The Steering Committee has finally completed revision of our Bylaws. Please review the updated document. We will vote on accepting the revised bylaws at our next monthly meeting on November 4.
Since Nancy Lehrer could not be at the October meeting to describe the next month's challenge topic, the Steering Committee has selected a new topic for the November Digital Competition Challenge. The topic will be "
- Last Updated: 06 August 2019 06 August 2019
Membership
You may become a member of the Thousand Oak Photo Group. Membership fees are $36 annually for the first member of a household. Additional household memberships are available for $10 per year. Membership fees are due and renewable on the anniversary month of your initial membership. TOPG members enjoy all club benefits including our monthly meetings, outings, programs, presentations and technical assistance. Also, as a member of the TOPG, you become a member of the Southern California Council of Camera Clubs, and you have an opportunity to submit images for their monthly photo contests. For more details, see our complete Membership Information.
- Last Updated: 22 September 2019 22 September 2019
Ventura County Fair Photography Competition Gallery
Congratulations to all the TOPG's winning photos. A gallery of all our winning images are now online. Congratulations to everyone who received recognition.Special congratulations to Terry Miranda for receiving Sweepstakes and way too many awards to mention. See the gallery now!
- Last Updated: 15 September 2019 15 September 2019
Ventura Land Trust Photography Competition (updated 9/6)
Congratulations to Ron Bosi for receiving 3rd place Award with "Coal Mine Canyon" and Steve Friedman for an Honorable Mention for "Milky Way Rising Over Boot Arch" at Ventura Land Trust's inaugural Nature Photography Photo Contest at Exhibit. Out of nearly 250 images submitted for review, 40 images were selected as finalists. Of the 40 finalist images, 13 were produced by members of the TOPG. Congratulations to TOPG members who had images selected for the finals: Ron Bosi, Steve Friedman, Roy Patience, Chris Chase, Crystal McAbee, Larry White, Mike Reyburn and Phil Chandler.
A gallery of the TOPG finalist's images are now on our website. You can also view thumbnails of all 40 finalist images from our website. Better yet, stop by the Rincon Brewery at 4100 Telegraph Rd., through November 30, 2019 and see the prints in person.
Thousand Oaks Photo Group Members Images Selected as Finalists
Ventura Land Trust Photo Contest Information
Come see the finalist's prints at Rincon Brewery, 4100 Telegraph Rd. in Ventura from September 5 through November 30, 2019.
- Last Updated: 30 September 2019 30 September 2019
TOPG Street Sig Field Trip
Friday, October 25th, approximately 8:15 AM - 6:00 PM
Day Dead in the City of Angels
Street photography on first day of Dia de los Muertos on Olvera Street in Los Angeles with the TOPG Street Gang SIG. Events are scheduled all day, but we will be fairly fluid. Group can decide about lunch, and everyone is free to do their own photographing anywhere to go to. Photograph Olvera Street, Union Station, streets around the area. Note: The Novenario Procession begins 7:00 PM. So you will have to choose another form of transportation if you want to stay for that event.
Suggested mode of travel is to take the Metrolink from Moorpark to Union Station @8:28AM and return from Union Station @5:10PM (Alternative mode of Transportation could be the LA Metro (subway) from North Hollywood. Take the Metro and meet with the the Metrolink group at 9:41 AM.)
For information about the annual Dia de los Muertos event, see their website: https://www.olveraevents.com/day-of-the-dead-olvera-street
For transportation information, see Metrolink and LA Metro:
Metrolink: https://www.metrolinktrains.com/globalassets/schedules/f_mlk_lft_alllines_spreads-web.pdf and https://www.metrolinktrains.com/schedules/
LA Metro: https://www.metro.net/
Bring extra memory cards, extra camera batteries, sun screen, and wear comfortable shoes. This Meetup Field Trip is open to ALL TOPG members regardless of experience or skill level so join us for this fun day of Street Photography.
Directions and other information specific to this field trip can be found at our 
site.
To participate in this or any TOPG sponsored field trip, you must be an active TOPG member and register for each sponsored event. Find out more about specific field trips at our Meetup page.
- Last Updated: 16 September 2019 16 September 2019
TOPG Sunset at the Beach Field Trip
Tuesday, October 29th, 5:15 PM
On Tuesday, October 29 TOPG will host a field trip to photograph a Malibu beach at sunset. This is date is selected because there will be a low tide around sunset. Sunset on Oct 29 is 6:04pm, low tide is 5:17pm, -0.7 feet. Members have made some great images at this location over the years – hope you can join!
Meet at either the Park n Ride in SE corner of the 101/Kanan Road interchange at 4:30pm, across from Jiffy Lube, or at the the site at 5:15.
Look for a large, but un-named, pullout/parking area on the ocean side of PCH about 4000 feet north (west) of Deer Creek Road. If driving from the south (east) you will need to make a left turn across PCH and there is no separated turning lane. Be careful when you do this. Beach access is via an old, steep concrete stairway and then over about 10 feet of anti-erosion rocks. Please carefully consider your ability to do this safely when you decide whether or not to participate on this field trip.
Bring a tripod, wide lens, cable release, some type of filter to darken the scene (ideally a variable ND filter) so you can obtain a long exposure, and a graduated filter (if you use this latter).
Effective beach images are VERY dependent on photo friendly weather and TOPG will cancel the trip if this is not anticipated, possibly to the following day Wednesday October 30, or to a date in November. Confirm that the trip is proceeding via the MeetUp page. Updated information will be posted on Monday morning, October 28.
Pete will work with members who want help with camera setup, composition, etc.
Your shoes will get wet and sandy so you may want to wear old ones and bring a 2nd pair for the trip home. A plastic bag to put the sandy ones in will limit the mess in your car.
Directions and other information specific to this field trip can be found at our site.
To participate in this or any TOPG sponsored field trip, you must be an active TOPG member and register for each sponsored event. Find out more about specific field trips at our Meetup page.
- Last Updated: 08 October 2019 08 October 2019
Photo Group General Meeting
Monday, November 4, 2019
Digital Composition Challenge
Challenge Topic: On the Beach
Judge: Chris Zsarnay
Website at http://www.zstudios.com/
Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/zstudios/
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/zstudios
Meeting Host: TBD
Scheduled Presentation: TBD
Digital photo entries must be received by MIDNIGHT, five days before the meeting. Digital images must be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To ensure that your entry is eligible, review the Rules and Guidelines for submitting entries for the Print Competition night, which can be found in “Contests and Challenges.” Files must be labeled according to Print Competition rules. Prints should be brought in at least 15-minutes before the meeting to ensure they are properly registered and posted on the display wall.
Note: The maximum digital image resolution for competitions is 1400 x 1280 pixels (width x height).
Thousand Oaks Library
6:00 PM
- Last Updated: 30 August 2019 30 August 2019
Thousand Oaks Photo Group Program Meeting
Basic Post-Processing Techniques
Presentation by Hutch Hutchison
Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 6:00 PM at the Goebel Center
Why does your image look flat? You have the composition down. The focus is great. But, the image just doesn't pop or might have minor distractions. Maybe you need to do more with post production techniques. Whether you use Lightroom or Photoshop there are lots of very simple ways to improve the look of you photo, once you understand the tools and how to use them. Hutch Hutchison will demonstrate basic post processing techniques along with some simple enhancements to improve your images
Plan on attending these Program Meetings in the coming months:
- No Program Meeting in December, See you in January.