New destination for film photographers opening in Amherst

New destination for film photographers opening in Amherst

Photo Retro Center to provide darkrooms, gallery, studio, socializing, supplies

Contact: Bob McElroy

rhmcelroy55@gmail.com, cell: 603-852-7033

Allegra Boverman allegra.boverman@gmail.com cell: 603-493-7557

WHO: Photo Retro, a new destination and source for film and analog photography    

WHAT: Opens for business, with demonstrations and tours of the center, chat with the founders, sign up now for darkroom time and upcoming classes, “Line Form and Texture” exhibit of black and white photos by Nashua High School South darkroom photography students

WHERE: 141 Rte. 101A, Amherst, NH 03033    

WHEN: Fri., Nov. 5, 2021

WHY: To provide a center for analog photography to serve photographers of all skill levels in southern New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts and beyond

ABOUT PHOTO RETRO:

A new hub for film photography will open on Fri., Nov. 6, 2021  in Amherst, N.H. Dubbed Photo Retro, it will provide two film photography darkrooms, a large format photography studio, a photo gallery and sales of film photography supplies. 

The center grew from Pictoriographica, a dry plate photography business founded in 2017 by Jason Lane, of Brookline, N.H., an optical engineer designing lenses for the aerospace and defense sector. Lane and co-owner Max Affleck of New Boston, a mechanical engineer, decided to open the center because there’s nothing like it in southern New Hampshire or in the region.

“We opened this center because this area needs a place dedicated to film photography,” Lane said.

Despite the dominance of digital photography, Lane believes that there’s plenty of room for various kinds of film photography and other alternative photographic processes.

“Film wasn’t replaced by digital, it’s another medium, like oil paint,” he said. “This place is for someone who wants to explore shooting film, who’s excited about shooting film. Film photography has seen a resurgence of interest over the past few years, and the center will cater to that growing demand.  

Up front, near the darkrooms and the coffee pot, the center sells 35mm, medium format and 4x5 film supplies. The dry plate manufacturing side of the business is elsewhere at the center.

The two darkrooms have everything a film photographer needs to develop color and black and white film and print the images — three enlargers in each darkroom, safelights, sinks, washing and drying facilities. Each darkroom has an enlarger that can be used for large format film, the others are for 35 millimeter and medium format film. 

The darkrooms will be open to the public by appointment or walk-in; those who want to use them often can purchase a membership. There will be a membership discount for students. 

The center’s photo studio features special lights and backdrops. Customers who want a unique early-style portrait can schedule it through Photo Retro’s website. 

There is also space for a gallery where photographers can exhibit their work.

Lane said that he plans to offer classes in film photography and workshops. People who take the workshops will be able to use the center’s film cameras. Registration is open now on the photoretro.biz website for both darkroom time and classes.

Local photographers who shoot film can drop it off at Photo Retro. Lane has an agreement with a local film processor, Tomorrow’s Studio of Nashua, for film processing and scanning. They can process color and black and white film and scan the negatives if desired. 

Photo Retro will be open Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. As the business grows the hours will expand. 

For more information:

To learn more about Photo Retro visit: www.photoretro.biz. 

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photo_retro_nh/

To learn more about dry plate photography and to purchase plates visit Pictoriographica: www.pictoriographica.com. 

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pictoriographica/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pictoriographica

Photo Retro 141 Rte. 101A Unit B7 (in the back) Amherst, NH 03033 

January 17, 2022: Freeman Patterson will present “THE CALL OF CREATIVITY” via Zoom to the Berks Photographic Society in Reading PA

January 17, 2022: Freeman Patterson will present “THE CALL OF CREATIVITY” via Zoom to the Berks Photographic Society in Reading PA.

Freeman Patterson is a world renown photographer as well as a very respected writer. He is among today’s “classic” photography figures. He has exhibited widely throughout the world over his 60 year career in photography & visual arts. He has taught innumerable workshops in many countries, but especially in Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand. He has authored 15 books, five of them on photography and visual design; his most recent, Embracing Creation, was published in conjunction with the opening of his large retrospective exhibition at New Brunswick’s Beaverbrook Art Gallery in September 2013. Freeman is an elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art and a recipient of the Photographic Society of America’s highest award, the Progress Medal. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1985 and the Order of New Brunswick in 2013. See www.freemanpatterson.com for more information and to read the current and back issues of “Images, Ideas, and Reflections”, Freeman’s periodical letter (six issues per year).

