MESSAGE FROM THE CLUB PRESIDENT

Welcome to the Orlando Camera Club. Please take the time to browse our web site. The Club is only just beginning its 4th year of existence, yet has already grown to over 375 members. In our ranks you will find everyone from raw beginner to seasoned professional, and all find much to engage and interest them.

Part of the reason for the Club's success is our focus on meeting our members' educational needs with bi-monthly seminars and occasional workshops. Newer photographers, and those wanting to expand their horizons, can also take advange of our mentoring program to address their individual needs. Education, as well as fun and fellowship is also provided by our regular field trips.

The Orlando Camera Club runs monthly themed print and slide competitions that are judged by outside professionals, as well as a monthly on-line digital competition judged by a panel of our own members. The competitions provide an excellent opportunity to improve through seeing the work of others, as well as through the constructive critiques of our expert judges. Additional competition opportunities are provided by the Club's membership of the Florida Camera Club Council which runs several print and digital competitions throughout the year.

Please consider joining us, or being our guest at one of our meetings on the 2nd & 4th Mondays of each month at the Marks Street Senior Center Ballroom. We have a great Club and many wonderful and friendly members. Your photography - as well as ours - will benefit from your membership. As President, I have the luxury of a talented and energetic Board and with their help and your support, I am confident that the OCC will enjoy another wonderful year.

John Francis, President

OCC MEMBER NEWS and INFORMATION

New Memberships and Renewals

With effect from May 1, the cost of a single membership will increase to $45; a Family Membership will rise to $55. The OCC Board regret the need for this increase which is due to charges now imposed by Orange County for the use of the Mark Street Center. In addition, due to the rising costs of credit card payments, only cash and check payments will be accepted.

Cows at Comma- Photo Exhibit
July 8th - Sept 5th, 2008

COMMA has invited some of it's 'stable 'of artists' to take the 'bull by the horns' and show us their favorite heifers. Come celebrate cows! For more information click here.

Photographers needed for book publication

Organized by Orlando Camera Club member, building this remote infrastructure for over 20 years.

Profit sharing from this publication - Newly accessible zone in tropical Andes of Peru the size of Florida - World's 3rd, 4th, and 5th highest waterfalls (over twice as high as the Eiffel Tower) discovered in the last 3 years - Two of these haven't been photographed by pros or with a decent camera.

We arrange logistics as horses & expedition equipment, good lodging, internal transportation, meals, etc. - Opportunity to photo world's most exotic and recent discovered birds - Perfect daily temperatures, friendly natives,no snakes, mosquitos, banditos, etc. - English speaking all female Peruvian staff, biologist, administrators, & guides, etc. - Better and less expensive than a trip to Yellowstone, North Carolina, or any USA destination.

Located where the Amazon leaves the world's 2nd highest mountains to enter its greatest rain forest - The most plant varieties consist of orchids and bromeliads in this cloud forest - With the low cost of publishing in Peru, and interest in this unfolding zone, royalties and commission should pay for your trip.

Contact Charles Motley by phone (407 851 2289) or e-mail for further details.

New Competition Themes

The competition themes for the upcoming season have been posted.

Competitions

Make sure you check the latest rules for both digital and print competitions prior to entry as these changed effective September 2007. Note also that the deadline for submission to the Digital (on-line) Competition is midnight on the Wednesday before the regular monthly print and slide competition. Visit our SmugMug site for the Digital Competitions, winners of previous competitions and images from OCC events.

Mat-Cutting Seminars

OCC sponsor Art Systems of Florida offers free mat-cutting seminars for OCC members. Contact George Stedronsky for information and future scheduled dates.

Help the Avian Reconditioning Center

Help the ARC help us take pictures of these wonderful birds. Click here to find out how (Word document).

Seminars and Workshops

Don't forget to check out the upcoming program schedule.

Competition Winners - June 2008 "Macro"

Winners of previous competitions and all their great images can be seen in our Best in Show gallery

Color Print Category
"Ready For Flight" - Submitted by Dwain Cunningham

Monochrome Print Category
"Wheels of Time" - Submitted by John Francis

Slide Category
"Bugs on Flowers" - Submitted by Diane Chenault

Digital Competition Category
"A Moment of Silence" - Submitted by Kevin Sibbitt

Results of FCCC 1st Triannual Competition

The winner of the interclub competition was Spring Hill Camera Club with 92 points followed very closely by OCC with 91 points. In the Print Competition, OCC entered 39 of 207 total entries. We claimed 8 Awards and 9 Honors. While OCC accounted for 19% of entries, we took 32% of the ribbons. Here are the OCC results:

The Digital Competition results were as follows:

SPONSOR NEWS

New photo classes at Harmon Photo

Details of the new classes at Harmon Photo School are now available. OCC members benefit from a 35% discount and will figure highly as presenters on these courses. Please note that the OCC discount does not apply to workshops. Please visit their web site and support your local dealers. Harmon also offers discounts on printer ink and paper at their stores.

In addition, the OCC & Harmon's School of Photography are proud to announce a Bird Photography Workshop with international award winning photographer James Shadle. This is a 2 day workshop, Friday & Saturday, May 30 & 31st, 2008. The "classroom" session will be held at the Marks Street Senior Complex on Friday night & the "in the field" session will be held at the Avian Reconditioning Center, we will follow up with refreshments back at Harmon Photo on Saturday. To see some of James' work go to: www.wildflorida.net To learn about the Avian Reconditioning Center go to: www.arc4raptors.org. Tamron & Bogen are providing equipment for you to borrow for this workshop. It should be a great opportunity for all those who have wanted to try their hand at bird photography & to have a chance to work with one of the most respected photographers in the field.

The cost for this 2 day workshop is $145. Seating is limited & going fast so reserve your spot now . . . call Harmon Photo at 407-898-2321 or phone Susan Germyn with questions at 407-227-6680.

The Lens Depot

Please welcome The Lens Depot as OCC's latest sponsor. Please consider them when you need to rent a lens or camera for that special shoot.

Special deals from Hunt's Photo

Currently, Hunt's Photo, an OCC Sponsor, has special deals on a wide range of products. Call Gary Farber at 800-221-1830 Ext 2332 for more details.

Welcome to SmugMug

SmugMug, the on-line photo gallery and web site community are the latest OCC sponsor. SmugMug generously provided a Pro-Level subscription that allows us to host the monthly digital competition, and give away 4 additional Pro-Level subscriptions (a $150 value) every month to the winners of all our competition categories.

The Great Frame Up

Tom May, one of our club sponsors and owner of The Great Frame Up, has generously offered to allow our club members to sell their photographic work through his Winter Springs gallery. Download this WORD document with furher details if you are interested in participating in this exciting opportunity. Please contact Tom directly with any questions.

In addition, Tom has put together a great framing deal for OCC members. Download the brochure for more details.

Round of Applause

Congratulations to Jeanee James who was announced as one of the "2008 Women Artists of the Year" by the Brevard Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). ). This year the CSW chose women who have made considerable contributions throughout Brevard County and continue to exemplify the National Theme for Women’s History Month “Women’s Art: Women’s Vision” through their artwork and community involvement.  The CSW noted that "Jeanee James of Jeanee James Photography has a gift for capturing intimacy, beauty and power. As a photographer, Jeanee is sought after for her ability to capture passion and emotion".

Visiting Orlando?

Check out our Visitor's Page for information about where to shoot in Central Florida, camera stores and other useful information. You're welcome to drop by one of our meetings - we'd love to meet you.

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