About The Club & Me

About me

Hi. My name’s Gabriel, and this is the photo blog for the Vankleek Hill Amateur Photographers Club. Mostly we take photos in and around Vankleek Hill [link], a lovely Canadian village of 1900 mostly interesting people 70kms from Montreal, Cornwall and Ottawa [link].

I started this Blog as a personal thing in 2011 but, in August, 2013, I thought this space would be a great opportunity to showcase local photographers and their work. So I started the Club. We now have six ten FOURTEEN(!!) people participating fairly regularly, and another 71 108 222 318(!) who have “Liked” our Facebook page. Which is awesome.

…my math skills are horrible but, according to Dr. Google (Mathematics, Ph.D.) that’s almost 15% of the population of Vankleek Hill. Which, in just a couple of years, seems pretty good. I think that means more than 120% of town should be in the Club by 2024. Or something.

We’re always looking for more people and more photos, and joining is pretty easy… just email us here: vkhphotos@gmail.com and we’ll get you started.

Eventually the general idea is to showcase our work in calendar form, or in an exhibition. There might also be post cards and other cool stuff. And, eventually, probably meetings involving alcohol, discussions and knife fights.

A little about me: I’ve lived in fifty-two places. I’ve been paid to pick stones out of fields, take backstage photos of Britney Spears, report on Internet privacy issues, and catch fish for American tourists in Northern Ontario. I’ve won an award for my reporting skills, and another for my humour column. I mostly deserved them.

A long time ago I was the primary photographer for a monthly technology newspaper in Ottawa, and my photos also ended up in some national magazines. “Photography” was also part of a two-year program I took at Algonquin College in Ottawa, and I was kind of the Assistant Photo Editor for the journalism program’s newspaper for about twenty minutes.

Much more recently, some of my photos have also appeared in The Review [link], our local newspaper of record.

But, really, I’m an amateur shooter, just like the other 140% of people living around here.

Facebook ImageVankleek Hill Photos copyright

spacer

19 thoughts on “About The Club & Me”

  3. Thanks so much for your kind reply to my blog and for your kind offer to help me with mine. I greatly appreciate it. I will definitely start following your blog, so I can learn from you and others. Love that photograph of the purple flower, that is so beautiful. The shot of blood being drawn made me kind of dizzy though, not really good with needles and medical stuff. I’m a light-weight. LOL !!

    Like

    Reply

  5. If you’re referring to the 1949 fire that wiped out McAlpine hamlet, near Vankleek Hill, then probably. What’s it worth to you? Because I could use a really good shoulder and back massage. And $20.

    Or you could use Google. Thanks for liking my photos, feel free to come back and like more of them.

    Like

    Reply

  6. LOL I would give u a good shoulder and back massage but my hands are very sore and crusty from building a house somewheres near where this fire took place! As for the $20, is an i O u ok? Just looking for any info on this devastating fire. Heard about it… and would like to research it a bit more. I have googled and found nothing. Mabe im just not too good a googling.

    Like

    Reply

  7. I found an article in the December 16, 1949 issue of the Montreal Gazette that covers the fire pretty well [link: here].

    Take the date to the Review, you can ask the desk person and they’ll probably let you look at their 1949 December issues — bring some white cloth gloves. You can buy some at the VKH pharmacy for like $.08 / dozen. I give you my oath as a blogger, there will definitely be something in the Review about the fire.

    I’ll let you off on the back rub, mostly because you’re a dude, and the $20 as well, but once the house is done I get to sleep over one night of my choosing. It’ll probably be Christmas Eve.

    Google: McAlpine fire Vankleek Hill

    I am strong in the Google.

    Like

    Reply

  8. Well… Thank you! I’ll be back to chek out part II of Andrew vrs the willow troll. Thanx again. Hope to see you soon… If not, your stocking will be hanging by the fireplace! See you then. Jay

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment