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WBM april 2011
transition in the field of photography.
“You have to remember that everything
back before then was film and slide
photography,” he says. “A few people
in the club did black and white photography,
but most seemed to gravitate
toward color photography. Then digital
came on the scene, and, for a couple of
years, there was a lot of discussion as to
whether digital photography should be
allowed to compete against more traditional
photography. The transition took
a while, but once digital got established,
that’s pretty much what everybody did.
It’s certainly easier that way. Cameras
can do amazing things, and digital quality
is just as good or better than film
ever was.”
The club today Today, most
club members continue to use digital
cameras—both SLR (single-lens reflex)
and point and shoot. Of the club’s
100-plus members, most are amateurs
who enjoy photography as a hobby.
Club competitions are held six times
a year (three digital and three print),
with a theme assigned for each contest,
such as landscape, architecture, street
scenes and portraits. There are two
skill levels— beginners/intermediate
and advanced. Judges for the contests
are professional photographers outside
the club. Red and blue ribbons are
awarded, as well as ribbons for best
of class. The Cape Fear Camera Club
is also a member of the Photographic
Society of America and participates
in interclub competitions four times
a year.
Winning photographs from all competitions
can be viewed on the club’s
website, www.capefearcameraclub.com
“Our website provides valuable information
to all our members,” says Steve
Bouton, web master. “The calendar
lists meeting dates, competitions, field
trips and more.” In addition, a monthly
newsletter keeps club members informed
about a variety of topics.
New this year, and free to members,
is an online photo gallery. In addition,
many learning tools are available on the
site, such as links to various photography
websites and valuable photo PSS links
(a way to connect to a variety of online
databases and mainframe systems).