Committee
President
Sheila Brown
SHEILA BROWN President of Parkstone Photo Club
"Now, as the climax to my photographic life, (loud blowing of trumpet) I have been given the wonderful honour of being the club's President. I couldn't wish for more!"
I am absolutely thrilled to be the club’s President. It’s such an unexpected honour and I feel very proud.
I joined the club about 25 years ago and, just 5 minutes after being there, the Competition Secretary asked me if I would like to take over from him.
Of course, I agreed, especially as he assured me that he would be there to give me any help I needed.
And that was the last time I saw him!
Anyway, during all those years I have been on the Committee and I have done various jobs in the club including: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Competition Secretary, Assistant Competition Secretary, Programme Secretary, Assistant Programme Secretary, SAPA Rep, and Raffle Organiser.
I still enjoy everything about our club and I hope to be part of it for much longer.
Believe it or not, until I had been married nearly 25 years, I had never even touched a camera.
You see, I was married back in the Dark Ages when most families only owned one camera and the man automatically took charge of it.
It didn’t occur to me that I could do anything so clever as use a camera myself until, one day, sick and tired of me asking him to take pictures of pretty flowers, my husband, Ken, bought me my very own Pentax MX, and my whole life changed.
Now, in the digital age, I have a Canon Powershot G5 which, although a bit ancient (like me!), still suits my modest requirements.
Photography is definitely my main interest and there are a few things I am particularly proud of.
I was the first female Chairman in my former camera club, Hemel Hempstead Photographic Society.
Here, at our club, I was the first female Chairman.
I was the first and only female Chairman of SAPA (Stour and Avon Photographic Association) and I was the first and only female member of the first-ever SAPA Judges Panel.
Now, finally, I am the first female President here.
Chair
Carlo Jacolette
Carlo Jacolette
Carlo comes from a long lineage of photographers dating back to the 1890s, with his great-great-grandfather being a pioneer in photography and a founding member of the Professional Photography Association.
His own photographic journey has spanned various styles and genres, from abstract to landscape, and he is now a passionate advocate of OM mirrorless cameras.
With a strong interest in the technical side of photography, Carlo regularly works with Luminar Neo, Lightroom, and Photoshop to refine his images.
Beyond his own photography, Carlo shares his expertise by leading photo tours and workshops, specialising in street photography, and helping others develop their skills and creative vision
Vice Chairman
Malcolm
I first started photography when I was living in Johannesburg, owned a Canon AE1 camera
and had nothing much to do in the evenings, so I joined the Johannesburg Photographic
Society. Within two years, I won the prize for the best dog picture, so I must have learnt
something. Now living in Bournemouth and retired, I joined the Parkstone Photo Club as I
had nothing much to do in the evenings. Prior to that, I moved around a bit and worked as
an engineer, bringing up three children (actually, I think my wife really did that) who have
produced four grandchildren between them.
I used Canon cameras for many years, both film (AE1) and digital (D600, D6 and R) with
more lenses that I could comfortably carry. In recent years, I have moved to the Olympus
micro 4/3 system, and I appreciate its smaller size and technical capabilities. I tend to
photograph anything that I can see, although generally not that very well. The majority of
my images tend to be landscapes, as the countryside generally does not move when I am
photographing it and does not answer back. When not in Bournemouth, I try to be
somewhere else in the world, preferably remote, looking for something new to photograph.
I probably have the largest selection of whale, penguin and bear photographs in the club
and would welcome newcomers to the club to see if they have more.
As well as photography, my other hobbies are buying and eating short-dated food with
yellow stickers without actually poisoning myself and, more recently, making excruciating
and irritating noises on a ukulele.
Secretary
Lyn Barents
Hello, I'm Lyn. I first joined the club in the early eighties and I am one of the longest serving members. I had gone away on holiday to Austria, my first time abroad, armed with a compact camera. I was so disappointed when I got back as the photos did not do the place justice. I decided to get a decent camera and learn all about photography, which is why I joined the Parkstone Photo Club.
