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President Ben Fisher returned to Los Angeles and presided over the meeting. (He was accompanied by his better half Susan Taylor Fisher.)
Jim Crane was today’s friendly greeter, and PP Ron Lyster led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PPx2 Diane Good acknowledged stressful times in the world today, but mentioned that there are things one can do to remember good times and think happy thoughts. She provided inspirational quotations about happiness.
From authors:
- Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. (Denis Waitley)
- There is no medicine that can cure what happiness cannot. (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
- Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. (Oscar Wilde)
Additional thoughts from a singer, an actress, and a gymnast.
- Be healthy and take care of yourself and be happy with the beautiful things that make you -- you. (Beyonce)
- The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are. (Goldie Hawn)
- Optimism is a happiness magnet. If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. (Mary Lou Retton)
Guests included the speaker’s wife, Nuli and, new member Chuck McCreary (who is actually no longer a guest) and prospective member Ethan Kim.
Assistant Governor Shirin Mosavi-Nejad and UCLA rotaract Zach Foster spoke about a fire relief grant. The Rotary clubs of Santa Monica and Altadena have partnered to help Altadena after the devastating wildfires. The grant is for general supplies to families affected by the wildfires. They asked the Rotary Club of Westwood Village to participate. President Ben Fisher said that the WVRC Board of Directors will discuss this at the upcoming board meeting. President Ben also ask whether the grant could be applied instead for the Palisades fire victims since this is closer to our area. AG Shirin and Zach agreed to consider this.
President Ben Fisher introduced today’s speaker, Paul Papanek, a professional photographer. Also in attendance was Paul’s wife, Joan Tucker, who is an artist. She accompanies him on his travels and assists in editing the large number of pictures.
Paul Papanek specializes in articles and photographs about lifestyle, adventure, restaurants, food, and travel. He is a photographer for small boutique cruise ships. He is also a photographer and writer for the “Cabo Living Magazine”.
Paul Papanek provided hints about travel photos and slideshow presentations. The slideshow should address the question, “What story do you want to tell?”
He offered some tips for creating a presentation, primarily from digital photos:
- Make the presentation visually attractive and interesting to your target audience. For a general presentation avoid showing pictures of yourself and family in every shot. (A separate slideshow could be created specifically for the family.)
- Provide a sense of the place and look for the picture within a larger picture. For instance, take a picture of a wider scene and then enhance it with a close-up shot of a specific item.
- Decide upon a timeframe for the presentation and select the appropriate number of photographs. Software is available for creating the slideshow. He mentioned “FotoMagico” which is used for a Mac or iPad. (For Microsoft Windows, PowerPoint may be an option.)
- Show each picture for about 5 seconds to give the audience time to view the scene.
- Optional: Include supporting pictures obtained from the internet to provide background information.
Paul Papanek demonstrated his technique with a presentation of a trip to Tangier. The photographs depicted cultural aspects of the area and conveyed a sense of community. General scenes were followed by a close-up focusing on a specific area of the larger picture. The detailed pictures depicted bright colors and textures, and background music enlivened the production.
He also discussed equipment. The best camera to use is the one you already have and with which you are familiar. He advised against purchasing a new camera and then having to spend part of your trip learning its features. He has professional cameras and telephoto lenses, but he used an iPhone to capture images of Tangier. (The resolution and details from the iPhone were remarkable.)
In addition to photographing scenes, one should learn about the culture and the people. Portraits of local people enhance the storyline, but one should ask permission before taking a picture.
It is necessary to learn about local rules and restrictions, especially if one is traveling to a country with an authoritarian regime.
At the end of the presentation there was a question about taking pictures of young children. Instead of posed pictures with fixed grins (or grimaces), it may be more effective to take pictures of children while they are doing something and acting naturally.
This was a very informative presentation, especially for our globe-trotting members. Perhaps they could share their photos and experiences at future meetings.
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