October Photo Show entries to be taken

By Rex Dolby

Wassenberg Camera Club members were on hand Monday evening, August 27, to assist judge James Gabbard as he evaluated 232 photos in the fair’s four divisions of photographs. Gabbard carefully deliberated about each class before making his decisions. Club members recorded the winners in the fair’s premium book, and attached the appropriate ribbon and rosette to the winning pictures. Once Gabbard had completed his task, he answered onlookers’ questions about his choices. He was specific about why the picture was selected for recognition and offered suggestions on how other pictures might have been improved.

Gabbard awarded the senior Best of Show in color to Deb Tracey and in black and white to Lindsay McCoy. The junior color Best of Show went to Christopher Hattery and black and white to Nathan Robenalt. Each of these winners will receive a check and rosette from the Wassenberg Camera Club. A total of 76 awards were presented.

Since 2005, James Gabbard has been a photography professor at IPFW University in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a freelance wedding and fine art portrait photographer. His award-winning work has been exhibited in Indiana, Ohio, Colorado, and Wyoming.  For the past three years he has been a volunteer photographer for the local branch of “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”, a national organization that provides families (at no charge) with pictures of their critically ill newborn or stillborn child in an effort to provide something special for them at their time of grief. This year he traveled to the Dominican Republic to document the work being done by IPFW medical and dental teams as they created a temporary health care facility.

Don’t forget on Saturday and Sunday, September 8-9 from 1-5 p.m. the Wassenberg Camera Club will be taking in pictures for its 35th Annual Photography Exhibit. Nine works can be submitted for $25 for Wassenberg members and $35 for non-members. Winners will split over $1,300 in prize money and entry forms are available at the art center and online.

The Wassenberg Art Center’s hours during exhibits are: Tuesday through Sunday 1-5 p.m. Contact the art center by phone at 419.238.6837, by email at  info@wassenbergartcenter.org or visit the website at: wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 643 South Washington Street in Van Wert.