President's Message:

Have you taken that perfect picture yet? You know the shot that everyone says is super, fantastic, gorgeous, " I wish I had taken that image," etc., etc. Well don't be dismayed, because that picture has not been taken yet.

Now I don't mean to say that there haven't been some great images taken since the invention of photography. Of course there have. But who determines what is great and what is not? And does everyone have the same opinion? Of course not.

Sometimes we hold back because of our lack of confidence in our ability to produce something spectacular. But does it have to be spectacular? Can't we just create an image because we enjoy doing it? And who is the final judge anyway? Who do we have to please? Hopefully ourselves only.

Photography is meant to be fun.

So, go ahead and do the best that you can. Take that "creative image" and enjoy it. If someone else likes it, great. If not, don't let it bother you. You will never please everyone all of the time.

I hope to see everyone at the April meeting. We have a great speaker. Darwin Wiggett is currently the managing editor of "Photolife" magazine. I know you won't be disappointed.

Now that spring has sprung, get out there and have FUN!

Scott Winter, President, Calgary Photographic Society

If anyone has any speaker ideas or other concerns please feel free to contact any one of the executives.

The April 02 meeting will be at 7:30pm at the University of Calgary in the Kinesiology building in room #Kn133 It is the theater room at the beginning of the same hall we were in before.

Club memberships are due: Single person $30.00 Family $40.00. Our year runs from Feburary 01 to January 31, please see Jose Guillen for membership.

Past Speakers

We would like to thank the March 05, 2003 guest speaker Robert Berdan "Large format photography and Digital imaging ". Job Well Done, Great examples. 

April Guest speaker Darwin Wigget editor and chief of Photo Life.

Field trip planned for Sunday Mar 23. Plans of Skis or snow shoes, for photo opportunities of ICE.

Caused by huge drain of water from below. Ice formations are most unusual

Proposed meeting place Robert Lee's cabin around noon. Can head out on skis or snowshoes

for 2-3 hours and then reconvene at Bob's place for something to eat in the late

afternoon. Need volunteers to bring food and drink.

Robert will bring some copies of the map to the March meeting and we will need

to get some idea as to approximate numbers so we can plan transportation

refreshments, etc. ( Setphen will be bringing forms to next meeting)

Thanks to Fran Willians for presenting this months Reader Corner.

How to Control Contrast with Your Softbox

By Gene Kester from Professional Photographer Sept 1999

The larger the light source, the softer the light. This is the first rule of light modification. When you choose a lighting setup for your subject, you can use the small metal reflector that comes with the flash unit, or you can employ a variety of light modification devices made in a many different sizes. This article deals with the effects produced by one such light modifier, the soft box.

The soft box was developed more than 20 years ago as a way to reproduce the diffused, indirect light quality of open shade outdoors. A similar effect can be achieved by using natural light indoors from a north-facing window or an overhead skylight, however the intensity of these light sources is not always easy to control. Painters have been using natural diffused light sources for centuries because they give the subject a three-dimensional look, with detailed shadows similar to what the human eye sees naturally. Diffused lighting is also very complementary to the subject as it softens the features and improves the skin tones.

Soft boxes gained popularity in the commercial photography industry because they produced a natural looking rectangular light source that was very believable in product photography because they produced a natural looking rectangular light source reflected in the product. Without the soft box and its front diffusion screen, flash tended to create unnatural hot spots or specular highlights from the directional lighting of a silver reflector or an open umbrella.

However, round highlights are not always an undesirable effect. Many fashion and portrait photographers use umbrellas with front diffusers to create round catch lights in their subject’s eyes. What many don’t realize is that this same effect can be achieved by placing a circle mask over the face of a soft box to change the shape from rectangle to round.

Color balance is another important factor in your decision to use a soft box over a reflector. Most flash reflectors are silver, a color that reflects excess blue light. Since blue tends to darken shadows and brighten highlights, you now have several factors contributing to making a very small, contrasty light source: the reflector’s size (5-7 inches), its plus-blue light quality, and the lack of a diffusion screen over the reflector. A similar effect is created when you use an open soft box with a silver, rather than white, interior. Although the light source will be larger than with a reflector, it will still produce more contrast than a soft box with a white interior.

Some fashion and portrait photographers prefer to have more contrast in their lighting. They prefer the results they achieve with a large, white umbrella over the flat or "mushy" lighting produced by a soft box. It is, however, possible to modify the diffusion elements in a soft box to lighting scenarios with one piece of equipment. For example if you remove the internal liner found inside the light box, this will produce the most possible contrast from the soft box. If on the other hand the internal liner was placed back inside the soft box this will reduce hot spots and lower contrast levels on the subject. The light bounces around inside the box and helps to even out the light, and reduces shadows, makes them shorter and lighter.

While I’m not suggesting that any one of these lighting solutions is always going to be the right one for your subject, by illustrating these basic diffusion techniques, and showing you how to control contrast by adjusting the light source. You now have a basic foundation to build on, in creating your own unique lighting style.

If you have any web sites that you enjoy and would possibly be of interest to others please let the news letter editor know.

Thanks to Neil Koven, for this months Web Crawl.

1.)For digital darkroom enthusiasts: used Nikon LS-2000 film scanner for sale.
Handles 35mm negatives and transparencies, in strips or slide mounts.

* Resolution of 2700dpi allows enlargements up to 12"x18".
* Dmax 3.6 provides good shadow detail, even from saturated slides.
* Digital ICE supports automatic removal of scratches and other film
surface defects.

Includes SCSI card and cable, and setup in your computer. $900 OBO. Contact
Jack, 237-9182 (evenings).

2.) Fujimoto 35mm B/W condenser enlarger for sale. Negative carrier holds 35mm up to medium format. Comes with LPL 50mm lens and 8 X 10 easel. $175.00 obo.

Calgary Photographic Society Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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Updated April 26 , 2003 w.b.

please contact Wayne Baziw at baziw@yahoo.com