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
Ken Eis
Rich Ernst
Jim Fellion
Michael Hohol
Pam Jordan
Jack Lipscomb
Lynn Lewis
Paul Marcoux
Kristi Norman
Ed Ogle
Rich Roberts
George Theordore
Albert Wang

DISCUSSION TOPICS

1. Depth Maps
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We demonstrated, discussed and experimented with "ACR Lens Blur" and "Photoshop Depth Blur". Rich showed us how to export depth maps into Photoshop and gave some examples of their use.

2. What Makes an Image Wall-worthy?
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We discussed what makes an image wall-worthy, and it differs from photographer to photographer. We discussed whether anyone can judge another's images, it can be done but the photographer and judge have to agree on criteria first. We also discussed "What is Beauty?" and whether it is subjective or objective.

RESOURCES (Where you can find sources of inspiration)

Photoshop's Hidden Depth Mask: Make Photos Look 3D! by PiXimperfect

Triptych Photography: How to Think in Threes by Jonathan Jacoby

Constructive Critiques and Personal Projects (optional)
Several members showed images that they had created in the past month, and our group offered constructive criticism. I think it is important for us to learn to give and receive constructive criticism, and we may even learn how to improve our photography

PICK A TOPIC FOR THE NEXT MEETING
We decided to create Triptychs (groups of 3 images) for the next meeting.
"A triptych is a photograph composed of three individual frames sorted together in some fashion or other. The frames may be stacked, sorted in line, or in any arrangement you can come up with! They can also be of varying dimensions or even different shapes. As you can imagine, this affords you, the photographer, a ton of creative possibilities, especially if you enjoy using photography to tell interesting narratives as I do in my own work. Nevertheless, it also brings a certain learning curve with them to account for all that complexity, and this complexity deserves to be studied before making any brash attempts as a beginner." - Jonathan Jacoby

AGENDA FOR OUR NEXT FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY SIG MEETING - Tue 5/20/2025 @6:00pm
1. The main topic will be "Tryptychs", but we will probably also discuss other topics. 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.