Camera Owners of the Bay Area

The Holiday Party and final meeting of 2008 for the Camera Owners of the Bay Area (COBA) user group will be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, in Cordura Hall 100 at Stanford University from 7:30-10:00 pm.

Bird Photography

Why photograph birds? Birds are beautiful creatures. They are also interesting. They lead fascinating lives. They exhibit exciting behaviors such as predatory, courtship, reproductive, nesting, and more. However, they don’t stay still for long and can be challenging to photograph.

Oliver Klink has tackled various aspects of bird photography over the last few years. His work has progressed from photographing birds for identification purpose, to capturing their challenging behaviors, to finally turning photographs into stunning wildlife art print. You will be dazzled by the story of the Black Crowned heron picking up ducklings, the hummingbirds hugging a backyard fountains, birds in flight at sunset, and many others.

Oliver Klink has a Masters in Physics engineering and an MBA in business. Klink also studied photography in college in his home country of Switzerland. He says, “Giving Nature the ability to speak through my camera is what inspires me.” Oliver travels to many countries to teach workshops and photograph animals in the wild. Oliver’s work has been exhibited at various US and international galleries. His most recent exhibit was at ModernBook Gallery in Palo Alto, California

Creating a Dance Calendar

Marty Sohl has been creating a calendar for the Lines Ballet company for many years. Currently the calendar is sold at all Barnes and Noble bookstores nationwide. This 45 minute presentation by Edward Casati, Marty’s husband/assistant will outline the process that Marty goes through for photographing the dance company, sorting and proposing the photos that can be used in the calendar, processing the photos and submitting them for publication.

1. Introduction
2. Presentation of Materials
3. History with Lines Ballet company
4. How Marty established her relationship with Barnes and Noble
5. A calendar photo session explained.
6. Sorting and selecting process.
7. File output – Quality and specs.
8. Questions and Answers

Holiday Party

It’s the end of the year and time for COBA’s annual Holiday Party! If you can, bring some snacks, food, drink and holiday photos to share with your fellow COBA members. The more the better!

RED has taken off the wraps of its new Epic and Scarlet lines. Contained within the products is RED’s response to the 5D Mark II. Instead of buying a new camera every few years, you just replace the sensor modules and keep all of the remaining components — batteries, grips, viewfinders, input/output modules, etc. Very impressive if they can pull this off in the timeframe they specified (Spring 2009). It’s a great time to be a still photographer and videographer!

Canon’s revised Canon Professional Services membership forms are now available. Sign up as a Silver, Gold or Platinum member today!

The November meeting for the Camera Owners of the Bay Area (COBA) user group will be held on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, in Cordura Hall 100 at Stanford University from 7:30-10:00 pm.

Canon 5D Mark II with Jim Rose

Jim Rose from Canon U.S.A. has received his sample EOS 5D Mark II and will answer any remaining questions about Canon’s latest DSLR.

Political Photography Part II: Jared Polis for Congress

For the past week, I have been in Colorado documenting the final week of Jared Polis’ campaign for a congressional seat in Colorado’s District 2. Following up on last month’s presentation by Mona Brooks, I will share my favorite photos and stories from the election trail. You can view photos of my trip following Congressman-elect Jared Polis on my SmugMug gallery.

For those who are more technically — rather than politically — inclined, I’ll also discuss equipment, what worked and what didn’t work, and what I’d do over had I the chance!

Gadget: What Would You Invent?

We’ve had presentations in the past from COBA members about their favorite gadget, but what about those gadgets that have yet to be invented? We’ll spend the evening discussing what we would love to have in our cameras, in our bags, and on our computers. Who knows, perhaps one day someone — or even you — will invent it!

SmugMug Monthly Contest

I completely forgot what this month’s photo contest will be, so for November, just bring the best photo you’ve taken in the past 30 days. The winner of the most popular photo will get a free 1-year Pro SmugMug subscription.

Location

Cordura Hall 100
210 Panama Street
Stanford, CA 94309

http://tinyurl.com/6ct8ob

Cordura Hall is on the corner of Campus Drive and Panama Street. Park in the lot across the street. Cordura 100 is next to the courtyard between Ventura Hall and Cordura Hall.