Tag Archives: speakers

“Contemplative Landscape Photography” – April 2

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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

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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

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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.

Old house © Hazel Meredith
Lantern © Hazel Meredith
Dogwood © Hazel Meredith
Trees in a field with colorful sky © Hazel Meredith

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.

“Dream – Believe – Create”: October 15, 2025

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With special guest presenter, John Barclay

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).

Four photos by John Barclay, including black & white, color, landscape and abstract images.

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.“

You can learn more about John and his work at www.barclayphoto.com.

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.

A note to non-members of our Club: you’re welcome to attend this event as a guest; contact us by October 13 to sign up.