Miles City Photography Club

November 2017 Membership Meeting

The Miles City Photography Club held the regular monthly meeting on November 27, 2017 at
the Miles Community College, Room #314. President Jesse Smith called the meeting to order at
6:33p.m. Members attending included Alisha Henning, Diana Reyff, June Minow, Juanita
Hastings, Mike Huseby, Chet Holmes, Gary Miller, Sherry Oster, Nathan Jacobsen, Bernadine
Jacobsen, Rick Abbott, Marshall Haferkamp, Jesse Smith, Dee Abbott and Sandy Whitney.
Agenda Items:
Approval of the Minutes: President, Jesse Smith made a motion to approve the Minutes as
emailed out to members; June seconded the motion. The Minutes were approved by unanimous
vote.
Reports from Officers:
President, Jesse Smith: Jesse advised he needed to contact Gail Shaw, Manager of the Eastern
Montana Fair concerning the Club's sponsorship of categories in the Photography Division of the
Fair.
Jesse reminded members of the Club's Christmas party on December 16th at the Miles City VFW.
The party will include a pot luck dinner and a white elephant gift exchange, with a $10.00 limit.
The festivities will begin at 6 p.m.
He also reminded members the 2018 dues will be due in January. Jesse further stated those
members who had joined during the 2017 Fair Special had already paid their 2018 dues.
Vice-President, David Moeller: David commented he had no report this month.
Treasurer, June Minow: June gave the Treasurer's report.
Secretary, Dee Abbott: Dee gave an update on judging the Great Falls Camera Club's November
contest, "Minimalism/Negative Space." She reported David, Maryann and herself were the
judges and judging would conclude on December 12th . Robin Memke, President of the Great
Falls Camera Club, had sent each of them a judge's critique guide by email and the entries via
Dropbox. Dee noted there were two categories of entries, Intermediate and Advanced and the
judging concludes on December 12th .
David commented he had downloaded the entries onto a thumb drive and was willing to share
them with the members. Dee suggested the entries could be used as the January program; those
in attendance agreed to view the photographs and have Maryann, David and Dee review their
critiques at the January meeting.

1
Committee Reports:
Field Trips Committee: No report.
Old Business: Jesse called for any old business.
 Fair Book: Chet noted the 2018 Fair Book will go to the printers in January; therefore,
any additions would need to be submitted before the end of December. Chet further
commented Shannon Holman, Superintendent of the Photography Division, had asked for
the Club's input on categories. David offered the suggestion of a Black and White
category. Chet also shared the color for 2018 was Lime Green.

 Waterworks Art Museum 2018 Juried Art Show: Jesse reminded members the deadline
to enter is December 4, 2017. The entry fee is $35.00 for up to three (3) entries. The
website for entering is
https://www.onlinejuriedshows.com//Default.aspx?OJSID=14867
New Business: Jesse called for any new business.
 December Theme: Jesse asked for suggestions; among those made included Wild Card,
Still Life, Favorite Photo of 2017. David made a motion that the December Theme be
Still Life; Mike seconded the motion. Still Life received a unanimous vote for the
December theme; Favorite Photo of 2017 received a unanimous vote for the January
theme.

 Limiting the Number of Shared Photographs: David stated the Executive Board had
discussed limiting the number of photographs shared during meetings to ten (10) due to
the increased number of members. David further commented the decision was not made
to offend any individual, but to encourage members to develop their critiquing skills.
Program: Jesse introduced Marshall Haferkamp, the November program presenter. Marshall
began his program by asking members if they had researched their camera's back button focus
capability and how many had looked at the online references given in the email Dee had sent on
November 24th . Several members indicated they had.
The website links given included:
http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/backbutton_af_article.shtml

https://improvephotography.com/4552/back-button-focusing/

https://nikonrumors.com/2014/01/25/how-to-use-nikons-af-on-and-back-button-autofocus.aspx/
Marshall then asked if anyone had set their camera settings for back button focus. Dee said she
had; Marshall asked how she liked it. Dee replied she had a learning curve to overcome, but she
had done some experimenting and was interested in doing more.

2
Marshall noted there were a number of videos on YouTube, and encouraged members to watch
them. He further commented that every individual has a different objective in their photography
and should use their objective in deciding whether to use back button focus or not.
Members thanked Marshall for his informative program. Jesse encouraged members to research
their specific camera and its capability for back button focusing.
November Theme Contests – Frost and Pets: Members shared their photographs highlighting
the November themes.
 Frost: Entries for the theme included Diana's "Frost on Sage", Sandra Whitney's
"Windshield Frost", Bernadine's "Frosty Paws", Nathan's "Frosty Viking", Sherry's
"Frost", Chet's "Frosty Landscape", Alisha's "Frost on Pink Flower", and David's
"Panoramic Snow & Frost Landscape". Members chose Alisha's entry as the winner.

 Pets: Entries for the theme included June's "Begging Sparky", Marshall's "Peek-a-Boo",
Diana's "Cat on Guard", Sandra Whitney's "My Girl", Bernadine's "Cat Sitting in the
Grass", Nathan's "Cat Ignores Me", Sherry's "Siamese Smelling the Flowers", Alisha's
"Guard Dog on Duty", and Mike's "Evil Eye Chicken". Members chose Marshall's entry
as the winner.
Upcoming Events:
December Christmas Party: The Club's first annual Christmas Party begins at 6:00 p.m., on
December 16th at the Miles City VFW. Dee reminded members to use the Facebook Christmas
Party event to post what they will be bringing for the pot luck meal – Main Dish, Salad, Side, or
Dessert. Members may also email her to advise what kind of dish they will bring. There will be
a gift exchange, with a $10.00 limit on the gifts, bringing a gift is not mandatory, but only those
that bring a gift will participate in the exchange.
December theme: Members are encouraged to be ready to share their favorite recent "Still Life"
photographs during the January meeting. Those unable to attend the January meeting are
reminded to share their entries online by (1) emailing Dee at
MilesCityPhotographyClub@gmail.com or by (2) posting to the Club's Facebook Photo Album,
"December 2017 Theme, "Still Life".
December Field Trip: Members decided there will be no specific field trip for December.
December meeting: A December meeting will not be held due to the last Monday in December
being Christmas Day.
January theme: Members are reminded to select their favorite photograph of 2017 and share it
at the January meeting.
January meeting: The January meeting will be held in Room #314, at Miles Community
College on January 29th, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

3
Adjournment: Jesse called for any further business or discussions. Jesse made a motion to
adjourn the meeting; Rick seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Jesse
adjourned the meeting at 8:02 p.m.
Minutes respectfully submitted by,
____________________________________ ________________
Dee Abbott, Secretary Date