SEQUIM — The Olympic Peaks Camera Club will present a reception for its free photography exhibit, From the Forest, at Sequim Museum & Arts from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The reception will include a special “meet the photographer” session at the arts center at 544 N. Sequim Ave.
The club brings together photographers of all levels to its twice-a-month meetings in Sequim.
“If you’re a beginner or intermediate or advanced … you learn from other photographers,” said club president Rebecca Hanson.
“There are a range of people in the club — those who don’t know what ISO is [and] others who could write the book,” said club member Ken Kennedy.
“Everybody’s willing to share … no trade secrets,” he added.
“Being with general enthusiasts, you learn a lot,” Hanson said.
For most of the year the club meets monthly on second and fourth Thursdays — November and December are exceptions, when they meet just the second Thursday — at Dungeness Community Church, 45 Eberle Lane.
With about 80 members in the group, each meeting sees about 30 to 60 members and guests show up, Hanson said, since many members are out on photo trips.
She said the key benefits of joining the group are sharing in the knowledge of members as they discuss everything from equipment (cameras, tripods, studio light) to editing software, to the nuts and bolts of photography skills and knowledge, from themes of composition to the best times of day to shoot and camera settings.
Olympic Peaks frequently hosts featured speakers who discuss a range of photographic topics. Some are local, Hanson and Kennedy said, but often they are artists from out of the area.
The photography in the club isn’t limited to digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, Hanson said, as some members are shooting on high-end film while others shoot with their cell phones.
“Everybody brings something to the club,” Hanson said. “Even after four years [with the club], I’m still blown away by the photos our members take.”
Critiques, awards
Five times a year the club hosts competitions, divided into two groups: Beginner and advanced. Both digital and print images are included.
In those competitions, the club bases scores on one general submission and another based on the club’s subject theme, such as “reflection,” to further challenge competitors.
Olympic Peaks also works with the Northwest Council of Camera Clubs and Photographic Society of America, and helps judge competitions for other clubs.
In competitions and regular meetings club members will offer critiques, Hanson said, asking such questions as “What did you want to get out of this picture?” And “Did you achieve it?”
“It’s nice to win [but] it’s also nice to learn,” Hanson said. She adds that club members don’t have to compete.
For more than a half-dozen consecutive years an Olympic Peaks club member has served as superintendent of the Clallam County Fair’s photography competition. This year that competition added a division for photographers with disabilities.
“We love doing it for the community,” Hanson said.
Social aspect
Olympic Peaks members also get together for field trips on an informal basis.
A recent field trip saw them atop Hurricane Ridge, getting above the light pollution of towns to capture images of the Milky Way.
Some people on the ridge at the same time joined in on the photo shoot and wound up coming to the next club meeting, Kennedy said.
Kennedy, a photographer since high school, shot various sports assignments and events such as dog agility trials in San Diego and Seattle. He retired to the Olympic Peninsula about two years ago.
Kennedy now often finds his images on trails and mountainsides, from Mount Rainier to Olympic National Park.
“This place is so beautiful,” he says. “I enjoy doing a lot of landscapes and astro-photography.”
“I like this [club]; it’s getting me out and about. It’s easy to not do anything.”
Hanson, a former freelance photographer and Olympic Peaks club member for about four years, said she primarily enjoys events and motorcycle photography.
“I really enjoy people in the club,” she said. “They’re really friendly, really willing to give advice.”
Olympic Peaks membership dues are $35 for individuals or $50 for couples/families, but Kennedy noted, “You can try before you buy.”
For more information, see olympicpeaks.org.
