Prairie Zone March2025 Zoom Presentation

Prairie Zone presents via Zoom : Don Campbell

English presentation : March 13, 2025

Pacific 4:00 PM – Mountain 5:00 PM – Central 6:00 PM – Eastern 7:00 PM – Atlantic 8:00 PM (Canada)

Theme/topic of the presentation: My Approach to Capturing Images

Summary:

Highlighting the unique wildlife, adventures and cultures of the 114 countries he’s visited.

Click here to join the Zoom meeting  

Speaker's Bio

Don began his photographic career in grade 12 when a local TV station, CHBC-TV in Kelowna, BC, had neglected to put a photographer on staff to capture images of products for local advertisers. Instead, they went to the high school for a kid. Don picked up a Bolex 16mm camera at the station and began shooting newsfilm.  He then persuaded them to buy an Image Auricon camera that recorded optical sound on the film and began shooting documentaries.  After his undergrad work at UBC, he started a film production company in Vancouver and shot industrial films, as well as far too many television commercials.

Don moved to Calgary, where he is now based, to design and run a motion picture production program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, for fourteen years.  While there, he took a sabbatical to complete a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from York University in Toronto.

In the mid-90s Don and his wife, Val, began to travel extensively, and to specialize in wildlife photography, a passion that continues to this day. Don has visited 114 countries to date, photographing wildlife in all of them. His style is evolving, and he prefers to react to what he sees and find a way to frame it effectively rather than to exercise the high level of control necessary for producing TV commercials.

While teaching, Don moved away from the concept of ‘composition’, which is what painters do when working with a blank canvas, where they can place things wherever they like, to ‘framing’, which is the process of photographers and cinematographers when deciding on how to position the frame to capture images of what is already in place. He discovered the work of his students noticeably improved when he taught the concept of framing rather than composition.

Don is a member of the Cochrane Camera Club and CAPA.

There are unique and interesting stories attached to some of Don’s images below.

Prairie Zone News January 2025

People in the News – Elevated Skills Levels:

After reviewing results from our previous three competitions and the 2024 Salon, we have updated the skill-level classifications for the Prairie Zone. These changes are now reflected across all Zone competitions. Congratulations to the following photographers who have been promoted from Novice to Intermediate level in the Prairie Zone:

  • Diane McKinnon
  • Colleen Sayer
  • Linda Treleaven
  • Olivia Dolinsky
  • Ottmar Philippp
  • Rae McLeod
  • Robert Royer
  • Vincent Morban

Watch for their images in Canadian Photography and become inspired.

Prairie Zone Competition is coming up in April. Closing date is April 15th. It might seem a little early to tell you this but the snow might not be around.

You can get more details by clicking here.

Upcoming Prairie Zone Event on Tuesday, March 11:

Meet Don Campbell, Photographer, from the Cochrane Camera Club, presenting “My Approach to Capturing Images”

The CAPA Prairie Zone will be inviting all Prairie Zone members to an online presentation by Don Campbell. In 1973 Don moved to Calgary, to design and run a motion picture production program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He continued this for fourteen years and while there, he took a sabbatical to complete a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from York University in Toronto. In the mid-90s Don began to travel extensively, and to specialize in wildlife photography, a passion that continues to this day. He has visited 114 countries, photographing wildlife in all of them. His style is evolving, and he prefers to react to what he sees, and find a way to frame it effectively.

More details to follow in the next few weeks

Prairie Zone Photographers of the Month:

A few other people who live in remote parts of our vast country, responded to my request for their bios and images. Further submissions are welcome, it’s great to see the diverse array of images from all areas of the Prairies:

Hugh Fraser lives on a lake in northern Manitoba and belongs to the Manitoba Camera Club.

He’s currently the Competition Committee chair for MCC. Hugh specializes in aurora, nature and landscape photography.

He has lived in Northern Manitoba since 1953 residing at Thicket Portage, Mystery Lake, Moak Lake and Thompson. Hugh’s current home and studio is at Setting Lake. His photography has taken him to parts of Canada and the southwestern United States.

Hugh continues to focus his creative energy on the area where he was raised and has spent the majority of his life, the Thompson Nickel Belt. He has photographed throughout the belt from Wabowden in the south to the Odei River in the north.

Some of his images are below.

Cheryl Lalonde – My name is Cheryl Lalonde and I am a pharmacist working in Saskatoon SK but live in Martensville SK (very close to Saskatoon).

I first fell in love with photography when I was on vacation at the age of 12 and found a camera someone had lost in Banff national park. It had no film in it and although we tried to find the owner, we did not. I bought some film and it became my first camera. I took a photo at Lake Louise and my parents made such a fuss about it looking like a postcard that I was so proud of that image.

