Field Trips Anyone?

 May 5 Calico Basin

Meet in Pinnacle  parking lot at 7:00 AM.

It will probably be warm so be sure to have drinking water. 

Not a good year for wild flowers and Calico isn't exactly paved with them. However there are some. I counted about 10 varieties on Tuesday. 

2020 April Virtual Meeting

April's Program - Wildflower Photography

• Program Slide Show by Don LeHeup
• Photo Contest: Architecture
• Photo-Walk - Beating the Sheltered Blues - Photo Essay
• Your comments

Wildflower Photography: Make Due With Whatcha Got

by Don LeHeup

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Photo Contest: Architecture

Click for Album

Add comments to photos in Album You can view the album as a slide show by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right of the screen

Click here to choose your three favorite submissions

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Photo Essay: Beating the Sheltered Blues

Click for Album

You can view the album as a slide show by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right of the screen

Add comments about this page below.

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Scavenger Hunt - And The Winners Are...

Sun City Summerlin Photo Club Photo Scavenger Hunt

On Saturday, January 11, 2020, thirteen Photo Club members accepted the challenge to capture images in the Sun City community for ten different categories. They had the entire day to find these images using their favorite camera. They were not allowed to change or improve any image with post-processing techniques – all images were taken straight out of the camera!

Members participating were Luise Brown, Helen Delahunt, Dennis Filangeri, J Filangeri, Marina Jurasek, Dale Kavula, Cindy Lawrence, Don LeHeup, Joyce O’Keefe, Maria Riach, Dee Stephenson, Sue Stevens, and Norm Wright.

Then ten categories for “the hunt” were: Food, Landscape, Leading Lines, Looking Down, Mini Golf Course View, Palm Tree, Pattern, People, Red, and Vehicle Part. In addition to prizes awarded for Best Image in Each Category, there was one Grand Prize for Best Image of the Day.

Best of Day - Maria Riach

Food - Helen Delahunt

Landscape - Maria Raich

Leading Lines - Norm Wright

Looking Down - Norm Wright

Mini Golf View - Dale Kavula

Palm Tree - J Filangeri

Pattern - Sue Stevens

People - J Filangeri

Red - Helen Delahunt

Vehicle Part - Marina Jurasek

We are very appreciative for the volunteer services of two photography judges from the Nevada Camera Club who determined the winners. Thank you to Allan Duff and Addison Bennett…we could not have provided this activity without your valuable assistance!

AND THE WINNERS ARE!!!

• Food – Helen Delahunt
• Landscape – Maria Riach
• Leading Lines – Norm Wright
• Looking Down – Norm Wright
• Mini Golf Course View – Dale Kavula
• Palm Tree – J Filangeri
• Pattern – Sue Stevens
• People – J Filangeri
• Red – Helen Delahunt
• Vehicle Part – Marina Jurasek

OVERALL BEST IMAGE OF THE DAY

Landscape – Maria Riach

Congratulations to everyone who participated in this Photo Scavenger Hunt, and to all the winners!

200212 Photowalk - Henderson Bird Preserve

The club went on a Photo Walk On February 12th to Henderson Bird Preserve. Luise Brown, Helen Delahunt, Dale Kavula, Cindy Lawrence, Sue Stevens and Maria Riach were the hardy souls to get up early on a cold morning to photograph the many variety of birds.This is a hidden oasis for all types of birds at any season of the year.

The six of up walked around the nine pools of water on paths with special viewing areas and a boardwalk to get better close up shots.

We even, as a bonus, were able to spot and photograph an owl which was an unexpected attraction.

After a beautiful morning, we set out for Hemenway Park in Henderson to photograph the big horn sheep. We arrived there mid to late morning and the park was empty of sheep so as the fun people we decided to go to lunch and come back. The sheep didn’t appear, so this will give us opportunity to enjoy another outing to the park with new found friends of the Sun City Photography Club of fellow photographers.

Click here to view album

Dale Kavula

200111 Scavenger Hunt

January Photo Walk:  Photo Scavenger Hunt

January 11, 2020

Thirteen brave adventurers ventured out on a sunny day to capture images for ten different categories.  Each category could be found within Sun City, but some people traveled outside Sun City to capture their creative images!  The photo sleuths participating were Luise Brown, Helen Delahunt, Dennis Filangeri, J Filangeri, Marina Jurasek, Dale Kavula, Cindy Lawrence, Don LeHeup, Joyce O’Keefe, Maria Raich, Dee Stephenson, Sue Stevens, and Norm Wright.  The challenge was to find images for the following ten categories:  People, Food, Landscape, Red, Looking Down, Palm Tree, Leading Lines, Vehicle Part, Pattern, and Miniature Golf Course View.  Prizes will be awarded for the Best Image in Each Category, and the Best Image of the Day as determined by two expert judges from the Las Vegas photographic community.

