“Point of View” will be the subject at the Audubon Nature Photography Club meeting on Thursday, October 8. Pictured here is the Barcelona Harbor Lighthouse by Club member Julie Nelson.

Club meeting.

On Thursday, October 8, at 6:30 p.m. member Cathy Abers-Kimball will show a variety of images emphasizing how where you place the camera — the point of view — can change how the subject is depicted and the background relationship with the subject.

Cathy Abers-Kimball is a graphic artist and operates the design firm 2^ndLook Graphic Design in Jamestown.

“Mid-range close-up” and “Fog” are the topics for the image review that begins the meeting.

Mid-range close-up is about using the aperture extremes of your camera to depict the same subject and so encourages folks to think about how depth-of-field affects the relationship of objects. Fog is a common sight these mornings and presents challenges in tone selection (exposure) and focus issues; as well as being a fun subject.

The 15-minute tech talk will be on backup ideas for your images and other computer files. Also, some tips on long nighttime exposures to show the stars will be illustrated.

A social time follows the program.

Visitors are asked to pay $5 that can be applied toward the annual membership of $30 if application is made by the next meeting. Among the benefits of membership are discounts on photography classes, field trips, and the right to show photos at Club exhibits.

The Jamestown Audubon Nature Photography Club meets at the Audubon Nature Center, 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, New York, and Warren, Pennsylvania.

For more information about the Club, visit www.jasphotoclub.wordpress.com or www.facebook.com/jasphotoclub789?fref=ts, call Cathy Abers-Kimball, Club president, at (716) 664-3707 weekdays, or email jasphotoclub@gmail.com.

A delicious dinner, live music, fun and excitement: all these await you at the Audubon Nature Center’s 2015 Falling for Nature Dinner & Auction on Friday evening, October 23. Reservations are needed by October 15 for the gala evening at the Conewango Club in Warren, Pennsylvania. Pictured here are participants bidding on silent auction items on a previous occasion.

JAMESTOWN – Savor a scrumptious dinner, enjoy live music in a lovely atmosphere, experience the excitement and fun of both live and silent auctions – all while you support environmental education. Who could ask for a better evening!

All this awaits you at the Audubon Nature Center’s 2015 Falling for Nature Dinner & Auction on Friday evening, October 23. This year’s event returns to the Conewango Club, 201 Market Street, in Warren, Pennsylvania.

The gala affair begins at 5:30 p.m. with the viewing of live auction items and bidding on the silent auction. Music will be performed by Warren’s Ellen Paquette on the Celtic harp. Your ticket includes one beverage at the cash bar.

At 6:30, the Field to Fork dinner will feature pulled pork with apple slaw, oven roasted chicken with caramelized peaches and thyme, a roasted butternut squash vegan entrée with broccoli and brown rice pasta, roasted fall vegetables, and redskin garlic mashed potatoes. The feast will conclude with a selection of desserts.

Russ Boisjoly, Dean of SUNY Fredonia’s School of Business, will begin the live auction at 7:30.

Auction items with a focus on “experiences” include an Art & Wine Painting Party, Night Boat Electro-fishing, Amish Tour & Lunch at the Cherry Creek Inn, Evening with the Stars: A Heavenly Sky Tour, Nature in the City: A Tour of Jamestown’s Urban Landscape, Allegheny River Drift Boat Trip, Figure 8 the (Chautauqua) Lake guided tour, scuba lesson, and gift certificates to The Oaks Bed & Breakfast Hotel in Jamestown and Edwards Waterhouse Inn Bed and Breakfast in Fredonia.

You could add to your knowledge with an iPhone Photography Lesson, DoTerra Essential Oil Consultation, a
Complete Lesson in Making Maple Syrup, or Creating an Energy Efficient Home visit.

Among the distinctive dining offerings are a Venison Dinner for Four, Foods of India, gift certificate from Brazill’s on Main, and a Riverside Wild Game Experience – kayaking and canoeing optional.

