South Carolina Photography Guild

As Spring hits, so too does the urge to capture the beauty of birds and blooms…Magnolia Gardens is a popular SCPG hangout on the weekends.  Here’s some great samples from recent trips in there, courtesy of Marti, Susan, and Thomas: 

On request from some of the members of the board, a general article that discusses the different types of review and critique methods for photography has been assembled for club and individual use. It’s a lengthy, but hopefully helpful read for anyone who ever looks at photos from a critical eye. It’s linked both here on the blog under the Articles heading, as well as on the SCPG main page, and to the rest of the world, via this link here. Feel free to download, read, use, and even comment on here with your thoughts and feedback!

Marti and Manoj both brought b/w beauties back from Bull Island…and a bug.  What can I say, I love alliteration.  In any case, offering more fun “fame and glory” for photogs (there I go again) is the order for the morning, so without further delay, here’s the recent black and whites (and a bug) that were shared in the forums:

Manoj:   Marti:  and a bug (Manoj):  

As a pretty well-travelled person in the world of online photo communities, I have submitted many photos for critique and evaluation by my peers and fellow enthusiasts.  Today whilst in the midst of my community-hopping, I found a blog that did a Top Ten list of photo critique annoyances.  Made tongue-in-cheek, the humor is evident as there is a ring of truth to each of the “Top Ten” items.  I’d like to share that blog post here:

JMG Galleries Blog

In other fun photo news (particularly since I own one myself), a new comet was discovered with an entry level SLR (Canon 350D).  Confirmed by scientists and with visual imagery to illustrate the find, I was quite surprised my baby little XT could capture this - if only I knew more about astrophotography!

Some really nice shots are coming in from the group that went on the Bull Island trip.  Rather than “fill” with words, here’s a photo montage from Sarah, Deb and Susan respectively…

We definitely got our muscles worked out on the most recent outing. Susan has her “diary” of the days events up in the forums. It’s a good read, so stop on over to check it out. Shots are already starting to trickle in. As a teaser, and since I’ve not gotten permission from any of the ones posted yet, here is one of the better shots I got and took a few minutes to run through my post capture process:

Heather joined us for another shoot and thoroughly enjoyed herself. She claims the brisk walk back to catch the 12 noon ferry was the equivalent of being rocked to sleep for her unborn child. We are glad to have her with us, but were even happier to hear she made it home again safely. I am sure her blog will have quite a storyline in the next day or two, so remember to visit her soon. If she would like, we’d be happy to post a few of her pics here with the rest of the gangs for cross-posting fun! Sorry Margo wasn’t able to make it - but mark your calendars: Brookgreen Gardens is coming up soon in April!

In the announcement for the upcoming SCPG activities, I neglected to mention our current Monthly Challenge.  For the entire month of March, we are keeping the following “Scavenger Hunt” list in our back pockets and trying to think of unique ways to capture the essence of the following concepts in imagery…

soft
opposite
temptation
still life
metallic
coffee
foil
broken
framed
wrinkled

Come see the results so far and share your own ideas in the SCPG forums!

A few slots have actually opened up in our sunrise venture out to Bull Island - we have a chartered ferry departing early in the morning so we can catch some sunrise shots on the beaches and down by the Boneyard.  This is a unique opportunity to view and take pictures of perspectives that are rarely seen.  The cost is $35 for the “premium” departure, so if anyone is interested, email me here, or alternatively, comment on this post and I will email you my number for more information.  These slots will be available on a first come-first serve basis, so the first 3 confirmed people to reply will get these spots.  Reserve your spot today!

The next few months for the SCPG will be quite busy as we have several events occuring that have already been scheduled.  Here is a listing of what to look for in the months ahead:

3-17-07:  Bull Island  - Join us for some fun and sun as we capture varying perspectives on this wonderful reserve.  One area to definitely check out is the famous “Boneyard”.  Contact Coastal Expeditions for ferry departure times and pricing.

3-31-07:  Workshop - As part of our continuing series on putting knowledge to use, we will be holding another workshop in the Summerville library.  The subject for this month is “Seeing the Angle to Your Subject”.  Workshops start promptly at 9:30ish and go until exactly 12:30ish (or thereabouts!)

4-10-07:  Matting - Join us for an instructional venture into matting your prints.  This is done partly in preparation for the Inaugural Photo Gallery for the SCPG at the Summerville Library.  Meetings start promptly at 7:30ish and end exactly at 9:00ish (or thereabouts).  Location is St. Lukes Lutheran Church in Summerville. 

4-14-07:  Brookgreen Gardens - Join us as we venture up Route 17 yet again to view the beautiful gardens at Brookgreen, right across from Huntington Beach.  Shoot start time is at 9am, and many plan to carpool from the local area, leaving around 6:30

4-28-07:  Workshop - Join us at the Summerville library as we continue on our trek toward better understanding of the photo world and the way we capture it.  This month the subject will be “The area behind your subject”

5-1-07:  Gallery Due Date - Pictures for display in the Inaugural Photo Gallery must be submitted to the Library Committee by this date.  Stop in the forums, or contact Jason by email for more information.

5-12-07:  Workshop - The continuing series.  Scheduled this month is “Visual flow and the Rule of Thirds”  At the conclusion of this workshop, those that wish to stay for the unveiling of our gallery of photos is welcome to join us as we hoist everything up onto the walls to share with the community for the next 3 weeks.

5-19-07:  Monthly Shoot - Location is still TBD, but with this likely being the last month before it starts getting a little sticky outside, odds are we will be visiting Magnolia Gardens, Cypress Gardens, or some other outdoor venue.  If you have a suggestion for a good place to go, stop in the forums and share in the fun!

 A lot of stuff to mark on your calendars!  Remember, walkabouts (scheduled shoots) and workshops are open to all!