Welcome to the Gateway Camera Club

Our goals are to share ideas, knowledge, and insight; to help improve the skills and abilities of our members; and to have some fun while enjoying photography. We recognize photography is changing, growing and with ever-emerging technologies, more exciting than ever!  Gateway was one of the first local camera clubs to embrace digital photography and, as a result, we have some very knowledgeable digital photographers. Many award-winning members of Gateway Camera Club honed their talents and abilities through the mentoring they found at Gateway.

Our club is very active and we meet on most Tuesdays from September to June 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Want to compete, learn and share? Check out our exciting schedule. Visitors and new members are always welcome. Just stop in and introduce yourself. We hope you'll soon find an aspect of Gateway that fits your interests. Please browse our website, learn more about what we do, and enjoy. And remember, enthusiasm is catchy. Come and catch some!  

The slideshow to the right are images from our  September Winning Images

Interested in seeing what Gateway Camera Club is all about? You are welcome to join as a Guest Member for 30 days. Just send us an Email and you will be added to the attendee list for the next 30 days.

Upcoming Events

October Competition Deadline - Sunday October 1st at 11:59 PM

Education Night - October 3rd Church Only - "Understanding Black and White Photography" presented by Don Toothaker

Personal growth in photography is rooted in the fundamentals of exposure and composition.  No genre teaches you more about each than working in monochrome.  Join photographer and instructor Don Toothaker to understand and discuss the characteristics that make for a strong image in Monochrome.  And those that do not.  Using text and image sample he will take you through the process of how to find images that are most suitable for monochrome. 

Bio:  Don, a self taught photographer, has been professionally photographing a variety of subjects for the past 20 years while teaching others to do so as well.  As the Director of Photo Adventures for Hunts Photo and Video in Massachusetts, Don leads numerous instructional photo walks in the greater Boston and New England area as well as a wide variety of photography workshops locally, nationally, and internationally. He is deeply committed to sharing the unique beauty of the world through his imagery, his instructing, and his writings. Don is the Director of Photography Adventures at Hunt’s Photo and Video. Don uses current Nikon Z Mirrorless camera systems and is a juried member of Nikon Professional Services.  Don displays his work at <www.toothakerphoto.com>  as well as daily posts to Instagram @don_toothaker.

Competition Night - October 10th - Judge Silvana Della Camera- Theme "Frame within a Frame"

Image Study - October 17th - Commentator

Program Night - October 24th -  Via Zoom "Mother and Son Bond Over Nature Photography" presented by Shannon and Martin Culpepper

Shannon Culpepper will be giving a short talk on the benefits of getting children into photography, what photography does for the family dynamic and how this hobby can lead to living lives of adventure and memories that will last a lifetime.  I’ve been shooting for 35 years and my degree is in commercial photography.  I use my photography skills daily in my career as a marketing director, a gallery curator at the Focus 244 Gallery, York Maine. She is a community leader of the Facebook group Celebrating Your Next Great Shot and everyday you can find me out shooting a multiplicity of styles.

Martin Culpepper is a 20 year old photographer based in northern Massachusetts who specializes in wildlife. 

Shorebirds are an appreciated but often under photographed group of animals, and aside from the occasional rush of baby piping plover images on social media in the early summer people tend to not photograph these interesting creatures, and when they do they tend to take images that all look the same. Despite this shorebirds are often in high abundance during periods of the year where other wildlife is hard to access or photograph, and they’re arguably the best subject to photograph in regards to the proportion of good shots you can get to how much time you put into photographing them. That is, if you know how to photograph them effectively. This talk will go over necessary lighting conditions and compositional techniques that will give you the tools to bring your shorebird photographs to the next level, as well as behavioral hacks that you can use to ethically get within minimum focusing distance of these birds without any baiting or harassment. This talk is a culmination of all of the information and experiences I have learned after many summers spent photographing these birds.

