MEETING NOTES

This section contains minutes taken by the Club Secretary during the last three regular membership meetings as well as the last three Board/Officer meetings.

I. Regular Membership Meetings

OAK RUN PHOTO CLUB

Minutes of Meeting

February 8, 2010

 

The meeting was held in the Orchid Club Auditorium, and was called  to order at 7:00PM by President Laurie Stamm.   29 members were present, 1 new member and 3 guests were welcomed.

 

Club Business:

Members were reminded that Area of Concentration forms are still available.

The 10-week Digital Photography Class will begin this Friday, February 12th, and will be held in the Orchid Club Auditorium from 1:30 to 3:30. Each session will include a question/answer period.  The list of weekly sessions is posted on the Club’s website.

 

Treasurer’s Report:

The treasury balance is $777.53, consisting of $768.48 in checking and $9.05 in petty cash. $300 is considered “in reserve” for the projector bulb, with a net availability of $477.53.

To date, $617.00 has been contributed toward the $645.23 spent for the laptop computer and carry case.

Minutes:  

The minutes of the January, 2010 meeting were approved as posted on the website.

PROGRAM:

The evening’s scheduled guest speaker, P. J. Luckey, had to postpone her appearance until the April meeting.

Bob Durocher introduced the program for the evening, a DVD presentation entitled: “Meet the Masters: Travels to the Edge-Trip to Japan”, produced by Art Wolfe.

The  program was followed up with questions and observations by Bob, NC Sizemore, and Art Holt. They stressed patience, anticipation, composition, and storytelling via a series of pictures were the lessons to take away from this presentation.

CD:  VETERANS’ DAY, NOVEMBER, 2009:

The photos were taken by Marty O’Grady and his ORHA Photo Support Committee members, during ceremonies at Ocala’s Veterans’ Memorial Park.  The music was added by NC Sizemore.

PHOTO REVIEW:

This month’s digital photo review was put together by NC Sizemore, and was followed by prints displayed in the Light Box. The deadline for next month’s digital photo submission is March 1st.

YEAR END COMPETITION:

The deadline for submitting photos is the May 10th meeting. The submissions will be judged by 3 outside judges. This year, with the addition of the “creative”  category, members will pick  two “People’s Choice” awards at the June meeting.  Rules are posted on the website. Photos submitted should be from the period of May, 2009 to May, 2010.  The forms to be attached to the back of submissions can be downloaded from the website.

FIELD TRIP:

Walt Markowski announced that the Field Trip will be to Dudley Farms State Park on Saturday, February 13th.  Departure time is 8:30 from the Palm Grove Fitness Center lot. The trip will include a one-hour tour, with time after for photos. Lunch will follow at Haile Bistro in Haile Plantation, Gainesville.

60/40 & 50/50:

Connie Swakla conducted the raffles; the 60/40 was won by Laurie Stamm, and the 50/50 by Joe Reilly.

ADJOURNMENT:

The next meeting will be held on Monday, March 8, 2010. Members were reminded to leave their name tags in the designated box as they exited the auditorium. The meeting was adjourned at 9:10PM.

 

OAK RUN PHOTO CLUB

Minutes of Meeting

January 11, 2010

The meeting was held in the Orchid Club Auditorium and was called to order at 7:00PM by President Laurie Stamm. Twenty-five members were present, and one guest was welcomed.

Club Business:

Members were reminded to turn in Area of Concentration forms. Blanks were available for anyone needing them.

The ten-week Digital Photography Class, open to ALL Oak Run residents, will begin on Friday, February 12, 2010 at 1:30, and will run for ten weeks. Each session will consist of a two-hour presentation which will include a question and answer period.  The full schedule can be viewed on the Club’s website.

The Club has a new computer, thanks to the efforts of Jim Dillman and Mike Baker.  The cost was $645.23.  To date, $464.00 of the cost has been covered by donations from members, and the 50/50 monthly raffles. Donations are still being accepted toward the remaining cost.

