Photography tips

Thank you to Meiring Borcherds for these tips

Three Tips On Telephoto Photography One of the most exciting aspects of photography is working with Telephoto and Super Telephoto lenses. While out of the price range for most to buy, this lens family is easily accessible through lens rental services online or through local camera stores. Telephoto and super telephoto lenses enable photographers to explore a variety of subjects in new ways. Such lenses are often used in wildlife photography, but they can be used for a variety of subjects. Here are 3 tips and ideas for great telephoto photography: 1. Use A Tripod For Sharp Photos

By and large the vast majority of subjects photographed with telephoto and super telephoto lenses need to be tack sharp. Due to the narrow field of view and magnification of telephoto lenses ever so slight movements has an impact on image sharpness. The first thing you can do to ensure that you’ll capture sharper images is to use a tripod and a tripod head that can support the weight of your equipment. While this is not the only step that you can take to ensure sharper images it is an essential first step. 2. Tightly Frame Your Subject

The most obvious use of a telephoto lens is to magnify a subject so as to close the distance between you and what you’re photographing. This is of extremely value if you’re photographing insects, mammals and/or birds. But you can also use your telephoto lens to give you a creative edge. This can be done by getting extremely close to your subject in some instances. This is particularly useful in highlighting details that would otherwise be lost with shorter focal length lenses. 3. Think Macro Photography

If you’re not into getting close with the bugs and the fungi then an alternate way to shoot macro photography is to use a telephoto lens. Extension tubes in combination with super telephoto lenses shorten the closest focusing distance of a lens. Working with a larger lens will not give you every vantage point that a smaller lens can provide, but it will enable you to obtain other unique perspectives all while saving you from getting your hands dirty.

Bonus Tip:

If your camera has a Mirror Lock-up function this in addition to the use of a shutter release will remove much of the mechanical vibration your camera itself can create. The mirror in the camera box of your DSLR allows you to see from the viewfinder out your lens. When you trigger the shutter the mirror will flip up out of the way so that light coming through your lens hits the sensor or film in your camera body. Mirror Lock-up will prompt you to trigger the shutter twice, first to move the mirror into a ready position and second to open the shutter. After the first trigger of the shutter you should wait 2-5 seconds for the internal mechanics of your camera and resulting vibration of your camera to settle to the point of being still before you trigger the shutter a second and final time.

Now get out into the Euclid Creek Watershed and get creative. Remember to enter our 2011 Photo Contest at http://friendsofeuclidcreek.nhlink.net/photocontest.htm to win some great prizes and build on your photography skills.

June 2011 update, 2010-11 recap

Welcome
If you have any input for these updates, please let me know at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net. The image with the frogs is from our current photography contest. For more images, see http://picasaweb.google.com/

FriendsofEuclidCreek/ 2011PhotoContestEntries#

Our regular meetings normally start at 6:30PM at the South Euclid Community Center, 1370 Victory Drive (north off Mayfield, next to Giant Eagle). Meetings are free and open to the public.

Thank you to environmental attorney and FOEC member Ken Messinger-Rapport for leading the discussion at our June meeting that included a viewing of Gasland, a 2010 American documentary film that focuses on communities in the United States impacted by natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

Upper Cuyahoga River Tour - Sat., June 18
Meet us at 8:30 AM at the Mayfield/SOM parking lot for Walmart. We can car pool from there. Please contact Frank Skala or Ginny Aveni for details.

Come to our July 5 picnic
Bring a dish. FOEC will provide pizza. The picnic starts at 6PM near the dam removal site at the Highland Road entrance to the Euclid Creek Reservation. Please contact Frank Skala or jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net for details.

Euclid Beach Blast! Join our FOEC booth on Saturday, July 16
We are still looking for volunteers. Please let Frank Skala know if you can help.

Call for nominations - FOEC officers and directors
Please let Frank Skala (or me at jeanette.evans@sbcglobal.net) know if you have someone to nominate or are interested in becoming an officer or director to join the steering committee as we currently have openings and are accepting nominees. Here is our current list of board members including officers and directors.

Officers

• President: Frank Skala
• 1st Vice President: Larry McFadden
• 2nd Vice President: Gary Bloom
• Secretary: Jeanette Evans
• Treasurer: Ken Messenger-Rapport

Six directors

• Steve Albro
• Lou Drasler
• Rick Evans
  
• Frank Hogg
• Kathy Schaefer
  
• Carolyn Sugiuchi

Year in review
As our current officers complete the 2010-2011 term, here is a summary of the meetings held and speakers featured. Thank you to Frank Skala and all involved in making it such an interesting and productive year.

• Sept. 2010 - Meiring Borcherds, FOEC web site update
• October 2010 -Claire Posius, Barb Holtz, watershed issues update
• November 2010 -Dianne Bickett, Director of Solid Waste District, recycling and related issues
• December 2010 -Barb Pophal, holiday party at Mayfield Village Community Center
• Jan. 2011 -Claire Posius, Watershed Planning Guide review
• Feb. 2011 -Ginny Avemi, mapping future watershed projects
• March 2011 -Tom Evans, URS, watershed planning
• April 2011 -Claire Posius, Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation update
• May 2011 -Cleveland Metroparks Staff, Master Plan update
• June 2011 -Ken Messinger-Rapport, gas well drilling, Gasland
• July 2011 -Summer picnic (planned)
  

Please visit regularly

Please visit regularly Claire Posius' Soil and Water Conservation District Enews-Letter at
http://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/EuclidCreekFiles/enewsletter.htm
Thank you Claire! Please send comments and contibutions to Claire at cposius@cuyahogaswcd.org

Please visit regularly the FOEC website at http://friendsofeuclidcreek.nhlink.net/index.htm
Thank you Miering! Please send comments and contributions to Miering at friendsofeuclidcreek@gmail.com.

June steering committee meeting

In attendance at the June 15 steering committee meeting were Fran Hogg, Lou, Rick, Frank, Carolyn, and Jeanette. Frank called the meeting to order around 7:05PM.

Bishop Road conservation easement
We discussed how Derek Schaefer was pursuing this grant.

Picnic
Tuesday, July 5 is the date of the picnic. Barb Holtz reserved the location near the former dam site. Everyone is to bring something for the potluck. We should feel free to invite any council people. Fran is to bring pizza. We had about 50 people last year. Fran is to call Barb Pophol to bring dinnerware. We are encouraging people to bring reusable dinnerware. Frank will check on who will bring soft drinks. Fran is to bring a bocci set. People are to come at 6PM. Frank can come early if needed. Agenda of the meeting would be the nominations.

Cuyahoga River Tour on Sat., June 18
Ginny is set to host this. All who cannot come and signed up should let her know.

Nominations for officers
Larry provided an update via email. Carolyn is running and nominated to be on the board. We discussed other nominations. Frank will follow up with the nominees for the director opening for Kathy's position.

Speakers
Frank will look into a speaker about brownfields. Ginny has found many of the speakers for this year. We do not have a program chairperson for the coming year. Fran suggested we could take turns taking topics. We discussed alternating activities and presentations. Gasland is something we could continue to watch together. We discussed having no meeting on August if the brownfield presentation falls through. We discussed whether the Botanical Garden or area museums have a speaker's bureau?

Youth corps
Key Club at Mayfield High School works with Mr. Turk. They are looking for projects. Jeanette is to follow up with Mr. Turk to tell him that Fran and Larry will be in touch with him.

Listing of goals
Carolyn noted a list of goals that include survey of the watershed issues, youth corps, speaker's bureau, membership drive, rain gardens, and interest areas of members. Metroparks could share information from the meeting we attended. Meiring and Larry are addressing rain gardens.