This month’s assignment is Long Exposure.

This means you need a slow shutter speed to capture the desired effect. Try manual exposure or time/shutter priority to get the shutter speed to be 1/60 of a second or slower.  A tripod may be useful for sharp images. Most times you can decrease your aperture to F16 to allow for these shutter speeds and not make the picture too bright. Then adding a filter on the lens will even help more. There are neutral density filters and even a polarizer filter will darken your exposure so the longer shutter speed will work.  Notice in your scene where is the motion you want to blur and have some area that is still and will remain sharp. This creates interest and a 3D effect. A wide angle lens or short telephoto lenses are the best. Think about crashing waves, leaves in the wind, clouds moving across the sky, waterfalls or even street scenes. Capture, create and upload some nice photos for the slideshow at the Friday meeting.

We will have a slideshow of the entries on the 28th of August beginning at 10:30 AM Arizona time followed by a preview of September's Monthly Assignment, Nature and Wildlife. 

Facilitated by Mark Guinn

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87357130442?pwd=NVJvWUdTTWdyVFczSjFCMTNNMVZkUT09

Meeting ID: 873 5713 0442

Passcode: 582244

This month's assignment is Nature and Wildlife photography.  We will be talking about the ways to get great photos of the world around us.  Whether it is close by you or many miles away on a special trip you need to know how, when, where and what  to do to improve this type of imaging.  What lens to use, what settings for your camera, when to take the photos, where do you find the animals, where to stand, how to get close, and many more factors to consider.

In the room and on zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87357130442?pwd=NVJvWUdTTWdyVFczSjFCMTNNMVZkUT09

Meeting ID: 873 5713 0442

Passcode: 582244

At the June Smartphone SIG meeting, we viewed couple videos and discussed low angles, changing angles, and using the different phone lenses to gain unique perspectives for photos. We also viewed a few images from members and welcomed a new member.

The group will not meet for July or August and will return to action on September 11th with a recap of the call phone tricks you may have learned over the summer or new ideas you want to follow up on during the fall SIG meetings.

We will not return to the video course we started last winter and spring until October and that will start with a redo of the important class segments that were shown in May. 

As usual, if you have some phone pix to share, either that you are proud of or demonstrating some feature of your phone, please bring them as a JPG file on a flash drive or send them to me at brucehale.bah@gmail.com

This is the September general meeting and will include a presentation entitled Telling a Great Travel Story by Teri Jensen Freeman, one of our club members.   Teri has been traveling the globe for 50 years and taking photographs of cities, nature, sites, culture, people, food and the arts.  She will share tips and approaches for taking photographs that really capture the essence of unique places, cultures and people.  She will use photographs curated from a recent trip and photography workshop to Puglia, Italy, including ancient olive trees, a burrata cheese maker, a paper mache workshop and artisans at work, behind the scenes at a famous palazzo, Gallipoli fisherman, a Fiat road rally, Lecce churches at dusk, shopkeepers, street scenes and a representative selection of picturesque Italian cities, beautiful scenery, wonderful people and delicious food. 

On Friday, September 18th, 2026, we will have another session with Susan to review and give suggestions on your photos you have brought to the meeting or sent to Susan.   

In order to improve our photography, we need opportunities to analyze our images to see if what we intend when we take an image is what is being communicated to the viewer in the most effective way possible.  Our Photo Feedback sessions provide us with an opportunity to do just that. We start by asking "what made you want to photograph that," or "what story do you want to tell with the image", or "what was  your intention?"  Each image presents us with learning opportunities.  We discuss composition, techniques, visual design, and all the elements that help you communicate your intention to the viewer.  We honor you as the maker.  It is your image, and no matter what suggestions are made in the sessions, it is always your choice to take the suggestions or leave them.  Check out the Resources section of our website to see a full description of what our sessions are about.  Whether you submit an image or not, you will find some great learning opportunities to help you progress in your photography, whether a beginner or a more advanced photographer. 

IF YOU PLAN TO JOIN THE GROUP, PLEASE SEND 1-3 PHOTOS TO SUSAN  DINGA, AT SUSANDINGA27@GMAIL.COM, AT LEAST 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING OR BRING THEM ON A THUMB DRIVE.

This month’s assignment is Nature and Wildlife.

We are keeping this all-time favorite again this year. See what you can come up with to show the beauty of the Natural World we live in.  A great nature photo has to be technically sound, creatively interesting, and shows a nature story with nice lighting and good composition.  Be aware of the scene and have your camera ready to capture action when it happens.  Send in your photos to the gallery and we will all enjoy them at the Friday meeting 

We will have a slideshow of the entries on the 25th of September beginning at 10:30 AM Arizona time followed by a preview of October's Monthly Assignment, Post Processing (Before and After). 

Facilitated by Mark Guinn

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87357130442?pwd=NVJvWUdTTWdyVFczSjFCMTNNMVZkUT09

Meeting ID: 873 5713 0442

Passcode: 582244

This month's assignment is the before and after photos.  Show us what the image looked like before you did your work on it and the end result after you did the fabulous editing job.  So, for this session we will discuss and answer questions you may have about the post processing journey you have to go on to get the desired effect.  Global adjustments?  Specific areas?  Color tweeks?  Exposure and shadows and highlight fixes?  Clarity and texture enhancements?  Upload your before and after photos to the gallery on the website to show us your prowess. 

In the room and on zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87357130442?pwd=NVJvWUdTTWdyVFczSjFCMTNNMVZkUT09

Meeting ID: 873 5713 0442

Passcode: 582244

This presentation will be about Photography in Space - additional description will be added when received from the presenter.

