A Message from the President

A club is as good as its members, and the Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society is lucky to have a roster of talented and helpful members of all skill levels.

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society’s storied history, public meetings, and community events continue the club’s tradition of promoting and encouraging the art of stereography.

Our Mission

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society supports the San Francisco/Bay Area’s stereography community, promotes the art and science of stereography, and makes stereo accessible to photographers of any skill level.

Meetings

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society meets twice monthly on the first and second Tuesday of each month. Meetings start promptly at 7:00pm and run until 9:00pm.

Meetings are held online with the Zoom videoconferencing service. A slideshow of parallel-view (left image on left) stereo photos is presented on Zoom with a shared screen. The slideshow is simultaneously livestreamed on YouTube in two formats. A half-width, side-by-side YouTube channel is for displays like 3-D TVs and tablets. An anaglyph channel is also offered for everyone with red/cyan glasses. Links to our Zoom meeting and YouTube streams are posted on our web site home page.

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society has a long tradition of in-person meetings, and held monthly meetings and events at public venues until the March 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Locations included the Albany Community Center (in the E.O.C. room), the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Center, the Moraga Library, and event spaces in Oakland and Berkeley. Today, it is desired that the GGSS holds several public events a year to exhibit our stereo photography, recruit new members, and promote the art of stereo.

Zoom

Download and install Zoom prior to the meeting. Use the free version. A subscription to Zoom is not required for participants. 

If you’re new to Zoom, start with the official Zoom YouTube playlist to learn the basics. Please configure and test your Zoom installation prior to the meeting.

Our Zoom meeting link for monthly meetings is also posted on our web site’s home page.

Microphones and Speakers for Zoom

Invest in a quality microphone for Zoom. You won’t be heard clearly with the cheap built-in microphone on your computer. Muffled, indistinct voices make the meetings hard to follow. Take care to avoid ear-splitting feedback or reverb by keeping enough distance between your microphone and speakers. Stay close to the microphone as well. Don’t expect to be heard if the microphone is across the room.

Choose the microphone style that best suits your environment. Lavalier microphones are small and clip to a lapel. Standalone condenser microphones can be set on a tabletop stand or boom arm. Headsets add privacy and noise reduction in loud rooms.

Look for noise canceling models, which filter barking dogs, rustling paper, and dish washing while keeping your voice loud and clear. 

Quality microphones or headsets can be purchased inexpensively. You’ll find Zoom meetings more engaging after this one-time expense.

Resources

ggstereo.org

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society website is the primary resource for meeting dates, submission instructions, and general information. The home page has the most up-to-date meeting and streaming links. GGSS news and information articles are also posted.

Prior to the ggstereo.org web site, the Panoram was the club’s monthly newsletter. Published from 1934 through the mid-2000’s, the Panoram contains competition results, articles, and meeting information. Past issues continue to be archived on ggstereo.org and remain a valuable resource.

groups.io Discussion Board

https://groups.io/g/ggstereo/

Online discussions and announcements. General announcements are posted here as well as emailed to members.

Meeting Slideshows

Traditionally, the Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society was a competitive club, with ribbons awarded monthly for top-scoring stereo photos. While no longer competitive, we celebrate the spirit of these contests by analyzing and critiquing each other’s stereo photography at each meeting.

Monthly exhibition slideshows of 20-30 unique and original stereo photos are organized in two categories:

• An Open division, accepting stereo photos of any subject or technique.
• A Special division, based on a Special Subject List that’s selected annually.

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society meets twice monthly, with the first monthly meeting for our Open division slideshow and the second meeting for the Special division. 

All members may submit up to four stereo photos for each meeting’s exhibition slideshow (eight total per month).

Clinics and Workshops

Many meetings feature a clinic as well as a slideshow. Members may request to show stereo photos outside of our monthly exhibition slideshows based on a theme or technique.  Clinics are held at the beginning of the meeting, before the slideshow exhibition.

Zoom workshops are occasional meetings that feature demonstrations and discussions from guests and club members. Members are encouraged to share their skills and knowledge by presenting at a GGSS-hosted Zoom meeting.

Formatting and Submitting Stereo Photos for a Meeting

Digital files for projection must be correctly formatted to be accepted. Layout, dimension, and resolution specifications are published in the Preparing Digital Slides page on ggstereo.org. 

After formatting, use the Upload Files web page on ggstereo.org to submit your stereo photos for slideshow exhibitions and clinics. Follow the instructions on the page to upload your stereo photo .jpg files.

Submissions for digital files are due two days before the meeting, by 11:59 pm on Sunday.

