Tag Archives: speakers

“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.

“My Journey in the Audio-Visual World” – October 16

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With special guest presenter, Colin Harrison (UK)

Our next speaker, Colin Harrison, is a well-deserved recipient of many international photography awards over the years – and is always an entertaining and engaging presenter.

Colin gave two very well-received zoom presentations to our club in 2020 and 2021, on his creative work in digital exhibitions and flower photography – presentations he made to clubs in 16 countries, raising nearly £4500 for cancer charities around the world.

This time he’s back with a presentation entitled “My Journey in the Audio-Visual World”, featuring some of the AV sequences he has produced over the past three years. We’ll be seeing a variety of photographic subjects including Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, creative flower photography and ghost towns. The presentation will also include his latest AV, based on a musical story of an American trucker.

Colin says his AVs are mainly short and light-hearted, and his mission statement is “to entertain the audience”. He was recently awarded silver medals in the UK and Poland for his AV sequences.

Colin oversaw the Cheltenham International Photographic Salon for a number of years and has judged camera club competitions and salons at home in the UK and abroad, including Norway, Turkey, Australia, Nepal, Montenegro and India. To learn more about him and see some of his images, you can check out his website at www.colinharrisonphotography.uk

The meeting will be held via Zoom, on Wed. October 16, 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 (paid for 2024) so that you receive this info.

A note to non-members of our Club: you are welcome to attend this event as a guest; contact us by October 14 to sign up.

Planning in Nature Photography – May 15

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With special guest presenter, Liron Gertsman

From the Rocky Mountains to the rugged coastline, the Pacific Northwest’s wild spaces are home to an incredible diversity of life. At our club’s meeting on May 15, Liron Gertsman will be taking us on a virtual journey through our incredible region and beyond, with a focus on the techniques that go into planning a successful photoshoot in nature.

An award-winning nature photographer and photojournalist, Liron aims to educate and shed light on environmental issues and the importance of conservation. His work has been exhibited in some of the largest museums in the world, including the Natural History Museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington DC. You may have seen him on CBC’s “The National”, heard him on Radio One, or seen his work in Canadian Geographic, Audubon Magazine, The Guardian, GEO and other publications.

His work has been widely recognized, sweeping the professional category of the 2022 Audubon Photography Awards, winning the grand prize of the 2023 Audubon Photography Awards, and earning a highly commended designation in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Liron has a biology degree from UBC, which he uses to enhance his passion for art and visual storytelling, providing a scientific background to inform his understanding of the natural world.

You can find more info about Liron along with the workshops and tours he offers, and see some of his beautiful wildlife and nature images on his website.

The meeting will be held via Zoom. The link will be sent by email to all Gabriola Photography Club members a few days beforehand. Make sure your membership is up to date (paid for 2024) so that you receive this info.

A note to non-members of our Club: you are welcome to attend this event as well, for a $5 fee: contact us by May 12 to sign up.

Getting to WOW: 7 Strategies for Photographers – April 3

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With special guest presenter, Judy Hancock Holland

Perhaps you’ve been making photos for a while now and you’ve mastered the basics. Your photography is pretty solid, but how do you move from good to WOW? How do you take the next step to create images with impact and emotion – that are uniquely yours and stand out from the crowd?

Join us as award-winning photographer Judy Hancock Holland shows us seven things we can do – no matter our level of expertise or our genre – to take our work from ordinary to WOW.

Judy’s photographic work has been exhibited in Canada, the US, and Europe. She’s an award winning photographer and lifelong educator who loves to coach and mentor others. While she is best known for her minimalist work, she enjoys a variety of other genres including macro, abstracts and floral photography.

You can find more info and some of her images on her website

The meeting will be held via Zoom. The link will be sent by email to all Gabriola Photography Club members a few days beforehand. Make sure your membership is up to date (paid for 2024) so that you receive this info.

A note to non-members of our Club: you are welcome to attend this event as well, for a $5 fee: contact us by April 1 to sign up.

Making Monochrome Magic – March 6

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With special guest presenter, Lee Nordbye

At our March 6 Club meeting, Lee Nordbye will be presenting a talk entitled “Making Monochrome Magic”.

Lee will focus on the art of creating bold black and white imagery by listening to your heart and gut. He’ll present his process, from inspiration to printing, saying that for him, fieldwork and editing are a 50/50 partnership in creating a monochrome work of art. He’ll devote time to walking us through what he looks for in the field and, in some detail, his editing process. He’ll also discuss how to prepare your images for printing, and the critical decisions you need to make before the image comes off the printer.

Lee is an award-winning landscape photographer, speaker, and teacher based in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta. He is known for a bold style that highlights the intimate details and nuances of the natural world. A fine art photographer with an adventurous spirit, Lee enjoys spending time outdoors and immersing himself in his subject. His elegant and soulful approach to photography is matched by a passion to challenge himself, explore wild places, and have fun while doing it. Here’s Lee’s website to find out more about him and his photography.

The meeting will be held via Zoom. The link will be send out to all Gabriola Photography Club members a few days beforehand. Make sure your membership is up to date (paid for 2024) so that you are sure to receive this info.

A note to non-members of our Club: you are welcome to attend this event as well, for a $5 fee: contact us by March 4 to sign up.