Adventures in Antarctica – April 16 & 22

with Corinne Flaws

In late January of this year, Gabriola Photography Club member Corinne Flaws embarked on an adventure to the southernmost part of our planet, Antarctica, with a group of 19 other photographers. Departing from the town of Ushuaia, also known as ‘fin del mundo’ at the southern tip of Argentina, in Tierra del Fuego, they boarded the MS Seaventure with Polar Latitudes for an epic 12 day journey that began on January 27.

After a couple of rough days crossing Drake Passage, the group sailed for eight days among the islands along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, then through the Antarctic Circle – further south than even the ship’s captain had ever ventured – and on to continentaal Antarctica.

Each day was a new adventure, cruising on Zodiacs among icebergs, rugged mountains and glaciers. The group was able to land at penguin colonies and walk on sea ice. They had many opportunities to photograph seals, penguins, whales and seabirds, and witnessed first hand the impact of climate change on the environment, including calving glaciers and melting icebergs.

Two separate events this month, one virtual and the other in-person, will provide opportunities to see and hear more about Corinne’s journey. She’ll share stories of her adventures and photos including marine wildlife as well as rugged landscapes, beautiful reflections and incredible icebergs and glaciers.

Icebergs along the shore with sharp, snow-covered peaks in the background.

First, Corinne will give a virtual presentation at our Club meeting on Wed. April 16, 2025, at 10 am PDT. The Zoom link will be emailed 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. Non-members: you’re welcome to attend this event as a guest; be sure to contact us by April 14 to receive the link.

Then on Tues. April 22 (Earth Day), Corinne will give an in-person presentation at 6 pm at the Gabriola Arts Council (Blue Building) at 476 South Rd. on Gabriola Island. Donations at the door will be welcomed, to support GROWLS and Gabriola Arts Council.

If you’d like to learn more about Corinne’s work, check out her website.

“Contemplative Landscape Photography” – April 2

With special guest presenter, David Johnston

Landscape photography is full of amazing overlooks and epic scenes. However, David wants to introduce us to a new way of seeing landscape photography – the contemplative way. In this presentation, He’ll teach us the steps we can take to slow down, see landscapes more intimately and capture creative photos. He hopes his presentation will help us to have a deeper appreciation for smaller scenes, see landscapes more creatively, and take more high quality images while we’re out.

David has been a professional landscape photographer and has over a decade of experience in teaching and helping people improve their nature photography, especially through podcasting and online video content and tutorials. In 2022 he founded Landscape Photography University, with workshop-style courses that aim to cover the range of needs to improve people’s photography skills while fitting within most people’s budgets.

You can see some of David’s beautiful nature photos on his website.

The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. April 2, 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 March 31 to sign up.

“Essentials of Time-Lapse Photography” – March 5

With special guest presenter, Silvana Della Camera

Time-lapse photography can produce stunning images that give viewers a glimpse of the world as they rarely see it, With digital photography now a daily part of our lives, this art of capturing change over time has become more accessible than ever before. In this presentation, Silvana will demonstrate how anyone can do this now, with gear they already own.

Silvana is passionate about photographing what the eye can’t perceive. A software engineer by trade, her fascination with photography began at a very early age and grew into a lifelong obsession as her view of the world evolved.

Silvana has received many photography awards, has had images published in a number of magazines and has presented and judged at camera clubs and art associations throughout North America. She has authored three books on photography, and offers photography workshops, photo walks, photo tours and private instruction,. Her presentations to camera clubs focus on the topics she is passionate about, including infrared, Milky Way, black & white, nightscapes and deep space photography as well as time-lapse.

Silvana believes here is much more in a scene than what is visible to the human eye, and challenges photographers to tap into the power of their cameras to discover it.

Below are a few of Silvana’s images (click to enlarge). You can learn more about her and see more of her work on her website.

The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. March 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.

A note to non-members of our Club: you’re welcome to attend this event as a guest; be sure to contact us by March 3 to sign up.

“Creativity with your Smart Phone”: Feb. 5, 2025

With special guest presenter, Hazel Meredith

Creative image processing doesn’t need to be limited to our desktop and laptop computers. In our first guest speaker presentation of 2025, we’ll learn how to create exciting, creative images right on our smart phones.

Special guest Hazel Meredith will explore some of her favorite apps for creative processing, including Snapseed, DistressedFx+, Image Blender, Retouch, and the JixiPix suite of apps. (The session will be relevant for both iPhone and Android users.)

Hazel is an award-winning photographer and a sought-after teacher, speaker, and
competition judge. She began teaching in 2007, and now does seminars at camera clubs and conferences – both in-person and virtual – and offers her own workshops and webinars. She has written two eBooks on working with textures and released two creative courses. She and her husband, Dave, produce the “Virtual Creative Photography Conference” with attendees from around the world.

Hazel loves the creative aspect of photography and post-processing, especially the use of textures and software to create unique images.

She is actively involved with the photographic community and has held leadership orles and received honorary distinctions from several organizations. In the fall of 2020 she was the recipient of the Ashbrook Award for Digital Imaging Instruction from the Photographic Society of America.

You can see a few of Hazel’s smart phone images below (click to enlarge), and you’ll find more info about her and many more of her images on her website.

You can learn more about Hazel and her work at https://meredithimages.com/.

The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. February 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.

A note to non-members of our Club: you’re welcome to attend this event as a guest; be sure to contact us by February 3 to sign up.

2024:  Our Year in Review

2024 was a good year for our Club! A few of the highlights…

Membership:
27 members in January 2024—38 in December 2024 (40% increase)

Members who displayed prints in our shows:
13 (34% of club)

15 in-person events:

  • 10 photo walkabouts
  • 2 field trips
  • 2 gear sales
  • Annual Fall Show

Learning & Inspiration at our 19 Zoom meetings:

  • 4 guest presentations – one more postponed to 2025 due to internet outage
  • 3 presentations by club members
  • 1 presentation from CAPA
  • 10 themed photo assignments
  • 16 members shared about 950 images from assignments & walkabouts

Amount of budgeted revenue raised:
253%. This was made possible thanks to generous donations of used gear by three Gabriola Islanders. Our heartfelt gratitude to each of them!

Website:
1200 visitors, 3200 views in 2024.

  • Passed milestone of 10,000 all-time views since site began in Nov. 2018.
  • Added video site, so as to upload all shared photo slideshows and recorded presentations from Club meetings (over 20 such items now accessible from password-protected Members page).
  • 32 new posts (club news, speakers, events, shows etc) & many additions to existing pages.
  • Top 5 posts in 2024 (# views):
    • Remembering Sharron” (103)
    • “She’s Messing Around Again” – Diane’s show (88)
    • Photo Walkabout – Decourcy Loop” (78)
    • “Stalking Shadows & Stealing Light” – Sher’s show (63)
    • “Gear & Gadgets Galore” – Gear Sale (63)

Best wishes from the Executive to all Club members, for a wonderful 2025, filled with many more exciting opportunities for learning and growing creatively!

Linda, Sally, Corinne & Laurie