Announcements
Photo Blind Rehab Project September 20
You may have noticed that the view from the Photo Blind along Birding Trail #2 is improved due to work carried out by the Photo Club on September 20. This was hard work but a lot got accomplished in a single 6 hour work session: trees were trimmed, the pond was cleared of Indigo and other vegetation, and the blind structure was modified to accomodate modern cameras with large lenses by enlarging the viewing holes in the front of the blind. See the Gallery for some "before and after" photos of the site .
As of the date of this update (early December), there is still no water in the pond but at least the pond is visible from the blind. Despite the dry conditions, we found wildlife in the pond area including an alligator living in a hole at the bottom of the pond and two snakes trying to devour the same hapless frog (one at each end).
Thanks to members who have voluteered with this project:
- Don Jeane who organized the effort;
- Pat Jeane for the photography of the event;
- Roger Zimmerman who brought his "Bad Boy" electric ATV to ferry equipment to and from the photo blind;
- Tom Flores, Diane Nunley, John Noll, Kathy Noll, Dick Klopshinske as well as Don, Pat and Roger for all the work clearing vegetation from that pond area!
Refuge Day Activties on October 15
The Club supported Refuge Day with a information table displaying Club notecards and prints with membership information, and a hands-on activity for children about close-up photography. The photography activity had a small table set up with a camera tethered to a MAC running Adobe Lightroom 3. Kids went off and found objects to photograph, brought them back to the station, then took some pictures and could then see the photos immediately on the MAC in Lightroom. We then emailed photos to partcipants who left us their email addresses. This activity generated a lot of interest and is one which we will try to expand and improve for next year's Refuge Day event. See the Gallery for some of the photos created by participants.
FAMI Annual Meeting and Club Infoshare on Landscape Photography - December 3
FAMI sponsored a boat ride on the morning of the Annual Meeting on December 3 using Tommy Moore's Skimmer. Members had a great time seeing several families of Whooping Cranes very close to the boat, as well as lots of pelicans and cormorants, ducks and dolphins. There was discussion about the effects of Red Tide on the aquatic and bird life of the Intercoastal waterways and bays. After the FAMI annual meeting at 12:30-2:00 PM, the Club held its first "infoshare" for members. These are planned to be short information sharing sessions on topics of interest to the membership. This one - on Landscape Photography - was led by John Noll who presented some background material on the subject. Then the Club did a review and critique of Club photos where landscapes were the subjects. See the Gallery for the images that were reviewed, as well as some of the information presented.
Future Insofshares will focus on other topics, including one in early February on Bird Photography and another on close-up photography in the spring (early April) when the wildflowers are in bloom.
Club officers for Fall 2011 - Spring 2012
Thanks to members who have voluteered to help out the Club this year:
- President - Dick Klopshinske
- Secretary - Diane Nunley
- Webmaster - John Noll
- Program Chairperson - still looking for someone to help with this.
If you are interested in helping shape the Club's program for this year, let us know at anwr.npc(at)earthlink.net ).
Upcoming Nature Photography Club Activities
Fall Spring Program for 2011-2012
Regularly scheduled photo shoots led by club members and/or special guests:
- October 15 - October Refuge Day activities: escorted photo walks, displays, demonstrations
- December 03/04 – Refuge Landscapes
- February 11/12 – Ducks at Whitmire Unit (focus on photography and image processing for birds)
- April 14/15 – Wildflowers and insects (close-up and macro photography)
These will all have an info sharing session before/during the shoot on a particular artistic or technical focus.
Planned Future Service projects in the Refuge
- Printing Session to produce new materials for sale in the Visitors Center bookstore. These include notecards, prints and maybe some photo magnets.
- Visitor Center displays – in addition to keeping the Club's VC display up to date, we will create materials as needed by Refuge staff for new and existing displays;
- Provide Refuge photos for general staff use. Staff needs an easier way to access Club photos at varying resolutions for use in publications and for publicity. Maybe using an online service? Ideas welcome on how best to do this;
- Update the FAMI brag board by creating a new DVD of refuge photos and information for display on the FAMI Visitor Center flat screen TV.
Special trips in the Refuge
- Special boat trip to photograph Whooping Cranes and rookery birds (late March – early April – Jack Flash or similar small boat);
- Matagorda Island (if we can collaborate with a school group running a trip to the island that wants to include nature photography as part of the curriculum.
Houston Camera Exchange donates photo printer to FAMI’s Nature Photography Club!
The Photo Club now has a new Epson 3800 photo printer, thanks to Larry Wheeler and the folks at Houston Camera Exchange. This printer was a demo model in the store and they sold it to the Photo Club for essentially the cost of the ink in the printer. The 3800 can print on all paper sizes from 4x6" to 17x22" and was used to print the notecards for the shop. In the future we plan to use this printer to make materials for sale in the VC shop, update displays in the Visitor Center and for use in Club events where a printer might be helpful.
Club LiveJournal Photo Forum
Dmitri Sobolev has I created a Nature Photography Club online community for photo display and discussion. It's located at: http://community.livejournal.com/aransas_photo
This site will provide Club members an opportunity for posting photos, distributing information about tips and techniques, and soliciting constructive feedback from other members. The only requirement to post to the site is the creation of a Livejournal account.
Check it out and contribute to the discussion about how this webpage can best be used to further Club goals.
Houston Camera Exchange donates camera to FAMI’s Nature Photography Club!
This is old news, but the Club does have a digital camera and 2 lens for use by Club members. This is the result of donations from Larry Wheeler at Houston Camera Exchange who arranged donation of a Nikon D100 camera body, and to John Noll had donated two lenses to the Photo Club (35-70mm f2.8 and 70-210 f 4-5.6. So with this latest donation, we now have a great DSLR system for use by members during club events!
If you lack gear and are trying to figure out what type of DSLR to purchase, or are just curious what a modern digital SLR can do, join us for a photo shoot and try out the D100.
Need more information about the Aransas NWR Nature Photography Club?
Call the Aransas NWR Visitor Center at 361-286-3559 or contact
John Noll at anwr.npc(at)earthlink.net or
Sherrie Krause at president(at)friendsofaransas.org.