Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be at the Pin & Cue Bowling Alley in Whitefish, MT. At 6:30PM Thursday, January 12, 2006. Dr. Vernon (Gene) Grove will do a program on birds and nature.

Nature Program

Gene Grove a very accomplished wildlife and nature photographer will give us one of his excellent programs. He has lived in Whitefish about four years and is a retired Dr. from Texas. He has been a renowned nature photographer for many years and we are lucky he has accepted our invitation.

My favorite photographer for December

Hands down Dani Dobyns. Dani never makes a mistake. Her timing is perfect her posing is perfect her lighting, focus, and composition are always perfect. The only thing wrong with Dani's photography is we don't get to see enough of it.

Doug Dye, the new kid is also a past master of film. Sorry to note he has invested in a 20D. I must say, however, that in our group it matters not whether we shoot film or digital, we are going to see some really fine photography.

GALLERY SHOW

We will be hanging a new show in our Gallery. Mike Lacy has been the star attraction for several months and now Mike Spence will be showing his pictures. We have no set time for each show to hang so I expect Mike to be there until at least April.

Camera Club people are first in line so if you would like a show please let me know. You can hang anything you like and anywhere between 8 and 16 prints depending on the size.

Since this is strictly non-profit for me I ask that you pay for your opening and do your own mailing. I will do all that I can to get people in the door. The amount of money you spend on the opening is entirely up to you. Anything from cheese and crackers to full catered. It is also a possibility to coop with other members if you are so inclined.

WEB SITE

We still have some room on the CC web site. I am very pleased with the slow steady progress we are making towards improving the site. We have a way to go but you know what is said about long journeys. They begin with the first step.

Are any of you aware of how happy it would make me if all of you looked at the site just once a day?

We are still thinking that links to other sites would be a good idea. Many of you have your own web sites. If you want a link to the Glacier park and camera club site please let Adele know.

We work long and hard to make nice pictures, lets share them with the World.

HOCKADAY OPENING

The Hockaday is opening a great show January 19th at 5:30. The photographer is Herman Schnitzmeyer. He was born in 1880 and died in 1939. Most of his work is in the Polson area but he traveled throughout the valley. He is known to have homesteaded Wildhorse Island and spent a great deal of time on the island before selling his interest and moving to Polson where he carried on his photography.

WINTER

What to do with it? I can clearly remember when winter was as much fun as any other season in this beautiful place where we live. It was never too cold or too stormy for me. I loved hiking and hunting in bad weather with snow past my knees. Plodding up steep snowy slopes with sweat on my brow in zero degree temperatures seemed like fun. The solitude of being in a cold snowy place miles from city noise and totally devoid of people always appealed to me. Wind and blowing snow just added to the sense of seclusion that was a part of my life. How lucky we are to afford ourselves the opportunity of wondering aimlessly about in fresh fallen snow with nowhere to go and nothing better to do. Mother nature is trying hard to keep you in a rocking chair and you are as determined to show her who is boss. Best of all you really can beat her.

Not every walk in the snow needs to be as arduous as those I enjoyed. Any evening walk through fresh snow on any walkway in America can be as enjoyable as any I remember. Winter really can be nice.

Skiing was a sport in which I excelled, and never has anyone had more fun on a snowy slope. Skiing in deep powder on steep slopes is the greatest most fun experience one can have. The feeling of floating through each turn with the snow billowing in your face and the excitement of putting dozens of perfect arches in snow where no man can follow is without equal on the fun scale. There is not now and never has there been any doubt in my mind about the most fun activity on Earth. Just ski.

Skiing is the best but not the only really fun way to play away winter days. Cross country skiing, ice fishing, snowmobiling and drinking fine wine with good friends works too.

Now back to the premises of this intrusion to your newsletter. Winter and what do we really do with it.

I just got off the phone with D Blank. She was enjoying a good book. When was the last time you curled up with a good book. The very thought does not conjure up sugar plumbs dancing in the air or the best way I've ever spent an evening, but certainly an idea not totally without merit. Mike Spence has read two-dozen books in the last six months. His pain threshold is far beyond what I can stand but two or three might work. Teddy Roosevelt one of our most eloquent presidents read a book every night. Here is a fellow who even without a pair of skis never quit having fun. Teddy had far more excitement in his life than most of us can imagine and if he enjoyed books why can't we.

Even though D was enjoying her afternoon escape from reality she mentioned that when she finished the book she thought she would sort and catalog some slides.

Now in the course of just 5 minutes D came up with two novel ideas about what one can do in a Montana winter.

There is no doubt that the task of sorting slides or cataloging digits is a job all of us would like to put off forever. As nice a fellow as Santa has been over the years it is reasonable to assume that he has never placed a cute little slide-sorting Gremlin in the stockings we hang with such great care.