More items of interest in the live and silent auctions are an original oil painting of Chautauqua Institution’s Hall of Philosophy in autumn, framed colored pencil portrait of your pet, queen-sized Amish quilt, hand-dyed silk scarves, framed wildlife paintings and photographs, gift certificates from Johnson Estates and Jamestown Kitchen and Bath, a Fall or Spring Service Special from Zahm & Matson Ag and Turf, and baskets of personal care products, golf accessories, and Liberty Vineyards treats.

Tickets will be sold for the Great Entertainment Raffle and Mazza Mountain of Booze.

Deadline for paid reservations is Thursday, October 15, 2015. To view a sampling of the auction items and to reserve your spot, visit www.jasauction.weebly.com. Reservations can also be made by calling (716) 569-2345 during business hours.

JAMESTOWN – The Audubon Nature Center will host the 2015 Monarch Butterfly Festival on Saturday, August 29.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Nature Center will celebrate this beautiful creature that is experiencing serious population decline.

Visitors can see Monarchs at various stages of life; watch experts tag the butterflies; and ask questions about raising them, growing milkweed, planting a butterfly garden, and establishing a monarch way-station to help these distinctive travelers.

At 4 p.m. the tagged butterflies will be released to fly to Mexico, where their tags will help scientists track the migration of this rapidly dwindling species.

More festival fun includes tours of the butterfly garden; exhibits of live fish, reptiles, and amphibians; Liberty, the Nature Center’s resident Bald Eagle; the Ted Grisez arboretum; and miles of nature trails.

Festival admission is $8 or $6 for Friends of the Nature Center and children ages 3-15. Two and under are free.

More details of the Festival are can be found at at monarchbutterflyfestival.wordpress.com.

The 2012 Jamestown Audubon Nature Photography Contest received entries from around the world. The winning photo in the Adult Wildlife category is “Leaping for Prey” taken by Gerald Wilders of Toms River, New Jersey.

JAMESTOWN – Monday, June 30 is the deadline for the Jamestown Audubon’s 2014 Nature Photography Contest.

According to officials, the annual competition, now in its sixth year, helps fulfill Audubon’s mission by connecting the photographer with nature and inspiring the viewer of the images to connect with nature.

Photographers with any level of experience are encouraged to submit their favorite images and prizes will be handed out to the top participants.

Images of winning entries from previous contests as well as details for the 2014 competition are on-line at www.jasphotocontest.com.

According to Joni Blackman of the Fenton History Center, Doors Open is designed to give area residents a look into our local attractions, with free admission for the day to demonstrate the many tremendous tourism opportunities right here in our own backyard.

More from Joni Blackman, along with Justin Hanft (Jamestown Chamber) and Lynn Warner (Reg Lenna Center for the Arts) is available in the above interview.

Locations participating this year are:  Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Busti Historical Society and Grist Mill, Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, Fenton History Center, Gateway Train Station, Infinity Performing Arts, Jamestown Savings Bank Arena, Lucille Ball Little Theatre, Lucille M. Wright Air Museum, Lucy-Desi Center for Comedy, Prendergast Library, Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, Robert H. Jackson Center, and Roger Tory Peterson Institute for Natural History.

Many of the participating venues will offer specials in their gift shops or prize drawings, and local businesses and restaurants will offer Doors Open specials as well.

The event is  Sponsored by the Jamestown Community Chamber of Commerce and Jamestown Up Close.

Sponsored by the Jamestown Community Chamber of Commerce, Doors Open has grown substantially since it first began.  Locations participating this year are:

• Audubon Center and Sanctuary
• Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame
• Fenton History Center
• Gateway Train Station
• Infinity Performing Arts
• Jamestown Savings Bank Arena
• Lucille Ball Little Theatre
• Lucy-Desi Center for Comedy
• Prendergast Library
• Reg Lenna Center for the Arts
• Robert H. Jackson Center
• Roger Tory Peterson Institute for Natural History.

Many of the participating venues will offer specials in their gift shops or prize drawings, and local businesses and restaurants will offer Doors Open specials as well.  Watch for more details to come, but save the date – January 18 for Doors Open Jamestown!