Thursday, May 22, 2014

One Minute Update (22 May)

Hi everyone,


Paul is full of energy
and gives his all to
the Group
I want to start by sharing some exciting news.  The Group now has a 'Deputy Organizer'.  I asked Paul Martin and he has accepted to serve as 'Deputy Organizer' and as a manager of the Event Hosts.  Paul has been a member of the Group longer than I have (5.5 yrs).  He has served as a Co-Organizer for the last 3, going on 4, years and hosted scores of FREE MeetUps.  He is also co-signed on our Group checking account.

So if you are interested in becoming an Event Host please email Paul and introduce yourself.  You can teach just 1 class a year or teach as often as you would like.  IF you want to offer a paid class or two to the Group you can, but you must be willing to teach a FREE classes to the Group. 

We have also recruited an Intern.  I have recruited Arnett Luce to serve the Group and help me with the chores of running the Group.  She will take on managing the Annual 'Community' Photo Contest and will be the lead volunteer in our outreach to the Boy Scouts of Colorado.

Arnett is a budding
talent and also
full of energy.
About the Boy Scouts.  The Group is going to start teaching photography to the Boy Scouts of the Pikes Peak Councel (and the Girl Scouts in the future) who will be eager to earn a Photography Merit Badge.  Arnett is also fundraising to support a Pikes Peak Boy Scout Photographer of the Year and Boy Scout Photo Contest.  So, if your a parent or supporter of Scouting I would encourage you to contact her and offer her your support.  This is a TREMENDOUS opportunity for our Group.  We are thinking that we will grow this program to be State-Wide.

Where oh where have the members gone?  I know, I did a little house cleaning this week.  I removed a hundred members from the Group for being inactive for more than 9 months-- but I emailed them to tell them why, and why they were always welcomed back.  Here is what I said, "Hi, it looks like you have been inactive for more than 9 months.  I hope that sometime in the future you will rejoin and become active again.  You are always welcome to rejoin.  Best, Charlie"  Of all the people that I emailed not one wrote me back and asked to be reinstated.
You should see a big dip as I removed about 100 inactive
members of the Group.  Our intent is to try and continue to
offer the 5 star classes that we do and to reach and grow
our community.  But we need more volunteer Event Leaders
if we are going to reach more people. 

Why the cut back?  Well... we have always been focused on quality over quantity.  Plus the 'number' of members in the Group is a little deceptive.  You can have 953 members, but if the majority of them have not been 'active' for more than a year- are they really a 'member?'


Another reason to downsize is because we are community minded.  We can serve an active Group of 200-300 members better than we can serve 953.  With the volunteers that we have we did more than 130 MeetUps in 2013.  Nobody else has that kind of activity.  I talked about this at our Annual Meeting in January.  I choose to look at the fact that we have doubled the number of active members in the last 4 years and that we have grown our FB page to over 1,060 members in the last 24 months.  So 'yes' we are growing and we want you to share us with all your friends, but we don't ever want to rest on our laurels or stop growing physically or philosophically.


News


What Happens When A Photographer Takes The Same Photo From A Different Angle


Beautiful Women!

What If Famous Paintings Were Photoshopped to Look Like Fashion Models?

'What I Be' Project Reveals People's Darkest Insecurities In Stunning Photos

The Age of iPhone Reporting: Q&A with Neal Augenstein

Water shot! Photographer captures the precise moment a speeding bullet pierces a tiny droplet of falling liquid

Rants&Raves:  This is not so much a 'rant' or 'rave' it is more of a simple ask for your help.  The more that the Group grows the more need it has for volunteers.  Volunteers make any Group successful.  If you believe in 'paying it forward,' if you look at all the newcomers to photography who have never had a single photo class or if photography is a real passion-- then we want you involved in our Group.  Please contact Paul M about how you can make a difference.


Think I will sign off with that. . .

Let's have FUN!
Charlie



Wednesday, May 14, 2014

One Minute Update (14 May)

Hi Everyone,

I tend to be more intrigued with the
flowers than with the landscapes
Are you ready for summer?  I am getting there.  I have plans to tackle the Colorado Trail and therefore spent the weekend down in the CanyonLands in UT training.  A great trip.  Backpacking is almost as expensive as buying camera gear <grin>.

I am planning a trip back to the CanyonLands in Oct.  Anyone interested in backpacking out into the wild for some awesome views contact me.  We can start planning our FUN!

