Tonight is judging of the August monthly competition. The theme is Shallow DOF and the judge will be Marc Lebryk.

Attendees will be divided into groups of 4 photographers and each group given a LONG list of items and subjects to find and photograph.

Each team will have ~30 minutes locating and shooting as many of the list items as possible.

You will walk and work together as a team finding items, and helping each other with creative composition and camera settings.

This is a great way to meet other members and share our artistic views.

Photos taken will be shared on a big screen

Don Fitzpatrick, owner of Don Fitzpatrick Fine Art Photographs & Image Maker in the Stutz Building, will discuss creating fine art images.

This is also the evening to turn in photos for the August monthly competition. Note that this has been changed from a print competition to a digital competition. The theme is Shallow DOF and the judge will be Marc Lebryk.

How to enter PVCC monthly competitions.

We'll take advantage of a summer evening for a photo field trip to Carmel Central Park. Things to shoot include the boardwalk, painted arched bridge, lakes with lilies and reflections, aquatic wildlife, wildflowers and the sunset. Enter off of College between 111th and 116th.  Park in first lot on the right (playground parking).  Meet at 7:30 p.m.  Sunset is 9:01 p.m.

Longtime PVCC member Robert Gough is the judge for this month's competition. It's a digital format competition, with the topic "Shapes."

We'll be making our annual trip north to Peru, Ind., to photograph the Peru Amateur Circus featuring performers ages 7 to 21. No circus animals, but lots of acts on the ground and in the air make for a fun evening of photography. Flash photography is not allowed, so fast lenses and perhaps a monopod will be helpful. The show starts at 7 p.m., so check in around 6:30 p.m. at the front desk. Identify yourself as a Photo Venture member for free admission. We do not have assigned seats, so we can roam the lower level and the balcony.

Some members will be meeting for dinner at Smitty Musselman’s Pub and Grub at 202 S. Broadway in Peru at 5:30 for dinner.

You can expect to need at least an hour to drive to Peru from the north side of Indianapolis.

We will not hold a weekly meeting on Thursday, July 12, as we prepare to head north the next day for our annual photoshoot at the Peru Circus.

Bring no more than 5 images on a thumb drive and share what you like about the images. A panel will critique the images.

This is also the deadline day -- by midnight -- to enter photos in the July competition. It's a digital competition, and the topic is "Shapes."

How to enter competitions.

We'll meet at The Tarkington theater in Carmel to photograph the dress rehearsal of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre's performance of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The performance starts at 6:30 p.m., so be there by 6 p.m. to get ready.

A big evening on tap: We'll be selecting the club's entries to the Indiana State Fair from the June competition entries, and we'll be electing officers for the coming year.

All club members in attendance this evening will participate in choosing the five images that the club will submit as its entry to the State Fair camera club competition. Photo Venture will pay for the printing and the entry fee for the club entries.

We'll travel to Starkey Nature Park in Zionsville. From the park's web site: "This 80-acre park, located a quarter-mile southwest of the Village, is the largest park in Zionsville. Starkey Park is named for Lucile Starkey who bequeathed a major portion of the land to the Town in 1974 for use as a nature park. The park’s wooded bottomland along Eagle Creek offers scenic beauty, hiking trails, nature study and perfect settings for photography." 

The park's address is 667 Sugarbush Drive, Zionsville. We'll meet at the park at 8:30 a.m.  See link for location of parking area.

Photo Venture members Charles Yang, Oscar Hoffman and Tracy Foote will present an "All China" slide show.  We'll meet in the IAC Auditorium.

Indianapolis photographer and medical illustrator Gary Schnitz will share his macro photography techniques.

This is also the deadline to enter the June competition. The topic is "State Fair Entries" --  the club's submission to the Indiana State Fair camera club competition will be selected from the June entries. You may enter up to four images that were submitted for Photo Venture competitions over the past year (starting with the July 2017 competition). The images may be re-edited to incorporate recommendations from competition judges or other considerations. The entries do not need to have received an award in the original competition. There is no separate open topic. The format is digital -- see how to enter digital competitions.

We will meet at the Major Taylor Velodrome, home of the Marian University Cycling Team. This is an excellent opportunity to have fun with action photography at one of the nation's few operating velodromes, shooting bicycle racing at a 333-meter track with 28-degree banked turns. The velodrome is at 3649 Cold Spring Rd.

NOTE THE EARLY STARTING TIME:

Please arrive at 6:30 p.m. to have a brief safety discussion, as well as to gain access to the infield. The velodrome calendar shows the event starting at 7:00 p.m. Karl Zemlin will take notes during the safety briefing so anyone who shows up late can be informed. However, late arrival may preclude you from shooting from the infield. Tripods and monopods shouldn’t be an issue, but do not use flash.