Click here for Album

Who will the winners be?  Come to the next Photo Club Monthly Meeting, February 13, 2020, 7pm, at Desert Vista to find out!

January 11, 2020 Scavenger Hunt

MEMBERS ONLY

WHEN:  Saturday, January 11, 2020 (7am start)

WHERE:  You decide!

DETAILS:

No later than 7am, Saturday, January 11, 2020, if you have indicated you are going to participate and have provided your email address to Diane Frankenfield

(e: dfranken2@gmail.com),  you will receive an email message with the list of images you will need to capture by 4pm that same day. You may use a DSLR camera or point and shoot camera…the only requirement is that your camera has a memory card with your images that you can remove from your camera and turn in for transfer onto Diane’s computer.  The idea for this activity is to HAVE FUN, TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVITY, and use your camera’s features and capabilities to create your images.  No post-processing is allowed….simply try for the best image you can get straight out of your camera.   Sorry, for this activity, we aren’t allowing cell phone images.

Once you receive your listing of images to capture in the hunt, it’s up to you to decide where you want to go to capture these images.  You might be able to do everything around your home, within Sun City itself, or you may choose to venture outside Sun City for more options.  You may work solo, or if you want to get with a group of other members and travel around together, you are free to do that too!

An example of a Category could be TORTOISE.  You could take a photo of a stuffed tortoise, a real tortoise, a tortoise sculpture, a metal tortoise, a plastic tortoise – be creative and use your imagination!

Diane will be in the Photo Club studio at Desert Vista from 4pm -5pm to transfer your images from your memory card to her computer.   Please have only one image per category on your memory card to speed up the process.  If you have more than one image per category, just delete the images on your card that you don’t like and keep what you consider to be the best one for each category on the card that you bring at 4pm.  If you aren’t able to capture an image for every category, no worries…just get what you can and HAVE FUN with the activity!

You will get your memory card back after your images are transferred to Diane’s computer.

There are two judges from the Nevada Camera Club who will be judging the entries.  They will be selecting the best image for each category as well as an overall Best Image of the Day. We’ll show the entries for each category, along with the images for the Category winners, and the overall Best Image of the Day, at the February monthly meeting on February 13, 2020.  There will be prizes for all the winners!

Good luck, and remember, HAVE FUN!

Photo Walk - Street Photography Downtown Las Vegas - October 18, 2019

We hope you can join us for our next Photo Walk! We will meet at the Desert Vista parking lot on Friday, October 18, 9:30am for carpooling to downtown. There are many colorful and imaginative murals painted throughout downtown, as well as many other interesting subjects to photograph as we stroll the streets. We’ll probably be walking around the area for 2 hours or so, so be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes as well as think about sunscreen and head covering for sun protection.

Bring your favorite camera….you won’t need a tripod as we’ll be on the move.

Extra memory card and batteries!

For those interested, we’ll end our street photography stroll at a restaurant called “Eat”, which is located at 7th and Carson. Not a large menu, but great food!

If you can help by being a driver, please let Diane Frankenfield (dfranken2@gmail.com) know – hope you can join us!

Click here for more information and/or to sign-up

190621 Photo Walk - To the Strip!

Sun City Summerlin Photo Club

Photo Walk June 21, 2019

To the Strip!

Beth Bacher, Helen Delahunt, Dale Kavula and Diane Frankenfield ventured to the Strip for the June Photo Walk.  Our destination was the corner of Park Avenue and the Strip, which had an amazing variety and amount of photo ops for us!

At that corner, we were able to take interesting photos of the New York New York Hotel and Casino (inside and out), T-Mobile Arena and Plaza with interesting sculptures and water features, the MGM Grand exterior, and the Park Hotel with the new feature, Eataly.  If you missed this opportunity to visit this very interesting corner of the world with us, we encourage you to make the trip as you have such an amazing variety of subjects to photograph in this small area…not miles and miles of walking with very convenient and close parking in the Park’s parking structure.

We arrived late morning and had the place to ourselves, giving us an opportunity to take our time composing our shots without people jostling us or in the picture. We alternated spending our time photographing outside, then would go inside for a whole new set of interesting subjects/scenes.  

We ended our outing with lunch at Eataly which is located in the front of the Park Hotel and Casino…many Italian food choices for lunch and opportunities to pick up authentic culinary items from Italy and/or enjoy Italian chocolates or gelatos.

