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 April Competition

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

Multi-Club Voting Starts - Monday April 14th

Program Night - April 22nd  - Church Watch Party - "Nature's First Green is Gold" presented by Ed McGuirk

Spring in New England is dynamic time of emergence and regrowth. It is a season of renewal that is full of interesting nature stories waiting to be told by photographers. This program showcases the ephemeral and subtle beauty of spring foliage colors in New England. Early spring tree buds and leaves display delicate hues of yellow, orange, and red, that are almost like a Second Autumn season.

This program will cover how to use the more visible structure of spring tree branches to produce compelling compositions. It will show you how to use  ”Spring Pointillism” to create abstract and painterly looking images. It will discuss the various stages of spring that allow you to take advantage of the full palette of Spring Foliage colors, from the Autumn like hues of early spring to the fresh lime green leaves of later spring. It will also show you how to post-process spring foliage colors, to get effective color separation of yellows and greens.

The program will also cover a wide range of tips on how to create more interesting and effective woodland photographs. It will discuss how to simplify the often complex and chaotic forest environment. It will teach you how to compose woodland scenes to add depth and structure to your images. It will also show you how to take advantage of light and weather conditions to overcome the problem of excessive contrast in forests on sunny days.

Bio: Ed McGuirk is a Massachusetts based landscape and nature photographer whose work concentrates on New England. He belongs to the Sudbury Valley Nature Photographers and the Massachusetts Camera Naturalists. His work has earned numerous honors, including the Lynn Salon’s Videtta Award, NECCC Nature Image of the Year, Highly Commended in the USA Landscape Photographer of the Year, and NPN’s Nature Photographer of the Year. Ed’s work has been published in “Outdoor Photographer”, “Nature Photographers.net” and other publications. To see more of Ed’s work, visit his website at http://www.edmcguirkphoto.com

Multi-Club Voting Deadline - April 23rd at 11:59 PM

Printed Image Peer Review - Church -  April 29th

When our club submits pieces for print exhibits, Frank always reminds us that if the maker likes it, their image is worthy of being shown. You will be encouraged to share work with your peers you might like to print in a non-judgmental, supportive setting.  We will discuss the work as art, rather than for its technical mastery, where broken rules and creative license are okay and welcome!

We will form small groups at the tables in an intimate setting to share and discuss each others’ pieces.  To facilitate sharing as easily as possible, we are highly encouraging you to make small prints. These small “work in progress” prints will have the advantage of easy passing around or holding up to the group.

Watch for periodical e-mail updates and more information regarding how our session will be structured.

In the meantime, Stephanie will be on the hot line ready to receive any questions.   Email Stephanie Elkort or Buz Bragdon if you have questions.

Second Annual Meeting with Vera International Photo Club - Zoom -  June 22nd - 10:00 am to Noon

Gateway Members will once again join members of the Vera International Photo Club of Mojacar Spain to discuss their images.  Each club will share 20 images; Gateway’s images should show locations and events that differ from Europe. 

Please submit up to three of your favorite photos that capture a uniquely North America scene and/or a uniquely creative image. Our meeting is not a competition, but you should submit photos before June 18 on the website’s “Submit Images to a Competition” page.   Scroll to the bottom to the “Interclub Meeting with Vera Photo Club” 

Name and rank your photos:  Name of photo__Your Name_ 1 (your first choice), Name of photo_Your Name__2 (second choice)  The first choice images from the first 20 submitted will be included in the meeting.   Second and third choice photos will be added if fewer than 20 members submit images.   

All members, even those who don’t submit an image, are welcome to attend the meeting, but those who submit photos will have more fun.

Field Trip to Mount Auburn Cemetery - Sunday April 27th at 10:00 am

Join your Gateway friends on Sunday April 27 for an opportunity to photograph flowers, trees, flowering trees, birds, and architecture  at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.   This urban oasis is a botanic garden, arboretum, a premier birding destination, as well as a cemetery.   We will likely see daffodils, magnolias, tulips and flowering cherry trees, and maybe rhododendrons and azaleas.

The abundance of subjects may make you overload your camera bag with all of your lenses - macro for flowers and buds, wide angle for landscapes, long telephoto for birds, and some LED lights for flowers.  You won’t need to hike through miles of trails with all of this gear because you can drive and park on the cemetery’s paved roads.

Mount Auburn’s website notes that late April is the preferred time for beginner bird watchers because  the early migrants have begun to enter and the leafless branches allow clear views.    In April and May the cemetery’s gates open at 6:00 am to allow birders and other visitors to enjoy two quiet hours when machinery won’t interfere with bird songs.   

Gateway members are welcome to take advantage of these early hours before joining our field trip group  at 10:00 am.  We will explore and photograph for about 3 hours, then head to a nearby pub for lunch.   

Admission and parking are free.  REGISTRATION >  /club/Event_Registration.aspx?EventId=87e09a2b-d6c0-465c-a8a2-3178bff479e2

Photos from https://www.mountauburn.org/plants-wildlife/

Broadmoor Exhibit - May and June

Spring is here, so it must be time to exhibit our best nature and landscape photos at Audubon's Broadmoor!

We will be exhibiting at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, 280 Elliot St., Natick, MA during the months of May and June, 2025.   We will be hanging the exhibit on Wednesday, April 30^th at Noon.  We will remove the exhibit on Sunday, June 29^th between 9AM and 4PM.

The sanctuary exhibit space has room for approximately 30 images. Make yours among those on display. This is the perfect time to exhibit at Broadmoor as the sanctuary comes to life in the spring.  Multiple images by the same artist will be accepted on a space available basis, first registered first in, second image by artist accepted after all first images, etc.)

Since Broadmoor is a wildlife sanctuary, they ask that our images represent nature or landscape themes. They do NOT have to be from the local area, although local images are always welcome.

If you are interested in entering photo(s) in this exhibit, please email Frank with the following information for each image you wish to exhibit by Wednesday, April 23^rd at 6PM.  (subject line: “Broadmoor Exhibit")

Name:

Email Address:

Phone:

Image Title:

Framed size High x Wide:

Image category (Landscape, Nature):

We will host a “Meet the Artists” reception at Broadmoor on Sunday, May 18^th at 1PM. We are planning to have an optional casual walk through the sanctuary prior to the reception at 10 AM. Please mark your calendars.

We will be displaying a binder with Artist's Statements in the exhibit area. Artist statements are typically one page, 8 1/2 x 11, but any length is permissible. Artist Statements are due on the day of the exhibit installation. If you would like to see previous sample artist statements, please email me and I will be happy to send you some samples.

Photographer's Event List

Buz 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. 

April 24 -27 - 48th Annual Nantucket Daffodil Festival  - https://daffodilfestival.com/   Contact Diane Spottswood or Lois Galluzzo for details