Fort Collins Digital Camera Club

The goal of our Fine Art Photography SIG is to help each other to create fine art from our photography.
The Fine Art SIG is a place where artists support each other and nurture creativity in others.
Unrequested criticism can feed an artist's fear of failure and stifle their creative growth.

ATTENDEES
Robert Barley
Mike Barry
Judy Cannon
Heather Coe
Ken Eis
Rich Ernst
Jim Fellion
Michael Hohol
Pam Jordan
Jim Limburg
Jack Lipscomb
C Joseph Long
Paul Marcoux
Cyndee Meese
Kristi Norman
Ed Ogle
Rich Roberts
George Theodore
Albert Wang

OUR DISCUSSION TOPICS WERE "B/W Wall Worthy" and "Bad Photography Advice" and "Film/Digital"

1. "B/W Wall Worthy"
==============
Many of the SIG members showed the B/W images, and shared their color versions and why they like the B/W version.

2. "Bad Photography Advice"
==================
We discussed a few pieces of bad photography advice.

3. "Film and Digital Photography Differences"
==================
We continued our discussion of film vs digital photography.

RESOURCES (Where you can find sources of inspiration)

Chiaroscuro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro Lighting 101
https://en.canon-cna.com/get-inspired/tips-and-techniques/chiaroscuro-lighting-101-the-basics-of-chiaroscuro-in-photography/

Decoding Chiaroscuro: How To Shoot Glorious Clair Obscur Photos?
https://contrastly.com/decoding-chiaroscuro/

35 Gorgeous Examples of Chiaroscuro Photography
https://www.thephotoargus.com/35-gorgeous-examples-chiaroscuro-photography/

The Balance of Bright and Dark as the Key to Successful Chiaroscuro Food Photography
https://phoode.com/blog/the-balance-of-bright-and-dark-as-the-key-to-successful-chiaroscuro-food-photography/

How to Use Depth Maps in Photoshop Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvJkEg5BT9E

Secret Depth Map in Photoshop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp_eLXo6g_g

Constructive Critiques and Personal Projects (optional)
Our group offered constructive criticism for the B/W images which I found very instructive.

PICK A TOPIC FOR THE NEXT MEETING
I have decided on a few discussion topics for the next Fine Art SIG meeting. I may add more to the agenda, but let's plan on discussing these:

Create some Chiasocuro (kyärəˈsko͝orō) style images, and we will discuss the mood of these images. Chiasocuro style images emphasize shadow and light, they have a strong contrast between light and dark areas, and they typically have lots of dark areas. I think that they look great for pictures of people and still life.

White Balance

"Shoot what it feels like" - David duChemin

How to use Photoshop Depth Maps

AGENDA FOR OUR NEXT FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY SIG MEETING - Tue 3/18/2025 @6:00pm
1. The main topic will be "Chiasocuro images", but we may also discuss white balance, "Shoot what it feels like", and Photoshop depth maps. If you want to discuss something else, send me an email and I will add it to the agenda
2. Constructive Critiques and Other Personal Projects
3. We will pick a topic for the next meeting

Please email Mike, info@fcdcc.com, when you find mistakes, missing information or if you have suggestions for the Fine Art Photography SIG and I will try to address the issues.