Monthly competitions are back

By Rex Dolby

The group of members and friends of the Van Wert Area Photography Club who met Thursday, October 13, were united in their intent to maintain the club’s service to its members and to the community.  While they want to continue photo shoots scattered throughout the year, they also want to reinstate the monthly competitions, but with a twist.  They would like to see every submission documented with the information about how the picture was taken, thereby making each photo a teaching tool.

This would mean that the photographer would need to carry a note pad to record the camera’s settings:  ISO, aperture, shutter speed, the focal length of the lens used, exposure compensation (if any), focus (manual or auto), color compensation (if any),  filter used (if any), time of day and lighting conditions.

Such a list sounds more like work and could possibly diminish the enjoyment the experience, but in the age of computers, I would think that someone can create grid with these items printed on them that would be small enough to fit in your camera bag to make it quicker to record the information before or after the shot.  It could cause you to become a more thoughtful photographer by making you think about your settings before you shoot, in addition to enabling you to share with another photographer how your settings contributed to the shot.

Autumn Scenes will be the competition theme when the club next meets on Thursday, November 10, at 7 p.m. at 114 S. Race St. in Van Wert. Bring your notes on the shots too. More details on the competition will be discussed next week.