Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Brandt Festival (also known as the Nature Festival) at the Bayside starting Saturday, March 7.

Contact Levonne for details about the silent auction and submissions.

North of LA,  South of the Bay

by Debra Kuzbik

There’s an expanse of California coastline that stretches from Los Angeles to San Francisco that is wild, beautiful, rugged, and mostly untouched.  My family and I have enjoyed a number of winters there, exploring the beaches, the little art communities and the inland rolling hills of wine country.

The pace of life is slow and it is easy to imagine that you have stepped back in time to the 60’s.   The ice cream parlors, surf shops, Volkswagen mini-vans, woodies with surf boards on top and the ever-present music of The Beach Boys, The Ventures, The Mamas and The Papas, and the Surfaris can easily transport you to younger days.

Quirky, eccentric, unique and occasionally bizarre—the Californians who call the Central Coast home live in cautious harmony with a sometimes dangerous land.  Earthquakes, wildfires, drought, and the occasional hurricane occasionally wreck havoc on their idyllic, laid-back, beach lifestyle—but the siren call of the surf promises a perfect ride!

This month we are going to Robert Held’s Glass Studio.  Robert is an award winning glass blower. He uses techniques that date back as long ago as 2000 B.C. however, his collections range from classic to contemporary. Some works are inspired by the paintings of famous artists such as Monet and Klimt, while others take inspiration from photographers and even interior designers.

This is a great opportunity for macro or close up shots, or for the March assignment ‘All That Glistens’.

Lunch location to be determined.

This is the reminder that the assignment deadline is the 20th for the current month. Upload your choices in the member database.

This is a reminder to vote for the current assignment. Voting usually starts on the 21st of the month and continues until the 28th of the month. Vote in the member database and check the dates for the specific assignment.

Our speaker for this meeting is from eastern Ontario and is visiting the area for the Brant activities. Ted Krug is a well known wild life and environmental photographer from Parry Sound Ontario. He has traveled around the world with his photography. Ted will be speaking about his adventures and mis-adventures. He will take you on a trip from one polar area to another and visit places and events in between where he has had a host of learning experiences from my subjects, the environment and his equipment.

We will also see the results of the Faces and Places assignment and the slideshow of our field trip to Robert Held glass works.

Our general meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month from 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm. We normally conduct the club’s business, then review the slideshows from the previous month’s assignment, field trip and favourite shot of the month. The last half of the meeting is dedicated to having a speaker come and make a presentation or discuss some aspects of their photography

Our field trip this month is to Milner Gardens in Qualicum.  We’ll meet at 10 and walk or take the cart to the gardens.  Many of the spring blooms are out and photography should be wonderful.

Click on the photo to go to Milner’s web site.

Lunch will be at the tea room at the Gardens, please let Sally know if you plan on participating in the lunch.

We generally meet at the venue at 10am and shoot until 12 then those who wish to do so gather at the chosen lunch venue.  Check the details for the field trip outing.

Meet with other members and try a range of different shots. Test some new post processing techniques. Pick about 6 of the most interesting and size them to within 1600 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high. When you have your field trip photos ready, send them to fieldtrip.opc@gmail.com