Seeking a Digital Photographer in the Erie Area
Posted October 18th, 2008 @ 12:25pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I'm looking to start a small local digital photgraphy "club" in the Erie, PA area and am looking for someone to help run the thing. I've got what I think are some good ideas, but for various reasons I don't want to do this by myself.
There's a photography club in Erie right now, but from what I've heard they focus a bit too much on prints, birds, and aren't terribly technologically savvy. They're also mostly older photographers, and I'm looking to start up a group of people aged 18-50 or so with a strong tendency towards digital photgraphy, with a website, online contests, and more.
If you're interested in helping me do something of this sort, get ahold of me however you'd like.
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Posted 25 Oct 2008 at 11:02am #
Hi Erik, I am not sure where you received your info about the Erie Photography Club but I think you would be pleasantly surprised by the club's quality photography. We welcome all types of photographers, including "edgy" ones. Our member,over 100 of them) range from teenagers to a 92 year old and some of these members have been taking pictures for 20 years or more. Almost all our members are using SLR digital camera's and most are using Photoshop to process and enhance their images. We welcome all types of photography except porn. I would love to talk to you about your idea's. I think I remember an e-mail from you a while back but at the time it sounded suspicious and I didn't give it much more thought.
As for starting your own club, be aware, it cost money to run a club (which we have) and time (which I average about 10 hours a week) so if you have another club in mind, you'll need a strong leader and a way to finance. Please attend the club's competition on tuesday Oct 28, 6:30pm, Mercy Center on Aging(we rent the activity room (at $25.00 a meeting) and look at the type of photography we are doing. Feel free to e-mail me at eriephotoclub@aol.com or call me at 823-5009 or at my studio, 474-2892. We also are having a gallery show at the Kelley Run Gallery in Cambridge Springs. Check it out. Also, Art Becker is our next speaker on November 11 at 7:00 pm. Since he is a professional photographer, he may have some things you would be interested in. By the way, you have to pay your speakers or they are not going to take the time to talk to your group. Why reinvent the wheel? When you could add to this club. Maybe you could find us places to have shows! Or become a member of the board. Or you could be our contest representative and be in charge of running the contest, submitting members work, finding judges and so forth. I am sure we could work to make you feel welcome. Thanks, Patty Raydo President, Erie Photography Club.
Posted 25 Oct 2008 at 4:44pm #
[quote comment="50355"]Hi Erik, I am not sure where you received your info about the Erie Photography Club but I think you would be pleasantly surprised by the club's quality photography.[/quote]
So the vast majority of members aren't primarily into nature photography? It doesn't seem as though I'm that far off based on this comment: "I don't disagree with you about the personality of the group. It might be better named 'nature photography group' or something." (From here.)
The blog hasn't been updated in months. I over-estimated the number of people who use film, but that's one of several reasons I had the impression the group was "old-fashioned."
[quote comment="50355"]I would love to talk to you about your idea's. I think I remember an e-mail from you a while back but at the time it sounded suspicious and I didn't give it much more thought.[/quote]
I've talked to (email) you on at least two occasions. More recently, I offered to help with some of the technical things and host the website in exchange for a free membership. At the time, you weren't using a free host as you seem to be now, so I could have saved the club that money.
[quote comment="50355"]As for starting your own club, be aware, it cost money to run a club (which we have) and time (which I average about 10 hours a week) so if you have another club in mind, you'll need a strong leader and a way to finance.[/quote]
I think we'll have to agree to disagree on that. The club I envision wouldn't be run the same way, financially, as the existing club. In fact, I don't imagine the need to collect any dues or fees at all in the first several meetings - that would be on an "as decided" and voluntary type of basis.
I'm also not sold on having "speakers" as a valuable exercise. I'm a big fan of learning from peers and learning by doing - neither of which is accomplished listening to someone else talk while watching a slide show. That seems to differ from the club's main philosophy as well.
[quote comment="50355"]I am sure we could work to make you feel welcome.[/quote]
I'll consider it, Patty, but I still don't think I was so far off-base that I'll ever feel all that comfortable or feel as though I'm getting that much out of the existing club. How many photo walks have been organized lately? How many member group shoots? How many carpools to interesting locations? How many contests have been judged online? How true is the "nature photography group" comment?
There are a few other questions too, and I'm as skeptical now as I was before - perhaps even a bit more so.
In the end, I just don't know that I want to work at convincing people of things that I've come to believe are pretty much obligatory: that having an online presence and an online "place" is the way things should be (and so on down the line).
Your group is successful, and so it's obvious you've got a market. Again, I'm not trying to supplant or replace your group - just to find (or create) one that I find interesting.