Treasurer’s Report:

$672.49 on hand, as follows: $663.48 in checking; $9.05 in petty cash.  $300.00 of that amount is considered “reserve” for the projector bulb. Net availability is

$372.49.

 

MINUTES: The December, 2009 minutes were approved as posted on the website.

GUEST SPEAKER:  Bob Durocher introduced the evening’s speaker, CATHY LAURENZI, from High Springs.  Bob met Cathy at the Thornbrook Art Show, which is held annually on the first weekend of October.  Cathy’s “specialty” is digitally enhanced photos which resemble Impressionist artwork, as well as untouched images of her travels and love of nature. She emphasized that she takes out what is not necessary in many of her photos, and showed several examples in her presentation.  The slide show also consisted of examples of unusual lens choices, turning off the flash, shallow depth of field, and photographing famous, familiar places in a unique way.  Cathy’s work can be seen at her website: www.bellezzafineart.com.

PHOTO REVIEW:  This month’s DIGITAL REVIEW  was prepared by Art Holt, and it contained images from member’s holiday photos and the Field Trip to Ocali Days at Silver Springs, and areas of concentration.  This was followed by a LIGHT BOX review of prints brought to the meeting.

It was noted that at the submission deadline for this month, there were not many images for this month’s digital review, so Art contacted those who had sent photos this month to submit additional images. 

Beginning with the February review, members should continue to submit two photos, and one additional photo in an area of concentration.  However, members may submit photos on any subject taken during the current season from September to June. Additional digital images may be requested, at the discretion of the person preparing the review.

The deadline to submit digital photos to the club’s site is February 1, 2010.

The email address is: orpcphotoreview@hotmail.com.

YEAR-END COMPETITION:   The deadline for submitting photos will be the May 10, 2010 meeting.  Photos will be judged by three outside judges prior to the June 14th meeting.  All photos will then be shown at the June meeting, and Club members will have an opportunity to choose their favorite in both the “Non-Creative” and the newly added “Creative” category.

60/40 & 50/50:   Connie Swakla conducted the raffles, with NC Sizemore winning the 60/40 and Carolee Carter winning the 50/50.

ADJOURNMENT:  Members were reminded to drop their name tags in the box as they exit the meeting. The next meeting will be on Monday, February 8, 2010 at 7:00PM in the Orchid Club Auditorium.   The meeting was adjourned at 8:55PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Trinette Collmer

 

MINUTES OF MEETING OF

OAK RUN PHOTO CLUB

NOVEMBER 9, 2009

The November meeting was held in the Orchid Club Auditorium and called to order at 7:00PM by President, Laurie Stamm.  30 Members were present, and two new members were welcomed.

Welcome/New Business:  Laurie announced that this is the last day to purchase tickets to the Christmas Luncheon & Tour at the Florida Carriage Museum on Saturday, December 5th. Tickets are available at this meeting and can be purchased from Secretary Trinette Collmer.  To date, 23 have signed to attend, with only 13 for the bus. If the Museum will not send the bus, carpooling will have to be arranged.

A ten-week Digital Photography course will be held in the Orchid Club Auditorium from 1:30 to 3:30 Friday afternoons, beginning February 12th. The presentations will be open to all Oak Run residents.  The classes will be presented in DVD format by “Travels to the Edge” producer John Greengo.

The Minutes of the October 12th meeting were approved as posted on the website.

Laurie announced the Treasury balance of $941.42 - $933.87 in checking and $8.05 cash. The report was prepared by Treasurer Jim Collmer.  Of that amount $120 is allocated to the Christmas luncheon, $300 is being held as contingency for the projector bulb, and $49 is for the “computer fund”.

Laurie noted that the club has been relying on members NC Sizemore’s and Art Holt’s computers for several seasons, and announced that the Club is seeking donations to take advantage of seasonal sales to buy a computer for the club. To date, eight members have pledged $25, and $150 could be allocated from the Treasury.  The cost is estimated to be in the $500-$700 range.  Discussion followed as to why a dedicated unit is needed for preparing photo reviews, etc.

Guest Speaker:  NC Sizemore introduced Scott Hughes, a Photographer/Journalist. Scott  is a native Ocalan who graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and  was influenced by Ansel Adams, Scott Kelby, Alfred Stieglitz, and numerous others.  Scott presented a DVD program entitled “The Art of Seeing”.  He graciously answered questions from the floor, and left a two-page handout for each member.

Photo Review:  NC produced this evening’s review, consisting of digital and printed photos taken between the September field trip and November 2nd. Areas of concentration and creative photos were included.

Photos for the January meeting must be submitted no later than Monday, January 4th. Subjects should include the November Field Trip, Holiday Photos, and Areas of Concentration.

Field Trip:   Walt Markowski announced that this month’s trip will be to Silver River State Park for “Ocali Days”, on Saturday, November 14th.  The group will leave from the Health Facility lot of the Palm Grove facility at 8:15AM.  Parking is free, but there is an entrance fee of $5.00.  Maps and directions will be provided that morning.

60/40 and 50/50:  Connie Swakla conducted this month’s drawings.  The 60/40 was won by Warner Malson, and Muriel Koehler won the 50/50.

Adjournment:  The next meeting will be held on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 7:00PM, in the Orchid Club Auditorium. Members were reminded to drop their nametags in the designated box as they leave the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Trinette Collmer,

Secretary

 

II. Board/Officer Meetings

OAK RUN PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING

ORPC Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

July 10, 2009

The Oak Run Photo Club Board of Directors, along with various Committee members, met on Friday, July 10th beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Orchid Club.  Present were:  Mike Baker, Carolee Carter, Art Holt, John Jacobson, Warner Malson, Walt Markowski, Marty O’Grady, NC Sizemore, Laurie Stamm and Connie Swakla.

Laurie began the meeting by announcing that the Program Committee consisted of Art Holt, NC Sizemore, John Jacobson, Bob Durocher and Mike Baker.  John had already been slated for the Field Trip Committee as well, and when asked which committee he would prefer, he elected to remain with Field Trips.  Therefore, the Program Committee is tasked with finding another member.

Reporting for Bob Durocher, NC said that Bob was willing to be the Chair of the Program Committee if each member would agree to be responsible for one or two monthly programs. NC said Bob had agreed to take two and he would take two. Art and Mike agreed.  The committee members were in agreement that this would not be a problem.  Bob has already met with one possible speaker, Kate Hart, who has had an interesting career that includes a strong focus on photography.  The group said it would be a good choice for the September meeting if she was available.  Other suggestions for speakers were discussed.

Laurie reminded the Program Committee that they needed to schedule a meeting prior to the launch of the new season to develop the season’s schedule as well as to find a venue for the 2010 Christmas luncheon.  She added that the meeting should also include a discussion on how to run the annual competition at the end of the season as well as the possibility of including an additional category to focus on members’ Areas of Concentration.  NC indicated he would confer with Bob to select a date and email the other members.   Carolee mentioned that she was available to prepare the photo reviews from time to time.

Laurie then reviewed the list of members of the remaining committees as well as a recap of treasury funds.  The group agreed that the membership dues should remain the same but stated that the Rules and Regulations should be updated to reflect that field trips and the Christmas luncheon should be member-only events with the option of adding their spouse/partner.  Additionally, a guest may attend one meeting or field trip but is expected to join the club if they return for additional meetings or field trips.  Laurie agreed to rewrite the document, send it to the Board for a “virtual” vote and upon agreement, email it to the membership.

