January 9: Photographing the Weather

The first meeting of the Pagosa Springs Photography Club for 2019 will be held on January 9, at the Community United Methodist Church fellowship hall, 434 Lewis St. Join us for socializing at 6 p.m., followed by a brief business meeting at 6:30 p.m. Experienced photographers and those just starting out are welcome.

Our presentation this month will be given by John Farley. He will speak about Photographing the Weather.  In his talk, John will discuss some things he has learned during more than twenty years in the field photographing interesting and unusual weather phenomena, and will share some of his favorite weather photographs.  He will cover such topics as learning about the weather, how to photograph potentially dangerous weather safely, and good Internet sources for weather information and for weather photography techniques.  He will also share some of his techniques for getting good weather photos, and will specifically discuss several different techniques for lightning photography.

John Farley is a digital photographer residing in Pagosa Springs.  Since John’s retirement in 2006 after 30 years as a sociology professor, he has turned to photography as his primary activity.  He considers the sky to be among the most interesting subjects for photography, because even in the same location, it is never the same twice.  Although John likes to shoot weather, landscape, and wildlife/animal photos, his favorite images are ones that combine two or all three of these elements in interesting ways.  John’s photography has appeared in Weatherwise and Colorado Country Life magazines, in the photo book A Year or So in the Life of New Mexico, in several of John’s sociology books, and at art galleries and exhibits in Madrid and Farmington, NM, Alton and Edwardsville, IL, and in Pagosa Springs.  His work has also been shown in the Annual New Mexico Photographic Arts Show (on six occasions), and at the Photo Arts Santa Fe Photographers Market.  John’s weather videos have appeared on the National Geographic Channel and on The Weather Channel.

For our image share this month, Club members are encouraged to bring their 10 best (or favorite) images from 2018 (OR 10 images illustrating lessons learned in photography).

November 14 Meeting, “Four Kinds of Light”

The November meeting of the Pagosa Springs Photography Club will be held on November 14, 6 PM, at the Community United Methodist Church fellowship hall. We will view and discuss a video lesson by National Geographic photographer Michael Melford, “Four Kinds of Light in Landscapes”. Melford will touch on a few concepts of composition in addition to discussing the effects of various kinds of light on landscape photos. What are your favorite types of light?

This will be our last regular meeting of the calendar year, so there will be some Club business to attend to as well.

Each member may bring up to 10 images on a flash drive to share. This month, consider bringing at least some photos that are “all about light”, in which the lighting (natural or artificial) is a major player in the image.

The gallery of photos from the Oct 1 Chama train chase has been updated with photos from more of the participants. So even if you already looked at it, check it out again. The gallery is on our Club web site: https://pagosaspringsphotoclub.org/2018/10/20/chama-train-chase/.

Chama Train Chase

Eleven members of the Pagosa Springs Photography Club traveled to Chama, NM on Oct 1 and followed the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail Road steam train on it’s journey from Chama to Cumbres Pass (and a little beyond). Besides the charm of the train, we had a glorious autumn day to enjoy, followed by a late lunch back in Chama. Here is a sample of member’s photos from the day.

Plumtaw Fall Color Outing

The weather was perfect for the Club’s September 22 Plumtaw Loop fall color drive. Although the color is a little spotty this year, eight of us found some interesting images, spectacular scenery and a few stunning Aspen groves. Here is a sample of some of the photographs from the day, taken by Jacquie and Rob Hagberg, Kristine Rubish, Andy Butler, and Chris Roebuck. Click each image to enlarge.

What’s Important in a Photograph, Oct. 10

Photograph © Gregg Heid

The Pagosa Springs Photography Club will hold its October meeting on Wednesday October 10, at The Community United Methodist Church, 434 Lewis Street.

Join us for socializing at 6 p.m., followed by a brief business meeting at 6:30 p.m. Experienced photographers and those just starting out are welcome.

The Photography Club normally meets the second Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the fellowship room of the Methodist Church.

The October Photography Club Meeting will feature Gregg Heid. His presentation will be on “What’s important in a photograph”. He will discuss several qualities that help create photographs that grab your attention, including emotion, light, composition, and creativity. Heid is the current Vice President of the Photography Club and has been active in the club for several years.

Club members are invited to bring up to 10 photographs on a flash drive for sharing with the group. In recognition of the season, everyone is encourage to include at least some images on the theme of “haunted or hunted”. 

If you have questions or concerns, please contact us through our website pagosaspringsphotoclub.org.

Fall is Here!

Sneffles Range Dawn © Andy Butler, Nikon D7100, 85 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec

Happy Equinox day! Autumn is a favorite season for many photographers. Here in Southwest Colorado, the forests are alive with gold from Aspen, willows and cottonwoods. Although reds are not as common, look around and you’ll find many Autumn hues beyond gold. 

While it’s easy to find great color and take pleasing images, after awhile you’ll find many of your photos look good, but also look much the same as everyone else’s. So it’s worth spending some time thinking about ways to make your images both technically better, and also more creative. 

Here are eight tips for better Autumn shots, from Peter Baumgarten. I especially like his tip to not let the weather stop you!

https://www.creativeislandphoto.com/blog/8-tips-for-better-autumn-shots

Nasim Mansurov, at Photography Life, has several good Fall foliage tips. His article features several images from the Dallas Divide area, near Ridgway, where the photo above was taken. 

https://photographylife.com/fall-colors-photography-tips 

One of his suggestions is to use a polarizing filter. which can really help to reduce specular reflections from foliage, producing richer colors. Another is to do your research into good places (and times) for the best Autumn foliage photographs. Finally, and always important, Mansurov reminds us to always identify what, exactly, our subject is. 

Finally, Outdoor Photographer has ten great ideas for more creative fall color photography from Kurt Budliger, at https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/tips-techniques/nature-landscapes/techniques-for-fall-color/.  His tips include using backlight, long exposures, long lenses (to isolate color) and a variety of other techniques to give your images of fall color a more unique, creative look. Well worth a read. 

Personally, I’m going to spend part of the first day of fall photographing one of my favorite locations in the Pagosa Springs area, around Plumtaw Road, with other Photography Club members. I’m hoping for a few clouds to develop. Enjoy the fall color while it lasts!