Last night I stopped by the Green Briar Camera Club:
1) A bit of history: the Green Briar Camera Club has been in existence
since 1934--can you believe it!--and, of course, has been meeting at the
field house of Green Briar Park in Chicago since the beginning. At one time
they were so large, they had weekly meetings, which really were (and are)
weekly competitions. Now the club membership is a lot smaller, but still
appears to be quite active, holding about 2 meetings a month.
2) Last night was the pictorial competition, which, for me, proved
interesting, since I've never been to a photography competition. Prints are
viewed by 3 judges from another camera club and viewed in a *print box*
which is lighted with 2 tungsten bulbs& 2 fluorescent bulbs. This lighting
set-up is the standard for single club& interclub (Chicago Area Camera
Clubs Association--(CACCA)) competitions. The club has created a specific
category called Digital Projected Images (DPI), but it was very clear the
projector was not calibrated; all images were way too bright.
3) The equipment for judges is quite impressive: each judge has an
electronic box used to punch in a score, which is then automatically
calculated and displayed. A reader states the combined score aloud, which
is then tallied in software& by hand on a score sheet. Once the category
judging is finished, judges give critique& justification for score.
4) I was invited to join everyone for coffee& ice cream at a nearby diner
afterwards. Lots of fun stories were told, some printing equipment talk
ensued , and I was asked to testify: was I a PC or Mac user. When I stated
I was a PC user, I was playfully dismissed.
5) I was encouraged to get some prints together for a club nature
competition in a few weeks. Out of several thousand frames, I've found
about 2 that will meet the competition requirements--no alterations& no
*hand of man* in the frame (no people, trails, fences, etc). I've got
people everywhere in my shots. lol.
6) All in all, it seems like it might be fun, but there is something that
really struck me last night that has nothing to do with photography: Despite
the fact that Chicago proper is a huge, bustling city of brick, steel,&
concrete, we have an outstanding park system; there are over 500 inland
parks and, of course, the lake front is considered 1 huge beach& park. When
you meet someone who was born& bred in Chicago, one of the 1st questions
often asked is *what park did you hang out at as a kid?* I, myself, grew up
in Eugene Field Park (named after the poet). Each park has a field house.
Some are quite beautiful. Eugene has a gym, club rooms, a beautiful
auditorium, a wood shop, and an administrative office. I spent my entire
childhood in that park: We all played on the 16 inch pony-tail softball
league; I took sewing lessons there; we were in the drama club& performed
in plays in the theater; we had gym shows; we played all kinds of sports&
track& field; and we attended girl scout meetings in the club rooms.
Darrel& I were even able to have our wedding ceremony& reception in
Eugene's auditorium. I am a child of the Chicago Parks. And there I was
last night, exactly 22 days away from turning 50, and what was I doing?
Walking into the field house of a neighborhood park, looking for the east
club room with intent of possibly signing up for, yet, another park activity
:-).
