For the 2025 / 2026 season, The Chatham Camera Club will meet at Grace Christian Reformed Church, 255 Tweedsmuir Ave. West, Chatham on Tuesday nights. Our new space is bigger, brighter and will serve our needs much better than in days gone by. The Club Executives are currently working on the meeting schedule, lining up guest speakers and planning new workshops. If you have any suggestions or concerns, please contact us at ChathamCameraClub@hotmail.com

Our final meeting of the 2024 / 2025 season featured Richard Beland, who spoke to The Club about Lambton College’s photography program. Instruction for this two year course includes technical, creative and business classes. For more information on how to sign up for this course, contact Richard at richard.belland@lambtoncollege.ca

There was no formal election this year as our vacant positions were filled by volunteers.
Club President – Mary Craig
Vice President – Dave Noordhoff
Secretary – Barb Ferren
Treasurer – Julie Faas

Results from our April Photo Challenge can be seen in the YouTube video below.

 

The Chatham Camera Club executives announced a change of venue for next season. We will hold our 2025 / 2026 meetings at Grace Christian Reformed Church, located at 255 Tweedsmuir Ave W, Chatham.

This move will allow us to return to our traditional meeting time of Tuesday evenings. The Club has thanked the staff of Evangel Church for their hospitality for the last dozen years, as well as former Club member Dennis Myers for securing that venue for our meetings. 

Winners of this season’s Photo Challenge by division are:

Novice
(Placement not awarded due to lack of participation)
Honorable Mentions – Marielaine Douglas (2), 

Intermediate
– 1st Place – Dave Richards (six Honorable Mentions)
– 2nd Place – Kim Charron (four Honorable Mentions)
– 3rd Place tie – Janice Mayuk (one Honorable Mention)
– 3rd Place tie -Stacy Arnold (three Honorable Mentions)
– Honorable Mentions – Janet Fraser, Rochella Mulhern

Advanced
– 1st Place – Jeff McDonald (two Honorable Mentions)
– 2nd Place – Wendy McDonald (two Honorable Mentions)
– 3rd Place – Gavin Stuart
– Honorable Mentions – Barb Ferren (1), Penny Rintoul (2)

Salon
– 1st Place – Linda Pepper (three Honorable Mentions)
– 2nd Place – Jim Pollock (two Honorable Mentions)
– 3rd Place – Tere Deslippe (two Honorable Mentions)
– Honorable Mentions – Mary Craig

The Best Photo Of The Year was submitted by Linda Pepper

 

Thanks to all who participated in the photo competitions this year. We hope it was a valuable learning experience and one which helped you grow as a photographer.

 

Pictures of the Awards Presentations are available on our Club Photos page
or see the winning entries in the YouTube video below.

 

• Mike Blazek started the evening off by showing his slideshow of What I Shoot. As a multi-talented photographer, Mike included all of the genres that he excels in, including Abstracts, Birds, Street Photography, Studio Portraits, Nature, Transportation and Travel. At the conclusion of the presentation, it was easy to see why Mike is one of the most respected and admired shooters in the Chatham Camera Club. Thanks Mike! We thoroughly enjoyed your show.

• Entries from our April Photo Challenge were held back until our final meeting of the season.

• Club President Cindy Taleski showed a presentation on How To Use A.I in Lightroom and Photoshop. During the clip we learned how to use Adobe’s artificial intelligence feature to delete distractions, add elements and colourize photos. Thanks Cindy. We all learned some valuable info about post-processing

To learn how to use A.I. see the YouTube video below.

• Mike and Keith reviewed several of the prints that were brought in for display. Thanks to all who participated. We’ll enjoy this feature again next season.

• Our next get-together will be a live meeting on May 8^th at 7 PM at Evangel Church when Richard Beland will give a short presentation on Lambton College’s Photography Program. We will also hold nominations and elections for next season’s Club Executives. Please try to attend this meeting. It is one that will determine the future of our club as we head into our 90th year.

“What use is having great depth of field, if there is not adequet depth of feeling?” – W. Eugene Smith

 

 

 

Our guest speaker for the evening was Stephanie Johnson, who showed us some of her techniques used in ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) photography. Stephanie’s methods include horizontal panning, vertical tilting, circular, diagonal, wavy, zoom, shaking and single and multiple exposures. She also encouraged us to experiment with different focal lengths, different movement methods and various speeds of movement. We were all fascinated by her excellent results and we came away with new inspiration for creating spectacular images using ICM. We thank Stephanie for her time and for sharing her knowledge.

