Mission To encourage and help members to achieve high quality images of wildlife and scenic subjects. The Club offers the fellowship of nature photographers, promotes education, personal growth, and the enjoyment of photography.
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On May 16th, Cliff DeJong will be the guest presenter.
Cliff will speak on Getting Tack Sharp Photos. If you have ever captured the perfect photo with great color, terrific composition, an interesting subject, and… not quite sharp, then this could be of interest to you. Some of the solutions are obvious; many are not. Cliff will share what he has learned and what works best for him.
In the 1960’s, Cliff got a Yashica rangefinder and was very interested in photography, but not very good at it since most of his time was taken with earning a living and being a father and husband. He moved up to a Canon A-1 SLR in the late 1970’s, but still couldn’t find the time to get much better. Cliff almost completely quit photography when his brother-in-law dropped his best lens. Luckily for us, in 2005 he bought a Canon 20D digital SLR and developed a real passion for photography. He now uses a Canon 5D Mark III with three L-series lenses (and a few lesser ones), and is almost always carrying his camera with him.
A native of Iowa, Cliff received a degree in Mathematics from Iowa State. His graduate degree was from Carnegie Mellon in Computer Science. With a background in physics and mathematics, Cliff has learned the technical side of photography but has found the artistic side to be much more of a challenge. Because of his technical background, he enjoys processing photos with Photoshop as much as taking them.
Cliff has taught a number of digital SLR photography classes, reviewed photography books for Focal Press on occasion, plus led a number of field trips. Cliff resides in Colorado and is a Vice President of the St. Vrain Photographic Society in Longmont, Colorado.
Cliff enjoys photography of his family, wildlife, and landscapes. He has traveled around the world, including Hawaii, Paris, Bavaria, the South Seas, Canada, and Alaska. Recently, night photography has been a fun technical challenge, and one of the results is shown below: a combination of the Milky Way and a mountain in Arizona.
On April 18th, John Fielder will be the guest presenter.
John Fielder and Great Outdoors Colorado Announce the Publication of Two New Books and a Promotional Tour and show Colorado’s Great Outdoors: Celebrating 20 Years of Lottery-Funded Lands
John Fielder has worked tirelessly to promote the protection of Colorado’s ranches, open spaces, and wildlands during his 30-year career as a nature photographer. His photography has influenced people and legislation, earning him recognition including the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams Award in 1993 and, in 2011, the Aldo Leopold Foundation’s first Achievement Award given to an individual. Over 40 books have been published depicting his Colorado photography. He lives in Summit County, Colorado, and operates a fine art gallery, John Fielder’s Colorado, in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe. He teaches photography workshops to adults and children. Information about John and his work can be found at johnfielder.com
On March 28th David Kingham is the guest speaker.
David Kingham is a native of Colorado, currently in Fort Collins, and is a passionate night sky photographer. He inherited a love for the mountains from his parents, who gave him his first experience camping before he was a year old. Being exposed to the dark mountain skies opened his eyes to the possibilities of photographing the night sky. His artwork is in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. He has been published worldwide in a variety of media. He is currently traveling the American West seeking dark skies, and sharing his passion through night photography workshops.
For more information on David Kingham, please see his website.
For more information on his workshops, please see www.davidkinghamphotography.com/workshops
On February 21st, Dan Ballard is the featured guest speaker.
Dan Ballard is an internationally known travel and landscape photographer and keynote speaker. He gives presentations on photography around the world at symposiums, festivals, trade shows and workshops, and just returned from speaking in Moscow. Dan is an entertaining and accomplished public speaker and receives rave reviews from audiences. He considers teaching photography to be his main passion in life, preceded only by photography itself.
Dan has visited over 50 countries on five continents around the globe, and his work has attracted the attention and praise of some of the biggest names and companies in the photo industry. Dan’s images have been on display around the U.S. in museums and galleries, and he has sold images to clients around the globe, including The National Geographic Society and The Travel Channel. He is proud to be on the Mpix, Zenfolio and BlackRapid Pro Teams, and to have strong working relationships with the most trusted names in photography, including SanDisk, ThinkTank Photo, Nik Sofware, and Really Right Stuff. His images have been published in magazines and calendars worldwide, and he has won or been a finalist in numerous prestigious competitions. Large, framed prints of his work can be found at stores around the country. Dan’s image ”Let ‘er Fly” was recently featured in a Smithsonian Channel episode on what makes an award-winning image.
For more information about Dan and his workshops, please view his website.
On January 24th, Eli Vega is the featured guest speaker, and will present Be an Artist First, Photographer Second.
The discussion has been ongoing for years about photographers and art and is photography art and the answer is yes, photography is art. However, too often, photographers lack a bit in the creative department and that is a specialty for Mr. Vega. Eli teaches art photography, he conducts workshops not only in groups but mentors individuals as well trying to stress art and the varied concepts and putting them to work in photography. In discussion with Eli, he comments “I consider myself an artist with a camera. One of my favorite creative outlets through my photography is to create abstracts. And, one of my favorite ways of doing this is by making the common uncommon”. When ask further about art, Eli said “My three years of majoring in art in college have had a strong influence in my photography. That is only one reason I refer to myself as a photo artist. There are three art forms in particular that have had an impact on me: Surrealism, Impressionism, and Pointillism. Sometimes, I will create two or three renditions of the same subject”.