I set up my own darkroom and did my own black & white and colour printing and liked to experiment and be creative; solarisation, posterisation, dodging and burning, toning and tinting, montages - it's a lot easier nowadays in the computer!
A camera club is a great way to improve ones photography and associate with like-minded people that helps to motivate and inspire. I know I am biased, but I think that Parkstone Photo Club members are a friendly bunch that are passionate about their interest and keen to share it with others!
Comp Secretary
Suzanne McGowan
SUZANNE McGOWAN
Hi, I’m Suzanne. I have recently joined the Parkstone Photo Club after going to the opening night of the season. I found it to be a very sociable club with members offering advice and friendship.
I owned a couple of compact digital cameras but having planned a trip to the USA I thought the compact would not do the country justice. On arriving in Seattle I bought my first DSLR, a Canon 500.
On returning home I realised that the shutter speeds on the 500 were not sufficient to cope with my love of fast moving action (F1 cars and gun dogs) so I upgraded to a Canon 7D. With the advice from friends and help from the club, I know my action shots have improved 100%.
However, you can always learn something new and by going out with like-minded people, on day trips all around the Dorset area taking landscape and seascapes, I found it very enjoyable.
I realise that composition plays a very large part in getting a good photo and I have recently started doing a small amount of processing in Adobe Lightroom.
Heading 3
Keith Abbot
Programme Secretary
Mike Moores
Keith joined Parkstone Photo Club some three years ago, following many years of pursuing aviation photography, a passion he has nurtured since boyhood. Keith incidentally spent 24 years in the Fleet Air Arm as an aircraft engineer. He has been interested in photography, having bumbled his way through the black & white era, followed by the colour photography period with slides etc. Having a computer background and with the advent of the digital camera, he accepted this new development in camera technology like a duck to water. He centred on Nikon cameras for nearly 25 years, upgrading through the “D’ digital series, finishing with the D4/D850 models, before switching to mirrorless with Sony. Keith has not regretted joining the club as it has opened his eyes to other genres, new techniques and different styles. He freely admits he was a little insular in his photography. Being in a photo club brings of course, the social aspects, in which there is some gentle competitiveness. He believes this led to his much-improved photographic skills. Lastly, Keith enjoys meeting and sharing information with other like-minded people. It is his opinion that being a member is very educational. Intellectual Property & Image Usage Policy
Mike Moores is an integral member of the Parkstone Photo Club, serving as the Program Secretary. In this role, Mike is responsible for curating and organizing engaging content for the club’s events. He oversees the booking of both in-person and Zoom speakers, ensuring members have access to insightful and inspiring talks on various aspects of photography. Additionally, Mike is responsible for selecting and arranging judges for the club’s photographic competitions, bringing in experts to evaluate the work of fellow members. His dedication to fostering a vibrant and educational atmosphere makes him a key figure in the club’s success
Heading 3
Janis
Heading 3
Sheila McCabe
My name is Janis and I moved to Poole from Leeds, Yorkshire, seven years ago.
Poole and its harbour is such a beautiful place that I decided to take up photography.
In order to get the most out of my Camera, I then decided to join Parkstone Camera Club
and I have been learning ever since."
I joined Parkstone Photo Club when I relocated from Anglesey to Ferndown after being a member of Beaumaris camera club for many years.
I was given my first Praktica SLR in the 1980'sand the went on to use Canon. I also had the use of a darkroom where I developed all my photos.
I definitely lean to the emotional connection with an image rather than getting it technically perfect. It is not always successful but I have a lot of fun trying.
Covid force me to look closer to home and the garden became my new focus. I started to take photos of flowers, bees and insects. Experimenting with different abstract techniques such as macro, multiple exposure and ICM, with varying degrees of success.
I obtained the Photoshop app in 1995ish and it changed my world. Suddenly I could make images.
I love photo manipulation. Getting an idea, researching where I can find the images and putting it all together in photoshop, and sometimes it works many times it dosn't.