Photographic Guild of Nova Scotia

Here are the planned activities:

(Please note: The race schedule will be subject to change and delays due to weather/wrecks/etc.)

10:00 am Arrive at Atlantic Motorsport Park – Meet in parking lot to the right inside the main gate. Entry fee is $10 per person, children under 12 can enter for free with an adult. The trip takes 50-60 minutes from Halifax.

10:15 am Parking Lot – Orientation, Safety and Rules as per racetrack officials instructions *MANDATORY*

10:30 am Racing Begins

Rules/Safety Notes:

1. DO NOT wear Yellow or Red jackets, t-shirts, etc. You will not be allowed track side. PERIOD! The riders can easily misinterpret a yellow t-shirt or jacket as a caution flag and may slow causing a hazard on the track. Red is worse as a red flag means the track is blocked by a hazard and stop immediately.
2. ALWAYS listen to the marshals. If you hear a whistle, STOP immediately and look around. This usually means you have walked somewhere you are not allowed to be for safety/security reasons. If the marshal is yelling at you to back-up, do it IMMEDIATELY or you will be ejected from the track area.
3. You are welcome to talk to the pit crews and riders throughout the pit area. However, only pit crews are allowed on Pit Lane. DO NOT walk along Pit Lane. It is very active and a rider can very quickly exit the track and drive down Pit Lane for any number of reasons. Serious injury can occur if you are in the way when an emergency happens.
4. Tower Area. Everyone is welcome to view the racing from the bottom level of the tower. To access the tower, you need to cross Pit Lane. You can only do this at the entrance to Pit Lane and only after exercising EXTREME caution looking for hazards first.
5. NEVER, EVER, cross the race track. The only access to the inner track area is via the tunnel under Turn 1.
6. NO ONE is allowed any where on an inside or outside corner unless behind a safety barrier and the marshal knows you are there and says it is OK. Some marshals will be more easy going than others. Your deportment can significantly improve your odds of getting a great location and REMEMBER, it’s ALWAYS better to ask first rather than hear a whistle and be told to move.
7. NO CHAIRS are allowed track side. If you bring one, you can only use it in specific areas behind safety barriers. NO EXCEPTIONS.
8. Accidents happen and you must be able to react INSTANTLY to move out of the way. If a marshal thinks you are a hazard you will be removed. No questions or discussion. You will be moved.

General Notes:

1. Atlantic Motorsport Park is located about 15 minutes from Shubenacadie and 50-60 minutes from Halifax. Directions:
• Take Exit 10 off Highway 102, and head into Shubenacadie (2.3km)
• At the stop sign, turn hard right onto West Indian Road (watch for the sign: Indian Brook / Mill Village / McPhee’s Corner)
• Drive 2.6km, keep right (Look for the Motorsport Park sign)
• Drive 2km, turn right (Look for the North Salem / Atlantic Motorsport Park sign)
• After 2.6km, the road will change to gravel. Drive on gravel road for another 2.2km
• Turn Right just before the farm (Look for the Atlantic Motorsport Park sign)
• Follow this road (1.2km) until you reach the Atlantic Motorsport Park gates
2. Recommended attire – Wear sturdy (maybe waterproof) footwear and prepare for weather. The field trip will take place regardless of the weather.
3. Lunch and snacks – Bring your own. There is a french fry truck/canteen located next to the registration building. The food is good, but not exactly on the healthy side of the menu. There will be approximately an hour for lunch. Make sure you bring lots of water.
4. Washrooms are located at the outfield between Turn 10 and 11. Vehicles are STRONGLY discouraged from pit road, so you will need to plan any trips to the washroom / tower / pit road area.
5. During orientation, I will collect field trip waiver forms. No form, no access to the track.
6. Be prepared to walk. The track, itself, is 2.5km long and consists of 11 challenging turns and varying elevations. The infield area is also challenging to walk and covers a VERY large area – about 300+ acres.

Gear/Equipment:

1. Depending on what you hope to achieve, a dSLR is highly recommended. A fast lens is not necessary, but will significantly improve your chance of capturing a good image.
2. You will likely want at least 100mm and the longer the lens you can bring the better. Last year I used a 100-400mm lens and mostly used 200mm as I was new to panning and kept cutting off half the bike at 400mm.  You will want a shorter lens for photos in the pit area.

Links

Atlantic Motorsport Park:  www.atlanticmotorsportpark.com
Atlantic Roadracing League:  atlanticroadracing.com
PGNS Field Trip Waiver Forms:  pgns-field-trip-waiver.pdf
PGNS Schedule – there is a map under the event:  www.photoguild.ns.ca/schedule/#map

See you there!

Pam Mills

Cape Split Wildflower Field Trip Changed to May 19th.