There won’t be any official Photo Walks offered during July or August.  We’ll resume in the fall, with a trip to the Neon Museum near dusk so we will have the opportunity to photograph the vintage signs in the daylight and then again after dark when some will be lighted. Date TBD.  You won’t want to miss this!

Have a happy and safe summer, and look for opportunities to grab your camera and find interesting subjects to photograph!

Having Fun With Your Camera Photo Walk

The Photo Club’s May Photo Walk took place in the meeting room at Desert Vista during the monthly meeting.  We had 13 different stations positioned around the room, with volunteers at each station to help.  A very special thank you!!! to the following people who volunteered to help with these stations:

• Allan Duff - electric arc/neon signs
• Diane Frankenfield - crystal ball refraction/water droplet refelctions
• Dale Kavula - softbox
• Beth LeHeup - oil droplets on water
• Don LeHeup - black acrylic reflections/macro
• Janice Lugavere - kaleidoscope
• Joel Lugavere - flower macro
• Kathy Panfili - Christmas tree abstract images
• Cliff Rourke - shaped bokeh
• Norm Wright - prisms

and to J Filangeri for her help with the logistics of the room reconfiguration.

We are looking forward to seeing your photos from your own experience at the Having Fun With Your Camera adventure!  Look for the link Dennis will send to everyone so that you can share your favorite photos into the Google album he’ll create for this event.

Diane Frankenfield/Dale Kavula

190422 Calico Wildflower Photo-Walk

Wildflower Walk – Calico Basin

April 22, 2019

We had a beautiful morning for our Wildflower Walk in Calico Basin. Photo Club members participating included Helen Delahunt, Cliff Rourke, Dale Kavula, and Diane Frankenfield.  

We identified 25 different species of wildflowers during the hike.  We didn’t see any cactus in bloom today….they will be coming into bloom in the next few weeks.  

Special highlights included finding purple sage in bloom, as well as desert snowberry, penstemons, cliff rose bushes in full bloom with their fragrant scent, and St. George’s Blue Eyed Grass.  

In addition to the beautiful wildflowers, the landscape in Calico Basin is simply stunning with the different sandstone mountain formations providing a spectacular backdrop for our wildflower photos. Click here for album which can be viewed as a slide show by clicking the more options icon (three vertical dots upper right of album screen).

Our next Photo Walk will be very special.  We will be providing a “Having Fun With Your Camera” session at the monthly meeting on May 9, 2019.  You won’t want to miss this! Hope to see you there!

190223 Photowalk Downtown Summerlin

February 2019 Downtown Summerlin Photo Walk

We held our February Photo Walk on Saturday the 23rd, in cooperation with the Downtown Summerlin Apple Store.

This year the theme was “Portraits.” 

The Apple Store loaned new iPhones to interested club members for their use during the session. The leader, Daniel, and his assistant started with an illustrated pre-walk discussion inside the store. The most important features of iPhone photography were reviewed. Some questions about smart phone photography in general were covered, followed by specific pointers on portrait photography for any camera. 

Next, we headed outdoors for a stroll through Downtown Summerlin. Because our walk this year took place during regular store hours (last year it was before the store opened), we were accompanied by several non-SCS Photo Club members who joined us at the Apple Store. 

During the walk we stopped at various spots so Daniel could demo backgrounds, lighting effects, etc. for portraits. We were encouraged to try our own photos utilizing the techniques discussed. Later, as we approached the Farmers’ Market, we split off into smaller groups to seek our own subjects, compositions and portrait styles.

Finally we returned to the Apple Store where club members contributed photos from the walk to a big screen slide show and, ultimately, a collage. There were many excellent photos! Comments from the Apple staff and club members were so interesting that the session ran overtime. 

In conclusion, here are a few words from one of the participants, Helen Delahunt:

 “It was another great Apple Store walk! I thoroughly enjoyed [it] and learned from Daniel - who was so knowledgeable!" …. 

Please see photos posted in the club’s album “190223 Downtown Summerlin Photo Walk.”

Written by Joyce O’Keefe

Photo-Walk Downtown Summerlin 2/23

Back by Popular Demand: DOWNTOWN SUMMERLIN PHOTO WALK!

By request from those who enjoyed the Downtown Summerlin Photo Walk last March, and courtesy of the Apple Store, we’ll have another PRIVATE, FREE PHOTO WALK this spring. Explore new dimensions with your smartphone, iPad, or traditional photographic equipment under the guidance of Apple’s experts.

When? Saturday, February 23, 10 -11:30 am. 

