Public invited to Q and A session

 By Rex Dolby

The Van Wert Area Photography Club extends a cordial invitation to members of our community who received photography equipment for Christmas, to attend a free question and answer session about their gifts or the subject of photography in general.  The meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 114 S. Race St. here in Van Wert.  People with questions about a specific brand of camera such as Canon or Nikon, for example, will be paired with members who use that brand.   The point of the session is to have folks leave with more information than when they arrived.  No one should worry about  having their question judged. Its answer is what is important.

Should the weather create doubt whether the meeting will be held, call 567-259-8951 for a status report.  If the meeting should be canceled, it will be rescheduled.

Turning to Christmas gifts, my granddaughter gave me a selfie stick.   I did some checking and these products may extend your reach anywhere from 27 to 42 inches.   Units may either fold or telescope into lengths as short as 7.08 inches. Depending on the source and  design  features, they may retail from $9 to $28

Mine carries the Polaroid name and is called a Shutter Stick with a wireless remote shutter release. A key feature is that the stick and the unit that holds the phone have a standard 1/4-20 UNC thread which is the same as the one on both a tripod plate and the bottom of a camera body.  This is significant because I can use the stick as a monopod for my camera and my iPhone now can be mounted on my tripod! With the Bluetooth remote shutter release, at family gatherings I can get everyone in the picture, then have them turn their phones on and I can AirDrop a copy of the picture to them on the spot.

Here are some other situations where the selfie stick might come in handy.  Suppose you dropped a small object on thick shag carpet or in the grass. The flashlight feature on the phone would be brighter when held closer to the surface and the stick would possibly save you from getting down on your hands and knees to search.  If something fell or rolled into an area behind or under an object difficult to move, or the area  was hard to see or reach, the flashlight or camera on the stick may help to locate the item.

I would think law enforcement could make good use of the stick by allowing them to remain safe or undetected as they peered over, through, or around a hedge, wall, or corner to see where the bad guys were without having to expose their hands.

I never thought about owning such a product, but thanks to my clever granddaughter, I’m glad now to say that I do.