Practicing Our Photographic Skills
By Bev Anne Moynham
The purpose of this article is to share ideas that clubs can use to provide their members with opportunities to practice their craft. It can be through SIGs (Special Interest Groups), outings, challenges and even competitions. To do research for this article I solicited help from four photo clubs on the west coast — Harbour City Photography Club, Victoria Camera Club, New Westminster Camera Club and Langley Camera Club. These are all very active clubs and they sent me a lot of information to sort through.
SIGs
Special Interest Groups are usually groups of people who have a particular area of interest within the world of photography. These can range from a photographic technique to a specific subject matter, or from a particular editing program to a certain type of camera. They can meet in person or online.
The most popular type of SIG goes by various names but is essentially a group of people that get together to talk about how to improve each other’s photos and perhaps prepare them for competition. These are usually ongoing groups. There can also be short-term SIGs that focus on teaching a certain program or a certain technique, such as: Photoshop, Lightroom, Black & White Photography, Infrared, printing techniques, macro photography or videography.
CAPA, also, offers a couple of groups for individual members that can be found on the website under the Members tab, then Education Links, called “Image Critique Night” and “Image Editing Night”.
Another popular SIG is usually called “Basics of Photography” or “Photography for Beginners” and can range from a few sessions to get members familiar with their cameras (which, in a larger club, could be divided up by camera type) to a year or longer based on a program like Emma Davis’s program, “A year With My Camera”, which can be found on her website at https://ayearwithmycamera.com/ . It does not take an expert photographer to lead a SiG like this; it just takes an organizer to find a location with Internet or connect everyone by Zoom and then Emma does all the work.
Other SIGs might limit themselves to a certain topic like wildlife, flowers, urban settings, or landscape photography and others might focus on a time of day, like dawn, dusk or nighttime.
The types of Special Interest Groups are only limited by the imagination. If a person has a certain area or technique they would like to explore, they should reach out to the members of their club to see if other people would like to explore that area with them.
Field Trips or Outings
There is some crossover here because some SIGs could involve excursions, or a field trip could be a one time event that gives photographers a chance to try various types of photography (macro, landscapes, portraits or whatever catches the photographer’s eye at the chosen location). Of course, each club has unique opportunities in their area for places to visit on field trips. The New Westminster Photography Club has a monthly scheduled outing to places and events that are unique to their area from “Fall Colours at Buntzen Lake” (a beautiful recreational area northwest of Coquitlam, BC) to the “International Buddhist Temple in Richmond.” The Langley Camera Club aims for two to three outings per month to places in and around the Vancouver area like Stanley Park, The Vancouver Zoo, and the Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
Tourist attractions are popular for all kinds of visitors, those with cameras and those without: places like zoos, parks, public gardens, heritage sites, and historical villages. These also offer opportunities for whole families and there are exhibits and activities to interest everyone, not just the people with cameras. Nature photographers are attracted to parks and nature trails, beaches and mountain tops, and any place they can get images without people.
On a different note, a small group of photographers can often get permission to photograph in a place where a lone photographer might be viewed with suspicion. The Harbour City Photography Club in Nanaimo has had outings to an art supply store, a bike shop, and a music store.
Then, of course there is street photography, which could also include architecture. This can be done on any street, in any city, town or village. The Victoria Camera Club has several groups that participate in excursions to various parts of the city and surrounding area on a regular basis to photograph whatever theme they choose. These outings often include having lunch which is a great way to socialize with fellow photographers. As a side note, although it is usually legal to include anyone in your photos who is in a public place, we should also be respectful to the people we are including in our photos. It is not wise to photograph other people’s children without their permission, I will leave it up to the individual photographer to figure out how to show that respect.
Photo by Scott Simons
Games
Another category could be called games. Here are a couple of examples I have come across. One is a Mystery Shoot where an item is passed along from participant to participant to photograph in whatever way they want. The one rule is they are not to reveal what the item is to anyone. Then they submit one or two photos to the coordinator of the activity who presents them to the club at a meeting. The other is a scavenger hunt which can be done in teams or as individuals where the participants are given a list of items or concepts to photograph during a certain time period and the results are presented to the whole club at a meeting. Games, like any activity, can be tailored to fit the size and composition of the club — there are no rules, just ideas and fun.
Workshops
Workshops can be done in person where a hands-on approach is needed or as a Zoom meeting where someone demonstrates a particular tool or method.
A mini workshop could also be part of a club’s regular meeting.
Mentorship
The Victoria Camera Club offers a mentorship program which pairs up beginners with more experiences photographers. You don’t have to be an expert to be a mentor.
These are just a few ideas for clubs and photographers to practice their art and I would encourage any club who has additional ideas for SIGs, outings or any other activities for their members to participate in to contact me at bevannemoynham@yahoo.ca so that I can share them with the rest of the clubs in Canada.
*All images courtesy of Bev Anne Moynham
**With lots of help from:
Lorna Scott, Langley Camera Club
Kathryn Delany, Victoria Camera Club
Sue Nurmi, Harbour City Photography Club
Nancy Matheson, New Westminster Camera Club