Other BIG NEWS we celebrated our 7th Anniversary on May 7th.  Did you know that we are the oldest Photography MeetUp Group in the Springs and have hosted over 735 MeetUps?  And we continue to grow.  I had a goal that we would have 1,000 followers on FaceBook by our Anniversary-- and we have 1,056.  GREAT! And we have new people finding our MeetUp Group every week.  So everyone can give themselves a big pat on the back.  Our community is doing fabulous.  So let's get out there and have fun.  Post your photos on the MeetUp Photo Gallery or on Facebook.  Plus, we have a DIY Build a 1 Light setup class set for the 15th (You don't have to buy the gear to participate), a class on 'Color for Dummies' on the 31st and a Professional Photographer Speakers presentation scheduled for Jun 7th.

So lot's going on and more on its way.


News:

Thanks to David Soldano for sharing this image on FaceBook.

Thanks to Mark Kirkland for sharing 7 Photography Hacks 


Think I will sign off with those.  No Rants&Raves.

Let's have FUN!
Charlie


Thursday, May 1, 2014

One Minute Update (1 May)

Hi Everyone,


Thank you Carol Turner our
host at CMJH and our judges

Jeff JohnsonChristopher Gilbert
and Allison Earnest.
I hope you all have been having lots of fun with your cameras.  It has been a busy few weeks for me. school, volunteering and now training for visiting the Colorado Trail this summer.  It is 486 miles long.  Arnett Luce is going after pledges to fund a photo contest for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts using the miles that I hike to buy cameras for the winners.  Shoot her an email if this is something you would like to support.  Shoot me an email if you have any Trail stories to share.  I am trying to plan a fun, relaxing and rewarding hike.

So onto some GREAT Group news.  I am very pleased to share with you that we have had TWO major accomplishments happen in our Group in the past few weeks.  1) We held our first Student Scholarship Photo Contest.  Congratulations to Angel Martinez a 14 yr-old 8th grade student and the winner of the CSCPG's first Student Scholarship and named the CMJH Photographer of the Year.   A special thank you to Nth Wolf (Paul Martin) and Arnett Luce for helping the judging to go on so smoothly.

The 2nd best thing is that we raised $500 which FULLY FUNDS our 2015 Student Scholarship program.  This to me is very exciting.  If we can continue to add a school every year, where will we be in 5 yr, 10 or 20 yrs.  Who knows what gear everybody will be using then (maybe NikCan's or nano tech 'flies on the wall')  I just hope to be there, with you, enjoying the difference we are making in our local community

News:

A flash, a reflector and a window story by Simone

In 1913 it was legal to mail children.
With stamps attached to their clothing,
 children rode trains to their destinations,
 accompanied by letter carriers.
One newspaper reported it cost fifty-three
 cents for parents to mail their daughter
 to her grandparents for a family visit.

Canon vs Nikon Battle ... it appears Nikon wins, check it out it is humorous.


The Secret of Creating a Strong Image - 5 Tips for Creating a Story in your Image


Consider voting for an image in a contest at viewbug.com Last Light of Day by Jeff Johnson -- one of our Co-Organizers


For GoPro fans check this out


From our esteemed member Allison Earnest "How To Change the Contrast On Your Subject In Two-Seconds"


Photographer, Aviation Experts Stunned by Mysterious Unidentified Flying Object
The Photographer's Guide to Copyright has tips and resources to help you tackle copyright law, register your images, and protect your work from infringement.
Flash photography on Location using just one Speedlight by Nikon

The Faces Behind the America's Food Stamp Program - A photo essay 


PHOTO DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH! Russian documentary photographer Elena Chernyshova shows daily life, work and play in the northernmost city of the world. 45 images with captions. A GREAT story!


Rants&Raves:
It was my pleasure to announce a new MeetUp group this week.  The Learning Center Photography Group by Mike’s Camera is a group for anyone wanting to learn more about photography. They, like us, are a big believer that photography should be fun and feel the more you know the more fun you'll have. They'll have seminars, workshops and events throughout the year on different photography topics. So check them out at: http://www.meetup.com/The-Learning-Center-with-Mikes-Camera/

I like promoting other groups when I can.  From my point of view there are well over 500,000 citizens in the Colorado Springs area.  I am confident that 1/3 of them have cameras or smart phones with cameras.  That is A LOT of people and our group is never going to be able to meet all those people's educational needs.  Maybe we can socialize online via FaceBook.  But big is not always better.  For me the number one thing that we don't want to squander is our 'Community' attitude.  Our vision is to Educate, Showcase and be 'Community' Minded.  Thank YOU for sharing that vision with us and being onboard as we celebrate our 7th anniversary on May 17th.

Let's have FUN!
Charlie