Camera Club Christmas Dinner

By Rex Dolby

The pictures of the Wassenberg Camera Club’s outstanding print and slide for 2011 are included with this week’s club news. Will Hawkins won the print division with his close-up of a dewy rose, while Jodi Hattery’s picture of a cardinal during a snowfall was selected as the best slide of the year

In my November 23rd column I offered some suggestions for taking pictures during the holidays with a slant toward Thanksgiving. Nearly all those suggestions would also apply at Christmas time as well. One subject, however, that is of addedinterest at Christmas time is outdoor lighting, and it is about that subject that I offer the following suggestions.

Scout potential sites ahead of time to see when the lights are on. Ideally, it will be a little

before sunset. Make sure you have a tripod, extra batteries (cold really shortens battery life) and plenty of memory on camera’s card.  If possible, gamble a little that there will be some snow on the ground to reflect the light before the lights are turned off or taken down. Whenever you do decide this is the evening to shoot, try to arrive a little before sundown while there is still light to show the surroundings. Start too soon and the lights won’t show and if you’re too late, the surroundings won’t show.

Once you’re set up, take a number of pictures as the light from the sky fades. Otherwise, since the human eye records a greater range of light than a camera, you might miss the ideal time.  From that series pick the one where the brightness of the lights and surroundings are, or nearly, equal depending on your taste.  That window of prime time

shooting may only span 10 minutes.

For regular lights, set the white balance on tungsten.  For LED lights, you’ll have to try a number of settings to find the one that provides the most acceptable color results.  You may want to try a cross-screen filter.  It will turn every pinpoint of light into a multi pointed star.

The Wassenberg Camera Club’s next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, at the Wassenberg Art Center. “Celebrations” will be the competition theme for prints and slides that evening.

Happy New Year!

Contact the art center at 419.238.6837 via wassenbergdirector@embarqmail.com or visit our website at: wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 643 S. Washington St. in Van Wert.