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The July 2009 meeting of the Camera Owners of the Bay Area (COBA) user group will be held this Wednesday, July 8, 2009, at SmugMug headquarters in Mountain View from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

Note: This meeting was originally scheduled to happen in June, 2009 but had to be postponed until this month.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Richard Ressman takes photos as a volunteer for an infant bereavement organization, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Parents of stillborn or dying infants need only call Dr. Ressman and he will drive to a local hospital, set up a small studio in a hospital room, take photos and produce prints as well as a CD and DVD that the parents can treasure. At the June 10 COBA meeting, Dr.Ressman, an Area Coordinator and Certified Trainer for NILMDTS, will present information and photos highlighting his experience with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. Attendees will be given information should they be interested in joining and working with the organization. (www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/)

Richard Ressman bought his first Nikon camera in 1969 as a Surgical Intern in Chicago and has been taking photographs since. He developed and printed his first photos in his eleven by seven foot Intern’s call room. In 2002, he changed careers from that of orthopaedic surgeon to full-time photographer. Exhibits include three photos in the eMotion Pictures Exhibit sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons which traveled to San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, and Madrid, Spain. He had a photo of Bo Diddley in the 2008 eMotion Pictures Exhibit in San Francisco.

He practiced orthopaedic surgery for thirty years before becoming a full-time photographer. He did everything from operating on fractures to replacing arthritic knees and hips. Dr. Ressman recently traveled to Viet Nam to donate all his unused surgical equipment. He got two companies to donate thousands of dollars of equipment, and as a volunteer taught surgical techniques to surgeons in Ho Chi Minh City. His reason: The Vietnamese people suffered enough during the Viet Nam-American war and he wanted to give something back to the Vietnamese people. It was a rewarding experience for everyone involved. He now calls himself a Photosurgeon: that’s an orthopaedic surgeon who aspires to do photography on the cutting edge. Some of his work can be seen on his website www.photosurgeon.net.

How Accurate Are Your Prints?

How happy are you with printouts from your printer or from your favorite print provider? At the last COBA meeting, we had a long discussion about various printers and printing providers. Now’s the time to test and compare them with your fellow COBA members!

1. Go and download the 60MB COBA Test Print Photo from Sam Linville
2. Print an 8×10 photo. Either do it yourself at home or take it to your favorite print shop. Do not perform any color correction yourself in Photoshop.
3. If you are having this printed out, try to get two copies done at different times.
4. Compare with your fellow COBA members, who will be doing the same!

Perhaps after this meeting, you’ll change print providers!

Meeting Location

COBA is now meeting at SmugMug offices in Mountain View.

SmugMug
67 E. Evelyn Ave, Suite 200
Mountain View, CA 94041
http://tinyurl.com/apnhvz