Veiny Leaf
Princess
City Hall At Sunset
4
No. of
Entries
Carol Mayr
29
Lower Manhattan
Black & White Print
Member
As of November 2016 Competition
Total
Points
6
6
6
Len Rachlin
Bob Green
Ann Grodman
42
39
39
6
Joe Sorge
38
6
4
5
4
Dennis Arculeo
Scott Allen
Carol Mayr
Barbara Mattera Hoffman
37
35
35
34
Award
Metropolis
Honorable Mention
Building Reflection
Scurrying
The Dancer
(Photographing Holiday Lights, Continued from page 1.)
tricky low-light/bright-subject shot.
High ISO: ISO is a setting that tells your camera how sensitive it
should be to light. Higher settings such as 800, 1000, 1600, 3200,
etc, result in greater sensitivity – the higher the ISO, the less light
you need to record an image. However, the trade-off is that higher
ISOs show greater levels of 'noise' (that pastel speckling visible
throughout some images, most noticeable in shadow and mid-tone
areas).
However, recent digital SLRs have amazing low-light performance,
due in part to improvements in sensors, as well as an important
Custom Function offered in most of our recent cameras: High ISO
Noise Reduction. Critical users shooting in a "Creative Zone" exposure mode (P, Tv, Av, or M) can go into either the camera's Custom
Function or Shooting Menu, and vary the level of High ISO Noise
Reduction to suit their preferences. The factory-default "Standard"
level, however, is usually fine for most purposes.
Something to keep in mind: Digital SLRs show much lower noise
levels at the same ISO than digital point-and-shoots, so be cautious
when choosing your exposure settings. With a compact digital camera like a Canon PowerShot, you may want to opt for an ISO no
higher than 400 in combination with a slow shutter speed and/or
wide aperture. However, with an DSLR, you can use an ISO of
1600, 3200 or even as high as ISO 25,600 with some models, and
feel confident that you will get a very usable image. (cont..pg 11.)
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
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(Portrait Tips Every Photographer Should Master, continued from page 5)
4) Choose the right aperture
Wide apertures will blur the background and make
your subject pop, making apertures of f/2.8 and wider a
popular choice for portrait photographers. Be aware that
the wider you go, the less of your subject will be in focus. Narrower apertures may be used to show more
detail in the background such as f/7.1.
5) Be careful with cropping
For natural feeling portraits be sure to crop in places that
feel natural and don’t cut off limbs right at the end. For
example, instead of cropping at the wrist and cutting off
your subject’s hand, crop higher up on the arm. Also be
sure to leave some space above your subject’s head.
6) Get on their level
When shooting small subjects like kids and pets, get
down so that you are at eye level with them. Your photos will feel more natural and you’ll have a more flattering angle on the subject.
7) Look for sources of light
Always keep in mind what your sources of light are.
Natural light from the sun is usually the easiest light
for beginners to work with. If shooting indoors, try
placing your subject near windows to catch that natural light.
8) Use flash when necessary
Flash can be a tricky skill to learn but it will give you a
lot more control in difficult lighting situations. Fill flash,
pointed directly at the subject, can help in bright, midday light. When shooting indoors, try bouncing the
light off a wall or the ceiling or learn to use off camera
flash.
9) Consider using a reflector
While flash is certainly one light modification option,
it’s not the only one. Reflectors are large, shiny disks
that can be used to bounce ambient light onto your
subject. They are especially useful when shooting
outdoors in bright light to help brighten shadows on a
subject’s face and balance the exposure.
10) Shoot in RAW
Most cameras have the ability to record photos as
JPEG or RAW files. JPEGs are nice and small but
RAW files capture more data, giving you a lot more
options for making tweaks in post-processing. Shooting in RAW will give you a lot more flexibility for adjusting things like highlights, shadows, and white balance. For example, a RAW file will allow you to dramatically increase the exposure of an underexposed
photo so that you still have a useable image.
11) Learn manual mode
When you’re first getting started it probably seems easier to just set the camera in an automatic mode and get
to work. Don’t do this. When you shoot in automatic
mode your camera makes assumptions based on what
it thinks you want to be properly exposed. This may
mean that your background is correctly exposed for
while your subject is way too dark, for example. Shooting in manual mode is easy to learn and will give you
far more control over the exposure of your final image.
You are smarter than your camera!
