Submitting photos:

If you have some great pictures to share with the club of a recent hike, social event, or a CHC excursion, please send a digital file to the webmaster. Limit your entry to 20 images or less that best represent the event. Photos taken at higher resolutions will show much more detail.

Once the pictures have been reviewed and edited, the photos will be placed on Google Picasa Web, a free commercial picture sharing site, and a link to your images will be added to the CHC web site in the photo gallery. CHC reserves the right to edit the pictures for content and will refuse any pictures it deems inappropriate for the general membership. All images submitted to CHC are considered available to CHC for its general use for print and web based media.

It is time to start thinking about the CHC annual photo contest.  Matt Collings has the entry form for 2011 here. The maximum number of entries is five(5) and no more than than two entries in a single category for any ONE individual. There are only five lines on the entry form.

Here are some guidelines to help you take better photos:

Hints for taking better photos:
1. Keep the image simple.
2. Get in close to your subject.
3. Use the rule of thirds when composing. Image a tick-tack-toe grid. The subject should be at one of the intersecting points.
4. When shooting landscapes, be sure to have the foreground in sharp focus.
5. Crop to eliminate distracting elements.
6. Candid shots of people have more impact than posed shots. Get in tight. You don’t need a full body image.
7. Minimize boring areas such as gray skies.
8. Try different orientations for the same picture, i.e., vertical or horizontal.
9. Don’t shoot in direct sunlight. These images are too washed out. Ideal light is in the early morning and evening. Cloudy days are wonderful for even light and no harsh shadows.
10. When shooting sunsets, take a peek in the opposite direction. Look to see what the light is falling on. You may be surprised to find “golden” light.