September 2025

From the President...

Last month I ended with how photographers captured their images during the Civil War. I am now going to jump ahead a couple of decades. In 1884 George Eastman developed film to replace the photographic plate so that a photographer no longer had to carry boxes of photographic plates and toxic chemicals around. By July 1888 Eastman’s Kodak camera came on the market. The slogan for this camera was “You press the button; we do the rest.” With the development of this camera anyone could take a picture and leave the processing to someone else. Photography became available to the mass market in 1901 when the Kodak Brownie was introduced.

While color photography became commercially available in 1907, it was not something the average person could afford. It mainly served a niche market of affluent amateurs. In 1935 the introduction of Kodachrome film brought about 16mm home movies and in 1936 35mm slides.

Next month I’ll look at where we stand now.

As summer starts to wind down, I hope that everyone has had a good time seeing family, friends, perhaps exploring our country or just relaxing at your summer residence. Keep sending those pictures of your explorations to Sue Ready for our Facebook page.

Our club programing, i.e. Showtime, Travelogue and Speaker Series, will start up again in November. Think about putting something together for one of the first two. Save these dates: March 5 will be our volunteer luncheon, and April 7 will be our annual meeting and 50th birthday party. I’m still looking for photos of club events from the past and present for the birthday event.

Keep pressing that shutter button. Until next month,

Kim Holmes, President

Keep Our Facebook Page in Mind

Thanks to all those members who submitted their field trip photos for the Facebook page. During the summer, don't forget to send in your vacation photos.  

Be sure to send me your favorite photos so I can post them in Facebook. Those photos are also where I get to choose the Photo of the Month featured in the newsletter each month. Your photo could be chosen next!

Sue Ready, Facebook Coordinator

Photo of the Month

The Photo of the Month is chosen from new and archived photos submitted to Sue Ready, the club's Facebook Coordinator. Keep sending the best of your work to Sue at suready@yahoo.com so we may continue to showcase the refined capabilities of GVR Photography Club members. Photos should be submitted in .jpg format and please include its title and location. -ed

After many years serving as the Education Coordinator Gene Komaromi has decided to slow down a bit. He has graciously agreed to tutor me through a transition, and I hope I can continue his great work. My name is Jim Gardner, and I will do my best to keep the tradition of successful education coordination Gene has established.

I am a retired high school teacher. I taught twenty years in Montana and another twenty years in Oregon. During that time, I was mainly a Math and Science teacher.

I have always had an interest in photography, but I really became involved after I retired and had to replace golf as my main form of recreation. I mainly shoot wildlife and landscapes. Madera Canyon and Canoa Ranch are two of my favorite sites locally. After observing the multimedia SIG, I’m considering working with video. They really have a good time!

I am looking forward to observing all the current SIGS (special interest groups) and I will be available to assist them in any way I can. If any members have interest in starting a new SIG, contact me and I will help set up and make the necessary arrangements to start.

With fall approaching, the club will be busy and I will do my best to help members enjoy our facility.

Don’t stop learning!

Jim Gardner, Education Coordinator

Library News

September is “Save Your Photos” month, a global celebration of photography. In addition to the many resources in the Photography Club and books in our Library, you might enjoy the YouTube videos presented by Save Your Photos Month. 

During the month there are four weeks, nine events, to view:

• Before it’s too late: a guide to preserving your printed photos
• How to digitize your photos to safeguard your memories
• Organizing digital photos for safe storage
• What is the family photo really telling you?
• How to safeguard photos form fire, water and disasters
• Tips to save photos damaged from fire or water — restoration and recovery
• Rebuilding your collection after a disaster
• Clearing the clutter— clearing the emotional weight of photos
• Essential tools for photo preservation

Celebrate saving your photos!

Becky McCreary, Librarian

This Month's Club Activities

Jump to SIGs

Jump to Travelogue

Jump to Field Trips

Jump to Photo Ops

Jump to Showtime

Jump to Speaker Series

Check the Club Calendar for the latest information on all club activities. Photography Club members are also welcome and encouraged to attend the club’s monthly Board of Directors meetings. Check the Club Calendar for the date of the meeting and attend in-person at the club, or remotely by registering using this link. The Board is always interested in comments and new ideas from the members.

Need help with your digital camera, smartphone camera, slide/print scanning, photo printing or a photo editing software application? Photography Club Volunteer Helpers are available to help. Log in to the club’s website. Click on the three bars at the far right of the home page menu bar and select Volunteer Helpers. Once you've found a helper, scroll down to see their contact email listed. Help is just a few clicks away.

Showtime

Preparing for Next Season

Hello everyone,

Just a quick reminder—SHOWTIME returns in just two months! This season, both SHOWTIME and Travelogue will begin at 2 PM, a change from our previous 7 PM start time. We’ll still be meeting at Desert Hills, just a little earlier in the day.

