Explore the western side of the scenic Loess Hills in Plymouth County September 13, 2018 from 6-8 pm.  Hikers will hike up a steep fossil covered trail on their way to the Five Ridge State Preserve.  Hikers can plan on learning about the geology of the area as well as the flora and fauna.  To end the hike we will plan on watching the sunset from our Five Ridge Cabin.

Participants will need to pre-register by noon on September 12th.  A minimum of 6 people and maximum of 30 is set for this program.  Participants will meet in the Five Ridge parking lot off HWY 12 at 6 pm ready to hike.  Long pants and a water bottle would be good choices for participants to have on this hike.  The hike will be less than one mile.

To register call 712-947-4270, Victoria DeVos, Naturalist, Plymouth County Conservation.

The 62nd annual convention of the North Central Camera Club Council (N4C) will be held in the historic river city of Dubuque, Iowa, on September 13-14-15, 2018.  Please visit the Dubuque Camera Club website for complete details and registration.

The Sioux City Camera Club will be exhibiting again this year at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center from October 7, 2018 through January 13, 2019.  A program will be presented on October 7th by the Sioux City Camera Club.  There is no theme this year so camera club members are asked to submit one or more of their best works.

The photo can be any size but must be in a black metal frame with a white mat.  The top of the wire hanger on the back needs to be 2" from the top of the frame when hung.  It must be delivered to Mike McCormick at the Interpretive Center on or before September 16, 2018.  You must also fill in the attached form and deliver it with each photo.

In addition, please send a digital copy of your submitted photo to Doug Conrad at digi.entries@gmail.com.  Digital copies should be in the same format as digital entries submitted for club competition but state in the subject line that it is for the L&C Exhibit.  Your digital submission may be used in the presentation made by the Club on October 7th.  If you have any questions please contact Mike Walsh at mfmswalsh@gmail.com or Mike McCormick at mmccormick@siouxcitylcic.com.

Sioux City Camera Club members Douglas Conrad and Carol Blair have been selected to exhibit at the Orange City Arts’ 7th Annual Regional Art Exhibition.  The exhibit features the work of 28 local artists at the Northwestern College DeWitt Theatre Arts Center from April 20-28.

The exhibit is co-sponsored by Northwestern College’s Art and Theatre Departments, and is offered in conjunction with the production of Tennessee Williams’ iconic play, The Glass Menagerie. Click here to learn more about the production.

Admission to the exhibition is free. For the first time, the gallery is also available to view and purchase online! Enjoy the wide variety of styles and mediums by artists from a 350-mile radius of Orange City. For purchase information, please email OCArts@orangecityiowa.com.

The Sioux City Camera Club's Annual Awards Banquet will be Thursday, May 10th, 6:00pm, in the fellowship hall at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Sioux City.  Sneaky's will cater the event with:

• Chicken and Ribs
• Au Gratin Potatoes
• Mixed Vegetables
• Coleslaw & Tossed Salad with Dressing

Deserts will be potluck from those that wish to do so.  The cost will be $12.00 per person.  A signup sheet will be at both April meetings or contact Rich Wright at rich@rwright.com if you would like to make a reservation.

The guest speaker for the evening is Christian Begeman of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  His program will be on Prairie Sanctuaries. 

He is a professional communicator, but his hobby is photographing country churches in the region during periods of unusual lighting conditions, i.e. storms, meteor showers, auroras, sunsets, etc.  He selects his vantage points in advance and monitors weather resources for unusual lighting conditions before hitting the road with his cameras. 

He calls himself "A weekend wanderer. An evening enthusiast. South Dakota born and raised. Wide open vistas and open prairies are my escape. Country churches are my passion. Making decent images is the ongoing goal."  His photographs have been featured in many prestigious media and publications.

Following the program will be the presentation of annual awards.   

President, Kevin Smith, announced at our last meeting that the deadline for submitting year end entries for our Annual Awards Banquet is April 15, 2018.  Awards are presented for the following categories:

• Best Black and White Print of the Year Previously Submitted
• Best Black and White Print of the Year Open Class
• Best Color Print of the Year Previously Submitted
• Best Color Print of the Year Open Class
• Best Digital Black and White Image of the Year Previously Submitted
• Best Digital Black and White Image of the Year Open Class
• Best Digital Color Image of the Year Previously Submitted
• Best Digital Color Image of the Year Open Class

You may enter 2 images in each of the above categories.  Previously submitted entries must have been entered in monthly competition.  Open class entries are unrestricted and need not have been previously submitted. 

