Still Growing after 40 Years
The Huntington Camera Club began in 1966 as an outgrowth of some Adult Education classes at the high school. A few of the original members are still active today. The instructor for one of the courses was Nat Scherer, a professional photographer for Grumman, whose photos of the Lunar Module are still viewed. The class members enjoyed the sessions so much that they signed up for a second year. Then they started meeting in a member's home and finally made arrangements to meet at the Huntington Library on Main Street. Mr. Scherer was the first president.
In the early years of the club, the approximately 20 members were non-professionals; most had their own darkrooms. One of the local stores, L & L Camera, assisted with programs. There were some female members at the start; now women constitute about half of the membership. Before digital cameras, most of the members used Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Minolta 35 mm film cameras, usually with interchangeable lenses. Some used medium-format single or twin lens cameras.
The club continues to meet every Tuesday night at the Huntington Library at 7:30 p.m. and is open to people of all ages and photo skills. While most members start as amateurs, many have achieved levels of competence equal to that of professionals. Their success is in part due to the dedication and wealth of knowledge offered by the membership. The club has mentoring programs as well as a buddy system to help beginners get over hurdles in the complexity of digital cameras and the attendant need for computer technology.
During the official meeting year (September through June), the club holds membership competitions for all levels of skills, and meets a few times each month throughout the summer. An affiliation with the Photographic Federation of Long Island (PFLI) gives members an opportunity to submit work to monthly competitions for all of the 25 camera clubs on Long Island and Queens. This is an opportunity to compare work and advances to the approximately 800 members of the other clubs.
The Huntington Camera Club also has a devoted group of "Shooters" who meet every Sunday morning for a breakfast talk and active discussion session. They then choose a location on Long Island or in New York City for a half or full day of on-site photography. They welcome visitors, and many become club members. Frequent e-mails inform members and friends of competitions and gallery shows. The monthly newsletter also contains information about current events as well as technical articles and tutorials.
The Club maintains an active profile in the community. Through dues, the generosity of individuals and various grants and awards, it has cataloged Huntington's historical homes, produced a multi-media show on "A Week in the Life of Huntington," and conducts an annual photo competition for high school students. Students from both Nassau and Suffolk compete in several categories for recognition and awards. Since its inception in 1991, the event has grown and regularly receives up to 800 submissions annually. The club has awarded well over $20,000 in cash and prizes to many deserving students. The club always posts the winning entries on its website. Each category has prizes for first, second, and third places as well as three honorable mentions. Every year the club awards a total of $1,050 to the winners in each category. This year, the first-place winners also received a new Nikon D60 Digital SLR camera kit, courtesy of Nikon.
Kevin Armstrong has been a club member for 20 years. He served for five years as president and currently runs the High School Competition and the club programs. He spoke with us about the transition from film to digital photography:
"Photographing with a digital camera is now standard practice; out of over 100 members in the club, probably only two or three still work with film. What photographers like about digital is the instant feedback it offers, the total control over the process and the multitude of ways to display that image. While some people are of the opinion that editing photos on a computer is 'cheating', most, if not all, members practice editing their images.
"To understand what can be done with Photoshop and other computer software, one must first understand the difference between pixel editing and simple adjustments. Adjustments are taking the elements that already exist in the photos and enhancing them. This could involve changing the hue, saturation, exposure, lightness or darkness, etc., along with some simple cropping and sharpening. When you adjust these items you have not changed anything that was in front of the lens; you have just emphasized or de-emphasized what was already present. These are adjustments are also handled in a darkroom, but without the hazardous chemicals necessary for film.
"More robust software like Photoshop is pixel-editing software. While it can perform all the adjustments listed above, it can also be used to radically change the image. The photographer can add elements from other photos, combine multiple photos, easily remove unwanted objects, and change the color of an image. Even if you could do this work in a darkroom, it would be impossible to re-create it for an additional print. Most of our members strive to take a strong image at the time of capture and make some minor adjustments for a final print, and so digital photography is no different from film photography in our case."
Special thanks to long-time Huntington Camera Club members Kevin Armstrong and Leon Hertzson for their assistance. Visit the club's website to learn more and see members' photographs.
