Coachella Valley
Desert Camera Club
MEET OUR 2024 CLUB OFFICERS
Co-President
Contact Jeanne
I joined the club in May 2011, fulfilling a promise I made to myself that I'd get more serious about photography as soon as I retired. I shoot Canon DSLRs and I enjoy many types of shooting, though my special passion is night photography, be it the Milky Way in the night sky or cityscapes at night. Particular goals for the future include expanding my night photo skills and improving my ability to create good monochrome images. I consider CVDCC to be a wonderful club that has enabled me to improve greatly as a photographer, and I've tried to give back by serving on the board as secretary, vice president and president at various times, as well as hosting Peer Reviews and teaching a few classes.
Co-President, Webmaster and Competition Chair
Contact Gary
Bev and I lived in the Coachella Valley since 2002, but relocated to Tucson,AZ, in late 2023. I am a retired Silicon Valley electronics executive with an electrical engineering background in wireless technology. I have also designed dozens of websites. We have 2 sons who live in the SF Bay Area and are both accomplished photographers. I became interested in photography through scuba diving and underwater photography, armed with a Nikonis V underwater film camera. I also had an Olympus digital camera with an underwater housing. My first real camera was a Minolta SRT101 that I purchased in a duty free shop in Hong Kong. Before that as a teen I had a Brownie Hawkeye (remember flash bulbs?), but that didn't really stoke much interest in photography. I presently shoot with a Canon M5 mirrorless with 22mm, 18-55mm, and 55-250mm lenses. I favor landscapes and action photos. I love post processing and digital technology. As Webmaster my goal is to keep members up to date on all aspects of our club in a timely manner and to manage the technical details of our website, emails, competitions, membership, speakers, video conferences and on-line database. As competition chair I manage our 5 competitions during the year plus our end of year competition and awards. Our primary goal is to improve the photographic skills of all members, whether a beginner, advanced or somewhere between.
Vice President/Facebook Admin
Contact Darcy
I’ve done many things in my life from owning a gift store in the small town of Ely, NV to serving my country in the US Army as an OR Tech. I was medically discharged in 2009 and settled in Palm Desert in 2012. I started photographing seriously in 2016 when my husband and I started to take summer vacations to escape the heat in the desert. In 2018 I was able to experience a photo workshop in Alaska that increased my interest. I started with wildlife photography and have branched out to landscapes and anything unique. I want to be able to take something ordinary or something we’ve seen over and over and have you see and experience it in a way you never have. Photography for me is very therapeutic I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) so being able to still do something I enjoy is amazing.
Treasurer
Contact John
I took up the hobby in earnest in the 1980's using a Canon SLR which was a shutter preferred model. My interests then were in sports and action photography. Many, many cameras later I've become most interested in macro, landscape and still life. I have also done portraits, sports, documentary and night photography. I am a graduate of the New York Institute of Photography. I've captured one first place and one honorable mention in the San Diego County Fair some years ago. Also, received a certificate of completion from one of Bryan Peterson's classes (The Beauty of Flowers).I've also "studied" under Rod and Robin Deutchman in San Diego. I joined this club to learn about places to shoot in this area and learn from the club's experienced photographers and to have a good time doing it.
Secretary
Contact Jan
I’m an amateur Photographer who has taken ‘Happy Snaps’ as long as I can remember of all the annual events and vacations through the years. And I still have that first Kodak Duroflex camera I received as a gift 64 years ago. It was not until I was near retirement in 2007 that I got off Auto or Program Mode and learned to understand F Stops, Shutter Speeds and ISO. At that time, I deliberately chose photography over Crossword puzzles and enrolled in some courses at the university and did some workshops. Our primary home is in Calgary Alberta, and it is there that I first joined a camera club.
In 2014 we purchased a winter home here in the desert and a year or so later I joined CVDCC to continue to learn and to meet like-minded people.
Currently I shoot with the Fuji Xt-5 and the Nikon Z8, both of which are mirrorless systems. Every genre of photography is of interest, and I consider myself a generalist. Perhaps my current most favourite is Street Photography as it is such a great challenge to find small stories in the cities and villages of our world.
Outings and Events
Contact Craig
I'm an amateur photographer and 37 year resident of the Coachella Valley, retired from a career in aviation administration at Palm Springs International Airport. My hobbies are swimming, lots of hiking, travel when possible, and making photographs. I spent some years as a hike, bike and jeep guide locally, and led photo hikes for the Coachella Valley Hiking Club. Currently, I lead photo outings for the Coachella Valley Desert Camera Club several times per year. Taking pictures from age 9, my photographic interests have actually bloomed over the past decade. I loved drawing and painting early on, and studied Fine Art and photography in college. That became Environmental Science at UCSB, following the 1969 oil spill disaster in Santa Barbara.
After a 30 year career, I circled back to photography, in 2010, where my interest has mostly been Landscape and Dark Sky photography. But I enjoy graphic design, and aspire to Fine Art photography. Minimalism and Monochrome are current interests, and my work is available to view at these websites: craigtoms.myportfolio.com - or - craigtomsphotography.com
Equipment: I'm a Canon DSLR shooter (6D and 5Dsr) and use Canon "L" series lenses. Lightroom, Photoshop and Topaz are my go-to's for post-processing. Am using an iPhone more these days - it's always with you! Some of my best images of late are cellphone captures. I'm a 3rd year Board member of CVDCC, enjoy meeting club members, leading trips, new learning opportunities AND... making new friends!
Outings and Events
Contact Greg
I had the good fortune to make a living as a professional fly fisherman in Montana. I owned retail fly fishing businesses along with outfitting businesses. The last twenty years of my career my wife and I owned and operated a fly fishing lodge. Being in the outdoor business allowed me the chance to carry a camera regularly and from there i developed a serious interest in photography. My wife and I retired to Palm Desert in 2014. We love the desert and I have enjoyed the opportunity to expand my photography skills in the desert environment. I am a Canon camera user. Recently I joined the Coachella Valley Desert Camera Club and look forward to making new photography friends.
Member Liaison, Calendar and Outings
Contact Bob
Arizona Highways. That's what did it. My grandfather subscribed in the 1950s. I thought they were the most beautiful pictures of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen. I've loved the desert ever since. And photography. It wasn't until 1978 that I bought my first SLR. A Nikon FM with a 50mm 1.4 lens. I loved that camera. I loved the snap of the shutter firing. I loved the sound of the gears advancing the film as my thumb worked the lever. But that was long ago and I'm in the digital age now. I still love the quiet and the solitude of standing in the wilderness before dawn. Waiting for beautiful light on beautiful places. I've tried to capture some of that beauty. I hope you think I've been successful.