A NOTCH ABOVE PHOTO CLUB
First Meeting MARCH 11, 2017

Attendees: Tim Williams, Allie Redfield, Scott Matz, Mary Williams, Zachary Sar, Maureen Hennings, Katrina Snow

Tim Williams, the club organizer through meetup.com, welcomed everyone and people introduced themselves and spoke about their photographic experience and what they hoped to gain from being in the club. Several members spoke of their need to understand their camera and how to use it better, the use of various photo processing software, printing and printers. Subject interests included landscapes, nature, street photography, the use of natural and artificial lighting, and composition.

We discussed what makes a club successful. All agreed that interactive participation is vital.

All want field trips and later group discussion of the photos, but there was also interest in learning about equipment, post-processing and printing. It was decided that everyone would bring an idea for a field trip and the group would choose one of those ideas.

Tim set up this club through meetup.com. They charge $15 by the month or $60 for 6 months. It was decided to continue advertising through this vehicle for 6 months and then decide how to continue with advertising. Katrina, Maureen and Scott gave Tim $10 each to continue the meetup format for 6 more months. Tim volunteered to look into a listing in the Courier’s “Ongoing Monthly Programs and Meetings” and see if it is free.

The structure of the club was discussed. Initially, people are comfortable with keeping the club quite informal, and then adding more structure as needed to keep things going smoothly. It was suggested that there be co-organizers to do administrative tasks like sending out information about meeting times and places through meetup.com, running meetings, choosing a topic & coordinator for the next meeting, responding to RSVP’s, and welcoming new members through meetup.com. Allie, Scott, Mary, Maureen and Katrina volunteered to be co-organizers with meetup.com. Tim will contact them about how to use the site.

There is also interest in setting up a website to view and comment on each other’s pictures. Scott volunteered to look into that.

It was decided to call our club “A Notch Above Photography Club”.

There was interest in meeting twice a month, one time on Saturdays at 1PM and the other time on Tuesday evenings from 6-8PM. This might allow more people to find a convenient time. This location at the Littleton Business Center has been made available to us without charge and Tues evenings are also available, so that time was chosen.

Our next regular meeting will be Sat, Apr 8 at 1 PM, & we have tentatively scheduled an evening meeting for April 25th. Maureen will bring refreshments on Apr 8th. Everyone will bring their own camera. Tim will give two presentations, one on the exposure triangle and the other on choosing a camera. Scott will present an update on developing a club website. Then each person will use their camera to take pictures here inside the building, followed by reviewing them either at this or the following meeting as time permits.

Addendum:

The landlord of the Littleton Business Center has informed us that since no member is a tenant of the building, there will be a $50 charge for each meeting. The co-organizers have discussed this and agreed that this is too expensive. Tim has found another possible meeting place that has AV equipment and does not charge at the Bethlehem Public Library. Watch for announcements as to the time and location of the next meeting.

Respectfully Submitted,

Mary Williams