Anyway, fast forward through high school, university, getting married and I still had not gotten out of auto mode. My husband and I took a trip to Vegas and entered a Peter Lik gallery and my photography passion was reignited. I loved his images printed very large and they made me feel like I was standing right there with him when he took the picture. My husband and I bought one for ourselves as an Anniversary gift. While we were choosing the image we wanted the salesman casually stated that I would never be able to take an image like Peter. I never replied but in my mind I thought, challenge accepted.

That was when I really began to learn how to take an image. There was so much more to it than I thought but I loved capturing beautiful Landscapes. I began taking online courses and learning every bit I could about taking a properly exposed image and how best to develop a RAW image. Landscapes are my first love but I now enjoy many genres of photography. I now love taking waterdrop photography, macro, and some portraiture as well as Landscapes.

Here are some of Cheryl’s images:

David Kay: My photography is my form of art. I use photography to capture the light, colours, patterns, and contrasts I see in nature. I highly value nature and want to communicate that value through my images. On a personal note, I feel a significant spiritual presence while moving through wilderness areas. I love nature and gain balance in my life partly because of my time in nature.

I’ve worked as an instructor in the Adventure Tourism at Lakeland College (AB) and in Physical Education at Grande Prairie Regional College (AB). I’ve displayed my images at:

  • Beaverlodge Art & Cultural Centre (Small gallery, June 2023)
  • Centre for Creative Arts, Grande Prairie (Wall gallery, October, 2023)

and published in Our Canada 2022, October-November. Immersed in Alberta’s Natural Beauty and Our Canada, 2023, June-July. United in Spirit, Appreciating the Inner Gifts of Powwow.
 
In case you missed it, two Prairie Zone members submitted articles to Canadian Photography. Please read them:
 
Mufty Mathewson wrote My Life with Cameras in the Fall edition. Mufty was awarded her HonFCAPA, has written several other articles for Canadian Photography, and has been a CAPA member for many years.
 
Darlene Hildebrandt wrote Quick Guide: How to Find Good Light for Portraits at Midday in the Winter edition. Darlene is a professional photographer in several genres, who currently prefers Street and Travel photography but still considers herself a people photographer, first and foremost. Darlene shares her skills through articles on her website, Digital Photo Mentor (https://www.digitalphotomentor.com/)
 
Thanks to both of you for contributing.
 

Allan Reich

Prairie Zone Director
Canadian Association for Photographic Art

Prairie Zone News for November 2024

This month we’ve had three Clubs join CAPA – Moose Jaw Camera Club, Cochrane Camera Club and St. Albert Photography Club. Welcome to all clubs and club members. It’s great to have you as part of our community! Bob Royer and I had the privilege of joining the St. Albert Photography Club meeting last week. Thanks for the hospitality! I visited with the Regina Camera Club last month as well. Thanks to Larry Easton (a very long time CAPA member) for his time and engaging conversation over coffee.

This month the Prairie Zone sent out a note to some members who are from places that most of us have never heard of. Places like Martensville, SK, Tiger LIly, AB and Oakbank, MB. Canada is a huge country and as part of CAPA, we’re all joined as a nation, by our love of photography. I asked for people’s stories and interests, and some responded. Here are two people’s responses (more submissions are welcome):

 

  • My name is Sherrianne Talon and I’m a PPOC accredited Fine Art photographer and instructor at Red River college where I teach professional photography. I live near Oakbank, Manitoba. I love Fine Art nature and landscapes. I’ve been a professional photographer for over 25 years. I lived in Australia for 16 years and ran a photography business where I did portraits, weddings, commercial, photo restorations, fine art, corporate, landscapes and everything in between. Teaching now allows me to concentrate on my first love, fine art landscapes. To be able to create photos of places that evoke feelings of peace and appreciation of nature, is something I am grateful for every day. Four of my favourite images are shown below.

 

  • Wanda Knoss from Rockglen, Saskatchewan. I live in the middle of Saskatchewan close to the Montana border. I ranch with my husband and family. We raise commercial cattle. Saskatchewan is full of inspiration and wonderful ‘scapes so it’s easy to be inspired.
    I’ve been at this for some time. I have many interests – landscapes, HDR, macro, flora, still life, abstracts, rusty goodness and lately ICM. I shoot with an older Canon 5D Mk111, Olympus OM-D, and my IPhone Pro Max 16. At one time, I belonged to the Group of Ten photography club out of Assiniboia, SK and the Regina Photography Club. Here are three of my images:

Central Alberta Photographic Society June Update

Spring Competition and Photographer of the Year

CAPS held their Spring Competition in mid-May; there were many excellent photographs – too many to list here – and we enjoyed a potluck dinner and lots of comradeship. Congratulations to Mel Bolin, our Photographer of the Year! Her keen eye and technical skill produce consistently great images and the award is well deserved.