Charlie Walker’s career in aerospace industry began in 1972.  Most recently he was an executive at The Boeing Company.  Living in Arizona he now consults, lectures, and writes – also enjoying photography, amateur astronomy and travel.

Walker has experience in the U.S. Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. He has flown as a crewmember aboard three early Space Shuttle missions as private industry’s first researcher in space. That work included the zero-gravity purification of biomedical preparations targeted as pharmaceuticals on Earth..

His career has included research, engineering, operations, management, business development, and government relations. He has authored dozens of papers, articles and book contributions. 

On Friday, October 23rd, 2026, we will have another session with Susan to review and give suggestions on your photos you have brought to the meeting or sent to Susan.   

In order to improve our photography, we need opportunities to analyze our images to see if what we intend when we take an image is what is being communicated to the viewer in the most effective way possible.  Our Photo Feedback sessions provide us with an opportunity to do just that. We start by asking "what made you want to photograph that," or "what story do you want to tell with the image", or "what was  your intention?"  Each image presents us with learning opportunities.  We discuss composition, techniques, visual design, and all the elements that help you communicate your intention to the viewer.  We honor you as the maker.  It is your image, and no matter what suggestions are made in the sessions, it is always your choice to take the suggestions or leave them.  Check out the Resources section of our website to see a full description of what our sessions are about.  Whether you submit an image or not, you will find some great learning opportunities to help you progress in your photography, whether a beginner or a more advanced photographer. 

IF YOU PLAN TO JOIN THE GROUP, PLEASE SEND 1-3 PHOTOS TO SUSAN  DINGA, AT SUSANDINGA27@GMAIL.COM, AT LEAST 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING OR BRING THEM ON A THUMB DRIVE.

This month’s assignment is Post Processing (Before and After).

So for this month can you send in each image in 2 parts. One as the original out of the camera and second, the one final image after you have done some post-processing work with your software.  Often, we don’t realize when we look at another photographer's image what was done to make it look that particular way. Everyone has an idea what they want to convey to the observer and processing photos can make that a reality. So send in your “before and after” to the website and we will see them in the slideshow.

We will have a slideshow of the entries on the 23rd of October beginning at 10:30 AM Arizona time followed by a preview of November's Monthly Assignment, High Key Photography. 

Facilitated by Mark Guinn

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87357130442?pwd=NVJvWUdTTWdyVFczSjFCMTNNMVZkUT09

Meeting ID: 873 5713 0442

Passcode: 582244

On Friday, November 11th, 2026, we will have another session with Susan to review and give suggestions on your photos you have brought to the meeting or sent to Susan.   

In order to improve our photography, we need opportunities to analyze our images to see if what we intend when we take an image is what is being communicated to the viewer in the most effective way possible.  Our Photo Feedback sessions provide us with an opportunity to do just that. We start by asking "what made you want to photograph that," or "what story do you want to tell with the image", or "what was  your intention?"  Each image presents us with learning opportunities.  We discuss composition, techniques, visual design, and all the elements that help you communicate your intention to the viewer.  We honor you as the maker.  It is your image, and no matter what suggestions are made in the sessions, it is always your choice to take the suggestions or leave them.  Check out the Resources section of our website to see a full description of what our sessions are about.  Whether you submit an image or not, you will find some great learning opportunities to help you progress in your photography, whether a beginner or a more advanced photographer. 

IF YOU PLAN TO JOIN THE GROUP, PLEASE SEND 1-3 PHOTOS TO SUSAN  DINGA, AT SUSANDINGA27@GMAIL.COM, AT LEAST 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING OR BRING THEM ON A THUMB DRIVE.

This month’s assignment is High Key Photography.

This is where the image has a bright background and the subject is well exposed. It can be done outdoors with the sun in front of you or indoors with a window or with a flash on the background in a room. A helpful hint is to use exposure compensation or shoot in manual mode. The camera will want to make an evenly exposed photo and perhaps darken the subject too much. This calls for you the photographer to override the camera. Maybe using spot metering on the subject will work as well. Let’s see what you all come up with for this last assignment of the year. We will view them all at the Friday morning meeting slideshow.

We will have a slideshow of the entries on the 27th of November beginning at 10:30 AM Arizona time. 

Facilitated by Mark Guinn

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87357130442?pwd=NVJvWUdTTWdyVFczSjFCMTNNMVZkUT09

Meeting ID: 873 5713 0442

Passcode: 582244

On Friday, December 18th 2026, we will have another session with Susan to review and give suggestions on your photos you have brought to the meeting or sent to Susan.   

In order to improve our photography, we need opportunities to analyze our images to see if what we intend when we take an image is what is being communicated to the viewer in the most effective way possible.  Our Photo Feedback sessions provide us with an opportunity to do just that. We start by asking "what made you want to photograph that," or "what story do you want to tell with the image", or "what was  your intention?"  Each image presents us with learning opportunities.  We discuss composition, techniques, visual design, and all the elements that help you communicate your intention to the viewer.  We honor you as the maker.  It is your image, and no matter what suggestions are made in the sessions, it is always your choice to take the suggestions or leave them.  Check out the Resources section of our website to see a full description of what our sessions are about.  Whether you submit an image or not, you will find some great learning opportunities to help you progress in your photography, whether a beginner or a more advanced photographer. 

IF YOU PLAN TO JOIN THE GROUP, PLEASE SEND 1-3 PHOTOS TO SUSAN  DINGA, AT SUSANDINGA27@GMAIL.COM, AT LEAST 3 DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING OR BRING THEM ON A THUMB DRIVE.

This will be the January 2027 general meeting including a presentation by club member, Daniel LaCroix.   Speaker information and presentation content will be updated in Fall 2026.