Stay Focused Photo Club

Delaware Bay Days is the largest FREE festival in the tri-state region. It is held along the ‘wild and scenic’ Maurice River in the historic New Jersey fishing villages of Bivalve, Port Norris and Shellpile, and at East Point Lighthouse, located in Heislerville.
Delaware Bay Days is hosted by the Bayshore Discovery Project. It is a fun-filled family day celebrating the rich maritime history, vibrant culture and phenomenal natural resources of the Delaware Bay.

Stay Focused Member John Oesterling received first prize for two photos he submitted (they tied, and sponsors did not have a run-off for a tie-breaker, so the two photos share the first prize):

Fortescue

East Point Light in Winter

The 27th annual World Series of Birding was held from midnight Friday through midnight Saturday. Birders across the region attempted to spot as many species of birds as they could.

Two of our Stay Focused club members participated as part of the Big Stay team, the Forsythe Sitting Ducks. The “Big Stay” is where you attempt to spot the most species from a single location. In this case it was the Gull Tower at the Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge in Galloway NJ.

BIG STAY AWARD (highest number total species in a single location) — 82 species

Forsythe Sitting Ducks: Kris Arcuri, Ed Bristow, Anne Harlan, Kevin Lippert, Chris Marks

Congratulations! Hope you were taking some photos and we get to see them at a future Stay Focused club meeting!

President Anne Harlan writes:
Ed Bristow and I from the club, along with three other outstanding people, are participating in the World Series of Birding this year. We are doing what is called a “Big Stay” which means you draw a 17′ diameter circle and identify every bird you can from that circle. We are calling ourselves the Forsythe Sitting Ducks because we will be doing our sitting at the Gull Tower, representing Forsythe and Atlantic Audubon.

If you would like to donate to this, the proceeds will be divided evenly between the Friends of Forsythe and Atlantic Audubon. If you wish, you can donate a flat amount or a certain amount for every species we see. (All donations are fully tax deductible.)

Hopefully, it won’t rain, and if it doesn’t, we expect to spot somewhere around 60+ species. In any case, we will be at the tower from about 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. until well after sunset on Saturday, May 15. Wish us luck!

Anne Harlan

The National Wildlife Federation is now accepting entries to the 2010 National Wildlife Photo Contest.

Cash prizes of more than $30,000 plus other gifts will be awarded to the winners in seven categories in three separate divisions. Go to the entry page at http://www.nwf.org/PhotoContest/default.aspx
for more details and the complete rules.

• Two $5,000 Grand Prizes
• Pro, Amateur and Youth divisions
• For your $20 entry fee, you can submit up to 25 images in 7 categories:
  Birds, Mammals, Other Wildlife, Landscapes/Plants, Connecting People and Nature, Backyard Habitat and Global Warming
• Winning images will be published on our website and a selection will appear in our December 2010 issue

Deadline for entry is July 6, 2010!

Best in Show: David Woeller - Immature Night Heron

Color Prints

1st Place: David Woeller - Immature Night Heron
2nd Place: Eileen Woeller - Eastern Kingbird
3rd Place: David Woeller - Black Crowned Night Heron
Honorable Mention: John Oesterling - Blue Heron and Reflection
Honorable Mention: Ed Idzik - Storm Clouds on the Marsh
Honorable Mention: Ed Idzik - George Slowski
Honorable Mention: Rita Rigas - A Graceful Stem

Black and White Prints

1st Place: Anne Harlan - Perfect Landing
2nd Place: Ed Idzik - Motionless
3rd Place: Gail Metzinger - Winter Wonderland
Honorable Mention: Dave Woeller - Jen’s Trail Pond
Honorable Mention: Roger Jennings - November Reflections
 

Best in Show Winner Dave Woeller with Volunteer Coordinator Sandy Perchetti, left, and Stay Focused Club President Dennis Louglin, right

The current exhibit at the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona NJ features the work of local photographers from Stay Focused Photo Club. The exhibit may be seen without a gate pass or security check at the airport. Parking is free for the first hour. Check it out! Directions to the airport here.