Red Deer Corridor Gallery

If you happen to be in Red Deer, check out the Corridor Gallery in the lower level of the Recreation Centre for images by some of our members. The theme put forth by the City of Red Deer is ‘Action’ – come and take a look! The photos will be on display until mid-July.

Volunteering

CAPS continues to support the community by providing volunteer photographers for numerous events; current events included the Children’s Festival (hosted by Family Services of Central Alberta) and graduation portraits for the Red Deer Air Cadet League.

Club Outings

Photographic outings organised by the Club are a wonderful source of inspiration and provide a great experience for all involved. The first summertime outing was at the Ellis Bird Farm, where bluebirds nest in abundance and provided fantastic photo opportunities. Other outings are currently being planned.

Successful Prairie Zone Portrait Workshop

The CAPA Prairie Zone hosted a full day hands-on Prairie Zone Portrait workshop on March 26th at Rad Studios in Calgary.

Participants came from Edmonton, Red Deer, Canmore and Turner Valley as well as Calgary to learn about studio lighting.

The Prairie Zone extends a hearty thanks to Strobe Pro Studio Lighting who provided studio lighting equipment for the event. We could not have done this without Tracy Elliott, who works with Strobe Pro.

Tracy is a former instructor at Mount Royal University in their Continuing Education Photography program. It takes many hands to build a community. Our models, our volunteers, Rad Studios and all of our participants deserve a pat on the back for making this day a success!

 

Prairie Zone Portrait Workshop

On March 25, 2023, the CAPA Prairie Zone, together with Strobe Pro, is hosting a one-day, hands-on portrait photography workshop at Rad Studios in Calgary. Instructor, Tracy Elliott, will take the participants through the principals of shooting with natural light, off camera flash and strobe lighting. Three models will be available and will pose in natural daylight, off camera flash and strobe lighting. Participants will be broken down into groups and the participants will cycle through the three different lighting situations.

Date of the workshop is March 25, 202, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Cost of workshop is $240.96 (lunch is provided)

Location is Rad Studios, Calgary, Alberta

To register for this workshop please visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hands-on-portrait-photography-workshop-tickets-545307809337

Regina Camera Club Jan. 2023 News

On 01/31/2023, Saskatchewan Amateur Photography competition is a not-for-profit organized by the Regina Photo Club in an effort to promote amateur photography in Saskatchewan.

All entrants must be residents of Saskatchewan and have amateur photography status.

Get your best photos ready!

contact, David Bellerive at dbellerive@gmail.com ou see the website :

https://saskam.ca/

Foothills Camera Club Jan. 2023 News

In preparation for the CAPA artistic competition due on January 30th, the Prairie Zone team in Calgary created two workshops with the Kensington Art Supply & Instruction store on January 8th. The sessions were 3 hours and lead by the extremely crafty and creative store owner and long time Foothills Camera club member Annette Wichmann.

The team created several photo stations which included oil and water, lens ball photography, rolled construction paper, pencils, paints and other art supplies, still life and more. The lighting consisted of LED tubes, party lights and LED panels. The attendees moved from station to station and created numerous types of images.

The Prairie Zone is excited to create these opportunities and is hoping to work with clubs across the Zone to continue to bring interesting photographic events to the membership.

Follow us in the Facebook groups future CAPA events.

New Prairie Zone District Representatives

Dan Sigouin, Prairie Zone Director, is very pleased to announce that Andrea Belcher, Anne Kean, and Rae McLeod have joined the administrative team as District Representatives for the Prairie Zone. Andrea and Anne will be working in the Alberta, and Rae will work in Saskatchewan.

Dan has had the good fortune of spending time with all three of the new DRs in different capacities over the years. He has gotten to know Rae as member of the Saskatoon club and at the recent judging course, and Anne, while hiking in the Kananaskis, and at FCC meetings, and photographing with Andrea, who has been tremendously helpful in generating activity ideas and events around Calgary.

Dan is excited to work with them providing support to CAPA Clubs throughout the Prairies. CAPA joins Dan in welcoming them to the Team!

CAPS Photo club December 2022 News

It has been a busy fall here in Central Alberta. Our club has restarted in person club meetings and at a new venue.

We are now meeting at the Canada Winter Games Centre at the Red Deer Polytechnic which is a huge upgrade for us.


We have had some great presenters in the first half of the CAPS season including CAPA’s Dan Sigouin, JP Stones from Mexico & Tony Wong with a workshop on light painting that was a ton of fun.


December marks our annual Winter Competition with an awards night slated for December 14th, where we select winners in 8 categories. Good luck to all our entrants, I have seen a sneak peak & there are some fantastic images!


Also in December, the club has some holiday themed events in store. Ten Central Alberta towns will be welcoming the CP Holiday train & CAPS will be there, there will also be a holiday lights event also somewhere in Central Alberta.

CAPS is also involved as a volunteer group for a local “Battle of the Bands” event on December 3 & the final being on New Years Eve.


Our second half of the season kicks off in January with a stellar line up of presenters including Nikon & McBain Camera.


Happy Holidays to all CAPA members from Central Alberta & the CAPS Photo Club

Nov. 2022 Prairie Zone News

The Calgary Camera club has started off the 2022 season with numerous activities. The event organizer Andrea Belcher created fun events that took members to the Saskatoon Berry Farm to see the interesting location and sample awesome treats. The club created images at the canoe club area at the Glenmore reservoir for sunrise. Club members also practiced night photography in two locations, one downtown Calgary, with light trails from the C-Train in long exposures. The other night outing was southeast of Calgary, where the group practiced light painting and playing with smoke bombs. The Calgary Camera Club had extended an invitation to the CAPA Prairie Zone Director, Dan Sigouin to attend a few of the outings, and he was even convinced to be a model in the smoke bomb session.

Lastly, a small group from the club attended a long lens portrait session in Fish Creek Park. This was a great opportunity to create images in natural light with an engaging model. The club has an energetic event organizer, and Andrea is doing a fine job supporting the club.

The Calgary Camera Club and Foothills Camera Club have scheduled a few outings together and are working to promote more CAPA activities in the zone.

Prairie Zone News 2022-2023

The CAPA competition schedule has been published to all clubs and individual members. Please take some time to review the schedule for the season and plan some outings to ensure you are creating new competition content. Also, please check the rules sections to ensure you are aware of the possible changes to the image editing criteria, especially the nature competition.

Have a great 2022-2023 season and I look forward to seeing images from across the association.

Thanks

Dan Sigouin – Zone Director

Sept. 2022 Prairie Zone News

On Sept 5, Dan Sigouin, the Prairie Zone Director attended the first meeting of the 2022-2023 season for the Moose Jaw Camera club. Several members attended the Saskatoon judging course in April which inspired them to become club members this passed summer.

The club meeting was well attended and the exciting program for the 2022-2023 season was released. The club has organized numerous outings and workshops planned for the upcoming season where images will be showcase through numerous slideshows and critiquing sessions.

The second half of the meeting was the presentation, “Creating Winning Photographs”, that Dan created to help image makers become more organized with their shooting habits and work towards more impactful images. The members enjoyed the presentation and will be working to implement some of the simple recommendations to their process.

Dan Sigouin – Zone Director

CAPA exhibits at Exposure Photography Festival

CAPA is pleased to announce that we are an Exhibition Partner at the Exposure Photography Festival 2022 in Calgary this February.

Our CAPA Exhibition will be held on February 4, 2022, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at cSPACE King Edward, 1721 29 Ave SW Suite #125, Calgary, Alberta.

CAPA will be presenting a selection of photographs from the 2021 My Canada competition.

The Exposure Photography Festival 2022 programme returns for its eighteenth year and will present the work of over 240 exhibiting visual artists hosted in galleries, local businesses, online and outdoors.

For more information visit www.exposurephotofestival.com

Abandoned Photo Tours with Bobby Scott

The Prairie Zone hosted two tours in partnership with Abandoned Photo Tours and Bobby Scott.

The attendees of the tours were treated to the full spectrum of Alberta weather with very warm and dry conditions in Medicine Hat followed by bitter cold conditions in High River.

The Medicine Hat tour – Cold Steel, explored a very large collection of old vehicles which included trucks, tractors, busses, and cars. All in various states of restoration and decomposition. The evening session toured an old homestead perched in a hill. The sunset was excellent. The attendees were then able to light paint the home and outbuildings during the blue hour for interesting night shots. CAPA President Henry Schnell made the trip out to attend the event and was captured here resting on a vintage Honda.

The second tour in High River “All Hallow’s Eve” visited two abandoned locations. Bobby Scott was able to provide detail on the history of the homes and the eccentric owners. Attendees were free to explore the buildings without fear as the locations had been rigorously scouted prior to the outing. The wintery backdrop of the last location was light painted with light stands and drones to add visual interest to the prairie scene and the Holmes Homestead.

