As an ongoing project, Gabriola Photography Club curates the art display space downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Clinic on Church Street, Gabriola Island. Club members take turns having solo exhibitions or taking part in group exhibitions.
We are pleased to present a new exhibit, with a variety of prints by seven club members: Linda Blokhuizen, Sally Bullas, John Konovsky, Sher Falls, Corinne Flaws, Laurie MacBride and Vicky Scott.
The show is on now and will run until February 26, downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Centre, Mondays through Fridays during daytime hours.
Linda BlokhuizenSally BullasCorinne FlawsJohn KonovskyLaurie MacBrideVicky ScottSher Falls
It was another good year for our Club! Some highlights…
Membership:
35 as of December (almost the same as Dec. 2024, though some of the faces had changed). Sadly, we lost a beloved longtime member, John Poirier, who passed away in May 2025.
In-person events:
4 Club field trips and photo walks (2 of them off-island)
Annual Fall Show
As well, four club members gave in-person photography presentations for the community.
Exhibitions:
Members who displayed prints in our shows: 13 (35% of club). This included:
4 solo shows (Medical Centre)
2 group shows (Medical Centre)
1 group show (Chiropractic)
1 group show (annual fall Rollo show)
Learning & inspiration at our 19 zoom meetings:
5 guest presentations – one more was re-scheduled to 2026
2 presentations by club members
9 themed photo assignments
18 members shared about 800 images from our assignments & field trips
Financial matters:
Balanced budget achieved again this year
Raised almost 10% more revenue than forecast, mostly due to donations
Expenses were only about 75% of forecast, mainly due to one cancelled speaker fee
Top revenue sources: membership fees, donations, silent auction
Top expenses: speakers, communications (zoom & website accounts)
The full 2025 financial statement will be available to members once it has been finalized and approved by the executive.
Website:
almost 1000 visitors in 2025, mostly from Canada
23 new posts added (events, speakers, shows etc)
Top post in 2025: “Gabriola Artists” (Blair’s show) – 73 views
After having to re-schedule several times, we are delighted to finally be able to welcome John Barclay as our first guest speaker of 2026.
John is an award-winning freelance photographer based in Bucks County, PA. A passionate photographer, workshop leader and inspirational speaker, he has been presenting his programs to audiences around the world and his work has been published in a number of books and magazines. John has received an excellence award from B&W Magazine and was chosen by Dewitt Jones to participate in Dewitt’s www.healingimages.org program. You can see a few of John’s images below (click to enlarge).
John explains the background and purpose of the presentation he’ll be making:
“Why Dream – Believe – Create? There was a time when I felt I could not create. My self-talk was, I am not a creative person, I’m not smart enough, I can’t do this. After seeing images projected at the first workshop I took, I dreamed of becoming a good photographer. Primarily with the help of well known accomplished photographers Tony Sweet, Nancy Rotenberg and later Dan Sniffin, I was able to chip away at the negative self talk and believe that I could create worthwhile images. Thus Dream – Believe – Create has become the centerpiece of what I teach in my workshops. I believe that everyone has dreams and can achieve their dreams. I also believe that when you truly believe, you will be liberated to be able to create.
The process and journey required to create images feeds my soul and brings me great joy. My goal in this presentation is to inspire you to capture the essence of the subjects you are drawn to, using the creative medium of photography. This might entail capturing a small intimate portion of a scene. It might involve more creative techniques such as multiple exposures or the “slide sandwich” or camera movement for a more expressive interpretation.
I will also touch on the digital darkroom including the popular HDR (High Dynamic Range) technology and how having a keen understanding of these can help you achieve your artistic vision. Numerous examples will be shown which include traditional nature scenes as well as more abstract and urban compositions. We will explore the beauty in both the grand scale as well as more intimate details. The ideas presented in this program have application to any genre of photography.
I believe, like Ansel Adams, photographers bring to their images their own journeys, their sense of the world, their experiences and their passions. For me photography is simply another medium of artistic expression, visual poetry if you will.“
The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. January 7 at 10 am PDT. The link will be sent by email to all Gabriola Photography Club members on the weekend before the meeting. Make sure your membership is up to date so that you receive this info.
Andrea invites photographers to join her this January for a new season of inspiring photography courses designed for curious, mature learners. The courses are designed to help you explore fresh techniques, develop your creative voice, and build confidence in your craft.
Spaces are limited, so if you’d like to join, reserve your spot now and start the year with renewed photographic energy and community.
The course offerings include:
The Photographer’s Eye: Inquiries in Perception + Design (online)
The Advanced Abstract Lab: Experiments in Seeing (online)
The Photographic Explorers Group (in person, Vancouver area, includes field trips)
As an ongoing project, Gabriola Photography Club curates the art display space downstairs at the Gabriola Medical Clinic on Church Street, Gabriola Island. Club members take turns having solo exhibitions or taking part in group exhibitions.
We’re delighted to present a new exhibit by Blair Mann, entitled “Gabriola Artists: A Review in Black and White”.
Blair says the new exhibit is a sampling of work in his ongoing project to capture artists absorbed in their creative process, and that his has chosen to process the images in black and white “because colour can distract the viewer from seeing the connection an artist has to their work”.
Blair is skilled at photographing people. Before moving to Gabriola, he worked as a commercial photographer in the Lower Mainland for almost 15 years, creating portraits and headshots of actors, singers, dancers, public speakers and authors, along with corporate executives, boards of directors and staff of numerous companies. As well, he photographed products made by light manufacturing companies for use in their sales catalogues and websites.
In Blair’s own words:
Having come to digital photography in my early 50’s, I realized I needed some help if I was going to be successful. To this end I hired two mentors. Peter Hurley in New York City and Don Giannatti in Phoenix, Arizona.
Over three years of weekly critiques, Peter taught me lighting, portrait and headshot photography and how to interact with my subject.
From my two years of every-other-week online meet ups with Don, I learned the business side of Photography; i.e. how to acquire clients, marketing, how to write proposals and contracts – how to get paid. Also, Don taught product photography.
From this experience, I learned to love photographing people. There wasn’t, and still isn’t, anything more exciting for me.
After retiring and moving full time to Gabriola about nine years ago, I looked for ways to still capture images of people. With the support of Gabriola artist Gwen Spinks, I was able to connect with other artists on the island who kindly allowed me to capture their moment in time. The personal project is still ongoing.
I wish to thank the Gabriola Photography Club for asking me to display a sampling of my work at LifeLabs.
It is my hope you have an opportunity to view my work.
Gabriola Photography Club 