KKPPC Club Activity for December, 2025 - Issue 7 | Hello Folks,
Our “professional feedback session” in which members' photos were critiqued by an outside professional, Chuck Pine, was held on Thursday, 11/6. Notes from the session appear below.
Our annual Holiday Party will be held on Tuesday, December 2nd, at Old Street Restaurant & Pub, 92 E. Main Street in Smithtown. Please bring one of your photos (4 X 6 or 5 X 7 in size) for our "Secret Santa" exchange. There will also be a camera give-away to one lucky member.
Keep an eye out on the website and Facebook pages for impromptu local photo shoots organized by various members. We’ll try to get the word out by email as well.
All feedback is welcome!
Larry Kelly
| Club Finances and Membership Update, October 31st, 2025:
Starting Bank Balance = $1402.26
Expenses: Club Express $35.00
Income: = $0
Ending Bank Balance = $1367.16
As of the end of October 2025, we have 36 members. (Members on 12/31/2024 = 36.)
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Critiqueing Session on November 6th - Background
- Chuck Pine has been the President of the Park West Camera Club in NYC for 40 years. He teaches photography, and has been judging photography contests for more than 40 years.
- When he judges, he looks for excellence in technical elements (D of F, Leading Lines, Rule of 3rds, composition, shutter speeds, good color saturation et al). Above all, he looks for a "Wow Factor" in choosing winning photos.
To view the Zoom session including the judge's comments, click HERE , or go to the Members Homepage and click on the image called "Photo Shares".
| | | Notes from the Critiqueing Session
- 39 photos were reviewed, in a little over an hour. Q&A session followed.
- Chuck found that in some cases technical elements were used unsuccessfully, for example, a lack of a subject at the end of the leading lines.
- In some photos, Chuck suggested different cropping, or balancing the composition with similar space or objects on both sides.
- He noticed immediately when sections of photos were blown out and distracting, and suggested tools to correct.
- Chuck endorsed the use of software to reduce glare, erase reflections, and enhance our photos in other ways, including the use of A.I.
Samples of the photos that were critiqued appear below. The Zoom meeting was recorded and can be viewed by any member with or without a Zoom account. Please see the link to the recording above.
|  |  | Our 2025 Library Exhibit
Our annual exhibition on the walls of the Kings Park Library is taking place during the month of December 2025. Setting up the photos will take place on Saturday, November 29th, from 2 - 4pm. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to make our presence known in the Kings Park Community. Come to the libary and see our members' photos! Contact Alan at alanarlene@optonline.net for more info.
| Monthly Photo Shares
Photo Shares are Zoom meetings in which members submit any two photos they want, for discussion and critique by the other attending members.
We tried to apply some of the insights from the critiqueing session in the photos we submitted for this Photo Share. Photos from the November Photo Share appear below.
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Congratulations to Michael Lanning
for winning the October Theme Contest "Backlighting".
See Mike's winning photo on the Members Homepage
or express your comments at our group Facebook page HERE | | | Congrats to other entries that won "Backlighting" votes:
- Alan's silhouette of trees against an orange sky, photo #1
- Dick's gazebo, photo #2
- Audrey's sun behind a fence, #4
- Mike's trees on a golf course, #5
- Janina's trees (# 6) & backlit pond (#8)
- Lisa's spiderweb, photo#13
| | These were some of the photos from our October 2025 Theme Contest "Backlighting": |
Voting for the November Theme Contest "Curves" commences on 12/1/2025 and concludes 12/5/2025.
Go to Home > Theme Contests > Voting
December's Monthly Theme is "Shooting Through Something".
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Help Select Our Monthly Theme Contest Themes for 2026
Click HERE to vote for 12 themes to be used in 2026. Scan the list of 100 possible themes, jot down your choices, then use the survey button to cast your vote. Deadline for voting is Friday, November 28th.
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The Featured Album for December is "Beautiful Fall" by Gerta Polgardy.
Gerta's wonderful slidshow features the sights and scenes from the many parks and points of interest on Long Island and in New York City.
The Featured Album for November was by Lisa Perrella.
View both Gerta's and Lisa's work on KPPC's Homepage.
If you'd like your photos to be showcased in an upcoming Featured Album, contact me. Let others admire your work! | | | Just for Fun:
Would you like to have one of your photos critiqued by A.I.? Send an email to websitecontenteditor@kingsparkphotoclub.org . Attach a copy of your photo to the email, and see what an internet robot has to say about your shot.
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