The Prairie Region Zone Director, Dan Sigouin, is hoping to bring other exciting opportunities and events to CAPA members in the future. If you have suggestions or ideas, please contact Dan @ prairie@capacanada.ca

April 2022 Prairie Zone News

April 2022 Prairie Zone News

The Prairie Zone has been very fortunate to have supportive clubs such as the Calgary Camera Club, Foothills Camera Club, Images Alberta CC, Image West Photographic Association, Regina Photo Club, Saskatoon Camera Club submit images to the yearly CAPA competitions. The CAPA clubs and individual members of the Prairie Zone consistently won awards during the 2021 competition season and I am very impressed with the development of talent across the Zone. 2022 looks to be another great year for the Zone and I am very excited to be part of the dynamic region. Thank you for your hard work and effort during the pandemic and look forward to seeing more fantastic images in the future.

Please refer to the CAPA competition gallery pages to see the award winning images.

 

Dan Sigouin – Zone Director

November 2021 Prairie Zone News

November 2021 Prairie Zone News

The Image West Photographic Association had spent much of the 2020-2021 year meeting via Zoom.

We enjoyed a BBQ in June for our wind-up meeting and set a couple of club outing dates for those that were able to attend.
In July, we enjoyed the Redcoat Trail, which included stops at Scotsguard, Eastend, stopping for a picnic at the Pine Cree campsite, and then off to Chimney Coulee to inadvertently crash a wedding. Also, we made our way to Jones Peak, which was very picturesque.
In August, the club members travelled northwest to the Great Sandhills near Scepter.

We have been getting together in small walking groups and totally enjoying learning and sharing ideas with each other. We have been very fortunate to resume “live” meetings at the local Art Gallery (of course with restrictions). That was truly amazing.
Another small tour was arranged to photograph a small car/truck collection. It was referred to by the club member as her uncle’s Field of Dreams as he is now 94. The tour was amazing and appreciated by membership.

The club is looking forward to the 2021-2022

Cold Steel, an Abandoned Photo Tour

The Prairie Zone, along with Robert Scott, offers Cold Steel, an Abandoned Photo Tour.

Cold Steel will take place in Medicine Hat on Saturday, October 16 from 11 am* until 10pm. 

After a slideshow presentation, participants will be heading to see rows and rows of classic old vehicles for the afternoon. After the afternoon of photographing vintage vehicles, the group will leave for the night photography portion of the tour which will be located at the Beuhring House.  The group will photographing the house for moon rise, sunset, nautical twilight and civil twilight. Robert Scott offers a unique approach to photographing abandoned homes. He will light the interior, making the home feel alive with a soft glow.  Robert follows this up by lighting the house exterior by way of a drone. The idea is to capture the entire imagine with one photograph. Samples of his work can be viewed online at abandonedphototours.ca.

This workshop will adhere to Covid restrictions. Participants will shoot six feet apart. The currently scheduled 11 am  presentation may be moved to a Zoom presentation depending on what’s happening with the latest restrictions. For more information or to register :

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/capa-and-abandoned-photo-tours-presents-cold-steel-a-photography-adventure-tickets-174346122947?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 

News from Saskatoon Camera Club

Hans Holtkamp, a long-time member of the Saskatoon Camera Club as well as the wider Saskatoon art community through his work as a sculptor, passed away peacefully on November 11, 2021. While he had many artistic talents, Hans will also be remembered as a gentle soul and a cheerful friend to everyone. He was deeply knowledgeable on many subjects, and freely gave of that store to help others. His presence will be missed at the camera club.

Hans Holtkamp

Saskatchewan Amateur Photo Competition

The Regina Photo Club held another successful competition for Saskatchewan amateur
photographers. The SaskAm Competition has been running since 1980 to help
showcase the great photographers of the province and encourage new ones.

All entrants must be residents of Saskatchewan and have amateur photography status.
This year entries were down from the usual 500+ to just over 370, for a variety of
reasons. Rosettes and cash prizes were awarded in 9 categories. All the winners can
be seen on the SaskAm website: saskam.ca. Or if you’re in Regina, prints can be seen
at Don’s Photo on Dewdney Avenue.

Thanks to all the CAPA judges and judges in training who adjudicated this years
competition.

 

here some winning images

DianeMcKinnon-People-Prairie-Rodeo
MitchHealey-Landscape-Harvest-Storm
Cat wrapped in red and white scarf. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. 18 October 2020

The showcase link to other images is here: https://saskam.ca/winners-showcase