GV Camera Club’s new course features ‘Digital Camera Cowboys’

Registration is in full swing for the Green Valley Camera Club’s 2009 edition of its popular photography course.

This year, the club has added a number of new topics and retained several favorites, calling the course “Lasso Your Favorite,” with instructors calling themselves digital camera cowboys.

Starting Jan. 15 and running for 10 weeks, classes are held every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Kino Room next to the club’s new studio on the second floor of the Recreation Village at Santa Rita Springs, 921 W. Via Fuerte. Participants may choose which day they prefer.

The course fee is $25 per student for the extensive course instruction materials and participants must be up-to-date with Camera Club annual dues which are $30. Participants will be able to make both payments at the studio where registration is conducted. No phone registrations are available for this course.

“Many people who own a digital camera are discovering that they can do more with their camera than just take snapshots,” stated Don White, president of the club. “That is why, this year, our 10-year-old, annual, photography course has been changed.”

The new course will teach new camera owners how to use their cameras, but will also focus on the many other things digital camera owners can do. These include: making prints, sending photo e-mails, creating slide shows, taking better pictures by following a few simple rules, storing images on CDs or DVDs, creating short videos with the video feature now included on most new cameras, and even creating professional looking hard-bound books of pictures to send to friends and family.

“This year’s course theme is Lasso Your Camera, make it do more fun things for you,” said Carl Sparfeld, the club’s director of education. Sparfeld, a retired teacher, enjoys showing people how to get the most out of their digital cameras.

“In 2008, the camera industry in the U.S. sold over 40 million digital cameras,” Sparfeld added. “The idea of ‘lassoing your camera’ and making it work for you highlights the fact that digital cameras can do so much more than old film cameras could ever do — all the owner needs to do is learn how to use it. It’s our job to teach them.”

Some individual classes include: 20 tips on how to take great pictures; how to load and store your images into your computer; the basics of good picture composition and the fun of close-up photography, to list a few.

New this year is a class on how to put your pictures into a hard-bound book.

The Camera Club Studio is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Phone 520-648-1315. For information on the photo course, call Carl Sparfeld at 520-625-9648.

rford@gvnews.com | 547-9740