Camera club offers local photographers fellowship and learning

The Brant Camera Club’s 2023-24 season gets underway Tuesday, offering local photographers of all skill levels the chance to learn something new.

“That starts with our regular meetings where we bring in guest speakers, hold how-to nights, and give members a chance to show and talk about their photos,” said club president Dave Schultz. “Over the course of the season we’ll hear from speakers on cellphone photography, night and astro-photography, digital art, and how to use light and colour.”

To get members shooting in a variety of conditions that are challenging at times, the club will have an outing in December to practice night photography at Glenhyrt during the Brantford Lights and they will learn how to do High Dynamic Range photography inside a local church.

The club also runs several clinics throughout the season that encourage members to submit photos on specific topics to be scored by outside judges.

“The judges we use are highly trained and the feedback they provide is incredibly useful,” Schultz explained. “I’ve been a member of the club for about seven years, and I’ve seen a real improvement in the skills of many of our club members.”

The club president – ​​recipient of the prestigious Verginna Barrie Competition award last season – said he still “cringes a little bit” when he thinks of the rookie mistakes he made in his early years of submitting images for judging.

“There’s no doubt though, that my own skills have improved too.”

Membership is growing after a decline during the pandemic when meetings had to be held virtually.

Using Zoom, the club began to secure guest speakers from afar who wouldn’t normally be able to come to Brantford. Three virtual presentations are offered in this season’s program.

One such speaker is Dennis Livesey, a former assistant cinematographer in Hollywood films who now lives in Manhattan, NY. He will talk about and show his favorite captures, having applied to his photography lessons learned of cinematic light, shadow, color, and tone.

Established in 1957 as the Brantford Guild of Color Photography, the club offers its members instruction, fellowship, and a place to share the love of photography.

The club meets the first and third Tuesday of each month from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at the Polish Hall, 154 Pearl Street in Brantford, starting on Sept. 5 all the way through to June 4, 2024.

For more information visit the Brant Camera Club page on Facebook, or brantcameraclub.com.

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