I hope you're already working on videos to submit for the upcoming season. While I’ve received a few great ones so far, I’ll need many more to fill out the full schedule. If you’ve attended our MMSIG meetings over the summer, you know we’ve had a fantastic turnout—and we’ve uploaded several of those meeting videos to YouTube for you to enjoy anytime.

So let’s get creative! Whether it’s travel, hobbies, storytelling, or something totally unexpected, I encourage you to start filming now. November will be here before we know it.

Looking forward to seeing what you create!

Todd F Taylor, Showtime Host

Travelogue

Returning in November

Travelogue starts up again this November. We have already received a few great videos.  Please keep them coming.  How about some short videos on Arizona trips? You can send us your travel videos free via WeTransfer.com or Filemail.com - or if you prefer, bring us a video on a flash drive and we can make the transfer that way.

Our fall season will begin in November at Desert Hills with our new afternoon 2:00 pm start time. We look forward to seeing you then, but please send your videos now.

Thank you so much!

Sherrie Lee Lucia & Anne Karakatsoulis, Travelogue Co-Coordinators

Speaker Series

Returning in November

Kim Holmes, Speaker Series Coordinator

Field Trips

When it comes to field trips, we’ve enjoyed a successful summer season, with trips to Mt. Lemmon, a first-of-its-kind trip to see nesting Crested Caracaras, a series of Sunset with the Bats outings in Green Valley and Tucson, and most recently a trip to the University of Arizona’s Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum, truly a gem of an experience for the participants. I’m looking forward to another great variety of field trips during our “high season” which runs from October through April.

With that in mind, I need your help. Almost 70 percent of our members participated in at least one field trip this past year, but we currently have only five members volunteering to lead field trips in the coming year. If we try to maintain the same number of trips as in the past, each of those five individuals would have to lead a trip every two weeks.

On Friday, October 24^th, I will be providing an orientation to discuss what’s involved in leading field trips, the field trip staff who work behind the scenes to make your job as a field trip leader easier, and some of the benefits of being a field trip leader – for instance, did you know the club covers the cost of your admission? I hope you will mark your calendar and join Lynn Rozema, Sarah Sheehan and me at this important meeting.

Thank you for your continued support!

Monica E. Parker, Field Trip Facilitator

Photo Opportunities

The days are getting cooler, so the festival, fair, and rodeo season is starting to warm up. Highlights include Oktoberfests in Sierra Vista and Sahuarita, rodeos and county fairs in Sonoita and Douglas, a lantern festival in Benson, a Chile Festival at various locations, and the usual shoot-‘em-up action in Tombstone.

If you’re a fan of stop-motion animation and “dynamation” techniques that allowed live actors to seemingly interact with stop-motion creatures (think Jason and the Argonauts or Mysterious Island), you just might enjoy Miniature Models of the Silver Screen at the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures. The exhibit runs from September 30 to May 3.

Finally, don’t forget to enjoy free entrance to the National Parks on September 27 as part of National Public Lands Day. Learn more here. 

Grab your camera, smartphone, or other favorite digital device and take some great shots

Historic Canoa Ranch

• Dates, times and events vary - $10 per event, registration required
• Historic Canoa Ranch, 5375 South I-19 Frontage Road, Green Valley, AZ
• Find more information here.

Colossal Cave Mountain Park

• Daily, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm – Prices vary
• 16721 East Old Spanish Trail, Vail, AZ
• Find more information here.

Ignite Sign Art Museum

• Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm – $14
• 331 South Olsen Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Titan Missile Museum

• Thursdays to Mondays, 9:45 am to 5:00 pm – prices vary, reservations required
• 1580 W Duval Mine Road, Green Valley, AZ
• Find more information here. 

First Thursday at the Tucson Museum of Art

• Sep 4, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm – Pay what you wish, reservations required
• Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, 140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Mainly Murals Walking Tour

• Sep 6, 8:00 am to 10:00 am – $35, registration required
• Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Hummingbird Banding at the San Pedro House

• Ongoing Saturdays, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Free
• San Pedro House Visitor Center, 9800 East Highway 90, Sierra Vista, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Barrio Viejo (Old Neighborhood) Walking Tour

• Sep 7 & 21, 9:00 am to 11:00 am – $35, registration required
• Rosendo Perez Park, 424 South Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here for Sept 7 and here for Sept 21. 

Sunset Historical Tours at Mescal Movie Set

• Sep 7 & 21, 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm – $20, reservations required
• Mescal Movie Set, 1538 North Mescal Road, Benson AZ
• Find more information here. 

Santa Cruz County Fair

• Sep 12-14, Gates open at 9:00 am, events and times vary - $5
• 3142 South Highway 83 Sonoita, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Turquoise Trail Walking Tour

• Sep 13, 7:00 am to 9:30 am – $35, registration required
• Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Mexican Independence Day

• Sep 13, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm – Free
• Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

Second SundAZe at the Tucson Museum of Art

• Sep 14, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm – Pay what you wish, reservations required
• Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, 140 North Main Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Vigilante Sunday

• Sep 14 & 28, 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm - Free
• 311 East Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ
• Find more information here for Sep 14 and here for Sep 28.

