Welcome to Creative Shots Photo Club – Mackay’s Fun and Enthusiastic Camera Club!
We’re a passionate collective of photographers of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to seasoned veterans, who come together to celebrate our shared love for photography right here in Mackay. No matter where you are on your photographic journey or what camera equipment you use, we invite you to join us. Creative Shots Photo Club is here to help you enjoy your creative pursuits even more, fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect, laughter, and shared inspiration that makes our club the perfect fit for you.
Join us at Creative Shots Photo Club, where we share our passion for photography, learn from each other, and create unforgettable memories through the lens. We look forward to welcoming you into our vibrant and creative community!
Please click on the above buttons to find out more detailed information on the below.
We are a passionate collective of photographers of all ages and skill levels in Mackay.
Our emphasis on mutual respect, laughter, and shared inspiration.
Meetings:
Monthly meetings with two formats:
Photo Judging Night for photo critiques and skill enhancement.
General Meeting Night covering various photography topics.
When: Third Wednesday of Each Month (excluding December)
Time: 6:45 pm for a 7:00 pm Start
Venue: Jubilee Community Centre, “Sarina” Meeting Room, MRC Building, Alfred St, Mackay.
Events/Outings:
Explore various types of photography through a wide variety of outings/workshops offered
Monthly opportunities for diverse photography experiences.
Weekend getaways for bonding and learning.
Annual Exhibition:
“People’s Choice” Exhibition with member-submitted images.
Public voting for the People’s Choice Winner, who receives a trophy.
Membership Details:
Benefits:
Regular meet-ups to stay updated.
Learning and sharing with fellow photographers.
Bi-monthly internal club competitions with external judges’ feedback.
Access to competition guidelines and resources.
Find out more about how to join by clicking on Membership button above.
Contact: Email info@creativeshots.com.au for more information.
Join Creative Shots Photo Club to share your passion for photography, learn, and create lasting memories through your lens. We’re excited to welcome you to our vibrant community!
All Creative Shots Photo Club members are invited to join this free and informative session designed to help you create stunning slideshows and audio-visual presentations! Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your skills, this is a great opportunity to learn new techniques, share ideas, and enhance the way you showcase your photography.
No RSVP is required, but if you’re planning to join in, we’d love to know!
Simply mark yourself as “Going” on the club’s private Facebook page under the Events section by clicking on the event name below. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Ready to elevate your photography with AVs (Audio-Visual presentations)? Join us and we’ll show you how to create AVs that are more than just “pretty good”—with the right tips, they can be outstanding!
What You’ll Learn: Part 1 – Essentials with Anne Pappalardo:
Getting Started: Choosing the right software (free & paid).
From Concept to Creation: Crafting compelling AVs.
Image Selection: Placing photos for maximum impact.
Sound Design: Simple, pro-level audio tips.
Polishing Your AV: Quick ways to elevate your work.
AI Magic: Using AI to boost your AV’s wow factor.
Part 2 – Insights with Joy Melchiori & Elizabeth Riley:
Behind the scenes of award-winning AVs.
How they came up with their ideas, shortlisted their images and built their narratives.
Advice and learnings from experienced AV makers.
Bonus Tip: Before the workshop, check out the Australian Photographic Society’s AV page (scroll down to Typical Rules) https://www.a-p-s.org.au/index.php/av-definitions. It’ll give you a head start on the basic guidelines of competition Avs.
A clarification from Salon of Excellence with regard to the set subject – Elements:
Elements Definition (Colour only)
The subject Elements relates specifically to Earth, Wind, Fire and Water or their representations. It can mean forces of nature, but it is not the chemical or spiritual elements. A different or creative approach to the subject is encouraged.
Your image can be a depiction of just one of the elements.
Competition categories are Open Colour, Monochrome, Creative and Set Subject.
The Set Subject for March 2025 is Low Light.
Low light photography encompasses capturing images in dimly lit conditions with minimal ambient light available. It can be anything from subdued indoor lighting to low light night photography.
Upload your images anytime before the deadline of midnight, Wednesday, 19th February.
If you are having any difficulty uploading, please check out the helpful hints in the drop-down box under Members in the top right-hand section of this page.
Our February 22nd. outing will be held at the Jubilee Centre. I have booked the two inside rooms which should be good for the Low Light aspect of the outing.
It would be great if people who have Light boxes, stands, lighting etc. could bring them along. But, it is an Outing so it is up to you to bring items, models which you want to photograph. Some suggestions might be bugs, mushrooms, flowers, any unusual object, let your imagination go wild.
I have booked the rooms from 8:30 to 12pm. We’ll have a coffee break at some stage so anyone who wants to do a CCC catchup are more than welcome to join us. Check our Facebook page for events to let me know if you are coming. I will talk more about this at the next meeting.