(Continued next issue)
(Photographing Holiday Lights Continued from Page 10)
 Long Exposures: Almost without exception, holiday lights will
be at their best when the surrounding environment is dark, whether
indoors, or outdoors at dusk or at night. And, these lights are almost always fairly modest in their output as well. So we're usually
talking low-light situations any time we're photographing holiday
lights. Modern digital SLRs can handle most low-light situations
easily, but there are a few things you can do to insure great pictures in these situations:
 Shoot at higher ISO settings. Most cameras set to "Auto"
ISO will naturally tend to pick higher ISOs in these types of lowlight scenes. But if you're working in the P, Tv, Av, or M shooting
modes, you can set ISO yourself to settings like 1600, 3200, or
even higher if the holiday lights you're shooting and their surroundings are not super-bright. You'll be shooting at faster shutter
speeds, all else being equal, if you use higher ISOs – and that
means less chance of blurs from any motion blur.
Use a tripod. A tripod is the best way to stabilize your camera. If
you don't have a tripod, see if you can lean the camera against a
nearby lamp post, park bench, or other solid surface. If there is
nothing to brace the camera on, make sure you are holding it as
steadily as possible: Hold the camera firmly with both hands. Use
your optical viewfinder (rather than the LCD) if you have one, so
you can rest the camera against your face. Keep your elbows bent,
and tucked into your chest, and keep your knees slightly bent for
improved balance; basically, you want to turn yourself into a tripod.
Even if your camera is on a tripod, consider using a cable release. If you don't have one, use the camera's self-timer function
(because with very slow exposure times, even the slight movement
of pushing the shutter button can sometimes result in a blurry image).
If your lens has Image Stabilization, use it. Image Stabilization
effectively reduces blur caused by camera movement, and allows
sharper pictures at slower shutter speeds when you're handholding the camera.
 Use a wide-angle lens. Wider focal lengths, such as 16mm,
18mm, 24mm, etc, are much more 'forgiving', showing little-to-no
blur from camera movement, even at slower shutter speeds. Consider stepping closer to those lights, and zooming the lens to a
wider focal length, to minimize blurs and camera shake.
Staten Island Camera Club, Staten Island’s Friendly Camera Club!
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2016-2017 Assigned Subjects
Color Prints and Digitals:
1) Zoo Animals 2) Seasonal Scene 3) Water in Motion
Black and White Prints and Digitals:
1)
Architecture Scene
2)
Animal Portrait 3)
Shadows and Contrasts
For each category (digital color, digital b&w, print color, print
b&w), enter two different subjects of the three listed.
The Staten Island Camera Club has been in existence
since 1954, meeting two times per month at 8pm (doors
open at 7:30) from Sept through May at Snug Harbor in
the Harbor Room, building G.
We meet on the first Thursday of the month for workshops and education, and on the third Thursday for our
monthly member Competition.
Details and schedule available on our web site.
Website: http://www.siccphotography-club.com/
Competition Guidelines
For competitions:
Digital Images (Photo Contest Pro permits up to 2000 pixels longest side)
1. Digital Black and White
2. Digital Color
Images can be rescaled, if desired, up or down to fit
within the boundaries set by the competition display program.
Aspect ratio is always preserved during rescale.
Print (images no more than 20” tall, nor more
than 24” wide, so to fit in display box)
3. Print Black and White
4. Print Color
Email us at -
[email protected]
Attention CLIX Editor
Websites of interest:
www.popphoto.com
www.nyip.com
No exposed tape or mounting material! Mount on
[foam] board stiff enough to stand on its own,
optionally with an over-matte.
You may submit up to two images in each competition.
Competitions are held in the Harbor Room, Snug Harbor Building G, on the third
Thursday of each month at 8pm (Sep, Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr (Assigned
Subjects), and May (Finals)).
CLIX—Competition winners
Competition images with a top score are inserted into the CLIX newsletter
Digital images are handled automatically; no work for Maker.
Digital versions of print images must be emailed by Maker to the CLIX Editor (if Maker
wants them in the CLIX). No need to resize them, just send a high quality jpg file. To avoid
confusion, please name those images <your name> - <Title>.jpg; for example: “Joe Smith Cat.jpg.” This prevents confusion with similar images. Be sure to insert the exact title in the
email also.
www.strobist.com
www.exposure.com
www.life.com
www.photography--now.net
www.bhphoto.com
www.adorama.com
www.photojojo.com
www.photo.net
www.elementsvillage.com
www.shutterbug.com