The Central Alberta Photographic Society was founded on February 27, 1980 with six members and on April 28, 1986 the club became an incorporated Society. Interest in the club has continued to grow and the membership has increased to 45 members in 2010. Members in our club range from first time camera owners to professional photographers.

CAPS’s year runs from September through to May, meeting the second and fourth Wednesday of September, October, November, January, February, March & April, the months of December & May have our competitions and dinners. Meetings are held at Activity Room #3, G.H. Dawe Centre, doors open at 6:30 for socialization, meetings start at 7:00pm. Annual member fees are $40.00 per person.

Monthly, the club endeavours to have a guest speaker/member who offers information, innovation and tips on a variety of photographic subjects. There are several workshops each year, both indoor and outdoor where members are encouraged to bring their equipment and through hands-on experience learn various photographic techniques and skills.

A “monthly assignment” competition is held each month; those who choose to participate not only enter a picture but also have the experience of judging all entries. Twice a year a competition is held with both novice and advanced categories to be independently judged and all participants receive a copy of the judge’s comments of their entries.

Our club works on a mentoring system of the more advanced or long time members offering encouragement and assistance whenever possible to other members. Besides being an educational club it offers a friendly and social meeting place for those with a mutual interest.

CAPS has a history of involvement with the community of Red Deer helping photograph local events, most recently the carrying of the Olympic Torch as it passed through Red Deer. As a club compiled of local photographers we hope to continue to provide a valuable service to the community through our art of capturing the beauty of our surroundings and recording images of events.

President's Message

Greetings to all members and prospective members!

Welcome to all and thanks to everyone for your participation last year. We are growing and if we all invite a friend or two, that trend will continue. We outgrew our space at the Sportsman Room and have now moved to the Dawe Centre (56 Holt Street) where we will continue to meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. I believe that continued growth will be healthy for the club as there will be more funds for equipment purchases, paid speakers, exhibits, hosting events, etc.

The community has recognized the depth of talent within our club and has invited us to develop a theme and an exhibit of members' interpretations of that theme, (likely for 2013). Thanks to the outgoing members of the executive and welcome to the new executive members. It is such a pleasure to work with a dedicated and devoted group. One of the most obvious changes to the club over the past year has been the increased number of outings and opportunities to photograph different events, thanks to Shannon, Annette, Gillian and others. If you happen to belong to an interest group other than photography (heaven forbid) that has a 'photoworthy' event, please let us know and members can help preserve the memories.

I have been keen on hosting a photography judging clinic for club and community members this fall, but we lost out to Calgary. Hopefully we will be able to host such a workshop next spring or fall.

One of my concerns has been the loss of a number of our best photographers over the past year or two as they were no longer challenged by club activities. We have addressed this concern and Dean Watkiss and Rick Price have agreed to gather together these advanced/professional members and to develop activities to challenge themselves. Hopefully, they will be happy to maintain an affiliation with the club and be available as presenters/mentors to the club. Conversely, we have had an excellent photographer and former member, Brian Shantz, step forward to do a series of workshops for beginning photographers to develop their photographic skills. Seriously, this is not an opportunity to be missed. Brian wants to keep each group small so, hopefully, he will be repeating these sessions, as necessary, so that all novice members can be accommodated. I think there are few things more dynamic for a club than to watch beginning photographers develop their skills and share their enthusiasm.

Last but not least, a big thanks to Scotty, our newsletter editor for a terrific edition. Check out the links!

I wish us all a great 2011-2012 season. If you have ideas, concerns, or questions, please contact a member of the executive.

Please feel free to contact me on any matter concerning the club, or photographic opportunities for our members, by e-mail via our "Contact Us" Page or at (403) 885-5045.