Trilogy Life Blog

Welcome to the eighth article in the Club of the Month series on MyTrilogyLife.com. This month, we’re highlighting a group of talented photographers from La Quinta, California. Read on to get to know August’s Club of the Month, the Photography Club at Trilogy La Quinta, through the following interview with Larry Redman. (Click here to visit the full article with photos.)

When was the Photography Club at Trilogy (PCAT) founded, and by whom?
An initial group of fourteen photographers participated in the charter application for a photography club in the Trilogy La Quinta community in Southern California. The club was officially chartered as “The Photography Club at Trilogy” (“PCAT”) in January 2008. Mike Magic was the organizer and the first elected president; he served a two-year term. The current membership is some thirty-four photographers. Larry Redman is the current president, elected in January 2010.

What is the mission of the PCAT?
The stated mission of the club is: “To offer members the forum to interact with others who enjoy taking pictures, sharing and improving skills and participating in learning workshops and in creative assignments.”

How often does the Photography Club at Trilogy meet? What is the format of a typical meeting?
PCAT has regularly scheduled meetings on the second Wednesday of the month. We view the month’s shooting assignment in a slide show, with accompanying discussion by the presenting photographers of their image choices and locations and the circumstances of their pictures.

All of our slideshows are then shared with the entire community on the TV screen in our Santa Rosa Community Club in the main lobby. We also discuss and decide on the recommendations of the Shoot Committee for future photo shoots and attend to any administrative matters that may come up.

I understand that you also hold separate monthly educational meetings on topics of interest to your members. Can you describe these educational sessions for us?
Our goal is to regularly provide education and skill-building opportunities for our members, so we also hold a separate monthly educational meeting for this purpose. Our inaugural skill-building activity was a formal course presented by an outside instructor in four weekly installments on the use of Photoshop Elements (PSE). This was presented in March 2009.

In 2010, we established a schedule of educational topics – presented by club members – to enhance our creative skills. The topics of the sessions so far have been: “Shooting Raw and Using the Raw Editor;” “Learning to Use the Photoshop Elements Organizer;” “Using Elements Cropping Tools to Enhance Your Photos;” ”Explore Your Camera;” “Using Elements Tools for Cloning and Smudging.”

We have plans for this fall to extend our topics to further our exploration of photography as creative expression. We will address the artistic and journalistic components of taking pictures. Our goal is to become more adept at identifying the construction of well-crafted photographs and to share an appreciation of photography as an art form.

We utilize the Trilogy Computer Room screens as well as the Game Room’s large screen monitor when holding our education sessions. We bring our laptops to be able to follow the instruction and have hands on practice with the PSE software during our large screen presentations.

How is the monthly photo shoot chosen? What are some examples of past photo shoot assignments?
Each month our “Shoot Committee” meets to discuss future shoots. Consideration is given to ideas suggested by other members and those discussed at previous PCAT meetings. Recommendations are then scheduled and brought back to the group for final approval.

Some of our shoots are scheduled as group shoots in which members assemble, travel together to a specific location, and meet afterward for dinner and discussion. Other shoots are more subjective and are interpreted and shot by members at their leisure. Individual photo shoots have included: Up Close and Macro, Water Water Everywhere, Vacations and Summer Living, Holidays in the Desert, Artful Living, Gates and Doors, Desert Flora, and Color and Texture.

How often does your club go out on group photo shoots? Can you describe three of your favorite shoots to date?
PCAT typically goes on 5 to 6 group photo shoots a year. Some of our past shoots have included Joshua Tree, Anza Borrego at the time of wildflower bloom profusion (twice in three years), the city centers and surrounds of Idyllwild and Palm Springs, The Palm Springs Air Museum, The Living Desert animal refuge, Salton Sea, and local art festivals, public art, and landmark architecture. Three of our favorite group photo shoots, with accompanying images, are described in detail, below.

Salton Sea
PCAT visits the Salton Sea in January or February when the migratory birds are plentiful. We’ve photographed the east side of the Salton Sea including the Yacht Club (before and after its refurbishment to a beautiful new community center), Salt Creek, and Bombay Beach. We went to a location outside of Nyland, which is a city very close to Salton Sea. There we visited Salvation Mountain, which is a rather spectacular personal art project; in fact it figured prominently in the recent motion picture “Into the Wild,” directed by Sean Penn. Over the last 24 years, Leonard Knight has created a colorful painted mountain and compound to spread his own spiritually creative message, “God is Love.” On both of our visits, our day ended with sunset shots along the shores of Salton Sea and a shared dinner to discuss the day’s activities.

Wildflowers
Anza Borrego State Park has been the site of the group Wildflower shoots. Towards the end of February, we watch the Anza Borrego wildflower status news reports and schedule the trip when the most flowers are in bloom. Due to our abundant winter and spring rains, this year (2010) the variety of flowers was especially prolific. The group was rewarded not only with fields of blooming wildflowers, but also ocotillo and cactus blooms. This year we also photographed some of the many large metal sculptures erected throughout the park.

Joshua Tree National Park
Last December, PCAT visited Joshua Tree National Park for the first time. After a stop at the Visitor’s Center to meet with the ranger for guidance to specific scenic locations, we spent the day photographing the massive rock formations, beautiful landscapes, and quirky Joshua trees. Sunset found us at Arch Rock and the full moon created an added photographic opportunity. This time we had an especially anticipated dinner, we shared the day’s adventures, and our videographer member documented the funny discussions. The park is so large that the group is planning another trip to photograph the archeological sites and historic buildings that are scattered throughout the park this coming fall.

Are most of your members seasoned photographers, or do you have a mix of skilled and new photographers?
Our membership boasts both professional and published photographers as well as hobbyists and family historians. We have varying skill levels and this is reflected in choices of photographic equipment and cameras used by our membership, which range from handy point-and-shoot cameras to professional SLR Digital and video cameras. Our recent “Explore your Camera” session was designed to share camera know-how as we worked together to get familiar with individual equipment and discuss acquisition of new items and cameras coming on the market. We worked with Casio and Panasonic point-and-shoot varieties, Canon SLR digitals of varying vintages, Nikon’s D 90, and a few other brands, too.

Is the PCAT open to all members of Trilogy at La Quinta?
Yes, and we are always open to recruiting new members. This past winter we held our first annual Taco Fiesta at the La Quinta Golf Clubhouse, to which we invited the entire Trilogy community. That night we shared a gallery display of much of the past years’ work product of the PCAT photographers and some very good food.

If new members are interested in joining, how can they do so?
We welcome interested persons to our meetings on the second Wednesdays of the month at 2:00pm in the Santa Rosa Club Computer Room; the Calendar of Events published by the membership services staff includes our scheduled dates. We do not need advance notice for a new attendee. Cameras are not required for meetings, as our primary purpose is to present and view photographs. Field trips are open to members only; non-members wishing to attend should be in touch with the president to inquire about initiating membership prior to the shoot.

Thank you, Larry, for taking the time to share the story of the PCAT with us.