Alone, by Raul Lopez
Ken Duquaine
At its March 6 general membership meeting, the members of the Sun Lakes Camera Club (SLCC) voted to accept the recommendation of the executive board to change the name of the club to the East Valley Photo Club. Several reasons prompted the board’s recommendation. Among them was a desire to dispel the idea that the club’s membership is restricted to Sun Lakes residents. Another is the realization that smartphone photographic technology has reached a point at which the quality of images produced by those devices rivals that of the best cameras. Photographers of all levels of experience are increasingly turning to smartphones to capture images, and the club wishes to be more inclusive in inviting smartphone photographers to join us. The name change will go into effect at the end of our current season on April 17.
At the same meeting, club members Jan Ballard, Burt Williams, and Raul Lopez critiqued images submitted anonymously by our members. Unlike in regular competitions, no scores were given to the images. Rather, the three judges commented on the positive attributes of each image and suggested ways in which the image might be improved.
On March 8 the Sun Lakes Camera Club joined the other 14 Arizona camera clubs in Sun City for the Arizona Camera Club Council’s (ACCC) Spring Roundup. The guest speaker for this event was Moose Peterson, a well-known wildlife photographer from Montana, who gave two presentations on photographing birds and other wildlife. The Spring Roundup included the viewing of all print and digital entries of the ACCC’s member clubs in its spring competition.
Our club’s entries did exceptionally well in winning many acceptances and honorable mentions, as well as taking four third-place, five second-place, and three first-place awards in the print division. We are especially proud of member Raul Lopez, as his image Alone won the Best of Show award in the print division. Congratulations, Raul!
On Feb. 27, 10 members of SLCC visited Chandler Veterans Oasis Park for a photoshoot. Many photos were taken of the variety of birds found in the park. Other similar trips are planned going forward.
Our next general membership meeting on April 3 will feature a presentation by David Joarnt on taking HDR panoramic photos.
SLCC’s final meeting of the season on April 17 will be our year-end banquet, competition, and awards presentation.
The Sun Lakes Camera Club meets on the first and third Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Friendship Room of Sun Lakes Country Club from October through April. For more information about the SLCC and its activities, call SLCC President Ken Duquaine at 248-342-0790 or email [email protected], or Past President Samantha Rose Palmatier at 907-727-0334 or [email protected], and visit our website at www.sunlakescameraclub.com.