South Florida Camera Club

We are very excited to announce that on Thursday, December 2nd at 7:30 pm Benn Mitchell and his wife / manager Ester Mitchell will be coming to South Florida Camera Club!

Benn will be bringing many of his prints and slides to show off his work from his extensive portfolio. Benn will share the stories behind his famous photographs to inspire us artistically, and talk about the craft of creating an amazing photograph. Ester Mitchell will then discuss the management of a successful artist and what it takes to get photography shown in some of the best museums in the world.

From the age of 13 when Benn Mitchell received his first camera he began producing photographs that capture particularly American vitality. Born in New York City he sold his first photographs to LIFE magazine when he was 16. At the age of 17 he headed west, gaining permission from Warner Brothers to frequent the studio shooting the Hollywood stars on the various sets and sound stages. One of his most valued photographs is Humphrey Bogart. After two years of duty as a Navy photographer he returned to New York City and was employed in a large commercial studio. In 1951 he started his own commercial studio. During the weekends and holidays he continued to photograph for his own satisfaction and has won many awards both domestic and internationally, and has been published in many annuals.

This meeting will fill up quickly so try and get there early! If you know anyone you think would be interested in attending this meeting please bring them along!

South Florida Camera Club @ ArtServe
1350 East Sunrise Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Click here for map

On Thursday, November 4th at 7:30 PM Disney fine art photographer Dean Ray from the Disney Event Group will be coming to South Florida Camera Club at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale.

Dean Ray is a former freelance shooter for Canon and now works for the Disney Event Group shooting weddings, corporate events and all types of other events will be coming to SFCC to discuss his professional life as a photographer. Dean will talk about how he got started in the business including his education and background. There are a lot of exciting things about working for Disney’s Event group and we will learn all about them.

In addition to learning about Dean’s career and art, Dean will also teach us his basic lighting concepts and ideas using lighting that he will bring to SFCC. Dean will also teach about the gear he uses and his prep before a shoot. Dean will then go into post production to round out his complete routine.

This will be a very exciting meeting and Dean invites everyone to ask him all the questions they have about this type of business and photography in general.

After the meeting many of us will be going to Peter Pan Diner to talk about all things photography as well as just having fun conversation!

South Florida Camera Club @ ArtServe
1350 East Sunrise Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Click here for map

The theme for October’s photographic competition was “Documentary.” As described by the 2010 theme committee, documentary photography is a historical and candid documentation of the world around us through the lens of our cameras.

Coming in first place was Juan Reyes with his photograph entitled “Children of the Streets” which was taken in Juan’s home country of Paraguay and in the city of Caacupé. Juan visits Paraguay often and says the problem of children living on the streets is becoming more of a problem lately. Juan says the little girl was sitting on a sidewalk next to one of the most visited churches in Paraguay, the Basilica de Caacupe.

Coming in second place was Barbie Pearson with her photograph entitled “Balinese Women” which she took in 1999 in Bali. Barbie says the scene was a funeral procession for a prominent man that lived in this small village.

Coming in third place was Linda Bernhard with her photograph entitled “Peruvian Poverty” which she captured while visiting a small Peruvian village in the Andes Mountains. Linda says the woman was walking up to people on the street begging for money.

Juan is now eligible to win a brand new Nikon D400 or Canon 8D at the end of the year competition for “Best Photograph of the Year”. His photograph is being framed by Frame Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, and will hang in UNCOMMON Gallery throughout the month of November. Juan, Barbie and Linda have also earned points in the competition for “Photographer of the Year”!

On October 7th at 7:30pm Emanuel Pontoriero will be coming to South Florida Camera club to teach a Seminar about Kicking up your Creativity thru Composition, Lighting, and Psychology. This seminar is free for all SFCC paid members and will be $40 at the door for non-paid member.

Any photograph that has ever captured your attention is the bi-product of correctly executed compositional and lighting technique. Techniques that affect you, the viewer, psychologically. This is why certain photos stand out in your mind long after you have viewed them. Manny’s seminar teaches you some of those rules but more importantly Manny will teach why they work, the psychology. This empowers you to not just use any rule but specific rules that are congruent with what you are trying to express. It is the difference between shooting an arrow in the air and hitting something or shooting the arrow and hitting the bulls-eye!

