Photography Club plans Oct. canal shoot

The Van Wert Area’s Photography Club’s Canal Photo Shoot will be held on Saturday, October 7. If you really haven’t thought much about such a historical subject, it might not seem very interesting.

All that may change, however, after you do some research into the history of the canal, its construction, and efforts to preserve its remains.  To Ohio’s credit, the state, cities, and historical societies have partnered to preserve the legacy and remains of the Miami Erie Canal which ran 250 miles from Cincinnati on the Ohio River through 105 locks to Toledo on Lake Erie.

So what photography opportunities would a canal provide?   One is the locks themselves, often with water spilling over them, bridges, walkways and hiking trails along the canal, buildings that line the canal which made it easy to unload their supplies and ship their goods, reconstructed canal boats both tied to a dock and giving rides, museums, water reservoirs and aqueducts, and reflections provided by the still waters to name a few.

Google offers a wealth of information, maps, and photos to aid in planning your trip and stops. VWAPC members would be another good source for information, as well as the folks at the Delphos Canal Commission Museum. If that’s more than you’d care to do, you could just join club members on the shoot. There’d be no charge or obligation and you could leave the driving to us!   If weather should cancel the shoot, watch our Facebook page for an announcement.

I would suggest that you take a wide angle and telephoto lens to cover various situations, a polarizing filter to enhance the sky, colors and to control reflections, a tripod to reduce camera shake and to allow for slower shutter speeds to enhance the appearance of falling water, lens cleaning materials, and extra batteries.  Wear clothing that will protect you from bugs and the sun and won’t cause concern if you should slip or want to get low for a shot.

The details of the shoot will appear in next week’s article.  We hope you join us.