Native, Creative, and Converted Stereo Photos

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society defines a native stereo photo as one which was partially or fully captured with a camera. A creative stereo photo is one at least partially captured with a camera, but may introduce elements added or manipulated in photo editing software. A conversion refers to a photo or artwork that was originally two-dimensional, but has been made into stereo with an AI-based conversion application like Immersity AI.

The Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society welcomes stereo photos of all types in our exhibition slideshows, clinics, and workshops. See our position on conversions for details. 

An option on our Upload Files page tags the stereo photo upload as either native or a conversion to inform our feedback and discussion.

GGSS Officers

The GGSS is managed by a board of Directors. Elections are held every January, and terms run for two years.

President

• Elected by membership at Annual Membership Meeting
• Chairman, Board of Directors
• Carry out the duties and responsibilities as outlined in the President’s Manual
• Preside at all regular and special meetings. Preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors
• Reserve and confirm the availability of the meeting space, or host the meeting online. Set up 15 to 20 minutes before each meeting starts
• Greet guests
• Make all Special Committee appointments
• Prepare an Agenda for all Board Meetings

Vice President

• Elected annually by the membership
• Member, Board of Directors
• Assume the duties of President when the President is unable to perform their duties, resigns, dies, or is transferred from the area
• Preside at meetings of the Board of Directors in the absence of the President
• May hold any other GGSS office, elected or appointed, except President and Treasurer
• Maintain a perpetual inventory of GGSS equipment. Keep records showing quantity, type, manufacturer, model or size, serial number, estimated replacement cost, location where kept and date of inventory

Secretary

• Elected annually by the membership
• Serve as scorekeeper during competitions. Provide the Webmaster with scores for posting on ggstereo.org
• Send new members a New Member Email immediately after their acceptance as a member. Maintain the oster of Members in digital form. The Roster is not made available publicly, but must be accessible to members seeking contact information about other members
• Record the minutes of board meetings
• Send emails to acknowledge donations made to the club
• Purchase and send sympathy cards from the GGSS to members having a death in the family, to a family member if a GGSS member dies, or for members who have extended illnesses, etc.
• Correspondence concerning or requests for payment of expenses incurred which are received must be sent to the Treasurer for payment or approval of the Board of Directors
• Take to Board Meetings:
  • Recent Board Minutes
  • Roster of Members
  • Recent Treasurer’s Reports
  • Notes of items needing action
  • Correspondence received

Treasurer

• Act as custodian of all moneys and securities of the GGSS, depositing them in one or more financial institutions approved by the Board of Directors
• Pay all bills, make expenditures approved by the Board, keep detailed accounts and report to the GGSS the condition of the treasury
• If requiring dues, collect annual dues from members, solicit membership fees from new members
• If reacquiring dues, advise the President of members who are more than two months in arrear in paying membership dues
• Receive and process expense reports
• Prepare an annual budget for the GGSS, with the assistance of a Budget and Audit Special Committee if necessary
• Maintain forms and paperwork related to the GGSS 503(c) non-profit status
• Prepare a treasurer’s report annually for the Board Meeting
• Maintain a complete list of GGSS members and applications for membership

Competition Director

• Accept competition submissions each month
• Format and test submissions for presentation
• Responsible for defining the formats for digital slides
• Organize the next meeting’s slideshow, including a stereo thumbnail view of each division
• Document the instructions for setting up and running slideshows so that members can relieve the Competition Director at a meeting if necessary

Webmaster

• Maintain and update the GGSS’s web site
• Manage ownership of the GGSS’s domain name (ggstereo.org)
• Receive monthly competition results from the Competition Director, with names of makers and titles of pictures for posting on ggstereo.org
• Receive names of new members for publication
• Edit material submitted and use it to format articles for ggstereo.org
• Check PSA, NSA, and ISU publications (online and in print) for names of GGSS members who are mentioned and include appropriate information on ggstereo.org (e.g., earning a star rating, winning competitions, receiving honors and awards)
• Maintain files and digital assets, including logos, artwork, etc. in the GGSS’s download archive
• Administer the GGSS’s groups.io discussion board
• Update, manage, and back up the GGSS’s digital file repository

Special Committee Offices

The GGSS President, with approval of the Board of Directors, may appoint individuals for short-term tasks to advance the GGSS’s mission statement. The duration of Special Committee terms depends on the goals and requirements of the office.

