Photography club going strong
■ To see more photos by Bella Vista photographers, see Page 11C.
In a community where many clubs are beginning to decline, the Bella Vista/ Bentonville Photography Club is going strong.
On the third Tuesday of each month, at 6 p.m., about 40 members meet at the Hometown Bank in Jane, Mo. — just past Walmart, north of the state line. Each month, there’s something new to learn, members say.
“We used to have a speaker, now we’re doing a learning experience each month,” member Jean Berg said. It’s often other members who provide the learning experience.
It’s a diverse group that includes all kinds of experience levels and equipment, President Doug Keck said.
Beginners can learn the basics, Berg said, and go as far as they would like to go.
There’s a monthly contest, she said, and the top three photos are printed and displayed around town. The theme is announced at a monthly meeting. It might be a category like transportation or something more stylish like “Leading Lines.”
For July the theme will be fireworks and there will be some tips on the best ways to capture them, Keck said.
Often plans are made for a club “walkabout” when members meet off-site and go out to take photos together.
“It’s to get everyone out there to use their cameras and try something different,” Keck said. They’ve met at the Bentonville Square, a church car show and at the top of one of the dams that form one of Bella Vista’s lakes.
There are also Facebook contests, Keck said. The Facebook page is just for fun, he said.
Although everyone’s special interest can be a little different, several club members love to photograph nature.
“I have a lot of birds,” Berg said, “and I love nature.”
She often heads over to Lake Rayburn and it’s different every time, especially as the seasons change.
Jan Halgrim has traveled to all 50 states and most of the nation’s national parks.
“I just like to take pictures of nature and animals,” she said, “People are interesting once in awhile.” She has a few places she loves to return to, but she also enjoys finding new spots. She is happy to take recommendations.
She has presented to local groups about iPhone photography and spoken about it on the community television station.
The club is important, she said. “It’s the one place you can go and talk photography and everyone is talking the same language.”
Keck is known throughout the region for his weather photography. He enjoys chasing storms and photographing lightening strikes.
“I just enjoy capturing whatever I can.”
He was invited to the club as a speaker on timelapse photography and they urged him to join. Once he joined they made him president. Although it’s a big time commitment, he plans to stay on after his term as president is over.
Keck has taken many portraits and has even shot a few weddings, but it’s nature and weather that draws him back.
“You don’t do it for the money,” he said. “It’s the fun of sharing my work with whoever wants to look at it.”
“It’s something you can give of yourself rather than watching a box in the house,” Berg said. “If you have a passion for it, it’s something that’s part of you that you can give to others.”