Hey everyone! Six months has just about passed since we brought up the challenge of everyone tackling a Personal Project. How is it going…? I know it is easy to get distracted, discouraged, etc. but this should be fun with no pressure. If you remember, my personal project was to take one second of video a day, with only my cell phone, and then compile these ‘seconds’ by month. I will admit I missed a couple days here and there. Below is May and you will see there is no rhyme or reason on what was used but as I watch it, it has meaning or sparks a memory to me. I did not do any color correction as well -trying to keep it easy so this is straight out of the phone. I am learning things along the way which will be shared (hopefully by others) on a post towards the end of the year. HERE is a B&H video on the importance of personal projects and I encourage everyone to give it a try and continue to learn!

Don’t forget that next month’s meeting (July 10th) is ‘No Judge July’ and will instead be a workshop. More info on that in the next post. But with our recent tutorials on street photography and portraits we asked members to take a self portrait and submit it before the next meeting. No rules! it can be serious, funny, creative, whatever as long as YOU took it of YOURSELF. HERE is a link to some crazy self portraits and HERE is a link with some additional tips. Need some advice and how to smile (Ken)? Check out the video below.

And have you heard the saying ‘go big or go home’? Well, we followed that rule and ordered a new screen to display our images. It is BIG and will make our old screen look like a 13 inch TV. Our hope is that with our growing membership, everyone will be able to enjoy the images- even from the ‘cheap seats’! It may take some time to adjust the color/contrast from projector to screen but we will get there!

You know I am a sucker for timelapse photography and Terry forwarded this National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest Award Winner. It was taken at Crater Lake National Park in – yes – the Winter! Remember our Special Assignment Category is ‘Snow and Ice’ although I won’t be camping with these recent temperatures!

Last week’s post showed a video of how to probably not use your fancy camera gear. HERE is a related post on ‘Things Your Camera Wishes You Knew’!

Also, I received and several emails about a Wildlife Photo Shoot in Sandstone Minnesota and a Dane County Wildlife Photography Contest.

First, the Minnesota Wildlife Connection can provide a unique and different experience for an amateur and/or professional photographer. At this facility an animal native to Minnesota’s habitat is placed in a natural, controlled situation to provide photo opportunities for an individual. Lee Greenly, the owner of Minnesota Wildlife Connection, is offering a Non-pro photo session as a fundraiser for Harvest Christian School in Sandstone, Minnesota. The proceeds from this photo session will go to benefit the school and assist in keeping it in working condition. During this session, a photographer will be able to experience three hours with three different animals. (One hour per animal.) The animals photographed will depend solely on what Lee Greenly chooses as he will act as a “group leader”. The price for a non-pro shoot is $200 and will be held on Saturday, February 16th. Space is limited so contact mnwildlife@gmail.com if interested.

And then, Dane County Humane Society’s Four Lakes Wildlife Center is hosting a Wisconsin wildlife photo contest called “Focus on Wildlife”. They are a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation program in Dane County Humane Society and have cared for over 3,000 wild animals in 2012. This contest is a fundraiser for the program and will have some great prizes including publication in a Wisconsin magazine for the winners. HERE is the website for more info.

As we know, there are so many resources on the web it can be overwhelming. Ted Johnston forwarded on a link to some of the best Photography Websites. Check the list out HERE. Keep shooting and we will see you all in a couple of weeks!

Artists JR and Liu Bolin teamed up to create this ‘scene blend’ photograph in New York City. Click on the video below by RHC to see how it was done.

Time-lapse photography is becoming more popular and it is getting easier to do with software that comes standard with your computer. Might be a tutorial opportunity? This first video assembles photos of Earth from space. The city lights and aurora borealis are amazing.

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

This next video time-lapse is of clouds and fog in San Francisco. Photographer Simon Christen used a Canon 40D to capture these stunning images. Simon says he used a shutter speed of around 4 seconds while taking a picture every 5-6 seconds.

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.