New Westminster Photography Club

Each NWPC meeting is a little different. Meetings start at 7:30PM unless otherwise posted. But many people arrive a little early to have some social time. Meetings run on average until 9PM. We pride ourselves on our open, informal and friendly atmosphere -- at NWPC you actually get to know the other members! This doesn't always happen in clubs with 100+ members and which follow formal meeting protocols.

Meetings are often a mix of content, but there are some common "things" we do at meetings:

• "Member's Night": This is where members will bring in a photo or two for group critiquing (don't worry, we're friendly!). This helps you learn the strengths in your images, as well as get ideas and suggestions for improving them -- all opinions are helpful, you don't have to be an "old pro" to have an idea! Unless otherwise posted we typically review all media types: digital entries, slides and prints. Sometimes there is a "theme" (usually to bring images from a previous outing if you have them), other times the choice is up to the member.
• "Competition Night": The club enters number of invitational competitions during the year. On "competition nights", members bring in their candidate images and the club picks the entries to be submitted to the competition. (One of the benefits of being a smaller club, if you submit something, there's a good chance it will get chosen as a club entry!)
• "Workshop Night": this is where a speaker (a member or an outside guest) talks about a specific technique that can be practiced during the meeting. For these kinds of meetings, members bring their camera equipment to the meeting.
• "Seminar Night": these meetings will have one or more speakers who will talk in-depth about a photography related subject.

We usually have a short 15 minute break about halfway through the meeting for some cookies and coffee (guests don't have to pay!) to stretch your legs, your mind, and to socialize a little with other members.

Another type of learning opportunity are our "Members teaching Members" talks. These are for members who want to share a particular topic of interest to them with the rest of the club. It doesn't have to be long, even 5 minutes is enough to give you a chance to share (if you're shy). This gives you a chance at speaking to the club in an informal manner without the stress of having to prepare a lot of material. You can just talk, or illustrate your points with Powerpoint, prints, digital images or whatever visual aides you want to use.) Contact the program director if you have a short talk you want to give.

The main presentations are on a wide variety of topics including:

• specific techniques - such as macro abstracts,
• suggestions for particular subject areas - such as shooting wild flowers
• less technical photography related talks - for example, last year we had a city archivist give a talk about the role of photography in local community history, showing us photos of New West from the late 1800's

We strive for a mix of topic material so that all experience levels and formats (digital or film) can find something of interest.

Our annual pot-luck christmas party. More details to come

People often forget about Black and White photography in today's colourful digital age. But B&W still has a place in photography and is often more capable of evoking emotion than the same image in colour. B&W can remove distractions, emphasize subjects and change the whole texture of the image's story. Tonight we will explore some of the techniques needed for successful B&W work. Black and White work often requires that you "look" at a scene with different eyes.

Agenda: (subject to change)

• B/W Techniques (Russ & Wendy Kwan):

  Russ and Wendy are certified CAPA judges as well as award-winning B&W artists. They will share some of their secrets to those who want to learn.

  If you need proof of their credentials, just visit their website which has galleries of their wonderful images.

One of the largest competitions we enter as a club each year. Tonight we select our club's entries for the annual North Shore Challenge.

In Preparation:

• Members may submit up to 4 digital images. Digital images should fit a frame size of 800x768 (Note: this is a change from previous years).

Agenda: (subject to change)

• North Shore Selection:

  Members will consider and vote on member submissions to select our final 10 entries. (usually 2 rounds of voting)

Part seminar, part workshop, we'll will learn some of the finer details of creating a compelling portrait.

More details TBA

Photography while traveling on vacation (or even on business) is the one time when almost everyone will be packing a camera. This seminar night covers some useful tips and techniques to pack in your travel bags.

More details TBA

This will be our seletion night for the BC Print challenge.

More details TBA

Peter, our program director, is a long time photographer as well as a CAPA judge. He has a knack for finding interesting compositions in what most people pass by everyday without noticing. Tonight he will share some of his knowledge and passion for photographing architecture.

There will be an architecture oriented outing on a weekend following this seminar, so you will be able to put what you hear in the classroom to practical use right away.

Selection night for these two competitions/

More details TBA

Getting feedback from fellow photographers is a vital part of Member's night. It's not just about sharing our best work, it's about finding inspiration in the works of others, practiscing your critical eye with a goal of improving your own photography, and getting feedback from other eyes on your work as to what you can improve as well as what you're doing right!

NWPC prides itself on having productive critiquing sessions.

This evening is open topic, digital and prints will be reviewed

Our program director is still working on the topics for the coming year.

Details will appear here as they become available.

The year is winding down. Time to pick our executive for next year.

We wrap up the year with our annual pot-luck party and entertainment.

Date is tentative until we have our location confirmed.