Meeting was called to order by Dawn Morrow, president, shortly after 7:00 PM.
There were two visitors to the meeting. Rich Briggs and Mark Prouty both introduced and shared a little bit about themselves.
Dawn introduced the 2019 board members: Dawn Morrow (President); Vera Mulder (Interim Vice-President); Debbie Tubridy (Secretary) and Amy Hudechek (Treasurer). She also introduced Jeff Morse (Competition Chair); Sharon Bradshaw (PSA Competition Lead); and Bob Peterson (Website & Publicity Chair). She also thanked the outgoing members of the board and committee chairs.
Sharon was asked to explain how the PSA Competitions work. She reported that PSA (Photographic Society of America) is a worldwide organization … members are either individual photographers or Photograhy Clubs who have decided to join and compete, which TMCC does. She reported that TMCC moved up to Group B (from C) with this new PSA year (which runs mid-year). TMCC competes against other camera clubs in the PID-Open (Projected Image Display). There are 4 competitions each year. We have deadlines established in advance and our members submit their entries to the club competition e-mail address (contests@thundermountaincameraclub.org). Sharon stressed the need to format your file with your name and image title. She then compiles the entries and arranges for judges to select the Top 6 images to go on to PSA for competition. Judges are generally a photographer, an artist, and a club member (who isn’t competing in the contest). Each member may submit only 1 image and each of the 6 chosen must be from a different individual. The images submitted and those selected for submission to PSA are presented during club meetings. Scores are also shared for the initial advancement of images with 1-9 for each component of judging (technical, impact, composition), with a max score of 27. Once the images go to PSA, there are 3 different judges in which other clubs serve as judges. Each club group (A, B, C, D, & E) has their own judging and awards (Awards of Merit, as well as Honorable Mentions). There are 26 clubs per group. Rules for image submission include it must be a .jpg file at 1024X768 pixels. (See Competition Guidelines). Since we’re competing in an “Open” category, there are no restrictions regarding subject matter and images can be creative. All TMCC members are free to access the winning images at the PSA website. Sharon encouraged everyone to submit their best work. It was brought up that because the judging critiques should be a learning tool, if anyone wants their feedback, just include that request in your submission email. Start working on your next submission for PSA which is due February 1st, 2019!
Jeff Morse discussed the TMCC Club Competitions for 2019. There will be 4 contests this year (3 + Scavenger Hunt). For the 3, the contests will be critiqued by a professional photographer, an artist, and a lay person. Since the idea of club competitions and associated outings is to get members to get out shooting, all photo submissions should be new images with the date provided. A penalty (1 pt) will apply to all images more than 60 days old. Format and submission of the image will be the same as PSA. Please remember to include your name in either the photo file or email. Members who have specific questions are encouraged to email Jeff at jeffmorse348@gmail.com or text him at 970-549-6100.
The first outing for the TMCC will be on Feb. 16th at Palisade Park sharply at 10:00 AM. We will be shooting people-centric images. The first TMCC competition will follow on the theme of People… whether that be portrait or street photography. It will be due March 1st!
Other important dates include:
Feb. 19th – Board Meeting at Dawn’s house at 6:00 PM. Everyone is invited
Feb. 22nd – Homework: Look at your photography progression from years back and compare a similar subject matter now. Hopefully, we will see the progress made and skill sets improvement. Submit these 2 images to Dawn (dawn@2morrowsmuse.com) and include what you have learned as well.
Dawn shared the holiday images that were sent in by our members.
During the meeting break, Debbie passed around the TMCC Refreshments Sign-Up Sheet for 2019 for those who might wish to help by volunteering. Also Amy was available to collect membership renewals and new member applications and Liability Release Forms.
Sharon then reviewed the PSA images that were last submitted to TMCC (PSA #2). The images had been judged locally and results shared. The 6 images selected for PSA submission include: Amy Hudechek – “Black Bear”; Sharon Brandshaw – “Deer Crossing Colorado River”; Paul Gana – “Mount Peaking Clouds”; Marina Schultz -“The Bride”; Tom Tubridy – “The Coyote Trance”; and Debbie Tubridy – “The Great Horned Owl & The Hummingbird”.
Dawn gave a wonderful presentation on the Sand Wash Basin Wild Horses. She shared lots of great tips and information for others planning to go, as well as some amazing images. She was assisted by Debbie Rudd who knows the area wild horses quite well also. Dawn announced that she will be returning to Sand Wash Basin Sept. 19 through 23rd, if anyone is interested, please get in touch with her.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Next TMCC Club Meeting: Feb. 26th, 2019 @ 7:00 PM
(Submitted by Debbie Tubridy)