Our next meeting is on Wednesday, November 7.  It is a competition night.  Our assigned subject for the month of November is Motion. Prints and slides will be accepted for competition up to 7:15 p.m.  We will begin the meeting promptly at 7:30 p.m.

We are pleased to welcome our three judges to our Club this coming Wednesday, bios courtesy of Roger Busch:

PAUL MINDELL

Paul has lived in Connecticut since 1984, and has works in private, corporate and museum collections.  He received his BFA from the University of Michigan and his MAT from Rhode Island School of Design. He is Associate Professor of Art at Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey.

Paul works from his studio in Norwalk, CT.  A painter by training, Paul was inspired to work with photographs while traveling with his daughter a decade ago.  Shooting hundreds of pictures at a given scene, he cuts, crops, and rearranges them with a painterly technique that has become his personal signature.

"My photo collages reinvent the realities of my city and landscape locations shoots. Each is vibrantly alive with its own unique energy and mystery.  Whether seen up close or from a distance, each one draws you in. I like how that creates a sense of wonder and intrigue."

See Paul’s website for his full Artist’s Statement (excerpted above) and for samples of his work:  http://www.bergen.edu/facultyhome/mindell.asp

This will be Paul’s first time as one of our judges.

DICK ROBERTS

Dick says his background is "pretty simple," as follows:

"In my twenties I was a film animator in Paris…I met Cartier Bresson who saw my photo work and encouraged me to continue in that direction.

Back in the states I was a live action filmmaker.  Worked on lots of documentaries.  Shot a lot of stills.

Recently started painting (water colors) and experimenting with digital cameras.

Most recent expo was at Arcadia Coffee Co. in Old Greenwich with large (30 x 40) photos taken from the front of a speeding train called "Fast Tracks."

Dick is a returning judge.

RICHARD TEDESCHI

Below are excerpts from Richard’s web site:

"I started taking photographs when I was 10 and was given a used 35mm range-finder camera. B&W film was purchased in 100ft bulk rolls and hand loaded into cassettes. My father set up a portable darkroom in the bathroom and I became the family photographer.

After receiving my degree in Mechanical Engineering at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute and taking additional courses in color theory and printing at Rochester Institute of Technology, I began a long career designing photographic and graphic arts equipment. In 1971 I started working for Simmons Omega helping to design the first Dichroic color enlargers.  I was given access to a complete color lab for testing, and began taking color photographs, using the lab after hours to print my own images.

Five years ago I purchased my first digital camera and renewed my interest in color photography. It also began, what I believe will be a lifelong learning experience with the digital darkroom."

To read Richard’s complete statement and to see some of his photos, see his website at http://rtedeschi.zenfolio.com.

This will be Richard’s first time as one of our judges.

Where — Topsmead State Forest, Litchfield, CT
When — Sunday, October 21, 2007 @2:30p
Meeting — Commuter Lot at Exit 44 Merritt Parkway

Thought we could try to capture some of the last of the fall colors before they disappear. Sunday’s forecast is looking to be a great one, partly cloudy and in the upper 60’s. Here’s an excerpt from the book Connecticut — Off the Beaten Pathá on Topsmead State Forest:“East of Haight Vineyard on Buell Road (off East Litchfield Road) is Topsmead, an estate turned park that looks like it belongs in the British midlands. When Waterbury heiress Edith Chase came home from a European tour enchanted with English manor houses, she determined to build herself an authentic Cotswold cottage, complete with leaded-glass casement windows, hand-hewn beams, and buttery stucco exteriors. She found the right location in Litchfield, and there she built. The Cotswold cottage of her dreams was designed by architect Richard Dana, who shared Miss Edith’s love for English cottage architecture. Topsmead, however, was more than a building. It was also a vast garden and a working farm. Miss Edith was as fond of English country gardens as of English architecture, and she surrounded her home with formal manicured gardens and with cutting gardens full of the flowers most beloved by English gardeners, roses, sweet William, and phlox. Even in her late seventies, she reputedly walked a daily mile around these gardens, inspecting, issuing orders, and sipping from an ever-present glass of skim milk.When Miss Edith died, she left her 511-acre estate to the state of Connecticut so that everyone could enjoy a touch of England in Litchfield. The Topsmead gardens and grounds are now Topsmead State Forest and are open all year for picnicking, sledding, cross-country skiing, and hiking. You can tour the house on the second and fourth weekends of each month from June to October.”I’ve seen a few images from Topsmead on-line, and from what I’ve seen and read, it looks like a great location for photography.The distance is about 50 miles or so and should take an hour to drive. Please let me know if you would like to join us on this trip up into the Litchfield Hills at
DHFore@hotmail.com

The Photography Club of Lower Fairfield County is pleased to welcome Olaf Soot to speak to the Club on Wednesday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. Olaf Soot will present a slideshow of his photography of his mountaineering images. Mr. Soot is a renowned designer and engineer by profession, but he also has a passion for mountains and photography. He has previously made similar presentations to the Explorers Club in NYC and to the Adirondack Club. These presentations have also been published in book form. Mr. Soot will answer any questions we may have and tell the stories behind the photos. He was recently quoted in the Greenwich Time newspaper with this: "When you are in the mountains, you live the kind of life mature dictates you live. You cannot negotiate your way up a mountain; you can’t conquer it. It is not a show, you are not entertained, but you can find yourself." This will be a great show for both photographers and for anyone interested in climbing or mountaineering.