HCC Newsletter, May 2023

The Black and White conversion presentation has been canceled. We are going to have an excellent Landscape photography tutorial created by Bejamin Jaworskyj.

Pictures sent in by our members

The hunter by Nancy Zannini



Waterworld #1 by Karen McMahon



Waterworld #2 by Karen McMahon



Waterworld #3 by Karen McMahon



Marriott Courtyard by Mary Jean Winkler



At the Museum by Mary Jean Winkler

President's Message

by Dawn Dingee

A lot is happening at HCC in May. First, we have a great program planned for our May 16th meeting. Several of our very talented club members are tag teaming to give us a presentation on "Color to Black and White". Several different options will be explored in producing black and white pictures. Black and White can be incredibly effective at creating drama and mood; where there is a lack of color to distract your eye. Tips and techniques shared in this discussion will no doubt help us when submitting black and white photographs in the PSA Black and White competition. The meeting will be in person at Noble Horizons. Please let me know if you are able to help with refreshments.
We also have 2 field trips scheduled. The first is a garden tour of a private garden of Debby and Barton Jones located in Cornwall. This will take place on May 13th. The second is a trip to Hudson, NY on May 20th which is always a favorite. Hudson, NY is a great place to practice your street photography. There's a lot of shops and galleries and many people busting about. We will also go down to the Riverside Park and train tracks located next to the Hudson River. Look for emails about both of these trips. Let's hope for sunny skies and warmer temperatures! Hope to see you there!
This month we will also receive submissions from candidates for the HCC Scholarship. The club is offering a $500 scholarship to a Junior or Senior who attends HVRHS. The student must demonstrate a commitment to photography and should have taken at least one course in the photography field. Students are asked to provide a few sentences about what inspires them about photography and a brief explanation of how they intend to use the funds along with 2 photos that best represents their work. Applications are due by May 1st and then the HCC Committee will review the submissions and vote on a winner by mid-May.
We would love to hear from members regarding other workshops or field trips you'd like us to consider. If you haven't done so already and you are on FB, follow our page; posts are encouraged by our members. If you've visited an area you think others in the club would be interested in, add a post and a few pictures. This is a great way to share information. Also remember to submit articles and photos to Lazlo for the newsletter. This too can be a way to share information with members and give us ideas about future field trips.
Lastly, we need to start preparing for our end of the season picnic. The last 2 years we held the picnic at Kent Falls. Please let me or Jeff know if you have other ideas of a meeting place. The committee will start planning so look for emails regarding location, food sign-up, etc. Until then, happy shooting! Dawn

Dawn

Pictures from Hancock Shaker Village by Steve Goldberg

Beardsley Zoo by Lazlo Gyorsok

In 1878 James W. Beardsley, a wealthy farmer, donated over 100 acres (40 ha) of hilly, rural land bordering on the Pequonnock River, with a distant view of Long Island Sound, to the city of Bridgeport on the condition that "the city shall accept and keep the same forever as a public park". In 1881, the city contracted Frederick Law Olmsted, famous for creating New York City's Central Park, to create a design for Beardsley Park.Olmsted described the existing land as "pastoral, sylvan and idyllic" and, in 1884, delivered his plan for a simple, rural park for the residents to enjoy. The Zoo is a main feature inside this park. ~ from Wikipedia ~

A Tour through Shenandoah National Park by Dawn Dingee

This past April, Rick and I spent a day in Shenandoah National Park. This national park was established in 1935 and features 196,000 acres of protected wilderness. Shenandoah National Park is a can’t miss destination if you are in Virginia. The Skyline Drive through the park is 105 miles from end-to-end. We were camping about 2 hours away so we got an early start around 7:30 am. We drove the entire length in our camper van and finished around 7:00 pm, stopping at a majority of the pull-offs to enjoy the views of the Blue Ridge mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.. The weather was beautiful that day so you could see for miles and miles and miles. We had the best view for our picnic lunch.

Although there are 500 miles of trails in the park, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail, we only hiked about a mile of it. I was on the trail about 20 minutes when I almost stepped on a long, black snake. But unfortunately, I didn’t realize it until I passed it and that meant I had to go past it again to get back. Ugghhh! I am very afraid of snakes! That was it for me, no more hiking this day!

The best time to visit Shenandoah National Park is September through November and March through May so we hit it just right. The beautiful flowering trees were just at their peak and wildflowers were in abundance.

Fairy Village by Lazlo Gyorsok

Crumbling tiny structures back in the woods, built to appease the elves, according to some. I hate to be the buzzkill, but....It's not creepy. Nobody died there. There wasn't a witch, a throne, or a murder.
It's the remains of an old roadside (trolley-side, actually) attraction called "The Fairy Village." It was operated from around 1900 til sometime in the early 1930s, on the trolley line to Lake Quassy. The "normal sized" house was actually a gift shop and the "throne" was part of an elaborate fountain/water distribution set up (to get water to the fairy houses) in the midst of some floral gardens.

~ from Roadsideamerica.com ~