Hello, Sweetwater Camera Club members, visitors and friends . . .

We have an interesting program lined up for you this month!

Thursday evening, August 12^th at 7:00 p.m. the Sweetwater Camera Club will hold its monthly meeting at St. Julian’s Episcopal Church in the Parish Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

 We will start the evening with a visit by the Cultural Arts Council’s past president, Allen Culpepper, who will speak to us about the upcoming events that the Sweetwater Camera Club will participate in with the CAC.

Our speaker this month is Andrew Woeber, who will be giving a presentation of some of his Aerial Photography. Although he is working on a new website, you may see a few of his images at  http://www.gaaerialphotography.com/ . According to his website, he creates High Dynamic Range aerial photography and videography.

This Month’s Contests: Architectural photography: A photograph of interior or exterior structures or structural elements. Early and late light tend to be the optimum times for exteriors.

You can find out more about the contest rules on the web at http://www.sweetwatercameraclub.org/contests . The rules state that you may enter two photos each in the color, monochrome and field trip categories.

Last month's field trip was to religious buildings: the Mandir Temple in Lilburn and the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

August, 2010 upcoming field trip: We will visit the Etowah Indian Mounds near Cartersville, Georgia. While we are there we might also drive around Lake Allatoona. Our next month’s contest is “Landscapes” so this will fit in nicely. You may investigate what the web has to say about the Indian Mounds by clicking here or using Google to search on “Etowah Indian Mounds.” The date will be Saturday, August 21^st. We will leave the Cultural Arts Center’s parking lot at 9:15 a.m. for those who want to carpool or just follow . . .  This field trip will be informal, meaning that you may drive there earlier, later, and look around. There is a state park nearby called Red Top Mountain State Park with hiking trails, and many places along Lake Allatoona to enjoy. There may be some fees (parking or otherwise) to get in to certain places, usually $5 or less.

You do not have to be a member of the SCC to attend one of our field trips or to come to our meetings, but you must be a member in order to enter any of our photo contests.

Magazine Cover Opportunity: For those of you who are interested, the Chapel Hill News & Views is asking that we provide the cover picture for the October Issue of the magazine. The deadline for submissions is around September 7^th. Please submit your photos to Tim Collins ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) with a copy sent to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The photo used for the cover will be chosen by the design staff of the CHN&V and your photo credit will be on the cover. Distribution of the magazine is approximately 40,000 copies.

Marci Raneri is leaving us and moving to Carolina Beach, N.C. She has a brand new outdoor display tent for sale including sandbags and other accessories. She bought the top of the line equipment and used it once. Her asking price is $350 or best offer. You can contact Marci at 678-476-2224 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . She is leaving on or around August 20^th so this is a limited time offer. 

Upcoming Cultural Arts Center events and responsibilities: The Sweetwater Camera Club will be hosting the art show that is coming up in early September. The opening for Paintings: Robby Pope & Joy Peters will be on Thursday, September 2^nd. The Sweetwater Camera Club will be providing the refreshments and greet the guests, -- serve punch and take part in making the opening a success. Dr. Robby Pope is the newly appointed President of the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County.  If you would like to help put on the Ritz on Thursday, September 2^nd, please let us know. 

Douglasville Celebrates Photography: During the month of October, the SCC will have its own show which will be hosted by a different group. Our show will have its opening on Thursday evening, October 7^th from 6 to 8 p.m. This year the show will feature the winning photos from our monthly contests over the past two years. This includes pictures that have won an Honorable Mention award as well as 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place in any category. We need at least 56 photos to make the show a success. This does not mean that you are responsible for matting and framing every single entry you have won an award for (in case you have won a lot) —what we are asking is that you matte and frame some of your winning entries and submit them. You will be asked to state a price you would like to sell your work for, should someone fall in love with one or more of your pictures. We will distribute the paperwork and provide more information as the time for the display comes nearer.

Please note: The only other stipulation is that your work should not have been shown before at the CAC, so if you provided a work last year for that show, it should not be re-presented at this year’s Douglasville Celebrates Photography Exhibit.

As always, the best way to become an excellent photographer is to study, share your passion, and most of all, get outside and make pictures. Come see us this Thursday evening and supercharge your interest!

See you at the Sweetwater Camera Club meeting!

For those of you who would like to join, the fee for the remainder of 2010 through December is $10 for an individual membership and $20 per family. You may join on-line at http://www.SweetwaterCameraClub.org/membership .

Richard Nichols, President of the Sweetwater Camera Club