At 18 years old and in High School, Manny started out as an apprentice to photographer and custom color printer David West. Just three months into his 3 year apprenticeship Manny won his first Blue Ribbon (First Place) at the Professional Photographers Association of New Jersey, BPH Chapter.

Soon after, he became Print Chairman in charge of print competition for three consecutive years. In 1980, after winning many local awards, Manny won The Fassbender Award at the Atlantic City Convention of the Professional Photographers of New Jersey. At 22 years old he was the youngest to receive this prestigious award.

Manny has also been a member of the Professional Photographers of America, Professional Photographers of North Eastern Pennsylvania, and Professional Photographers of Greater New York, where he continued to receive awards for his photographic excellence. As a result, he lectured to other professionals at local and statewide meetings. When he lived in New Jersey some of his commercial accounts were Unilever Brothers, Prudential Securities N.Y., Prudential Bache Great Britton, YKK Zippers, Corporate Express.

In 1993 he received a “Certified Professional Photographer” degree with the Professional Photographers of America. At that time there were only eleven photographers in the entire state of New Jersey to receive this distinction.

In 2005 he held a photo exhibit at the Pasco Arts Council. Opening night, he was received by a standing room only crowd. Manny broke all their attendance records as well as sales records. Besides having his own photography business Manny finds time to conduct major seminars throughout Florida and has been a guest speaker at numerous amateur photo clubs.

If you are not a member of South Florida Camera Club yet and would like to become one, just head over to our “Join Now” page an sign up

South Florida Camera Club @ ArtServe
1350 East Sunrise Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Click here for map

On Thursday, September 30th starting at 8:00 PM South Florida Camera Club members Tracy Mendy, Kara Lynn Starzyk and Danny Hammontree will be showing their photography at Brew Urban Café in Downtown Fort Lauderdale for “Dialect.”

Everyone at South Florida Camera Club is invited to come celebrate the personal expression of your fellow SFCC members including myself!

This day just happens to be my 40th birthday as well, and it would make me especially happy to have everyone come out and celebrate with me at this event!

If you get lost and need directions of have any questions please give me a call at 305-905-4122.

Brew Urban Café
209 SW 2nd Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Click here for map

On Sunday, October 3rd from 4:30 thru 7:30 PM The Mendy House in Fort Lauderdale will be holding a photography workshop to help you sharpen your skills, gain experience with models and posing, and walk away with a variety of images for your portfolio that will help insure you get the photography gigs you are looking for!

The Shoot Out will include five models complete with hair, makeup, and full wardrobe, provided by The Academy of Glam in the following themes:  Bridal, Vintage Pinup, Glamour, Fashion and Avante Guard. This shoot out will take place in a beautiful house/studio known at the “Mango House” as well as on the property which has many props and scenic backdrops.

The Mendy House is located at The Mango House in the FAT Village Arts District in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. This beautiful and eccentric house and property has been transformed into an ideal indoor and outdoor studio for all your photography needs!

Space in this workshop is limited to the first ten photographers that register online! The regular price for this workshop is $300, but South Florida Camera Club members get a discount rate of $250! If you are an SFCC member please go to the “Join Now” link in red on the SFCC website so you can pay online.  You can also call Tracy Mendy to reserve your spot at 754-246-8588.

The theme for September’s photographic competition was “Painting with light” which in my opinion is best described by searching “Painting with light” at Flickr.com. Many of the prints in the competition were excellent and truly embodied this month’s theme, but one of them pulled away from the rest and placed first with twenty-two votes!

Coming in first place was Daniel Korzeniewski with his print entitled “On Fire” which was photographed with a wide angle 10-20 lens and his Nikon D300. Daniel mounted his camera on a tripod to take two minute exposures and then used a red flashlight with a red filter to paint over her body. He then used an LED flashlight with a diffuser in front of a snoot made of cardboard in order to have the light concentrated and avoid light spill. With the LED light he painted on top of the burning red light to create the white lines over her body. The last step was to walk around her with glow sticks to create the light streams around her.

Coming in second place was Svetlana Chapman with her print entitled “Lilly of Fire”. Svetlana created her image in her home studio using a black background. She then used her friend as a model and a candle as the lighting prop, and took four or five photographs before she created the one she liked best. Svetlana then used photoshop to enhance the models eyes but left the rest as is.

