This edition of Club Corner will feature the Photo Club. According to their constitution, Photo Club’s mission is “to provide different programs, meetings, and workshops to express interest in the art of picture taking and video making to all students at Bloomsburg by bringing in speakers, presenters, and a multitude of different trips for photoshoots and galleries for inspiration.” Getting even more specific, the club’s goals are to “create fun, involved, and creative workshops for all members, teach members how to take photos and videos, [and] build a community of artists and creators who enjoy the medium,” as stated in the club’s constitution.
Photo Club meets every Monday at 7 p.m. in room 022 of the Arts and Administration building. Any student is welcome to join the Photo Club, whether they have been doing photography their whole life or have no prior photography experience. There is photography equipment, including cameras, available for rent through the club, so members do not need to own a camera to be a part of this club. On average, about six to eight students attend the weekly meetings, and the club has 21 members overall. The president of the Photo Club is August Elmore and the vice president is Emilie Bird.
Photo Club is a relatively new organization on campus, as this is only their third semester as a club. Because of this, they are really trying to gain popularity and draw in more members. In addition, the Photo Club is trying to reach out to other clubs and organizations to take pictures for them and partner with them. Kaitlyn Boucek, a junior EGGS major and the secretary of the club, explains, “We figured that there are a lot of groups, clubs, and organizations that could benefit from having professional pictures taken. Plus, it is a great way for us to learn how to interact with people, how to market.”
She continues, saying that working with other clubs allows Photo Club members to practice not only photography itself but also in having professional conversations with people they have to work with. Photo Club is open to working with pretty much any organization on campus if they reach out to them. However, Boucek cautions clubs to remember that the Photo Club meets on Mondays, so that is when event information will be given to club members. Therefore, “if [clubs] are expecting a quick turnaround, depending on the event, that may or may not happen.”
Each Photo Club meeting is broken up into three sections, the first of which is a photography spotlight. A photography spotlight is where one member of the club brings in five to ten photos they have taken to show the members of the club. Or, the member can spotlight a photographer/artist who has inspired them and explain why their art has inspired them or why they enjoy that artist’s art. After the photography spotlight, the club members move to the second part of the meeting, which is where they discuss the photos they took in response to a photography theme that was given to them the week prior. Boucek states, “Everyone has an opportunity to submit photos; we briefly talk about everyone’s pictures, who submitted them, how they related to the theme, what we liked, what could be improved.” Lastly, the club members discuss upcoming photo events they can participate in.
Describing what students can get out of coming to a Photo Club meeting, Boucek states, “Everything varies depending on what you are attending. If you come to the meeting, it’s supposed to be like a fun, safe environment to explore artwork. Explore your skill and the artwork itself. We are nice, I promise. We are not going to like bash your artwork.”
Boucek has big plans for the club’s future, including putting on photography workshops and expanding the list of organizations that the club takes photos for. She states, “We do plan on setting up workshops with either alum, staff, or skilled students who feel comfortable talking in front of a group. Those workshops are open to the club and not club members, of course.” Additionally, she expressed that the Photo Club would not be opposed to working with and taking pictures of the town of Bloomsburg as well as the university. However, Boucek recognized that the university is a great jumping-off place for this club.
Transitioning into a look at her experience in this club, Boucek expressed that she originally joined the club partly because she was very interested in seeing what it was about and partly because it was part of an assignment for a photography class she was taking, However, she enjoyed being involved in the club and therefore decided to take on a leadership role. She explained that she enjoyed having a little bit of control over what the club does and she loves to be engaged with her fellow photographers.
Boucek states, “There is something fun about knowing the story of who or what you are photographing. There’s something really enjoyable about learning why someone takes pictures or what they are focusing on.” Boucek elaborates on this by saying that if you asked 10 people to take pictures of Bloomsburg’s campus, you would get so many different pictures, even though they are all of the same campus, because everyone has a different way of looking at it.
Come to room 022 in the Arts and Administration building on Mondays at 7 p.m. to find out more about this club and get involved with it!
