… and where did this year go?! It is hard to believe another 100 livestreams have been added to the catalog, along with a dozen contests, twenty four Pzooms, as many AfterStacks and Tangents, and over 100 blog and Patreon posts. Yet it all seems to have happened in the blink of an eye. 2024 also saw our first Macro Picnic - a big success - and a move from the Deep South to the Deep Freeze. I am not going to linger on 2024 in this post as I have a separate piece for that purpose later in the week. For now, let me tell you what remains for 2024 and how we will be kicking off 2025.

Tomorrow is our final Macro Talk of 2024 and in it we will be looking at how color is managed while going from your editing software to your printer - one of the more complicated and confusing  subjects in the color series. This is scheduled for the usual time of 8PM, on Tuesday 12/31/24. The link is here - https://youtube.com/live/VLat3tU7NKc?feature=share

Our first Livestream of 2025 is on Thursday at 2PM and it will be the last discussion in the series on color. In this last chapter I will be talking about a few more advanced concepts in color management for macro photographers. The stream can be found by following this link - https://youtube.com/live/Oo3hZiEU3ek?feature=share

Also this week is the first Pzoom meeting of 2025, Saturday from 10AM until noon. The invitation is posted over the Patreon page.

The big event this week is the November & December Wild Card Competition - the deadline for which is tomorrow at midnight. If you have not posted your images, please do so now - I have fixed the problem with the quota, so you should have no problem loading your images. I will be getting together later in the week to go over all the entries and start the judging process with none other than Lester Lefkowitz! I am really looking forward to this opportunity to work with Lester and I can guarantee a lively and informative results video, which I hope to get out by the end of the weekend. I have not looked at the entries yet but I am bracing myself for an epic challenge this month.

The title for the January contest is “Macro Machinery”, and the rules are as follows:

1) Two entries per person for anyone who has not previously won the competition, one entry only for former winners.

2) All entries must be shot at 2:1 or higher magnification

3) The subject must have at least two moving parts but can be either automatic or manually operated. If you only include a part of the “machine” in your photograph, it should be a part that showcases the machinery (for example, if you photograph a watch it should show the movement, not the strap”

4) Every entry needs your name and a title

Please do not submit your January entry any earlier than midnight tomorrow

And finally, I would like to ask for your feedback. As I start to plan for the coming year I would like to get your input. What would you like to see more of? Any ideas for new features? Is the current schedule working for you? Now is your chance to tell me how I can improve your macro photography channel! Please put your comments, complaints, requests and suggestions in the comments for this post and I will read every one of them.

Thank you for all your support during 2024 and I wish each and every one of you a safe, happy, and perfectly focused 2025!