The following appeared in the Press of Atlantic City in the Hometown section on December 2, 2009. Click on the images to view enlarged.

The 2009 Sally Rowland Memorial Refuge Shootout will be held at our next meeting on Saturday November 14. All entries must be brought to the Refuge by Monday November 9. If you are submitting entries please email me at Loughlin5772 (at) yahoo.com or stayfocused (at) yahoogroups.com and let me know how many pictures you have submitted and in what categories they will be. This will provide additional assurance that your pictures will not be misplaced at the Refuge.

Entry Forms
On the left side navigation area you will see “Competition Rules”. Click on that and you will be able to see all the rules from last year’s contest which will remain in effect this year. You will also see Page 1 and Page 2. Click and print each of those pages as you will need to fill both of them out as well as paste the entry tags on the back of each mounted photo. Make sure you hand in the Entry Sheet page 2 along with your photos.

Here’s a photo we’ve been waiting to see. The boardwalk at the Refuge is completed, and the planks which the photo club purchased in appreciation for the Refuge providing a home base for our club — and in memory of Sally Rowland who, when she was with us, was the heart and soul and spirit of everything the photo club was about — are now in place!

Dennis Loughlin

Member Anne Harlan writes:

I got word that my picture of two Mississippi Kites was selected for the “Photo of the Week” at Birder’s World. It’s up on line this week at: http://www.birdersworld.com/brd/default.aspx?c=pow&id=6.

It definitely helps to have cooperative birds!!

Joining the Stay Focused group has motivated me to work harder on my photography, so I really am indebted to you all and hope to get better in the future.

Member Tom Cray writes:
“I just learned that our very dear friend and long time member of the Stay Focused Club, Barbara Cahan, is no longer with us and has passed on to join her husband Herb. She had been living in Florida with her son. I understand that services will be held this coming Wednesday at the Beth Judah Synagogue in Margate.”

Barbara with one of her winning images at the Hammonton Arts Center

BARBARA ARON CAHAN
CAHAN, BARBARA ARON - September 20, 2009. Beloved wife of the late Dr. Herbert Cahan and Harris Aron. Loving mother of Ruth (Gary) Feldman and Mathew (Nora D’Ambrosia) Aron, Devoted grandmother of the late Jayme Feldman, Heather Feldman, Corey Feldman, Rachel Feldman and David Aron. Loving step-mother and step-grandmother to her extended Cahan family. College professor, Award Winning Photographer, Business Woman, Civic and Community Leader. “My love affair with the camera began as a teenager and grew to a magnificent obsession in later years. I sometimes feel that the camera is an extension of my hand, and my eye an extension of my hand, forever searching for that elusive image. Once chosen, my subject is reflected in the wide scale vision, while my imagination takes over, examining it in minute detail; its color, its shadows, its reflection, its appeal, until the image is narrowed and sharpened in focus, awaiting that split second when all is in “sync” and the image in mine to record. The wait may be ….. seconds, minutes, hours, but the picture is worth the wait.” Lifetime Atlantic City area resident, Barbara graduated from Syracuse University and obtained an M.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She was a college professor, management training consultant, communications specialist, member of the Margate zoning board, Atlantic County Advisory Commission on Women and past president of the Atlantic County Board of Ethics. Barbara’s photographs have received local and regional recognition and awards, exhibiting in major museums and art centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Her photos have been published in national magazines and served as covers of academic publications. Her photographs may be seen at the Margate City Library, the Johnson and Johnson Company’s private museum and the board room of Conectiv (Atlantic City Electric). Contributions in her memory may be made to the Hospice of the Comforter, 480 W Central Parkway, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 or to the Alzheimer’s Association 399 Market St. Suite 102, Philadelphia, PA 19103