Say cheese: Puslinch Camera Club ready to document ‘amazing place we live’

PUSLINCH – After its inaugural meeting, Tamsin Lambert is feeling pretty confident the newly-formed Puslinch Camera Club is on board with her vision of what the club can become.

But what it is right now is a collection of about a dozen people with an interest in photography who are willing to come to monthly meetings, listen to guest speakers, work on assignments throughout the month and share their work at subsequent meetings.

“I’m an extrovert and as an adult coming out of the pandemic, I want to socialize with other adults again,” Lambert said in a phone interview.

“I also want to create a camera club that will help other not-for-profits in Puslinch. I want to create a visual documentation of the amazing place we live.”

Lambert, a professional photographer herself, said she knows many people enjoy taking pictures as a hobby.

Club members will learn the basics of photography, and Lambert is combing her professional network to bring in other photographers to speak about their photography specialties, such as portraits or landscapes or night photography, for example.

But Lambert sees potential for the camera club to perform a service to not-for-profit organizations in Puslinch as well, taking photos at their events that can be used for promotion and to document what they do.

For example, the camera club headed to the Optimist Club of Puslinch’s Family Day event in February and took photos of people there.

“The reception from the community was very positive,” she said.

She’d like to get the club to the Farmer’s Market some time and photograph what’s going on there.

Those photos could benefit vendors but also highlight the market itself – a vibrant, community space that’s important to the community and speaks to Puslinch’s rich agricultural heritage.

“My hope is that the members will get behind the concept of helping the community,” she added.

Membership is $60 for the year and allows free attendance at meetings, reduced rates for ticketed speaker events, and the ability to have photos posted on the club’s website with links to members’ own business or social media pages.

Non-members can attend meetings too. The cost is generally $10 per meeting.

Lambert said there was good mix of demographics at the first meeting – “a beautiful mix of humans, from millennials to boomers, and a variety of skill levels too. I was happy to see that.”

Lambert said she wants the content and themes covered in the sessions to be driven by members, but for the next meeting, on April 12 from 6 to 8pm at the Aberfoyle library, the club will look at how to take photos that have impact.

Guest speaker will be Hilary Gauld of One for the Wall, the photographer behind the Waterloo-Wellington Down Syndrome Society’s awareness campaigns.

If you are familiar with the campaigns, you know those photos are impactful, Lambert said.

The May meeting will look at artificial intelligence and AI art.

Lambert hopes to see photography competitions in the future, plenty of guest speakers and field trips to other events in the township.

“Puslinch is such a unique place to live. I hope to add to art and culture with the camera club, adding another way for the creatives to get together,” she said. 

“There are a lot of small joys for me in starting the club. I hope it will bring joy to others too.”

To purchase a ticket for the April 12 meeting, visit “Creating Imagery with Impact” on eventbrite.ca.

To learn more, visit puslinchcameraclub.com or the club’s Facebook and Instagram pages.