Modesto Camera Club has been around a Looooong Time!
Originally the Modesto Color Camera Club, we have been a photographic presence in the area for over seventy years!
The Modesto Color Camera Club has a long history, dating back to its founding in 1940. The purpose of the organization is to further the enjoyment and mastery of photography through cooperative effort and good fellowship. Meetings are held twice a month, on the first and third Monday nights, except during the summer. Seven times a year the Club has "competition nights," when members enter their images for competitive judging. The judges are members of camera clubs in other parts of the state, usually in Northern or Central California. They are experts and are usually Associates and Fellows of the Photographic Society of America.
Popular "how to" programs are presented several times a year, which help members sharpen their camera skills. Special photo-contests are also on-going, such as an annual photo-essay contest when members submit images and a short script as a photo story, judged by a professional photographer outside the Club.
Other contests have included a treasure hunt in which members are given a list of objects to find and photograph at a specific location such as at Graceada Park. The showing of these contest images always provides an evening of fun and merriment.
The Club has sponsored many field trips through the years, often to photograph the flowers and plants of the Sierras in springtime. Specific photographic destinations have been Del Puerto Canyon for wildflower photography and the Merced Falls area to photograph the lichen. Past field trips have been to San Francisco, to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, to Calaveras Big Trees, to area festivals, to rodeos, and more.
The advantages of membership are many, the most obvious being to improve photographic skills. However, members soon realize that photography is an art form, and by entering the competitions they learn about composition, sharpness, color saturation, the importance of impact in choice of subject matter, and the application of many art rules to their photography. They also learn to see the world through a photographer's eyes and suddenly realize how much they have been missing! All of this is especially worthwhile for the travel photographer, because it can make picture-taking on trips so much more productive and fun.
Photography frequently has another side benefit, which is the development of an interest in a related subject. Thus, many of our members have become amateur naturalists, geologists, botanists, zoologists, ornithologists, anthro-pologists, and historians, as well as painters, all resulting from their initial interest in photography.
The Modesto Camera Club has greatly contributed to the art and culture of our area and, as the community grows and changes, will undoubtedly continue to prosper in the years ahead.
The Modesto Color Camera Club has a long history, dating back to its founding in 1940. The purpose of the organization is to further the enjoyment and mastery of photography through cooperative effort and good fellowship. Meetings are held twice a month, on the first and third Monday nights, except during the summer. Seven times a year the Club has "competition nights," when members enter their images for competitive judging. The judges are members of camera clubs in other parts of the state, usually in Northern or Central California. They are experts and are usually Associates and Fellows of the Photographic Society of America.
Popular "how to" programs are presented several times a year, which help members sharpen their camera skills. Special photo-contests are also on-going, such as an annual photo-essay contest when members submit images and a short script as a photo story, judged by a professional photographer outside the Club.
Other contests have included a treasure hunt in which members are given a list of objects to find and photograph at a specific location such as at Graceada Park. The showing of these contest images always provides an evening of fun and merriment.
The Club has sponsored many field trips through the years, often to photograph the flowers and plants of the Sierras in springtime. Specific photographic destinations have been Del Puerto Canyon for wildflower photography and the Merced Falls area to photograph the lichen. Past field trips have been to San Francisco, to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, to Calaveras Big Trees, to area festivals, to rodeos, and more.
The advantages of membership are many, the most obvious being to improve photographic skills. However, members soon realize that photography is an art form, and by entering the competitions they learn about composition, sharpness, color saturation, the importance of impact in choice of subject matter, and the application of many art rules to their photography. They also learn to see the world through a photographer's eyes and suddenly realize how much they have been missing! All of this is especially worthwhile for the travel photographer, because it can make picture-taking on trips so much more productive and fun.
Photography frequently has another side benefit, which is the development of an interest in a related subject. Thus, many of our members have become amateur naturalists, geologists, botanists, zoologists, ornithologists, anthro-pologists, and historians, as well as painters, all resulting from their initial interest in photography.
The Modesto Camera Club has greatly contributed to the art and culture of our area and, as the community grows and changes, will undoubtedly continue to prosper in the years ahead.