Following election of the 2025 Committee at our 15 January AGM, we updated everyone on plans for the year. I tried to keep it short but there’s a lot going on😊
Annika came to the meeting as a guest and hopefully she will join us to continue her photography journey. Jenelle, Stacey, Belinda and Mark all had birthdays in January. Jenelle has let us know that she isn’t renewing her membership, now that she’s moved to Toowoomba and joined the camera club down there, plus her and John have lots of travels planned. I wanted to thank Jenelle for her contribution to the club, and we’ll miss seeing her, and her amazing photos.
COMPETITIONS AND OTHER EVENTS
With Marian returning as the Competition Coordinator, she gave us an update on our competitions and other events for 2025. We discussed our February and March competitions, and the set subjects for the year, particularly the March Set Subject of Low Light, and showed some examples. We did a quick demo on the new My Photo Club process for uploading images and advised everyone of some minor changes to the CSPC Competition Guidelines.
The Photographic Society of Queensland (PSQ) Salon of Excellence is now open, and it closes on 30 March 2025.
The 2025 PSQ Convention is over the May long weekend (3-5 May) in Hervey Bay. Bookings are now open up until 13 April.
The 2025 Qld Interclub Competition will run over the June-July period. Subjects for this year are Aged, Low Light, Scapes, Portrait, Animal, Open, Non A Grade Open.
The Mackay Art Trail for 2025 is ramping up. Stacey, who is the Secretary of Artists Connect Inc., talked about how the Art Trail will work and how and when clubs like ours can participate in the Art Trail. We are finalising our participation in the signature event in May. The 2025 booklet will be out in March but here is a link to their 2024 Art Trail booklet if you would like to have a look.
Cheryl will continue to conduct Critique zoom meetings this year for Cherish Artz and club members, at 7 pm on the 1st Wednesday of each month, except January and December. Cheryl will send out zoom invitations prior to the meetings, and I encourage you to participate when you can, even if you don’t have images to discuss, as it is a great learning opportunity in a constructive and supportive group.
PROPOSED OUTINGS AND WORKSHOPS
Helen is back again as Outings Coordinator (and VP) so she gave us a run down on the outings and workshops for the year. It’s a very big job, and Helen, with assistance from other members of the committee is off and running. Where possible she is tying the outings in with our Set Subjects for the year. Coffee, Camera & Conversation outings will also continue. If you have any contacts or ideas for workshops, let us know and we will be asking for you to organise it with assistance from the committee.
To make it easier to get an idea of numbers for outings and workshops, and easier for you to RSVP, we will use the event function in Facebook. Just hit the ‘Going’ button on the post.
Helen has organised a Macro/Low Light outing in the Jubilee centre on 22 February and will provide some details on that shortly.
Cheryl has organised a Portrait Workshop with Holly Webb on the weekend of 15-16 March. The workshop is full and details on the Facebook members’ page. The club is subsiding the workshop fee and we will be asking for your contribution soon.
April will be an away weekend at Finch Hatton to tie in with Anzac Day. Helen has also been having conversations with the Pioneer Pottery Group, the Mackay Council people that look after the Finch Hatton Bike Track and other potential venues for the year.
The 2025 Creative Shots Photo Club Dates list has been updated with as much as information about outings and events as we can provide for now, and will be updated as things become more certain.
2025 SPONSORED CHALLENGES
The Sponsored Challenges listed below have been announced, but anyone in the club can sponsor a challenge, so if you would like to do that, please let us know.
The Essence of Emotion – Cherish Artz (Cheryl)
Bird on a Stick – A1 Mowing & Maintenance (David)
The Outings Challenge – Helen and Marian (details will be provided soon and updated throughout the year as more outings are planned)
President’s Challenge – Pets having Fun (details will be provided soon)
ANNUAL PEOPLES CHOICE EXHIBITION
Although the exhibition isn’t until December, it’s time think of a theme. The last few years have focussed on Mackay and surrounding areas, so this year we thought we would spread our wings with a travel theme. So far we’ve had suggestions for ‘Travel Near and Far’ and ‘Roads Less Travelled’, but if you have any other suggestions, let us know.
IN CLOSING
As I said in my previous post, this is your club, and the committee is keen for your input on what you are looking for from the club, what you are looking to improve or focus on, and any ideas you have on how we can achieve that. We are hoping to provide more learning opportunities this year, and we need your help with ideas and practical assistance to make them happen.
We have also commenced updating My Photo Club and various club documents re changing the meeting names to General Meeting and Competition Meeting.
We encourage you all to participate in outings and workshops, competitions, and attend meetings as often as you can, and talk to us about your ideas. We are all looking forward to another fun and creative year of photography in 2025. Cheers Karen