Photo Venture members Ronda Hamm-Jeske and Ryan Jeske give a program on "Travel, Landscape and Wildlife Photography -- Where to Find Them and How to Shoot Them."

We'll be meeting in the IAC auditorium.

Photographer Rona Schwarz will be the judge for the May competition, for which the topic is Tabletop Photography. We'll meet in the IAC auditorium.

We'll meet to photographer Coxhall Gardens, a 125-acre park that includes an elegant Centerpiece -- twin 90-feet bell towers -- along with a recreation lake, and the Children's Garden. The park is located on the north side of West 116th Street, between Hoover Road and Towne Road. You can enter from either Hoover or Towne. Gardens located north of 116th in Carmel between Towne on the west and Hoover on the east.  You can enter from either street. We'll meet at 7:00 pm in the northeast parking lot -- the restroom building is visible east of the parking lot -- for an overview of park, shooting opportunities, camera setting discussion and suggestions by Scott Kinzie.  Bring a tripod for low light shooting and a variety of lenses including macro for flowers.  Sunset is 8:48.  The two towers are lit at night. The park closes at 9:00 p.m.

Our guest presenter is Steve Brokaw, talking about street photography. It's also competition turn-in evening. The May topic is Tabletop Photography, and the format is digital.

NOTE THE EARLY START TIME AND ALTERNATE LOCATION!

This week's meeting will be a street photography field trip in Broad Ripple. We will start promptly at 6:30PM at the corner of Westfield Blvd. and Winthrop Ave.  The address next door is 6311 Westfield Blvd.  The location is a raised wooden sitting area. This is a PVCC members-only event.

Steve Brokaw will conduct a 30-minute street photography workshop on location. Over the next two hours, members will travel through the Broad Ripple, practicing their street photography skills. Each member will receive a map with four additional rendezvous points. Each point will have a designated arrival time. The points are spaced 30 minutes apart. The first location will be at our initial meeting place at 7 pm. We'll gather at the three subsequent locations at 7:30, 8 and 8:30 pm. We will conclude the workshop formally at 9 pm. Steve Brokaw will be at each location with two models and will provide us with on-location guidance and expert advice. This should provide all members with some wonderful experience and images for their portfolios.

Members are encouraged to bring minimal equipment -- no flashes, tripods or large camera bags. The objective is to maintain a low profile. One camera with one fast, wide prime lens is ideal.

If you plan to photograph the models, please bring $5-10 to help defray that expense.

Competition judging for April. The topic is food, the format is digital, and the judge is Dave Pluimer. Before the judging, Kristi Swift of IPPG will make a short announcement about the upcoming Indiana State Fair Photo competition.

We'll travel south to photograph Helmsburg Sawmill and Bean Blossom Covered Bridge. To carpool, we'll leave at 9 am from the Waffle House, just north of McDonalds, 4937 Knights Way, Indianapolis, located at Ind. 37 and I-465 on the south side. Plan to gather at Helmsburg Sawmill, 2230 State Road 45, at 10 am. After the sawmill, we will visit the covered bridge which is about 5 minutes away. Finally, lunch at Brownie’s Family Restaurant, 5730 N State Route 135. Most of what we will see at the sawmill is outdoors, so dress for the weather.

Richmond-based photographer Jim Chagares will present a program entitled "A Fresh Look At The Landscape."

Location change: Note that we'll be meeting at St. Luke's United Methodist Church at 100 W 86th Street in the Fellowship Hall. Enter through Door 6.

Photographer Gary Potts will discuss "Infrared Photography in the Digital Age."

This is also the turn-in deadline for the April competition. The topic is "Food" and the format is digital. Information on how to enter competitions.

Ernie Taylor, along with his wife Dot have created over 300 welded pieces of artwork that adorn their acres long yard. For years passersby's have wondered what the giant dinosaurs, birds, bugs and alike have been doing there, especially since they are not for sale. We'll go there to take pictures.

The location is on Ind. 32 just west of the Indianapolis Executive Airport.

We'll meet at the Tarkington theater in Carmel to photograph the dress rehearsal for SUPERHERO -  A man called Jesus by the Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre.

NOTE the change in time and location -- you should arrive no later than 6 pm to set up for the rehearsal, which begins at 6:30 pm.

Photographers Rona Schwarz and Lesley Ackman will present a program on photography in Cuba. They recently traveled there on a photo workshop led by Rad Drew.

Indianapolis commercial and fine art photographer John Siskin will judge our March competition, with the topic Texture.

Local photographer and CEO of the Luminous Landscape, Kevin Raber, will discuss his photographic adventures in Greenland and Iceland.

Photographer Steve Brokaw will present a program on street photography.

Photo Venture member Dave Pluimer will present at program titled "Food," which will help prepare us for the April competition, for which the topic will be Food. Dave will be judging that competition and discussing the entries on April 19.