Public Art Tour + Meet Muralist Ignacio Garcia

• Sep 20, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm – $65, registration required
• Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

8th Annual Lantern Festival

• Sep 20, 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm – prices vary
• San Pedro Golf Course, 926 North Madison Avenue, Benson, AZ
• Find more information here. 

23rd Annual Roasted Chile Festival

• Sep 12-14, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm daily, locations vary - Free
• Various locations in Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Sierra Vista Oktoberfest

• Sep 12-14, Fri 5:00 pm -11:00 pm, Sat 8:30 am -11:00 pm, Sun 11:00 am - 5:30 pm 
• Veterans Memorial Park, 3105 East Fry Boulevard, Sierra Vista, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Cochise County Fair

• Sep 25-28, times, events and fees vary, rodeo at 6:00 pm Fri and Sat
• Cochise County Fair Grounds, 3677 North Leslie Canyon Road, Douglas, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Sahuarita Oktoberfest

• Sep 26, 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Free
• Sahuarita Lake Park, 15466 South Rancho Sahuarita Boulevard, Sahuarita, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Murals and More of the 4th Avenue District

• Sep 28, 9:00 am to 10:30 am – $35, registration required
• Corbett’s, 340 North 6th Avenue, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here. 

Ray Harryhausen: Miniature Models of the Silver Screen

• Sep 30 to May 3, Tuesdays to Sundays, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm 
• The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, 4455 E Camp Lowell Dr, Tucson, AZ
• Find more information here.

We are always looking for recommendations for future photo opportunities. Please feel free to contact me If you have suggestions for upcoming events of interest.

Tom Parker, Photo Op Coordinator

Special Interest Groups are fun and educational. Any member of the Photography Club is welcome to attend any of the SIGs.

Click on any of the links listed to get more information on each one.

Multimedia SIG
Black and White SIG

Studio and Fine Art SIG

On Assignment SIG

Photoshop/Lightroom SIG

Canon R Series SIG

Photoshop Elements SIG

Monitor Notes

Monitors typically welcome and check in club members, answer the phone, and inform those seeking information about the club. We are all indebted to the dedicated team of monitors who volunteer to keep the Photography Club open. Many thanks to all of you.

We are always looking for additional monitors. Help us provide all the benefits the club offers to its members. As you take advantage of the club's activities and its extensive digital processing equipment, consider sharing the effort in providing these services by volunteering as a monitor.  You are not expected to know how to use the equipment. Training takes about three hours.

Contact: gvrcameramonitors@gmail.com for more information.

Photography Items

Wanted

or

For Sale

FOR SALE

Olympus E510 is digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera

• 40 – 150mm 1:4 – 5.6 lens
• 14 – 42mm 1:3.5 – 5.6 lens
• Olympus Digital EX-25 Extension Tube
• Olympus LH-61C Lens Hood
• Olympus LH-61D Lens Hood
• 8GB 133X Compact Flash elite pro memory card
• 4GB 120X Compact Flash memory card
• Olympus 58mm UV Filter
• Cokin 58CPL Circular Polarizer Filter
• Four 7.4v 2100mAh batteries
• Travel Charger
• 18 Cokin Filters
• Cokin lens adapters and hood.

Complete system $100 or best offer.

If interested, contact Bob Kavmarcik at (262) 994-2902 or Bob@MysticSunshine.com

Do you have any used photography equipment that you want to sell or are looking for to buy? List those items in the newsletter.

All items:

• May be placed only by current, past or families of past members.
  
• Must be for used photography related equipment.
  
• Must include your name, or the name of the past member, and contact information.
• Should be submitted to neilwicai@gmail.com.
• Must be placed by the 25th of the month prior to the month of listing.
• Will run for one month, but may be resubmitted up to three times to be listed again.

GVR Photography Club

The GVR Photography Club is one of the largest photography clubs in the U.S. with over 600 active members. Regardless of your skill level, you'll have fun honing your skills in taking, editing, and presenting photos and videos. Share your photographic passion with others. Take FREE courses and join our Special Interest Groups to get the most from your digital camera, smartphone, action camera, or drone. Learn the ins and outs of post-processing software. Use our state-of-the-art equipment to digitize and edit photos, slides, and videos. Go on club Field Trips to practice your photographic skills. Exhibit your photos/videos at our Showtime and Travelogue events. Come make friends and photographs!

The Photography Club is located on the 2nd floor of the west wing at the Santa Rita Springs GVR Recreation Center. You may contact us at:

PO Box 1423, Green Valley, AZ 85622 or  gvrphotographyclub@gmail.com. 

Neil Wicai, Newsletter Editor - neilwicai@gmail.com - 575-224-1238