Gabriola Photography Club’s annual Show & Sale will take place on Sunday, November 23. It’s a great antidote to the dark days of late fall.
This fun, free event runs from 12:00 to 4:00 pm at the Rollo Centre (685 North Road, in the Village, across from the school).
In addition to the gorgeous prints, greeting cards and other photographic items you’ll find on hand, the Show offers a good opportunity to talk photography with some of the folks involved in the Gabriola Photography Club, and learn more about our group, which welcomes new members.
With Remembrance Day approaching, we are very pleased to welcome Libby Gunn as our next guest speaker, for a presentation that promises to be as moving as it is appropriate to the occasion.
In November 2022 Libby visited war-related areas of northern France, including Vimy Ridge, Juno Beach and other less well-known sites. She’ll share her photos and describe her experience of visiting these sites at our club meeting on Wed. November 5.
Libby is a writer and photographer who moved to Gabriola Island ten years ago and has since volunteered in various capacities with Gabriola Land & Trails Trust. Previously she spent most most of her adult life in the NWT, working with Parks Canada for much of her career. As a writer, she has been longlisted three times for the CBC Nonfiction contest, has had her articles published in several magazines. and has self-published an illustrated natural history guide to the landscape near Fort Smith, NWT. She now splits her time between Gabriola and Lake of the Woods in northern Ontario.
Libby describes her fascination with photography:
“I loved photography as a kid. As a teen I set up a black-and-white darkroom in the basement laundry/furnace room of our house in Vancouver. I spent many late-night hours under that red light trying just one more print to get it right… Art history captured my attention when I was at university. I loved learning more formally what I already worked with intuitively: line, shadow, composition. Later I played a lot with video. With the advent of digital pictures I have done less photography as I loved the rigour of film and the mystery of the darkroom, but I am still composing photos in my mind as I look out at the world, and a compelling photo still moves me.”
The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. November 5, 2025, 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.
(Originally planned for Nov. 2024, but postponed due to a storm and internet outage.)
We are pleased to welcome John Barclay as a guest speaker. 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. November 19, 2025, 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.
In January and February of this year, Vicky Scott and her sister, Pat, embarked on a month-long trip of a lifetime – spending three and a half weeks in northern Borneo, followed by a few days in Singapore.
The Bornean highlights included:
the incredible caves of the Mulu World Heritage Park
the orangutans and proboscis monkeys of Sepilok
eight amazing days with expert local guides on the Kilabatangan River and in the Tabin and Danum Forests
Vicky says that the abundance and diversity of the wildlife was outstanding. “Our last four days in Borneo were spent on Mabul Island in what seemed like a snorkelling boot camp, with two to four dives a day among stunningly beautiful fish and coral, along with the occasional shark and large turtle.”
And then, Singapore – a stark contrast with its clean streets, massive high-rises and cultured gardens.
Vicky will give a presentation about the trip at our Club’s zoom meeting on Wed. June 4, 2025, at 10 am PDT. The link will be emailed to all Gabriola Photography Club members on the weekend before the meeting.
Non-members: you’re welcome to attend as a guest; be sure to contact us by June 2 to receive the link.
At our club meeting on May 7, New England-based fine art photographer Jürgen Lobert will present an instructional introduction to night photography.
Night light transforms the familiar and creates serene and colorful views of our surroundings, revealing beauty even in the mundane. Night images relay a profound peace through smoothness, deepened colors and captured time – clouds and cars become streaks, water ripples smooth over, and stars form trails in the sky. Otherworldly, hauntingly beautiful and serene lightscapes can be the result.
The presentation teaches participants best practices to successfully create unique, very intriguing imagery at night, along with many examples for inspiration.
Jürgen Lobert is a photographer and educator, born and raised in Germany, who received a Ph.D in atmospheric chemistry from Gutenberg University in Mainz before moving to the US in 1991.
Jürgen specializes in night photography, daytime long exposures, urban exploration and infrared imagery. He has curated photography exhibits and his artwork is in the permanent collection of the Art Complex Museum, Duxbury MA and private collections.
He also organizes photo excursions, workshops and tours, serves as an international lecturer, instructor and competition judge, and teaches photography at the Griffin Museum of Photography. He is a Master Member of the New England Camera Club Council (MNEC) and the founder and organizer of the Greater Boston Night Photographers Meetup group.
The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. May 7, 2025, 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.
A note to non-members of our Club: you’re welcome to attend this event as a guest; be sure to contact us by May 5 to sign up.
Gabriola Photography Club 