All photo’s copyright Martin Culpepper

No Meeting - Fifth Tuesday

Announcements, Groups, SIG Meetings and Field Trips

The Lighting SIG - Saturday Sept 30th

Multi-Club Competition - April 30, 2024

All members of the Boston, Gateway, Newton and Stony Brook Camera Clubs are invited to participate in the friendly 5^th Annual Multi-Club Competition to be hosted online on April 30, 2024, 7:00-9:30 PM. All images must be created within a one-year period beginning April 1, 2023 and ending March 31, 2024.

The categories for next year's Multi-Club Competition have been agreed to by the four clubs as follows:

1. Abstract Expressionism
2. Complementary Colors
3. Curves
4. High Key/Low Key
5. Music
6. Seasons
7. Street Photography
8. Tender Moment

More information and complete definitions may be found on this page>>  /d/7103295a-c97b-4721-9c14-2beedb8baf0a

Self Portrait Project proposed by Jim Brady

A few years ago, I did an end-of-year mini show on Portraiture. I invited members to submit their own Photographer Self Portrait that I would then include in the show. The response was pretty good and the images ranged from cool to downright hilarious.

So...I came up with a summer project that I hope members will think is different, fun, challenging, and rewarding.

I’m challenging (inviting?) everyone (including myself) to make one Photographer Self Portrait each week over the summer. In the end, you should have a few meaningful, funny, serious, insightful, images that you feel express your identity as a photographer.

Here are the details...
I’m calling these “Photographer Self Portraits” in order to distinguish them from social media “selfies.” These aren’t what we typically think of as selfies. They are more thoughtful, intentional images meant to express some emotion related to your own personal photographic journey. Your approach can be humorous, ironic, introspective, explorational...or all of the above.

When our season resumes next fall, you’ll pick your best two or three images and submit them for a fun, informal competition, judged by a celebrity judge. We won’t have to worry about points or standings...it’s just an opportunity to make a statement about your own personal relationship to
photography.

Below, are some resources to explore. Artist self portraiture has been a legitimate subject that has been explored for hundreds of years. These resources will help guide and hopefully inspire you to try photographic techniques you might never have tried before. Who knows, maybe one of your own self portraits will find its way to the cover of Time magazine (well...I mean if there was still a print version of Time magazine).

Just to give us an idea of who might be participating, please send an email to Jim Brady just to say that you’re going to give it a try. (And obviously, you don’t have to do one image each week...although there’s something to be said for the discipline of that kind of commitment.) I'll send out weekly inspirational reminders over the summer...but only to those who reply saying they want to participate. If you do participate and in the end feel you have nothing to submit...that's fine. There will still be value for yourself in the images you've created. No pressure...this is for fun and to help each of us explore our photographic identity. We'd love to see 100% participation...come on...give it a try! At least you'll have a subject that's always available!

Self Portrait Tips and Inspiration:

Forget the Selfie
https://skylum.com/blog/self-portrait-photography-ideas-and-tips

10 Self-Portrait Techniques to Inspire You
https://www.canva.com/learn/10-creative-self-portraits-techniques-will-inspire-create/

18 Creative Self Portrait Photography Ideas
https://blog.depositphotos.com/self-portrait-ideas.html

Photographer's Event List

Buzz is creating an events of interest to photographers list.  This is intended to be an interactive list with any member sending Buz an event that they've learned about.  The event can be anything that you think would be of interest to photographers.  These could be larger regional events or small home town celebrations of some kind.   Any theme might be a good event:  specialty sports (nat'l leagues, we already know about), state and local fairs and festivals, flowers and gardens, historic, special visiting exhibits at museums, and events that defy categorization.  As you send Buz events,  he will add to the list and send out periodic updated e-mails. 

All Season  Car Shows  Many, many local and regional motor vehicle related events, weekdays and weekends.  Contact Buz for info.

Thursdays 3-7 PM through Sept. 28th Framingham Farmers' Market https://www.framinghamma.gov/3520/Farmers-Market

Sept 29- Oct 6 - Topsfield Fair - https://www.topsfieldfair.org/

Oct 1 - 8 - Fryeburg Fair - https://www.fryeburgfair.org/