When: May 19th -Saturday 2012
Where: Scott Bay, Kings Co. Cape Split hiking trail
Meet: Exit 4, Hwy 101- Ellershouse, Newport. At the stop sign, turn left approx 300 meters to the car pool. We can pool up here or continue to Scott’s Bay trail head
Following Highway 101 take Exit 11 to the 358 north and to Canning, Blomidon Look off and Scott’s Bay. Follow the Cape Split signs to the parking lot and the trial head.

Time: Meet Exit 4 at 9 am and depart at 9:15 am. Depart at 10 am from the trail head.
The trail is approx. 8 kms each way. Bring layered clothing, waterproof footwear, sunscreen, bug spray, lunch, all the camera equipment that you can carry and plenty of water. After about 3 kms you
will come across a hardwood forest and a profusion of wildflowers on both sides of the trail, for the next 5 kms. Wildflowers include spring beauties, violets, red trilliums and dutchman’s-breeches. Last year it
appeared that the forest floor had a dusting of light snow.
Kindly download the Waiver from our web site at: http://www.photoguild.ns.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/pgns-field-trip-waiver.pdf

“Life is Good”

John

Meet at car pool parking lot exit 4 off highway 101 at 9:00 am, turn left at stop sign at end of exit ramp. The lot is just a short distance past the stop sign on the right. We will leave the parking lot at 9:20 am and drive towards Baxters Harbour and park at the trail head for Cobby Irving falls on Black Hole Road. We will head down the trail for Cobby Irving Falls past the falls and onto the shore where we will walk along the shore to Black Hole / Haunted Falls thus avoiding the steep descent to the falls. It is recommended that we spend no more than 1 hour at the falls due to the tides and to allow time for the other falls. On the return trip to the car we will stop to photograph Cobby Irving Falls.

Next we will drive a few hundred meters to the Porcupine Falls trail head, here you will find a series of 3 or 4 waterfalls with the furthest one being the highest and most spectacular.

Our next stop is the waterfall at Baxters Harbour and finally we will photograph Long Beach Falls just a few hundred meters from Long Beach Rd.

We will then stop at The Port restaurant, 980 Terry’s Creek Rd., Port Williams for supper around 5:00. Please remember to bring a signed Guild Field trip waiver which can be printed from the Guild’s web site, also to bring a lunch, water and sunscreen. Rubber boots are recommended.

Barry Burgess

barryburgess323@hotmail.com

Phone 857-1248.

Two of the competitions on March 18th have changes in their rules this year as follows.

NS Nature Trust Trophy

NSNT competitions are now theme based. This year the theme is: “Trees Native to Nova Scotia”. Images can be of individual trees, a grove of trees or mixed stands. There should be no people, manmade objects, animals or birds in the image. The book “Trees of Nova Scotia” by Gary Saunders is one reference for native Nova Scotia trees. All NSNT Competition images must be shot in Nova Scotia.
Please read the Blue Book for additional information about the NS Nature Trust Trophy competition.

NS Bird Society Trophy

Until this year, none of the previously winning species were eligible for the trophy. This changed for the 2011/12 competition year – the exclusion was reduced to the last four years.
This means the NS Bird Society Trophy for 2011-12 cannot be awarded to images of species listed below.

• 2008 Palm Warbler – Jen Fried
• 2009 Red-breasted Nuthatch – Ken Renton
• 2010 Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird – Marian D. Boyer
• 2011 Common Redpoll – Tuma Young

Registration at 8:30 AM and presentations will run from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Tickets are $40 at the door.  Join us in Theatre A of the Burke Education Building (corner of Inglis and Robie Street) of Saint Mary’s University to learn from our presenters about how to improve your digital imaging. Don’t forget to bring your current PGNS membership card! Members receive a $15 discount so the admission fee for members is $25.

Eric Boutilier Brown - Digital Infrared Photography:

• Camera options
• Technical Process
• Post-production workflow.

Colin Campbell - A review of Lightroom Plugins Nik, Topaz, OnOne, etc.

• How plugins fit into a photographic workflow.

Joey MacDonald Videographer -  How to use dSLRs to shoot video.

• Features of dSLR cameras: Frame Rates,  Aperture/Shutter,
• White Balance, ISO, Stabilization.
• Angles,  Lighting and Color Basics
• Editing Software and Settings
• Tips and Tricks and the Video Marketplace.

 Mike McCarthy – Photographic Workflow with Sneak Peek at Lightroom 4.

• Importing, tagging, keywording of images.
• Basic editing and processing including cropping, levels
• New 2012 process version for Lightroom 4 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.
• Look at the new Geotagging and Book Publishing modules.

Peter Steeper -  Colour Management for Lightroom 3/4.

• Soft Proofing in  Lightroom 4
• Profiling, Monitors, Digital Projectors and Printers.

Valuable door prizes have been provided by our sponsors: Carsand-Mosher and Henry’s.

5 days of fantastic seminars! The largest 2 day photographic trade show in Canada. Workshops! Print show! Speakers include Julianne Kost from Adobe, Joe Glyda, Tony Corbell and many others.
Full details available at www.halifax2012.com.

