A Bright Future Awaits
I am thrilled to share some insights and discussions that emerged from our recent Zoom meeting, which was held on January 15th, 2024. It was an inspiring meeting with a great turnout of participants, and I want to thank you all for joining us and contributing to the discussion, where we laid out the exciting plans we have in store for 2024. And believe me, there are many new activities and exciting prospects for this year!
Catch Up
You can watch the full recording on YouTube or below. On YouTube you have access to direct links to the specific parts, just in case. You can also download the PDF we discussed.
AI is in the House
Artificial Intelligence is not only “out there” and on the many news we’ve discussed during 2023 but is also present much closer to us than we might think. As we were still in the warm-up phase, we noticed the AI Companion tool “present” at the meeting, and we noticed its capabilities and potential for enhancing our group’s activities. The nifty tool’s ability to transcribe meetings, summarize discussions, and answer questions during ongoing meetings was particularly intriguing, and Joe noted as he entered the meeting a couple of minutes after the start, and was able to join fully briefed on the contents that we had discussed so far. Nice!
Freebies? Yes, Please!
Just a couple of free, great opportunities to play with AI and even own fully-working editing software.
ON1 Effects is Free
Until Jan 31st, 2024 you can download a free license to own, not a subscription of this nice piece of software. The key features:
- Photo effects, filters, and presets
- Stackable effects
- “Super Select AI”
- Mask AI
- Customizable AI Adaptive Presets for one-click solutions
- Use Layers to create quick composites, blend multiple images, paint in new skies or backgrounds
And here is the download link.
Luminar AI Free Test
Luminar AI is offering the chance to test the enhanced generative AI capabilities of their Luminar Neo. This offer runs from January 19th to Jan 29th, afterwords you can still test the software, it is not clear which functions you might lose then.
Coming Up in 2024
You AskedFor It
These are the results of a survey we conducted to find out what kind of activities our group is interested in. Workshops and photo trips are a clear no-brainer, and we will try to tackle them as our priorities during this year.
The second tier we will address is composed of learning and discussing post-processing and organising a photo exhibition. Those are very exciting topics to be announced, hopefully soon!
The travelling bit will be a delight! I can barely wait!
Enhanced Photo Walks
We will get back to the idea of having challenges during the photo walks, as well as themes and concepts to explore. Even better, let’s jump in after the events to share and discuss the images we created, It is amazing to see the different points of view and results that many photographers at the same time and location can produce.
OUR Club
How about this idea: what if we elevated our current community to a “photo club” with a range of activities and workshops tailored to our group’s interests? We could have more meetings, foster knowledge and learn even more together, support each other’s projects and so much more. As we are at it, let’s also resume the production of our lovely photography magazine and dream as high as having again a studio space to further expand our creative possibilities. The sky is the limit (even with drone activities being the least interesting to you all… 🤭).
Fly Me To The Moon
Talking about the sky, we are going places! Not only our day trip will take us to Caumasee soon but we are also (finally) going on with our multiple-day photo trip. In the recent past, we discussed some very special travel locations and I will do my best to craft a jaw-dropping and lens-drooling photo dream for us to enjoy, keep tuned!
Criticise Me, Please!
The last and best part of the meeting was dedicated to a photo critique, in which we reviewed and commented on the photos that were submitted by some of the participants. This has historically been the most beloved kind of meeting in our community, and this instalment did not let us down. Daniel, Steve, Urs, Davide and Cesar shared some images and our group shared their collective wisdom with them, what a nice way to call it the night.
Closing Thoughts
Wow, our Photo Community has come a long way in these FIVE years, since the first photo walk in March 2019 when only 2 people joined (including myself 🤭). thank you all for making this possible and fun!
Our CHallenge in the coming years is finding a balance to bring our group to new heights and promote ever more events and, above all, connections.
Even though “free” attracts lots of new people every time, upgrading part of our experience will allow us to enjoy more and better events, we just need to find the right balance. my friend, can I count on you to help me steer our group in the right direction?
See You Soon
Before You Go
Let’s Keep Connected
Don’t forget to get in touch through our social media channels and website for even more resources and updates on upcoming events.
- Blog
- Facebook Group – exchange of photos, ideas, projects
- Meetup – Photography Meetings
- Meetup – Courses and Workshops
- NEW Discord Group – News, deeper discussions of multiple subjects in each channel, asking for and giving tips, developing new projects and then some
