What great weather we are having the first part of January! Of course, by the time you read this, we will probably be buried in snow.

Anyway, to take advantage of the nice weather, I did get out a couple of times with the camera. To my suprise, I even got a couple of fairly good shots (excellent by my standards, but probably "fairly good" by your standards). It was fun and rewarding. Like a couple of days in late October. I hope you were able to enjoy them, as well.

We are working with Jim Atkins on a new idea: if a sufficient number of people are willing to view the bulletin on our website rather then by mail, we will save enough money in printing and postage to enlarge our website and get our own domain name. That would allow us to put the newsletter on the website, in COLOR! It has been my goal from the start to get the newsletter into color; after all, we are a photography club, and 80% or more of what we shoot is in color, so, doesn't it make sense to have a full color bulletin? Please let us know if you are  willing to along with this program.

Another idea we are working on is trying to get some grants, so we can do some more dramatic things with the club. If you have any experience in this area, either writing grants requests, or dealing with them, please come forward; we could use some guidance.

Remember, the N4C competitions start this month! Be sure to enter every month; it isn't about winning, it's about learning!

We have some great meetings and events coming up. I am especially excited about the field trip to the Nebraska State Capitol. Our capitol is one of the outstanding architectural masterpieces in the world! So voted a few years back by a select communitee of world architects.

The thematic on both the inside and outside of the buildingis the work of Dr. Harley Burr Alexander. The architect, Bertram Goodhue was asked to write inscriptions for the capitol. He felt unqualified to do so, and enlisted the aid of Alexander. The results is outstanding. When you look at the beauty of the capitol, be sure to read the inscriptions; they are part of the overall impression.

At any rate, it should be a fun outing, fitting for the time of the year, as it may be pretty cold outside. And, it will give you an opportunity to shoot the winning photo for the N4C competition (oops, I said it wasn't about winning, didn't I?).

Look forward to seeing you there, as well as on the regular meeting night and the competition night! Let's break some attendance records!

Clark Springman