Due to warm temperatures and lack of frozen ice, the frozen waterfall field trip is cancelled. I can’t rebook as I will be away.

“Life is Good”

John Webb

This year is the Eagle Watch Weekend in Sheffield Mills, Kings Co. and they are celebrating their 20th year. We are meeting at 8:15 am Exit 4, Hwy. 101 at the car pool area, Ellershouse and departing at 8:30 am for Sheffield Mills, for those that do not know the way. Otherwise members should proceed to Middle Dyke Rd. in Sheffield Mills, where the poultry farmers will lay out dead chicks for the feeding frenzy that occurs sometime after that.

Directions: Take Exit 12 at Kentville or Exit 11 at Greenwich and follow the blue eagle signs to Sheffield Mills.

Kindly download the Guild Field Trip Waiver (see Quick Links)  and have it filled out and turned in.

The Community Hall will have Pancake & Sausage Breakfast
Child $4.00, Adult $7.00
Musical entertainment provided.
Community Hall, 98 Black Hole Road, Sheffield Mills.
8:00am – 2:00pm

Don’t forget to tour the upstairs where we have lots of Eagle memorabilia for sale. Some which include beautiful hand painted Eagle neck laces, T-shirts stamped with the beautiful array of Eagles including 20th anniversary patch, beautifully framed 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 Eagle photos, Eagle bookmarks, and fridge magnets, Eagle books, key chains, also a room set aside to watch Eagle movies in comfort.

Also upstairs at the hall we have an annual display and sale of Eagle photos, Paintings, Sculptures, etc. taken from various artists from surrounding areas which are also for sale. For a one dollar entry taken at the door you will receive a ballot to enter for a $100.00 door prize, also one of the artists could win $100.00 for the People’s choice award.

“Life is Good”

John Webb

The Photographic Guild of Nova Scotia is pleased to host a special presentation by Scott Linstead on Saturday, January 28, 2012.

A full-time wildlife photographer who specializes camera trap and high-speed photography, Scott Linstead has published articles in Natural History Magazine and has a column on bird photography techniques in Outdoor Photography Canada. His unique skill set applies both in the field and to captive situations. Scott has yet to encounter a natural behavior that couldn’t be captured on camera, from extremely high-speed insect action to elusive subject set-ups.

In this unique presentation, Scott will discuss his philosophy on creating wildlife imagery. Although Scott straddles both the traditional and high-tech camps in his photographic endeavours, the technical, biological and ethical subtleties of high speed and camera trap photography will be examined in particular. Get a peek behind the curtain at the massive technical undertakings of his most published images and hear a firsthand account on the realities of publishing natural history photography for a living.

As a secondary topic, Scott will discuss his latest endeavour: aerial photography from radio controlled helicopters.

Join us in Theatre A of the Burke Education Building (corner of Inglis and Robie Street) of Saint Mary’s University at 7:30 pm, Saturday, January 28, 2012. Tickets are $20 at the door and there will be great door prizes from our sponsors: Atlantic Photo Supply, Black’s, Carsand-Mosher and Henry’s.

Winter Solstice Sunrise at Horseshoe Island Park, Halifax – 22nd December, 2011.

The sunrise is at 7:48 am – we will meet at the park at 6:30 am on Thursday to capture the vibrant colours (hopefully) just before the sun rises above the horizon. We will start seeing the colours probably at around 6:50-7:00 am, but the traffic might be a little heavy at that time of the day.

We can expect a relatively mild morning with above freezing temperature. There is a 40% chance for precipitation with mostly overcast. If the sky opens up before or around sunrise, this might result some spectacular colours. As Saturday’s forecast looks better (scattered clouds, no rain/snow, -5 Celsius), we will have a repeat trip scheduled for Saturday. You can double dip and come to both of the sunrises – and if you do, please bring signed waivers for both mornings).

I went out a few years ago to the spot. It was -20 at that time, but some great images came out of the camera that day. Here are a couple of images from that shoot. The sea-fog was rolling in, resulting some magical backdrop:

What you need:
- Your camera – an SLR or DSLR with one or more lenses or an advanced Point & Shoot camera.
- A spare battery, fully charged of course.
- Sufficient memory card or film.
- Just in case: protection against rain or snow – e.g. a rainsleeve.
- A tripod – this is important, please do not leave it at home.
- A flashlight – since we start when it’s quite dark, the flashlight helps seeing the controls of your camera.
- Your creative self – dressed up warmly, it will be cold out there!

If you have time, we can go to a Tim’s after shooting to warm up with a hot coffee. If some of you are not in a hurry to go to work, we can take off to shoot some other locations after the sunrise.

As on the macro field trip, I ask all of you who will join us to post a couple of images to our PGNS Flickr Group:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/pgns/

Please bring a signed waiver with you! If you do not have a waiver yet, here is the link to download and print it:

http://www.photoguild.ns.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/pgns-field-trip-waiver.pdf

Hope to see you there!

Happy shooting,
Laszlo

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