Patterson was born in Shamper’s Bluff, New Brunswick, Canada. He explored several avenues, including a Master in Divinity degree from Columbia University, Dean of Religious Studies at Alberta College & film production. He then returned to New Brunswick in 1973 to pursue his personal artistic vision & interests.

The Berks Photographic Society has joined forces with the Lancaster Photo Group & the West Shore Photography Club to enable this incredible opportunity to have Freeman Patterson speak to us via Zoom. This session is sponsored in part by Michael DellaCroce of Retro Photo Reading & Retro Photo York. 

Patterson’s session is titled “THE CALL OF CREATIVITY”. He begins this presentation by making a clear distinction between art and craft and provides a succinct description of the role of craft in supporting the creation of art. He follows with a talk about the nature of creativity and ways to nurture and develop the creativity with which each of us is born. He includes stories of people who have used their creativity in difficult circumstances to benefit others and follows this with a series of photographs (with commentary) that illustrate his main points and reveal how both the symbols in our dreams and the symbols in our art tell our life story.

Freeman has presented this program many times and, in several countries, - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States - and regularly updates both the spoken and visual content. This Zoom session will be one for the books. Join us for an amazing evening. 

Freeman has presented this program many times and in several countries - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States - and regularly updates both the spoken and visual content. This Zoom session will be one for the books. Join us for an amazing evening. 

*****Important Note******:  This will be a paid event for non-members with a $10 donation. This meeting will be held via Zoom. For non-members interested in attending, please register by making your $10 donation at: https://store.berksphotographic.org/product/club-donation/. At checkout, please specify “Patterson talk on Jan 17” in the Additional information/Order Notes box. Once we receive your donation, your pass will be emailed to you. The deadline to request passes for this event is Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

NFRCC (NIAGARA FRONTIER REGIONAL CAMERA CLUB) is pleased to announce that the Registration for our 2nd Annual Speaker Series is now open.

NFRCC 2021 - 2022 Speaker Series

We have a great lineup of Speakers and topics lined up for you which will run on the 2nd Monday of each month from September 2021 through to August 2022. For information and to register on the presentations, please visit the NFRCC 2021 - 2022 Speaker Series Website  https://nfrccevents.org $15 each or $60 for the entire series

• Lisa Cuchara - Create Fine Art Photographs from Historic Places & Rusty Things
• Padma Inguva - Cityscapes
• Rick McKenzie - Composite Imagery Adding More to Your Images
• Kathleen Clemons - The Art of Flower Portraiture
• Lewis Katz - The Art of Black & White Photography
• David FitzSimmons - How to Photograph Birds: Professional Tips & Techniques
• David Hakamaki - Saving History: Photo Restoration Tips
• Ethan Meleg - For the Love of Landscape
• Steve Levinson - A Boy and His Camera: The Art of Spontaneous Photography
• Todd Nettlehorst - Light Painting Macro Photography
• Peter Mather - The Last of the Ice Bears
• Mike O'Connor - F8 and Be There

We look forward to joining us for this next Series of Speakers. There are multiple options for registration and purchase You can purchase an Entire Series Pass or just pick specific speakers you wish to see. Members of NFRCC clubs receive a reduced rate.

The cost of the series is $60.00 CDN ($50.00 CDN for NFRCC Members) and $15.00 CDN ($12.00 CDN for NFRCC members) for individual presentations.

For information and to register on the presentations, please visit the NFRCC 2021 - 2022 Speaker Series Website  https://nfrccevents.org

You can register for the entire series of speakers for $50.00 CDN (NFRCC members), $60.00 CDN (non-members), which provide you with access to all the speakers in the series.

If you are not purchasing a Full Series Pass, you may pick individual speakers you wish to register to attend. $12.00 CDN (NFRCC members) $15.00 CDN (non-members). This option is for individuals who wish to attend 4 or less speaker presentations. For those individuals who wish to see more than 4 presentations, you will find it more economical to purchase the Full Series Pass.