Gabriola’s beautiful Drumbeg Park is the subject of our next Photo Walkabout.
Plan to meet at 9 am on Saturday, December 7. Bypass Drumbeg’s main entrance and instead, park at the very end of Stalker Rd. (You’re in the right place if you see a large ornamental lighthouse on your starboard side as you face the water.)
Our plan is to follow the shoreline loop trail, returning through the forest.The entire trail is well maintained and easy walking.
It’s a picturesque place and you should be able to find plenty of photographic subjects, including fir, arbutus and Garry oak trees, winding trails, the sandstone shoreline and various views and landscape possibilities – perhaps even some wintering birds. Along with the big picture scenes, try to narrow down your focus for some detail photography.
Drumbeg is not a long distance walk, so we’ll take our time and really try to observe things we might normally walk right past.
Dress accordingly for what will likely be damp and/or chilly weather. Option to meet afterwards for coffee and lunch at either the Ground Up, Mad Rona’s or the Golf Club.
Click on the first thumbnail below to see the entire photo and view the series in carousel format.
Gabriola Photography Club’s Fall Show & Sale will take place this year on Sunday, November 24. It’s our annual opportunity to share our work with the rest of the Gabriola Island community – and a great antidote to the dark days of late fall!
This fun, free event takes place from 12:00 to 4:00 pm at the Rollo Centre (685 North Road, in the Village, across from the school).
In addition to all the gorgeous prints, greeting cards and photographic gifts that you’ll find there, the Show is a good opportunity to meet some of the folks involved in the Gabriola Photography Club and learn more about our group, which welcomes new members.
We’ll be heading to Nanaimo’s Old City Quarter for our next Photo Walkabout.
Meet on Tuesday, November 5 at 8:30amat the Gabriola ferry terminal, to take the 8:45am sailing to Nanaimo as a walk-on passenger.
From the Nanaimo side, we’ll pass by the Port Theatre in downtown Nanaimo and head up to the Old City Quarter. This photographically rich area was originally the economic heart of the city, and is nowadays a favourite shopping destination, housing an eclectic mix of independent shops and businesses, revitalized heritage buildings and newer development.
Photo opportunities should be diverse, as the area includes plenty of interesting buildings, architectural details and graffiti. Street photography and panning moving subjects should also be possibilities – in short, anything that catches your eye.
As we move along we’ll establish some specific meeting points so the group can stay together. There will be an option to meet for lunch afterwards at either Gina’s Mexican or The Vault Cafe.
Originally planned for November 2024, but postponed due to a severe windstorm and power/internet outage.
We are pleased to welcome John Barclay as our next guest speaker. John is an award-winning freelance photographer based in Bucks County, PA. A passionate photographer, enthusiastic workshop leader and inspirational speaker, he is presenting his programs to audiences around the world, and his work has been published in a number of books and magazines. Recently John 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:
“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. October 15, 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.
Because of the very wet weather expected over the next several days, our October Photo Walkabout to Coats Marsh Regional Park has been postponed.
The new date is Wed. October 23.
Meet at 9:00 am at the end of Fisher Road (off Hess Road).
From there, we will walk the trail to Coats Marsh and then loop back along the stump trail. We highly recommend you wear waterproof footwear.
Coats Marsh contains environmentally sensitive wetlands along with Douglas fir forest. Photo opportunities that morning might include marshland plants, birds, trees, autumn colours and whatever other nature scenes catch your eye.
After the walkabout there will be an option to meet for coffee/lunch at the Golf Club.
As always, this is a weather-dependent event. You’re welcome to simply show up, but it’s much better if you can let us know ahead of time if you plan to attend, in case of any more last-minute changes – though hopefully no more “atmospheric rivers” are in the forecast for the new date.
Gabriola Photography Club 