Pamela Ruby Russell, Norfolk

The Stony Brook Camera Club in Franklin is proudly celebrating its 51st year. It all began in 1969 with a slide show and photo competition at Stony Brook Nature Center in Norfolk as a way to increase public awareness of the sanctuary. By January of 1970 an active club was born. It grew rapidly and gained a reputation throughout New England as the friendliest, most open club. Fast forward 50 years and that reputation remains with a membership of over 160. 

SBCC includes and welcomes members of all ages and abilities. Whether a casual smart phone shooter or an advanced photographer, everyone grows in knowledge and experience through SBCC’s many programs and workshops. Diane Robertson, a member for 29 years, said, “Stony Brook has always meant a lot to me as the interaction with members and learning new things, especially out in natural settings.” 

                                              Cynthia Vogan Photography, Wrentham

Ellen Berenson, the club’s newsletter editor, offers, “Regardless of our reasons for taking the photos we do, photography is our way of expressing our inspirations. We choose to share with others what we are seeing through our lens. Some of us seek to contrive our compositions, such as with still life or portraiture. Others of us share what we come upon as we go along, just because, perhaps, the light is right.”

The club’s mission statement is “To promote enjoyment and proficiency in all aspects of photography through education, fellowship, exchange of knowledge and experience; and a broad appreciation of nature and environment.”  SBCC gives back to the community as well by offering scholarships to deserving high school seniors from the area who intend to study photography in college. The recipients are invited to the year-end banquet to meet the membership, share their work, and receive their awards.

                                                        Pamela Ruby Russell, Norfolk

The Program Committee has been hard at work planning a full year of quality programs. Fifteen area, national and international speakers will present programs covering topics such as nature, landscape, astrolandscape, black and white, timelapse and storytelling photography. There will be at least 5 Saturday workshops offered by the speakers throughout the year. SBCC also offers image studies as well as club and intra-club competitions to help members hone their skills. Field trips have been offered to members traveling as close as Cape Cod for night photography or as far as Charleston, SC for varied photo ops. Camping trips are scheduled at least once a year with well-planned opportunities for shooting.

Silvana DellaCamera, Norfolk