Club History

There was a camera club in Cobourg that had a restricted membership because it met in member's homes.  In 1995 a photographer approached Bill Crowley with the idea of forming a photography club.  Bill agreed and the photographer sent an article to the local newspaper giving Bill's phone number as the contact point for people who were interested.  The headline included the word Shutterbugs, thus the Northumberland Shutterbugs were born. A small group of members began meeting in St. Mark's Church in Port Hope.

The program consisted of the constructive critiques of member's slides and prints and an occasional outing.  The club grew, and with more members needed a larger meeting room and moved to Trinity United Church in Cobourg.  Bill led the group as leader until 2005 when the club became more structured and Bob Robertson became president. The consensus of the membership was that a more serious name than Shutterbugs would be appropriate and the Northumberland Photography Club was adopted.

Trinity United needed the club's room and didn't have a suitable alternative, so a search team of members found the Ruth Clarke Activity Centre in Port Hope.  The club was attracting more members, work began on a constitution, and a nominating committee was formed.  At the annual meeting in 2008 John Draper was elected President for a two year term.  John was followed by Brian Hart, and he was followed by Elaine Amenta, both for two year terms.  In 2013 the club moved to the Pine Academy, a former public school, in Port Hope. This location worked very well, but mechanical problems necessitated that we find a new location. After three meetings at temporary locations we found a home at the Salvation Church Army in Cobourg in 2014.  Harold Goodfellow's presidency began in 2014, and the club is continuing to grow. Ray Williams became the next President, beginning his two year term in September 2016.

In the early years,  discussion of slides and prints resulted in tips for improving photography and club outings were featured. As membership grew discussion of prints became more difficult and with the advent of digital cameras projected images became the method of sharing images.

We encourage our members to display their printed and framed work at various exhibits in Northumberland County and we have also exhibited at Lang Pioneer Village.

Members are invited to show images in a variety of categories at the monthly meetings and at the May meeting members are invited to present a slide show of up to 5 minutes in duration.