Eli Vega’s talk is not about photography vs. art, it is more to push photographers to look and capture in a more creative fashion. A photograph delivers a message, an emotion, a feeling, in a way no words can. The photo can give a sense of beauty and magnificence of life, nature, and experiences of mankind. Through photography, these messages contained in a photograph have the ability to grab and “infect” the viewer with the idea the photographer wanted to convey. What makes one photo stand out from another, well, often it is the creativity that makes a difference.
(Reprinted with permission from Loveland Photographic Society)
Eli Vega has over twenty years of photography experience. He is a regular presenter and judge for Colorado camera clubs and art groups. He has created and introduces his three photography models/paradigms in some of his classes and workshops, such as at the Rocky Mountain Nature Association. Eli is known to say, “I look with my eyes, but see with my imagination.” “I see something before I see it,” and “Be an artist first, photographer second.”
For more information about Eli, including the schedule for his classes and workshops, please visit his website
Chris Brown will be presenting at this week’s November meeting. Spread the word, and bring a friend!
Chris Brown has been photographing and making prints of the American West for over 40 years. This past summer he was honored to be an Artist in Residence at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. “We have all seen endless eye candy views of the Canyon from the Rims, so I decided to explore with my camera the land behind the rim. What I discovered was a dynamic, chaotic forest in various evolutionary stages of the fire cycle. The experience challenged my photographically, and taught me a lot about forest ecology.”
Chris will talk about his photographic process, the concept of First Sight, show pictures from his residency, and present his recently published book: Path of Beauty: Photographic Adventures in the Grand Canyon, that was a finalist in the Banff Mountain Book competition.
Chris is well known for his Western landscape photographs. His work is in numerous public, private, museum and University collections. His photographs have been published widely, and he has won a number of awards. His photographs present a very unique, personal view of the landscape, and his prints are often called “painterly.”
His studio in Boulder is open by appointment, where he shows his work, and teaches individual classes in photography, photoshop and digital printing. You can see more of his work at www.ChrisBrownPhotography.com, and Facebook
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BURNED ASPEN TRUNKS 7729
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COCONINO FAN 8688
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OUTLET Fire 7804
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PONDEROSA TRUNKS & ASPEN 6984
Our presenters for March 15th, 2012 are from M & M Photo Tours
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H’Mong girl Vietnam2
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H’Mong hill lady & daughter Vietnam
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Monks walking with umbrellas
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Venice, Italy
Bio
Mike Gulbraa and Mike Montgomery established M & M Photo Tours to answer the call of photo enthusiasts with a knack for photographing the wonders of the world with the best instruction around. Both published and award-winning photographers themselves, the Mikes offer a wealth of travel experience in addition to their solid photographic fundamentals or expertise. Having traveled to over 150 countries on all continents and speaking several languages between them, their tour expertise is unmatched. In addition to the M&M staff they also offer instruction from “Guest Pros” on select tours. Some of the M&M guest pros include Moose Peterson, Ron Wyatt, Matt Brandon, Robert O’Toole, Adam Barker and Michael Yamashita to name a few.
Program Description
M&M enjoys sharing their travels and photographic passion with other photographers. There is no better way to understand a Photo Tour than to attend one of our photo tour lecture series and see what happens while on a photo tour. Seeing a wide variety of locations and types of photography,
such as landscapes and portraits, the club members will easily understand why it is beneficial to participate in a photo tour. The right Photo Tour provider will supply a wealth of knowledge specific to the, cultures and photographic locations being visited. As we take a quick look at one of
the tour itineraries you will see an example of how the tours are catered specifically to photographers. Sharing testimonials from past tour participants is a great way to express how much one can learn from professionals that guide the tour. This also provides an independent and honest opinion of the accommodations and other important parts of a photo
tour.
During this seminar great travel photography and personal experiences will be shared which will surely excite everyone to get out and enjoy both travel and photography. We will also have some giveaways for a lucky few.
Match Grun will present a program on High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. Check out his gallery of imagery on his web site here.
Originally born in England, Match has lived in Malaysia, Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa. Match worked in the gold mines of South Africa and later switched to software engineering. Match moved to the United States with his family in 1994. After spending a few months in New Jersey, the family settled in Colorado. Software engineering continues to be the day job.
Match’s first encounter with a camera was a Kodak (with 120 film). Later he graduated to an Instamatic that started the path into photography. At school, Match was introduced to the darkroom by a fellow student. “It was amazing to experience an image appearing during development process. From that point, there was no turning back.”
“In South Africa, I was briefly a member of a photographic club. Here was the first opportunity that I had to show my work to fellow members. The quality of my images improved. However, I soon tired of the competitive nature of the club scene.”
“I have always been fascinated by the natural world – the wildlife, the grand landscape, the intimate landscape, the abstract. Also fascinating is the urban landscape that man has helped to create. My focus is to attempt to capture the landscapes.”
