Just point and shoot

Remember the old 35mm SLR cameras - the ones you had to load the film cartridge into? Part of the fun was to manually focus, zoom and adjust the light meter. And you never knew what your photos looked like, until the film was developed.

I reluctantly decided to go digital in early 2004 before an overseas trip, simply because I didn’t want a second piece of carry-on luggage to take onto the plane. Now, my old Pentax, external flash and two zoom lenses have been relegated to a cupboard shelf, never to see the light again.

So where’s the challenge in taking photos these days? I just point and shoot with a tiny camera, a fraction of the size and weight of my old Pentax. I can take hundreds of photos, crop and ‘enhance’ them on my laptop, then post them directly to my Facebook page. I don’t even email them to friends anymore.

And when was the last time you spent a couple of hours looking through a friend’s photo album? Yawn…right?

Although MarkGlenn Harmony is probably one of those rare photographers who would willingly sit through all 20 of my photo albums. Seriously.

He says digital photography gives everyone the opportunity to be a semi-professional these days. “You can take hundreds of photos for that one perfect shot, without the expense of printing hundreds of rolls of film.”

Capturing a fragment of time

MarkGlenn, an amateur photographer for most of his life, turned professional in 2000 and has been snapping away ever since.

“Photography allows you to capture a fragment of time that will never change. When we look at an image, it takes us back to that memory and we can feel the emotions of that time and place.”

The Coolum photographer now wants to share his passion with other local photographers by creating a monthly networking night.

“Anyone with an appreciation of photography and art can come along to see what locals are photographing here,” he said.

Theme nights

These informal get-togethers will feature theme nights such as:

• travel photos
• landscapes
• portraits
• local images
• cultural/indigenous nights

The gatherings will also be used as a forum to discuss issues such as:

• tips for achieving better photographs,
• publishing photos online
• photographic rights

“We want to cover all aspects of photography, from the beauty surrounding our area to the wonderful people and places here on the Sunshine Coast,” said MarkGlenn. “What a digital camera can do now is better than those old professional SLR cameras.”

I guess my old Pentax won’t be coming out of the closet any day soon - although a ‘show and tell’ night is on the cards at one of these monthly gatherings.

I recently upgraded to a 12 megapixel digital/video camera, which sits in the palm of my hand - it’s even got an MP3 player on it! I’m still working out what all the functions are, but to be honest, I think it was much easier to use the old Pentax. We’ve takena lot of great photos together.

What: Images of the Sunshine Coast

When: 1st Wednesday of the month (from May)

Where: The Coffee Club, Coolum

Time: 6.30pm-8.30pm

Cost: $8 per person (includes finger food)

RSVP(for catering purposes): Email imagesofthesunshinecoast@hotmail.com or call MarkGlenn Harmony / Mandy Poynton on 5471 7800.

Find more events in the Coolum Events Calendar