Funds are in short supply, but Laurie mentioned that we still needed to discover ways in which to purchase a laptop sometime this year if possible.  Carolee again suggested that we could solicit anonymous donations, and after a short discussion, it was agreed that we should mention it beginning at the September meeting and have a box labeled “Contributions for Computer Purchase” set on the display table.  Additionally, Warner suggested we do a separate 50/50 drawing with the proceeds targeted for the laptop.  Art mentioned that perhaps the members could produce photo cards for sale at a consumer site, but the group agreed this may not be easy to do from a marketing/profit standpoint.

Items with little discussion were shared as follows:

 

 

A short discussion ensued concerning limiting the number of members’ photos displayed on the Club’s Flickr site to three of their best photos per month instead of the current ten (note that viewers to the site can click on the link under the photos to be brought to the individual’s Flickr site to see more of their work).  The reasoning is that if ten photos are posted by one member, those are the only photos seen when a viewer opens the site and neglects to “page” to the next set of photos.  The Club uses the site to not only showcase our efforts to the members but also to entice speakers to see the good photography work we produce.  All agreed to the change, and Laurie will advise members via email as well as put a notice on the Flickr site.

Laurie and others then assisted member Jim Dillman to quickly assemble the new light box for displaying photographs during not only monthly photo reviews but also for our annual, judged competition.  The group applauded Jim for his hard work and approved his expenses of $130.76.  Since Jim did not charge any money for his labor, the group approved granting him a one-year membership for his efforts.

Walt then reviewed several field trip options that were under discussion, but since the group had not officially met, a monthly schedule had not yet been developed.  Several suggestions included Crystal River State Park with a possible boat trip included in that event, Ocali Days, Yankeetown, Butterfly Rain Forest and an architectural walking tour of Main Street in Gainesville, and several sites, perhaps guided, in the Ocala National Forest along with a potential llama farm visit.  Everyone agreed that a separate field trip in December to photograph Christmas lights in Oak Run and/or downtown Ocala would be good.

Marty mentioned that he and NC had assembled a photo slideshow on a DVD with music surrounding events on Memorial Day for the ORHA Veterans group and is currently completing another one containing photos from the Fourth of July gathering.  We agreed that there would be time to showcase these at the September meeting since there would not be a photo review.  John said he was working with ORHA to get pictures published on their Picasa site, but the quality on that site is diminished as compared to Flickr.  He added that he also had pictures from our Community Fair to show.

The meeting ended at 10:45 a.m.

(Submitted by Carolee Carter)

 

MARCH 3, 2009 – 10:00 AM

(Stamm Residence)

In attendance: Laurie Stamm, Carolee Carter , Marty O’Grady,  Art Holt, NC Sizemore, Walt Markowski, Jim Collmer, Trinette Collmer

Absent:  Bob Durocher, Bruce Heaton

Discussion of Agenda

 

 

Board Members:

 

President:  Laurie Stamm will accept re-nomination as President, but not as a Program Committee member.  She will continue to attend Program Committee meetings.

Vice President: Carolee Carter will accept re-nomination as Vice President, and will continue to do meeting photo reviews. She will not be able to be a Program Committee member.

Treasurer:  Jim Collmer will accept re-nomination

Secretary:  Trinette Collmer will accept re-nomination

Member at Large: Bob Durocher – willing to continue?

Member at Large: Art Holt – willing to continue?

Committee Members:

 

Program Committee: Art Holt, NC Sizemore are willing to continue; new members needed.

Field Trip Committee:  Bruce Heaton, Walt Markowski, Marty O’Grady are willing to continue – may need to find a replacement for Don Stevens.

ORHA Support Committee: Marty O’Grady is willing to continue.

Publicity: Open

Meeting Support/setup: Fraser Crane will be asked if he is willing to continue

60/40:  Walt Markowski will continue to handle ticket sales/drawings at meetings.

Discussion followed for potential candidates to fill open positions. Board Members will make phone calls to prospective members for openings on the Program, Field Trip and Publicity Committees.

The elections will be discussed at the Photo Club meeting on March 9th.

