Fifteen people attended this evening’s meeting: Larry, Bob, Howard, Dorothy, Dick, Kristin, Liz, Lisa Marie, Gerta, Agnes, Eric, Janina, Alan, Mike and Karolin. The Holiday Dinner at the Old Street Pub in Smithtown will be on Wednesday, December 6th. Larry plans to have Secret Santa member prints again this year, but while members can use perhaps a mat, he asks that we refrain from fancy frames and nothing larger than 5x7. The Album Contest winners will also be announced. Monthly meetings at the library have been reserved through April of 2024. Expect future meeting presentations from Mike (street photography), Kristin (whales and winter wildlife - possibly February), Karen (lighting techniques in portraiture), and Art (using legacy lenses with adapter on modern camera bodies). Liz and Lisa Marie are planning a photo shoot featuring panning and light trails, possibly at Captree.
Al’s presentation on travel photography focused largely on tour companies and equipment. Al now uses a Sony mirrorless for travel, and he has been able to reduce the number of photos taken on a typical trip to 1500-2000. He shoots in JPEG format since he does not post process. For this he finds three 16GB cards sufficient storage. (He shoots at extra fine resolution.) His travels take him to locations where local camera supplies may be unavailable, so he always takes extra batteries, a charger, and socket adapters for foreign currents (usually 220-240). Al also prepares for adverse conditions: a pillowcase to keep out dust and sand, surfcaster gloves to protect his hands against the cold. Alan prefers group tours over independent travel, which he says are cheaper. Overseas Adventure Travel he recommends. Two drawbacks to tours, though: no time to set up tripods, and the need to follow a planned itinerary. As for boats, Al favors river cruises over luxury cruise ships; he suggests smaller boats over Viking cruises. He cautions that one should always ask permission before taking photos of people. A couple of interesting comments during the presentation: Larry said that Sony’s new customizable buttons are well worth the learning curve, and Dorothy recommended highly Road Scholar Tours for their small groups and companionship.
Alan's handout can be viewed here