Your digital entries need to be resized according to monthly competition rules and sent to digi.entries@gmail.com no later than April 15th. Please insert the appropriate category above in the subject line of the email so they don't get confused with April's monthly competition entries.  Print entries can be brought to our April 12th camera club meeting or placed in the marked container on Steve Paulson's front porch no later than April 15th.

In addition to the above and based on points earned during the year, awards are also given to:

• Black and White Print Photographer of the Year
• Color Print Photographer of the Year
• Digital Black and White Photographer of the Year
• Digital Color Photographer of the Year
• Photographer of the Year

All awards will be presented at our Annual Banquet on May 10th.  This will be a catered event with a cost of $12.00 per person. There will be a signup sheet at both April meetings or contact Rich Wright at rich@rwright.com if you would like to make a reservation.

SCCC HM BW Print, Accepted for Briar Cliff Review The Briar Cliff Review, founded in 1989, is an eclectic literary and art magazine that is published annually for delivering an elegantly simple and aesthetically pleasing venue for the work of its contributors.  Works are selected each year by editors that are committed to nurturing writers and artists and fostering the best of both emerging and established writers and artists.

 This years selections will be exhibited at the Sioux City Art Center  from April 19th through July 8th.  SCCC 2nd Place Digital Color, Accepted for Briar Cliff Review The exhibition will be celebrated with food and drinks at a reception (public invited) in the Sioux City Art Center on Thursday, April 19th, from 6:00-8:30 pm, Gallery Talk by Artists: 6:30 pm, Readings from The Briar Cliff Review: 7:00 pm.  

Sioux City Camera Club member, Douglas Conrad, has two photographs that have been accepted for the publication and will be on display.

The next Camera Club exhibit at the Sioux City Art Center opens September 8th through November 25, 2018.  The theme of this years exhibit is Macro.  

This exhibit will be juried by the Curator.  Each club member should submit 3 photos for consideration and one or more will be selected for the exhibit.  Your images can be submitted via email to tbehrens@sioux-city.org or in print form (not mounted) 8.5x11 which can be submitted direct to the Art Center.  The dates for submitting your entries is August 5, 2018.  You will then be notified of his selections by August 10, 2018.  Delivery of the selected photographs to the Art Center will be during the week of August 27, 2018. 

Framing requirements are the same as in the past, black metal frame, with white matt and glass.  The wire hanger needs to be two inches from top of the frame.  Your name, address and title need to be on the back as well as the price if you wish to sell.  There are no size requirements this year. 

Mark your calendars for the 1st weekend of May.  It's the 2018 N4C Mini Spring Convention May 4, 5 & 6th at Saint Thomas More Center in Panora, Iowa. Everyone always used to say Springbrook, and understood what we were talking about. But with the close of Springbrook we have changed the name to N4C Mini Spring Convention or just spring convention for short. It's a great photo weekend where you can get the best food, great dorm facilities, and spend time with others who have the same enthusiasm as you do about sharing and learning more about photography. All this for as little as $113 for the whole weekend. On Friday night we have some great information and entertainment planned. Willard Sharp, from Madrid, Iowa is a storm chaser and an awesome astrophotographer who loves to show everyone how easy it is to get out and shoot.  The Milky Way has just started coming out and Willard shoots all year long. We will hear his presentation then we can hopefully get out and shoot some star trails before the moon comes out around 10:30.

Here are some links to learn more about this great weekend and a registration form:  Program Schedule, Speaker Event and Highlights, Registration Form

  Sioux City Camera Club member, Barbara-Anne Huculak, is again leading a WITCC group to another great destination.  This time it's 9 days in Greece.  Leaving on 5/18/2019 and returning 5/26/2019.  If interested click here for more details or contact Barbara at Barbara-anne.huculak@witcc.edu.

A Canadian photographer, who photographed for garden publication's in Canada for 20 years, talks about the kind of light he looks for when shooting landscapes and gives really nice examples to help explain what he looks for.  https://fstoppers.com/education/light-everything-finding-and-shooting-good-light-landscape-photography-236892

7 Studios and 12 Artists, Benson Building, 705 Douglas St., Sioux City, Iowa.  Friday April 6th 5-9pm, Saturday April 7th 10-1pm.  Download flyer here.

Below is a link I think might be of interest to some of our camera club members.  One person's (he is a travel photographer) take on the best travel lens, at least what works for him. It's about a 15 minute video, but the guy does a really nice job in explaining his reasoning and he has some vey nice, stellar images. Take a look.

https://fstoppers.com/gear/ultimate-travel-lens-which-would-you-choose-236444