There is approximately $760.00 in the Treasury, but year-end competition prizes and other expenses will leave approximately $400.00.  Art Holt is willing to make the purchase, and will submit paperwork for reimbursement.   It was suggested that the laptop be purchased at the end of the season, allowing the summer for purchase and getting the computer “program-ready” for the first meeting in September.

Laurie received a call from Jill Hulse of the Canine Club, looking for help in finding a photographer for that club’s annual fundraiser “Take a Picture with Santa”.  Funds from this program are donated to “Pet Meals on Wheels”. The event takes place in October, on a Saturday, from 8-5.  Members bring their pets to be photographed, and are offered on-the-spot photo packages. It was decided that the Photo Club would not be able to participate, but Laurie will contact our January guest speaker, Justin Lohmann, a professional pet photographer, to see if he is interested or could provide suggestions.

A set-up committee is needed for the June 13th Donut Drop.  Club members’ year-end entries will be on display that morning.  It was suggested that, with photographer’s permission, copies of submitted entries could be offered for sale, for the purpose of raising funds for the Photo Club’s laptop computer purchase.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:05AM.

 

OAK RUN PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

JOINT BOARD/COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 9:00AM, Stamm Residence

  

In attendance: Laurie Stamm, Carolee Carter, Bob Durocher, Walt Markowski, Art Holt, Bruce Heaton, Marty O’Grady, Don Stevens, Jim Collmer, Trinette Collmer,

Participating by phone: Carol Norton

 

Discussion of Agenda:

 

1) Laurie said that NC was unable to attend, but had sent comments. He suggested, and it was unanimously agreed by those present, to increase Annual Dues from $8.00 to $10.00 per person. The fee for joining after January 1st will increase to $8.00.  The increase will offset costs such as repair or replacement of the bulb for the digital projector, honorarium for speakers, and the potential future purchase of a Club laptop. Jim reported that the Treasury balance is $460.99 (including petty cash).

 

2) Set-Up Committee: Laurie announced that the Orchid Club auditorium had been secured for meetings thru December, 2009. Meeting dates for the 2008-2009 season are: September 8th, October 13th, November 3rd, January 12th, February 9th, March 9th, April 13th, May 11th and June 8th. There were no volunteers to chair the Set-Up Committee, although some said they would be willing to help out at each meeting. Laurie will ask NC to approach Fraser Crane to see if he would be willing/interested in taking this on and find other volunteers to assist. There will be no use of the kitchen at the meetings.  With regard to the sound room, it was suggested that a group session for training might be in order. Laurie asked if there were any other DECCA cable users who could act as backups for NC in order to have Internet access in the room for the meetings – there were none. Bob will contact NC to discuss this further.

 

3) There will be no challenge to DECCA’s policy on publication of website names within the community.  The Club’s website can be cited in articles sent to The Citizen for publication. The website will also appear on member’s nametags.

 

4) It was agreed that business cards would be a good idea. Hopefully, size and design would include a camera icon,  Club name, meeting date, website address, Flickr address and photo review email address. NC had suggested that the back be printed as well, with an area for individual email addresses. Several of those present had examples of cards purchased from Vista Print. Jim and Trinette will follow up on cost, price breaks for both one side and two side, and pricing for special designs, if a suitable stock design cannot be found.

 

5) Door prizes will continue to be in the amount of $10 each, purchased from Staples, Office Depot, or Walmart by the Treasurer. 

 

6) It was agreed that the Club will NOT renew membership to the Florida Camera Club Council (F3C) when it expires in December.  Participation was minimal, and the DVDs were not helpful or in good working order.

 

7A) .Field Trips: Everyone had read the memo Bruce circulated regarding having three of the coming year’s Field Trips at Rainbow Springs State Park. The dates of the field trips will be scheduled as follows:

September 13th, November  15th, February 21st

 

There is a possibility of a fourth date in April (TBD) to photograph owls, a favorite subject of  Ranger Rik Hammers.

