Happy Memorial Day!

"Iris and Lavender" by Paula Cooper for Class B Nature category.

"All Alone" by Mandy Lundy for special competition 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World'.

"Cutey Pie" by Mika Conn for Class B General category.

Friday - May 28th

"Inner Sanctum of a Tulip" by Margaret Brown for special competition 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World'.

"We call him Monkey" by Leslie Miller for Class B General category.

"A Quiet Place but not Alone" by Jeff Williams for special competition 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World', 2nd Place.

Thursday - May 27th

"Beautiful Rose" by Julie Keifrider for Class B General category.

"Quiet at Last" by John Keifrider for special competition, 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World.

"Where is the nuts?" by Joe Baucom for Class B Nature category.

Wednesday - May 26th

"Alone on Sunset Beach" by Jerry Cooper for special competition 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World', Honorable Mention.

"Lightning Struck" by Jan Baucom for Class A Nature category.

"Flower" by Herman Kirby for Class A General category.

Tuesday - May 25th

"A Refreshing Oasis" by David Stiles for the special competition, 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World', Honorable Mention.

"Bride to Be" by Diana Fields for Class B General category.

"Bird of Prey" by Duane Cain for C
lass B General category.

Monday - May 24th

"Eyes of Green" by Carol Rice for Class B General category, 3rd Place.

"Peek A Boo" by Crystal Mullen for Class B General category.

This month's special competition was titled 'A Quiet Place/Alone in the World.

This was Angelia Bowley's submission, "Cross Eyed".

Friday - May 21st

"Let me tell you a secret" by Margaret Brown for Class A General category.

"Water Lilly" by me for Class A Nature category, 3rd Place.

Thursday - May 20th

"Senior Moment" by Patricia Stiles for Class B General category.

"Swing" by Morgan Myers for Class B General category.

"Spring Creek" by Mika Conn for Class B Nature category.

Wednesday - May 19th

"Icicles" by Mika Conn for Class B General category.

"My Basketball Player" by Linda Applegarth for Class B General category.

"Fort Desoto Pelicans" by John Stone Steele for Class B General category.

Tuesday - May 18th

"Lucy" by Mandy Lundy for Class A General category, 2nd Place.

"Yucca Rays" by Olivia Walton for Class B Nature category, 2nd Place.

"Ocean's Morning Kiss" by Patricia Stiles for Class B Photojournalism category, 2nd Place.

Monday - May17th

"Fawn" by Joe Baucom for Class B Nature category.

"Nations Capital" by Joanne Myers for Class B Photojournalism category, 3rd Place.

"The River" by Haskell Stephens for Class B Nature category.

Friday - May 14th

"Red Flower" by Herman Kirby for Class A General category, Honorable Mention.

"Spot of Day Break in the Canyon" by Duane Cain for Class B Nature category.

"Here comes Marvin" by me for Class A Photojournalism category, Honorable Mention.

Thursday - May 13th

"The Hunt" by Carol Rice for Class B Nature category.

"Maddie 2" by Amy Stephens for Class A General category.

"The Rebound" by Anita Barnes for Class A Photojournalism category, 2nd Place.

Wednesday - May 12th

"Let me tell you a secret" by Margaret Brown for Class A General category.

"My Basketball Player" by Linda Applegarth for Class B General category.

"Fort Desoto Pelicans" by John Stone Steele for Class B General category.

Tuesday - May 11th

"Hawk" by Robert Atchley for Class A Nature category, 2nd Place.

"Natural Falls" by Diana Fields for Class B Nature category.

"First Day Dreaming" by Jeff Williams for Class B General category.

Monday - May 10th

"Ft. Gibson Dam from the Park" by Bill Stephens for Class A General category.

"Contrasting Color and Lines" by Jan Baucom for Class A General category.

"Downtown" by Rhnea Burcham for Class B General category.

Thursday - May 6th

"Cosmos" by Olivia Walton for Class B Nature category.

"Crop Dusting" by Mika Conn for Class B Photojournalism category, Honorable Mention.

Wednesday - May 5th

I subscribe to a newsletter called BetterPhoto.com, through that I had the opportunity to review Harold Davis' new book called "Creative Black and White".

I couldn’t wait to open up my copy of Harold Davis’ book, “Creative Black and White”. At first glance I thought this book was going to enable me to convert color photos into Black and White, but know when I’m taking the photo the settings I choose will make it a ‘great’ Black & White. This is not a medium I had any appreciation for before I read this book.

In the Introduction; “My goal in Creative Black & White is to be your companion. . . Together we’ll experience what it means to think in black and white. I’ll show you many of the visual ideas that can work well with black and white, and share my expertise and the technical approaches that can be used to create high quality digital black and white photos.” Boy did he deliver! Throughout the book he gave example after example of Black & White photos and showed us the settings in the camera he took of those photos to achieve the desired result.

I’m a dentist by trade and consider myself an ‘Advanced Hobbyist Amateur’. I’m the president of the local photography club; even write a daily blog for the club. I submit photos on a monthly basis and take photos for different organizations around town, but never thought about Black & White as a medium that was ‘artistic’ in my hands. “Creative Black and White” teaches the basics behind any good photograph, i.e. Contrast, Shape & Form. . . Shades of Gray. Check out the ‘Contents’ page and see how complete Harold covers the subject of Black & White and how simply he teaches you how you can do it.

He teaches how to convert color photos to Black & White using multiple techniques; Camera Raw, Photoshop, Lightroom and different Photoshop Plugins. He gives us many ways to achieve the desired result; he’s not married to one particular method.

I’m anxious to try my hand at Black & White Photography. “Creative Black and White” has given me the confidence to expand my knowledge base on what subjects make great Black & White opportunities, how to properly ‘step by step’ convert from color to Black & White and also shows ‘before and after’ examples.

This book is the complete ‘how to’ book for those of us that had NO idea that Black & White photos had so much promise. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to use it at our teaching sessions at the photography club. This will be a great opportunity for us as a club to try our hand at a subject only one or two have ever used.