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
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.
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.
Gabriola Photography Club 