Coming in third place was James McCullam with his print entitled “Lanterns”. James made his image at Morikami Bon Fest in Delray Beach, Florida. The Bon Fest is a festival saying thanks to one’s ancestors for one’s quality of life and is the cornerstone of the Bon Festival held every August at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. James used his Canon 1Ds Mark II camera and 135mm lens to create his photograph and shot the exposure 1/50 of a second at 2.8.

Daniel is now eligible to win a brand new Nikon D400 or Canon 8D at the end of the year competition for “Best Photograph of the Year”. His photograph is being framed by Frame Gallery in Fort Lauderdale, and will hang in UNCOMMON Gallery throughout the month of October. Daniel, Svetlana and James have also earned points in the competition for “Photographer of the Year”! Make sure to attend the Gallery Night Party on Friday, October 8th, 2010 to see Daniel’s print is all its glory.

On Thursday, October 14th from 5:30 till 7:00 PM South Florida Camera Club member Barbie Pearson will be exhibiting three framed art pieces of her cats Precious and Nauticia at the Cornell Museum’s Fall/Holiday Exhibit Opening Reception for “The Cat’s Meow”

Barbie is very excited about this exhibit and invites everyone at South Florida Camera Club to come out and celebrate with her “The Cat’s Meow” – A Perrrfect Celebration of Cats… From Mild to Wild!

After the show all of us from South Florida Camera Club will head over to Dada’s for drinks and yummy food! This will be a very fun event you will not want to miss!

Cornell Museum or Art & American Culture
51 N. Swinton Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
Click here for map

Since our meeting at Sam Robles studio many of you have been inquiring about the four day workshop Sam is teaching on lighting.

In this workshop you will learn:

-Different types of lighting gear and how to use them;
-Different types of lighting set up;
-Why and where to use lights on your images;
-and much more!

This four day workshop is usually $180 but for South Florida Camera Club members, Sam is offering the special price of $150 for the full four days.
Head over to this link for more details and to sign up for the workshop: http://27studiosfl.com/blog/ This workshop starts on September 15th so hurry

Congratulations to Vionette Torres for her first place win in August’s photographic competition with her print entitled “Eiffel Over Rooftops” Coming in second place was Jeff Zwickel with his print entitled “Egyptian Morning” , and in third place was Daniel Korzeniewski with his print entitled “Grand Canyon Sunset”.

Vionette Torres is now eligible to win a brand new Nikon D400 or Canon 8D at our end of the year “Big Party!” Vionette’s print will now be custom framed by Frame Gallery in Fort Lauderdale and will hang in UNCOMMON Gallery for the month of September!

(Daniel  Korzeniewski, Vionette Torres and Jeff Zwickel)

Congratulation to our first place winner “Michael Mix”, second place winner “James McCallum” and our third place winner “Darren Pace” in the photographic competition for July 2010! Michael Mix is now eligible to win a brand new Nikon D400 or Canon 8D at our end of the year “Big Party!” Michael’s print will now be custom framed by Frame Gallery in Fort Lauderdale and will hang in UNCOMMON Gallery for the month of August!

(James McCallum, Michael Mix and Darren Pace)

South Florida Camera Club wants to thank our longtime friend Seth Resnick for yet another wonderful presentation on Lightroom 3. After tonight’s presentation Seth offered our members a special discount code “SFCC” to receive $250 off his upcoming four day workshop on Lightroom 3, right here at the auditorium in ArtServe, August 6th thru the 9th. I myself will be taking this workshop and look forward to taking it with you! To sign up for the workshop, head over to Seth’s D-65 website and remember to use the discount code “SFCC”. http://d65.com

Danny Hammontree, Bryan Johnson, Bob Mulligan, Jessica Adeline, Jenifer Andrews, Tracy Mendy, Darren Pace, George Quiroga, Fred Safran, Jamie Spritzer, Daniel Korzeniewski, Seth Resnick, Justin Rosenberg, Linda St Hilaire, Marty Fuchs, Tony Annese, Mia Wheaton, Ben Baron, Kady Chatterton, Daniel Hall, and Leonardo Glusman.