Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be at the Pin & Cue Bowling Alley in Whitefish, MT. at 6:30PM Thursday, May 8th.

Minutes from April By Adele Scholl

Last month's meeting was short but sweet. With a great showing of images from Lake McDonald. Every time I go out to the lake I am overwhelmed by it's beauty. I never get tired of looking at those majestic peaks or taking photographs of them. I often think of Ansel Adams standing on the same ground, wondering what inspired him to shoot south on the lake. Wondering if he ever took shots of majestic peaks to the North, that we in camera club love to focus on.

Check out Ansel's shot of Lake McDonald

Jeff and I showed a few panoramics from the HeliCam from Lake McDonald, a shot from the North Fork Jeff also spent a day at Maria's Pass taking shots of the Glacier peaks and The East Glacier Lodge.

Becca started off the show with some nice shots of Lake McDonald. Focusing on those amazing peaks to the North. Steven showed us his angles from Lake McDonald as well. Proving my point that you can have two photographers standing near each other and still have very unique images of the same location. Nice shots you guys.

Dan Wiebe as a relatively new camera club member, showed us incredible photos from Utah and a few from home. He showed us outstanding images from Antelope Canyon and The Wave. Desert shots in the middle of our "Mud Season" inspired me to think of the sun and wanting to escape to the South. Without having to bear the heat, he took us there. Dan also showed us his talent in Macro shots, with up close and personal shots of owls, meadow larchs, gekos and much more. Great Job Dan we hope to see more of your work in the future.

If you missed out on the slideshow you can see some of his shots from his site http://www.glacier-imagery.com/

Joe Beck also wowed the club with shots from Alaska. He showed us shots of abandoned vehicles and buses, that were left behind from the building of the Alaskan Pipeline. Joe also showed shots from Keno City, Canada. He did make his way into Denali as well. Showing some impressive shots of a Moose trying to shed his velvet and a smiling Grizzly Bear. I am always excited when Joe brings pics to camera club. Not only does he travel all over the world, but he is a great photographer as well.

John traveled to Lake McDonald and showed us shots from Fish Creek just a few weeks apart. When he returned to Fish Creek he photographed a foot of new snow. Is this really April in Montana? John did a nice job of showcasing the peaks to the North of the lake as well. He also focused on Fish Creek, where it dumps in Lake McDonald.

Jesse showed some interesting shots as well. Showing the club a different perspective of the Museum. He presented a time laps of pictures of the burning of the Kalispell Museum. Along with his narration of the process. It was very powerful seeing a building that took over 4-5 hours to burn, burn before your eyes in a few seconds. Burning right down to the ground.

Other News from Rex Short

If you are interested, here's the deal: Ginna saw this Tarantula in the driveway, so we got the camera. When we returned a Tarantula Hawk Wasp had approached and stung the Tarantula, which paralyzes the spider [see below]. At first we couldn't quite figure out what had happened, because as we approached to within an inch or two in order to focus [super macro 60 mm lens] there was no movement. Then we figured out that the wasp, which was still circling her prey, had already paralyzed the spider. So we had the perfect specimen: alive, eyes wide open, but unable to move. So we carefully moved the Tarantula onto the edge of a black piece of cardboard to be able to shoot eye level on a tripod, and here you have it. This is life size, 1:1, exactly the size here as it is, tentacles hanging over the edge, with the black cardboard indistinguishable from the lower background that turns black due to the flash. At this magnification there is very little depth of field, so we exposed one photo with the eyes sharp and another with the foreground tentacles sharp and blended the two: razor sharp eyes and razor sharp tentacles. Many of you will be very familiar with these techniques, but that's how we did it. We've been thinking about how we might photograph a Tarantula, but we didn't imagine we'd be so lucky as to have a live paralyzed subject. We put the Tarantula out of range of the Hawk Wasp, so we'll find out in the morning if it survives. The article doesn't seem to address the possibility of human intervention.

No further e-mail means either the Tarantula died [or we died]. Otherwise, we'll report the survival.

Later,
Rex & Ginna

Tarantula Hawk Wasp

These insects are easily identified. Its dark black body shines with a metallic look, providing sharp contrast with its bright orange wings. The bright colors are probably important for establishing dominance, and attracting a suitable mate. They are nectar feeders, and can often be found in gatherings of a dozen or more feeding on plants. They are especially fond of milkweed flowers.

Their means of reproduction is what gives them their name and fascinates those of us with a morbid curiosity. Females who are ready to lay eggs is on the lookout for a tarantula. They often disturb the web near a tarantulas burrow, and when the tarantula rushes out the wasp stings the spider and injects venom.

Now this is where it gets weird. Instead of killing the tarantula, the venom only causes paralysis. The wasp then drags the tarantula to a burrow, stuffs it down the hole, and then lays her eggs on top of the paralyzed spider. Several days later the eggs hatch, and the larvae feed on the still living tarantula. Not a pleasant way to spend your last days! When the larvae mature they metamorphose into adult wasps to complete the cycle.

Common Name: Tarantula Hawk, Tarantula Wasp, Tarantula Hawk Wasp
Latin Name: Hemipepsis spp.
Habitat: Dry hillsides and rolling arid plains
Range: California and Mexico

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Buffalo Hills Terrace

Larry Stolte continues to support this really worthwhile program with efforts above and beyond the call of duty. I can't tell you how happy I am that he has devoted so much time and effort and does it so well. Please help him and volunteer to do a program soon.

Classifieds

Adele has an older 21 inch monitor CRT Viewsonic monitor that is FREE if someone wants let her know and she will bring it to camera club. You will just need a monitor cable and power cord to make it work. It still works, however it is very large and heavy. adele@gravityshots.com

The 344 Gallery

Our new Gallery show features some of Lyle Olson's wonderful work from his last trip to India. Watch for the Artist reception June 6th.

PROGRAMS

Adele & Jeff - Grand Canyon via the Colorado River (21 days on a rubber raft) May

Greg Thigpen June
Bruce Ruby August
Pady Dusing September