Where? Downtown Summerlin. 

No carpooling: we’ll meet inside the Apple Store at 10:00 am, when they open. 

First, a little instruction inside the store, then a walk through Downtown Summerlin with Apple Photo Experts until around 11:30 am. 

Last year participants reported that not only did they learn some new photography techniques, but they got to know photo walk club members better. Afterwards, several enjoyed coffee and conversation at Starbucks. 

ONLY PHOTO CLUB MEMBERS WHO SIGN UP MAY PARTICIPATE.

Please reply with your first and last name and email address ASAP if you wish to attend.

Sign up on the Photo Walk sign up sheet (or send an email to Joyce O’Keefe at: joyceokeefescs@gmail.com).

If you signed up on the paper form at the January 10 club meeting, you do not need to do anything further: your participation request has already been recorded. 

If you know someone who would enjoy this Photo Walk but is not yet a Photo Club member, be sure that person contacts Dennis at: snapscslv@gmail.com and joins the club before sending in his or her data. 

Looking forward to another fun photo morning together on February 23!

181115 Photo Walk - Birds and Sheep, Oh my!

Photo Walk November 15, 2018

Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve

and Hemenway Park, Boulder City

Our Photo Walk to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve and Hemenway Park in Boulder City to photograph the big horn sheep was amazing!  The weather was perfect – sunny and warm - and the wildlife at both spots were willing photography subjects.  For numbers (not that we are counting!), we spotted 19 different species of birds at the Bird Viewing Preserve and 42 big horn sheep at Hemenway Park, including at least six rams, which was a bonus.  Members Helen Delahunt, Dale Kavula, Diane Frankenfield, and Jim Bird,  participated in this Photo Walk.  It was especially nice to have Jim with us as he is very good at identifying birds and a patient teacher – we all learned a lot from him.  He had a very special morning as he spotted a female vermilion flycatcher perched on a branch, and this was the first time that he has spotted and photographed this bird (see photo).

After our stroll around the ponds at the Bird Viewing Preserve, we drove to Hemenway Park in Boulder City where big horn sheep are often found grazing and resting in this public park in the midst of tourists and photographers.  They come down from the mountains outside town to spend part of the day in this park, and we were able to observe several interesting behaviors of this majestic creature at very close range.  We were all surprised to watch the rams walk to a mature tree with berries, then reach up on only their hind legs to munch on the berries over their head.

 

Click here for photo album.

Our next Photo Walk will be a trip to Ethel M’s cactus garden which will be full of beautiful holiday decorations and lights.  We have scheduled this for December 11, 2018.  Hope you can join us!

HalloVeen Photo Walk

On Saturday Oct,13th  Marina Jurasek, Helen Delahunt, Carol Severy and Dale Kavula were among Ghouls and goblins celebrating HalloVeen.  People were in their finest, scariest, and cutest Halloween costumes.

Our photo walk took us to the Magical Forest at Opportunity Village with trees lighted to be scary and be spooky.  

We had a chance to photograph night shots and had many opportunities to photograph a big variety of decorations and costumes.  

A different opportunity was both fun, very interesting and  was close by for our photo walk.   

Submitted by Dale Kavula  

Click here for album

Corn Creek Photo Walk – September 22, 2018

Marina Jurasek, Bob Sebastian, Dale Kavula and Diane Frankenfield visited Corn Creek within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge for the September Photo Walk. For the group photo at the Visitor Center, we welcomed one of our newest members, Bob Sebastian, on his first photo walk by raising our number one fingers in the air. It was the First Day of Fall, but the temperatures were very summer-like. We enjoyed strolling on the paths surrounding Corn Creek. The flowing water and bubbling creek was relaxing to watch and enjoy. We appreciated the shade provided by the mature trees, and were able to photograph different orchard trees planted by the pioneers. The pomegranate trees were bearing fruit and fortunately for us, the birds had not eaten them yet. Fall colors were beginning to appear on some of the trees and bushes. A few lizards skittered by, and there were raptors soaring overhead.

We had the opportunity to take photos of several different subjects, including live trees, dead trees, flowing water, cattails and other reeds, seed pods, native grasses, buildings from pioneer days and even blooming wildflowers – sacred datura and goldenrod. This variety of subjects to photograph provided us with opportunities to concentrate on composition, color balance, focusing, depth of field choices, experimenting with different shutter speeds, and so on. 

Click here for online album.

We hope you can join us for our October Photo Walk. Dale Kavula will be coordinating this trip to Opportunity Village’s Halloween event on Saturday, October 13, 2018.