Ann Posiviata

It’s official! The Arizona summer heat has arrived in full force. Those double digit days are now a distant memory only to be longed for as each day passes. We are encouraged with each forecast of a dust storm or monsoon to activate our creative juices as photographers. Storm chasing can be very risky so use precaution. A telecast on Monsoon 2015 can be found on your local networks.

Arizona’s temperatures during the summer months find us escaping to find respite in cooler climates. Luckily, we only need to go a short drive to enjoy the summer days. Our state offers higher altitudes in Prescott, Sedona, Jerome, Flagstaff and yes, Tucson. Arboretums, Sonoran Desert, Watson Lake and the red rocks or a junkyard can offer a myriad of photographic possibilities. The same precautions apply: bring plenty of water, flashlights and extra clothing for evenings, snacks to keep you energized and a good ole fashioned compass. These are just a few of the necessities for your photographic back-pack.

In recent news, the Sun Lakes Camera Club gathered for an adventure to the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction to shoot the infamous sunset in lieu of our June meeting. Our caravan arrived at the Mammoth Saloon at Goldfield for dinner; 18 of us enjoyed American cuisine and chatted about Mother Nature’s desire to offer stormy clouds for our shoot-out, oops, shoot. We were led by William Lewis to a favorite spot after a short hike. Beautiful landscape of the Arizona desert supplied all of us our own creativity for a sunset image at the mountain range. This event was a workshop for an upcoming meeting in August to share how we captured our image and the use of editing to perfect those glorious colors.

Have you always wanted to learn how to take beautiful images of a sunset or sunrise, capture wildlife or perfect a family portrait? Well welcome to Fundamentals of Digital Photography 2016. This 10-week course will be led by Dan Dragoon. Starting in January 2016 you can now find out how to take those images you see in magazines. It all starts with the camera you have and how to work its settings and function buttons. Class size is limited. Look for more to come and sign-up this fall.

The Sun Lakes Camera Club (SLCC) meets the first and third Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Navajo Room of the Sun Lakes Country Club from October through April. During the summer, the club meets the first Thursday of each month in the Ceramics Room of the Cottonwood Country Club. For more information about the SLCC and its activities call SLCC President John Livoti at 480-895-6880, Vice President Burt Williams at 602-354-0266 or past President Fred Giese at 480-220-4394 or visit our website at sunlakescameraclub.com.