 

The traditional Horse Farm Field Trip will be in April, on either the 18th or 25th. This year’s trip will be to Vanner Valley Farm, to photograph Gypsy Horses. The owner expects mares to be in foal at that time.  Bob Durocher has been in contact with another gypsy horse farm, Gypsy Gold, but the owners are in the process of selling, and while this had been an enjoyable venue in the past, due to the sale, the April, 2009, trip will be to Vanner Valley.  Bruce will follow up for scheduling.  Bob will still follow up with Gypsy Gold, to see if there is a chance of photographing the carriages located there before the expected October sale date.

 

Walt Markowski mentioned a boat trip that runs out of Tavares that would cost $16.00 per person. The Club might consider this for next year’s trips.  The information was passed to the Program Committee members.

 

7B) Programs: Bob suggested utilizing the chapters of the digital photography book by Scott Kelby for hot tips and techniques and classes in conjunction with the field trips to Rainbow Springs.

 

As time is growing short, and to have information for the September Oak Run Newsletter, it was suggested that Leroy Simon be contacted to present his glass photography techniques and show his butterfly slides at the September meeting.

 

Laurie had information on prospective speakers that were collected during last season, and she passed those along to the Program Committee members.

 

Art Holt suggested the idea of having members submit 16x20 mounted photos of their best work, a one-man show type of presentation, opening it up for viewing by the entire community, and maybe holding a show at a bank, gallery or museum.  It was noted that OTOW does something along these lines. Trinette said she would like to follow up at the Appleton to see if they might be interested in hosting a show for retirement communities such as Oak Run, OTOW, and The Villages at some future time.

 

Marty has a 7-1/2 minute slide show of Oak Run’s July 4th activities, and Bruce has a 4-minute presentation on Italy available for review at September’s meeting.

 

The Program Committee will meet on Wednesday, August 6th at 9AM, at Art’s house.

 

8) It will be announced at the September meeting that members will be able to display print photos for review at meetings as well as the digital display.  There was discussion as to whether new poster board and /or some type of easel will have to be purchased to facilitate this.  Bob said there are inexpensive easels available at Hobby Lobby.

 

9) Classes and Workshops: In addition to the Rainbow Springs sessions, Bob Durocher will be conducting “The Art of Seeing” workshop on September 10th and September 12th (7:00PM) at Palm Grove.  These workshops will be open to all Oak Run homeowners, and Laurie and/or Carolee will be on hand each evening to invite participants to attend a Club meeting.

Laurie will contact John Jacobson to see if he is interested in conducting a Photoshop Elements program for the Club, and Alan Marcus about a digital photo presentation.  It was decided that there should be some type of instruction on Flickr as well.  Also, members should be reminded about the process to submit photos to the Hotmail address for photo reviews.

 

10) FLICKR: It was decided to limit the number of photos members can post to 10 per month.  Laurie, NC and Carolee were designated Administrators responsible for removing all photos at the end of the season (prior to June).  After the removal, members will be allowed to put back 10 favorite photos each.

 

11) Website: Everyone is satisfied with the newly updated website, and new information will be posted as available.  Three months of Meeting Minutes and Directors meeting notes will be retained on the site.

 

12) Update on the Christmas Party: It was agreed that this year’s luncheon will be held in Mount Dora at the 5th Avenue Café, on Saturday, December 6th at 1:30PM. The cost is $18.00/pp, including tax and gratuity.  A guarantee of 30 people is required by the restaurant.  There will be four menu choices.  Tickets will be available at the meetings in September, October and November, with the November 3rd meeting being the cut-off date.  Bruce suggested, and it was agreed, that an invitation be extended to Rik Hammers and his wife, as a “thank you” for his Field Trip assistance.  A 30% deposit will be due to the restaurant on November 6th, and final headcount and menu selection given to the restaurant by November 25th.  Laurie will contact the restaurant to confirm.

There was no other new business

Meeting adjourned at 11:00AM

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