You can see some of Stephanie Johnson’s outstanding work in this YouTube video.
Our next meeting will be a “live” meeting at Evangel Church on Thursday, April 24^th at 7 PM when will view a tutorial by Scott Kelby on how to use Adobe’s Artificial Intelligence tool. We’ll learn how to remove distractions, retouch people, add pixel dimensions and much more in Lightroom and Photoshop.
• Results of the April Photo Challenge will be reviewed
• What I Shoot by Mike Blazek
• Print Display – members are encouraged to bring in a print of any size, any subject for display and discussion

“If I am dissatisfied, it’s simply because good photos are few and far between. A good photo is a miracle.” – Josef Koudelka

 

 

• Club secretary Julie Faas presented a tutorial on Cell Phone Photography.
Julie started by showing us some of her excellent photos taken with her iPhone 15. She went on to share tips for better cell phone photography, including choosing the best available lens. Julie then explained the different shooting modes, including Portrait, Night Mode, and Panoramic. She also showed us the unique photos that can be created by using an Infrared Filter that easily attaches to the phone. The members of The Club thank Julie for her clear and concise presentation.

You can see Julie’s tutorial in the YouTube video below.

• Entries from our March Photo Challenge were reviewed. The top scoring shots can be seen on our Club Photos page.

All of the entries can be seen in the included YouTube video.

Our next Challenge topic will be The Five Senses for Novice and Open Colour for IAS.

• Janis Mayuk was our featured photographer in What I Shoot. You can see her wonderful scenic, floral, architecture, nature and travel photos in the included YouTube video.

• Mike and Keith reviewed the prints that were brought in for display. Thanks to all who participated. Your next chance to show us some of your work will be on Thursday, April 24^th.

• Our next meeting will be a ZOOM meeting on Thursday, April 10^th at 7 PM when guest speaker Stephanie Johnson will give a presentation on Intentional Camera Movement, Multiple Exposures and Creative Photography.

“It’s really your eye, your head, your mind, that matter in the moment you take the photograph.” – Carol Guzy

Our guest speaker for the evening was professional pet photographer Tracy Munson. Tracy is an multi-award winning animal photographer who currently sits on the National Board of Directors for Professional Photographers of Canada National. Her work has been published in books, calendars, and magazines like MacLeans, Canadian Geographic, and has been displayed in galleries including the prestigious McMichael Canadian Art Collection. She gave us several tips and tricks on how to interact with our pets to achieve high quality photos of them. The Chatham Camera Club thanks Tracy for her presentation.

 For more tips on pet photography, be sure to see this YouTube video by Adam Goldberg.

 

Our next meeting will be a “live” meeting at Evangel Church on Thursday, March 27^th at 7 pm when club member Julie Faas will speak about Cell Phone Photography.

 

“The subject matter is so much more important than the photographer.” – Gordon Parks

 

• Mary Craig presented a well-organized demonstration on what points to consider when judging images for our monthly Photo Challenge.

She showed us a series of photos that had some weaknesses, how to spot them, and how to score them accordingly. Several outstanding pictures were also shown as an example of what makes a great image and what we should consider when grading them.

Club members thank Mary for her excellent presentation, as we all came away with much clearer knowledge on, not only how to judge other’s photos, but what to look for when creating our own.

• Entries from our February Photo Challenge were reviewed. See Jeff and Wendy’s YouTube video below for all of the images and their scores.

You can see the top scoring shots of the evening on our Club Photos page.

• Mike and Keith reviewed the many excellent prints that were brought in for display. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Your next chance to show us a print will be on Thursday, March 27^th.

• Our featured photographer in What I Shoot was Keith Blackwell.

Keith showed us some of his street photography from Buenos Aires, which gave us a fascinating look at everyday life in Argentina. Thanks Keith. Your efforts are much appreciated.

• Our next meeting will be a ZOOM meeting on March 13^th at 7 PM when club member Julie Faas will speak about Cell Phone Photography.

“The camera is an extension of yourself… Your story treatment may be subjective, but it is important to remain objective as to truth.” – Cornell Capa

 

 

 

Our guest speaker was former Canadian Fine Art Photographer of the Year, Lee Nordbye, who presented Making Monochrome Magic, where he showed us his end-to-end process, with a focus on the power of editing. One of the main steps he uses is
DXO’s Nik Collection, a Photoshop filter which offers a 30 Day Free Trial. Lee’s other go-to software is Adobe’s Lightroom.

The Chatham Camera Club thanks Lee for his informative and entertaining presentation. We’ll all be making much better black and white images from now on.

For another take on making excellent black and white images in Photoshop, check out the YouTube video below.

Our next meeting will be a “live” meeting at Evangel Church on Thursday, February 27^th at 7 Pm when
• Mary Craig will answer the often asked question, “How are my images judged?” by giving us a presentation on critiquing and judging photographs.
• Results of the February Photo Challenge will be reviewed
• Keith Blackwell will be featured in What I Shoot
• Our monthly Print Display will be shown. All members are invited to bring in a print, any size, any subject, for viewing and discussion.

“Photographers should follow their own judgement and not the fads and dictates of others.” – Bill Brandt