“I have always enjoyed sharing and exhibiting my work. Prints are an ideal medium for showing one’s work. Much better than projection of transparencies in a dark place! I had produced monochrome prints in the wet darkroom. Color prints were just too complicated to produce. I had ceased to do any darkroom work prior to leaving South Africa. However, with the advent of the digital photography revolution, producing prints became so much easier.”
“Here in the western United States, we are fortunate to have some of the most unique, beautiful and diverse landscapes on planet earth. While discovering the landscape around us, I have attempted to capture this beauty to share with others.”
Match has been an active member with the Denver Digital Photography Club for the last 5 years. It is here that Match became actively involved in the sharing and teaching photography related topics to fellow members and other clubs. He has given many presentations that include panoramas, HDR, infra-red and monochrome prints. Recently, Match has also run informal workshops on Lightroom and Photoshop.
During 2010, Match started and completed “Project-52″, where he shot, processed and uploaded images to his blog on a weekly basis. Images were taken at many locations and have been posted at: http://matchgrun.com
Match and his wife Angela live in Englewood, Colorado, with their two cats Punkin and Jasper. They have two daughters, Susan and Nicola. Match can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
 XNMA03 10_2051 On January 20th, CNCC will have Weldon Lee present: The Wild Horse: Symbol of the American West
Mr. Lee will present a program about the wild horse, their origins and the problems they are facing in today’s world. You’ll learn how he is using his images to help protect them, which in turn will give other photographers ideas on how they can use their images for the preservation of wild places and the protection of our wild brothers and sisters.
Weldon Lee Wildlife Photographer, Writer, & Photo Tour Operator
 Weldon & Diana - © Randy Wegener Weldon Lee travels around the globe to the world’s most exotic locations photographing wildlife and capturing the essence of their personalities in his images. He has a special way of communicating with animals and his images depict that relationship.
Weldon’s work has been exhibited in the Denver Museum of Natural History and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. A University of Northern Iowa photography professor ranks Weldon among the top five wildlife photographers in North America.
Weldon’s early work focused on wildlife in the Rocky Mountains. His first book, Watchable Birds of the Rocky Mountains, initially published in 1992, contains over 50 photographs depicting a cross-section of the avian species found throughout the Rocky Mountains. Erwin and Peggy Bauer, friends and lifelong wildlife photographers, had this to say about his second book, “No region of North America offers so many opportunities for wildlife photographers as the Rocky Mountains. No one has ever described its wildlife and captured their natural beauty so thoroughly as Weldon Lee in A Guide to Photographing Rocky Mountain Wildlife.”
Weldon’s images and articles have appeared in numerous magazines including Mature Outlook, National Wildlife, Backpacker, National Parks Magazine, Bird Watcher’s Digest, Outdoor Photographer, Petersen’s PHOTOgraphic, and Nature Photographer. In addition, his photos illustrate text and natural history books by Macmillan, Westcliffe, Falcon Press, and Roberts Rinehart to name just a few. Weldon’s work has been featured on all the major television networks including ABC, CBS, and NBC.
In January, 1995, Weldon was elected Chair of the Education Committee of the North American Nature Photography (NANPA) and served three years in that capacity. In addition to being a charter NANPA member, he is also a member of Rock Mountain Outdoor Writers & Photographers and in 2007 received that organization’s Selected Works Award for Excellence in Photography. The American Bald Eagle Foundation recently honored Weldon as the 2010 Photographer of the Year.
“Unless we act now, many wildlife species face extinction during this century,” proclaims Weldon. “Hopefully, others will feel the passion I have for our wild brothers and sisters and will motivate them to become involved in wildlife preservation. Maybe, just maybe, my photography and writing will be the tipping point necessary to make that happen.”
Henry David Thoreau wrote, “In wildness is the preservation of the world. ” Let us cherish and protect those wild places and the creatures that inhabit them.”
Together, we can save our wild brothers and sisters. The time to act is NOW!
 Hwy 93
 Lefthand Straw
Our November presenter is Richard Van Pelt presenting - of this special place – photographs of local natural history.
I remember seeing Boulder for the first time, over sixty years ago. My father was driving west, cresting the hill at Legion Park on Arapaho Road. Through the windshield of the car was framed a community set within a special landscape. This was, to my memory, my earliest appreciation of a landscape, of place, and it was beautiful.
I have lived within sight of this locality all of my life. It is my home in the fullest sense that I can know. The pictures that I have made here are informed by those histories, understandings, and memories that accrue from living settled and in place.
As documents of natural history, these photographs do not proclaim toward some fact; they are, rather, a telling-in-shapes whose truths are formal and conceited. The meanings of the pictures are appropriable and general – they are, after all, pictures: poetic and whimsical.
In viewing these photographs you may notice an evenness to the way they look. In all of them, the viewpoint is human and the rendering is literal. I want the pictures that I make to be clear and authentic; they should be readable and trustworthy, well formed in shape and idea. A responsible pride, and trust in the practice of my craft, brings me to the expression of this involvement – the made object, the print itself. It must compel its own autonomous existence, and be fitting and worthy of this special place.
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