Past Special Committee offices, many based on formerly permanent offices, include:

Membership Director

• Establish programs for the obtaining of new GGSS members
• Follow up on members who miss GGSS meetings
• Follow up on guests who are potential GGSS members
• Act as “buddies” of new GGSS members for a period of about three months
• Contacting new members before each GGSS meeting, clinic, workshop, field trip and other GGSS activity
• Solicit ideas from GGSS members for obtaining new members and retaining present members and consult with the Chairman concerning their implementation
• Recommend to the Chairman ideas which will improve the working of the Membership Committee

Publicity Director

• Manage the GGSS’s social media presence
• Research and implement potential online services for promoting the GGSS
• Promote club meetings and special events online and in print with advertisements and posts
• Identify effective promotional channels
• Determine the budget and duration of advertisements and promotions. Report estimates and quotes to the President.
• If allocated funds in the budget, keep a record of disbursements and do not exceed the amount allotted without approval of the Board of Directors

Events Director

• Research theaters and venues for events
• Research restaurants and venues for GGSS banquets and luncheons, like the annual Awards Banquet
• Budget and negotiate costs for space and equipment rentals. Report estimates and quotes to the President.
• If allocated funds in the budget, keep a record of disbursements and do not exceed the amount allotted without approval of the Board of Directors

Field Trip Director

• Hold a Field Trip Committee meeting to consider possible GGSS field trips for the next year
• Obtain and consider suggestions for field trips from GGSS members
• Consider such items as photographic interest, probable weather conditions, travel distances, methods of transportation, anticipated costs, availability of accommodations if to be used, suitability of subject matter for stereo
• Submit to the Board of Directors for approval a list of proposed GGSS field trips
• After approval of GGSS field trips by the Board of Directors: 
• Research the destinations, if necessary, in order to be able to provide information to members who have not been there (by sending for literature and/or obtaining information from GGSS members familiar with the area).
• Write a short article for ggstereo.org about each field trip, including directions, and submit to the Webmaster
• If a map or plan is necessary so participants can locate the field trip site, provide one to the Webmaster to be printed along with the article
• Participate in as many field trips as possible

Historian

• Appointed by the President with approval of the Board of Directors
• Maintain the GGSS’s permanent file collection, containing:
  • The Panoram past issues
  • GGSS Bylaws
  • Minutes of the Board of Directors and other meetings
  • Annual Treasurer’s reports
  • GGSS Rosters
  • Programs of GGSS banquets and special events
  • Catalogs of competitions and exhibitions sponsored by the GGSS
  • Scrapbooks of articles and pictures concerning the GGSS and its members
  • Photographs of GGSS events
  • Articles of GGSS incorporation
  • State and federal tax returns and data
  • Rules of GGSS competitions
  • Records of affiliation with other organizations
  • GGSS equipment, property and library book inventories
  • History of GGSS
  • Other records determined by the Board of Directors to be of permanent historical interest to the GGSS 
• Maintain for five (5) years only files of:
  • Financial records (including Treasurer’s reports, except Annual Treasurer’s Report; audits; financial institutions’ deposits, checks and statements, etc.)
  • General GGSS correspondence
  • Annual and special reports by GGSS officers and Special Committees
  • Plans for and reports of field trips and special events
  • Other records determined by the Historian to be of temporary historical interest to the GGSS 

Duties of All Board Members

In addition to their specific tasks, Board Members are asked to:

• Whenever possible, attend all Division and Club events, such as field trips, fund-raising events, etc.
• Maintain a file of pertinent data, including this job description
• If allocated funds in the budget, keep a record of disbursements and do not exceed the amount allotted without approval of the Board of Directors

Duties of Directors at Annual Board Meetings

In addition to their specific tasks, Board Members are asked to:

• Whenever possible, attend all Division and GGSS events, such as field trips, fund-raising events, etc.
• Maintain a file of pertinent data, including this job description
• If allocated funds in the budget, keep a record of disbursements and do not exceed the amount allotted without approval of the Board of Directors

Duties of Directors at Annual Board Meetings

As defined in the GGSS’s by-laws, all elected officers are board directors and are required to attend the GGSS’s annual board meeting. If you cannot attend a board meeting, another GGSS member can take your place. At board meetings, be prepared to:

• Discuss and, where appropriate, make motions concerning the Director’s duties or GGSS functions which need Board approval
• Make a motion to correct the previous month’s Board Minutes if they are not correct, indicating that the correction should be
• Second motions made by others
• Vote on all motions made and seconded
• Make a progress report on projects the Director is supervising
• Submit bills for expenses incurred (in duplicate) to the Treasurer
• Make motions concerning operation or functions of the GGSS which need Board approval, including requests for funds not previously authorized in the budget or by the Board

Definitions

Organizations

PSA	Photographic Society of America
NSA	National Stereoscopic Association
ISU	International Stereoscopic Union

Class of Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society Member

HM	Honorary
LM	Life
CM	Competing
NCM	Non-competing