Northumberland Photography Club Celebrates 30-Year Milestone
By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
As it resumes meetings for the fall on Sept. 14, Northumberland Photography Club will be celebrating 30 years.
As long-time member Karen Chalovich pointed out, “It’s hard for groups now to keep going, so that’s something to celebrate.”
They typically meet the first Monday of the month between September and June (a little late in September because of Labour Day) at the Salvation Army Community Centre on Ballantine Street, where their equipment will be set up and ready for the slide show that opens each meeting – compiled by a volunteer from member submissions on that month’s theme.
There are also monthly speakers covering a wide array of topics. For Sept. 14, in addition to special activities and presentations to celebrate this milestone, they will welcome speaker Chris Knox, who specializes in severe-weather photography.
At October’s meeting, Carol Greer will share her expertise in bird photography with shots from local sites and Costa Rica – and that month’s theme will be Back to Nature.
She will be followed in November by Thelma Dillon, who specializes in inspirational images that uplift and bring joy (with Harvest & Halloween as the theme).
And in addition to meetings, each year brings outings for members to shoot, this year’s plans ranging from the Port Hope Fall Fair to the Toronto Distillery District Christmas Market.
Chalovich said they are proud they still have one of the original members as part of the group, which began in April 1996 when 16 enthusiasts gathered at St. Mark’s Church in Port Hope to discuss the idea of possibly organizing the Northumberland Shutterbugs club (the name was changed to its current form in 2005).
“Mary Talbot was there right at the beginning, when a bunch of them got together and started this group. She will be there, and we have quite a variety of members – all different ages and all different styles,” Chaolvich said.
“Beginners – people who want to learn how to do photography – will come out, but we have some excellent photographers as well who have been doing it for years and, of course, they share their expertise with us.”
Just the chance to see what people are working on is an inspiration, she added. And that includes the monthly Zoom meetings Talbot leads to discuss submitted photographs, suggestions and editing.
“It’s a variety of styles that are quite unique. Mary Talbot is a fine-art photographer. We have some that specialize in street photography, others who like to do nature or bird photography. Travel – that’s one of my interests that I like to do.”
Chalovich has been in the club for 10 years.
“I have really learned a lot and developed my technique, and I think that’s what a lot of people do, especially when a speaker comes in and we get to ask ‘how did you do that,’ ‘what settings do you use,’ ‘what kind of equipment do you use,’ ‘how do you edit your photos,’ ‘what computer programs do you use.’ We are always inquiring about how to do things better.”
She also finds that members play quite an important role in the life of the community through the simple act of documenting its life. This means the big celebrations of course, the Highland Games Scottish Festival and the annual Sidewalk Sale, all the things Cobourg and Port Hope justly take pride in – but also the events that shape our lives, like the Brookside encampment.
“Historical things,” Chalovich summed up.
“You look at Facebook sites like Yesteryear – where do you think those pictures come from? People out taking picture, documenting what’s happening in our community.”
Chalovich has fond memories of Quinte Photo and Parken Photo in downtown Cobourg, and of setting up a darkroom in her kitchen to develop photos for her high-school yearbook.
And photography was still a matter of cameras-and-film when the Northumberland Photography Club began. Now it’s all digital, and some are even using AI to make adjustments in their photos.
But that brings new challenges – like when you want to display your shots, which means getting prints and enlargements and frames. This side of things was on show last year at the Art Gallery of Northumberland, when they had their own exhibit there.
Chalovich finds there are a lot of artistic and creative people in our community, and encourages these people to look into the group. Check out the website at northumberlandphotograhyclub.ca to see the listings of meetings and speakers and outings, and consider taking in a meeting or coming along on an outing.
The annual membership fee is $120, but there is an early-bird rate of $100 if paid before the September meeting. See the website for more details.
