2 minute read
How I Started Photographing Marple Friends & Neighbors
Our Community feature by our Magazine Photographer Sierra Clark
Photos courtesy of Sierra Clark Photography www.SierraClarkPhoto.com
As the Marple Friends & Neighbors photographer, I’m enjoying meeting Marple Township residents by taking the photos that help Publisher Bob Blaisse with the magazine’s mission of Bringing People Together. Bob connected with me a few months ago through the Delaware County Camera Club (DCCC). When he recently asked me to help our Readers also discover DCCC by writing an article about my experience as a club member, I gladly agreed.
Like many photographers, I’m always eager to perfect my craft and meet other photography enthusiasts. So I was delighted when, three years ago, I discovered DCCC. The club meets at 7pm every Monday except the first Monday of every month. After some time to socialize, the meeting agenda includes an interesting photo-taking or photo-processing talk, typically by a visiting professional photographer who speaks about, for example, their experience taking photos for National Geographic magazine or on a focused topic such as World War II.
At some meetings, a talk is given by a club member (many of whom are VERY talented photo-artists!) or we’ll have a “set up night,” where we bring our cameras and have different stations to photograph, practice our skills and ask questions. At every meeting I attend, I learn something new!
Another way DCCC members can develop their photographic skills is by participating in the club’s monthly competition that focuses on a specific photographic style or theme. Participation is optional, and a special guest judge comes to our meeting, to evaluate and score our work. These competitions are fun, and they keep us open to new ideas and challenges.
I’ve also enjoyed some of the many club-sponsored “field trips”: photo shoots that have taken us all across Pennsylvania, and also to New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington DC. These outings provide real-world learning and real-world friends and mentors.
Sierra Clark on a DCCC-sponsored 2018 photo shoot in a secluded location in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
DCCC is also a member of the Photographic Society of America, which sponsors opportunities for our club to compete with other camera clubs across the US (interclub competitions). Even members who don’t submit an entry into such competitions can learn a lot simply by reviewing all entries and those judged as winners.
I was amazed to learn that DCCC is one of the top 10 and possibly the oldest continuously running camera club in the US. It was established in 1937, by Walter Downward and a friend, both of whom worked at the Arco Refinery. They used their lunch hour to enjoy their mutual love of photography. Other camera enthusiasts soon joined them, to share photo shoots and techniques and tips about their craft. When the group grew into a club that was too large for a lunch-hour meeting, they moved it to Delaware County, where it has since remained.
I am so glad to have found the Delaware County Camera Club! From novices to advanced photographers, we all learn from each other and have many opportunities to experience great photographic works of art created by others or ourselves as we develop our skill and expertise.
For more information, visit www.DelcoCamera.Club. Visitors are always welcome!
Sierra Clark Photography
www.SierraClarkPhoto.com
610-772-3740
