Members of the New West Photography Club, a 74-year-old organization in the city, will be displaying their photographs of the Mighty Fraser, as part of RiverFest 2022.
“We have been invited by the Discovery Centre and RiverFest to again create some exhibits,” said Nathan Woods, a member of the club. The club had participated in the 2021 fest as well.
Each photographer will be submitting as many as three photos to the event — not just of the Fraser River, but the Coquitlam and Brunette rivers too, added Woods. “We're hopeful that there could be upwards of two to three dozen photos that are on display there.”
Some of the photos will be on sale at the event — as per the individual photographer’s choice, said Woods.
The New West Photography Club was started in 1948 by a group of just five members who had a common interest in photography. This was even before digital photography was a thing, according to the club’s website. By 1968, it had around 65 members.
Cut to 2022, Woods, who joined the club about four months ago after retirement, said they have a total of 75 members. Though the membership fee is $50 a year, anyone can join the club’s monthly photo shoot outings (the recent ones were to Iona Beach Regional Park and Colony Farm Regional Park; the next one is to False Creek Olympic Village), or take part in the seminars (where experts talk about lenses, techniques or photo cropping), for free, confirmed Woods.
On an average, about 18 members show up at the monthly meetings and seminars that are held at Centennial Lodge in Queen’s Park. For their most recent meet-up, their longest-standing member (since the 1960s), Peter Ellis, who is around 96 years old, had shown up too, said Woods.
“There are also themes every month. The most recent theme is ‘Looking up’. It's basically taking your lens from a low profile and shooting up a tree, up a mountain, up into the sky. We've got some pretty good pictures popping up on our website right now. And every month we review those and the top three are given accolades for the month,” said Woods.
The club, which is a member of the Canadian Association for Photographic Art and the Arts Council of New Westminster, has both seasoned photographers and those just starting out. Some use their DSLRs and some just a smartphone; it’s a good mix, said Woods.
The group is active on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit Fraser River Discovery Centre (788 Quayside Dr.) to see the exhibition of photos by New West Photography Club members — the photos will be on display starting Sept. 24 for an entire year. Join their next outing to False Creek Olympic Village on Sept. 17 at 9 a.m., or their seminar on photo cropping, on Sept. 20 at 7.30 p.m. For details visit the New West Photography Club website.
