BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY DAVE BENJAMIN Norton Milecofsky, president of the Four Seasons at Metedeconk Photo Club, is proud that the group was recently able to host its first photo exhibit. Using film and digital cameras, the members of a local photography club recently brought together more than 100 framed pictures to produce their first photo exhibit.
“I put a notice in the Four Seasons community newspaper, the Metedeconk Moments, asking if anyone was interested in photography, and here are the results,” said Norton Milecofsky, president of the Metedeconk Photo Club, as he showed the club’s first exhibit.
Milecofsky said seven residents of the adult community initially responded, soon to be joined by five more members.
“What you see here are digital and film, black and white, color originals, and there are some original slides that were scanned and digitally redone,” Milecofsky said, focusing on the variety of framed prints.
Milecofsky said the photography club offers picture-taking opportunities, field trips and guest speakers.
Nelson Revilla said he prefers to use foreign names to title his photographs. By doing it that way, he said, the object, and not the person, becomes the focus of the piece. “We had Ralph Krubner, a professional photographer, come in,” the president said. “He gave a talk on composition, which went over very well. I want to get more speakers in like that. I don’t want to get [very] technical speakers in, because that sometimes scares people off.”
Milecofsky said new members are welcome to join the club.
He said the initial exhibit was created by the members who went out and bought the panels for the displays, prepared them and then hung the photos.
“It was a joint effort, but I think Rich Despins did a lot of the work,” said the club president. “He deserves the biggest thanks for that.”
The photography club sponsored a contest, which was open to all Four Seasons at Metedeconk Lakes residents. Blue ribbons were presented to the winners.
Bill Langweil stands in front of the photos he exhibited at the Four Seasons at Metedeconk adult community. He said he was pleased by the number of people who came to see the photo club’s exhibit. “We’re just a bunch of people with a common interest, who get together twice a month to talk about photography,” Milecofsky said. “Anybody who has ever held a camera, or not, is welcome to come. You can do any kind of photography you want. I’ve been doing photography for about 35 years, and I’m still learning. Anybody who wants to join the club would be more than welcome and that includes anyone who wants to get started in photography.”
Club member Bill Russo described himself as “an amateur photographer. I’m not one of those people who go out at 2 a.m. to wait for the sun to come up.”
Russo photographs family events, trips and places close to home with his Fuji 5200 digital camera. He also shoots community events for the Metedeconk Moments.
Bill Langweil said many of his photos were taken while on vacation and some are as local as Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold Township. He takes pictures in black and white and in color.
Al Bonaccorso exhibited photographs he took during a recent tour of Kenya. His works include pictures of a Kenyan village and a variety of animals. “I enjoy taking pictures,” he said. “I’m not quite as good as some of the other members who really fool around on the computer and make modifications. Generally, most of my pictures are exactly the way I took them.”
Langweil said he enjoys the club meetings and going out to take pictures as a group. He was pleased by the number of people who came to see the club’s exhibit.
“These [pictures] were taken in Africa a couple of months ago,” said Al Bonaccorso, who shoots with a Canon 20D and a zoom lens that tops out at 300 mm. “The trip was 10 days. We went to four or five places in Kenya, and we were fortunate to have a wonderful guide and good driver.”
Bonaccorso’s collection of photos includes several shots of a Kenyan village and a variety of animals.
“There’s a lot of knowledge in our club, and the members share different techniques,” he said.
“These old black-and-white pictures were taken when I was taking classes at Brookdale Community College,” said Nelson Revilla. “The reason why I have them here is because I used all different techniques, burning and dodging, using a positive print and using a contact print to make it negative.”
He said what is actually white appears black and vice versa. He also uses panning, to show action, and high-contrast filters.
Revilla uses foreign names like “Le Parapluie” (“The Umbrella”) to title his works.
“By doing it this way, the umbrella and not the person becomes the main character,” he explained.
Revilla also shoots pictures using a digital camera.
“Some people say that digital is really not true photography,” he said. “I tend to disagree with that. Anything you do is an art form, and no matter what medium you use to make it come out beautiful and interesting, to me is art.”
He said he enjoys the club because of the people, their knowledge and their creativity.
Despins, who helped to create the panels for the exhibit, had several filled with his own photos. One was taken in Red Bank, he said, pointing to a picture of a building with the word “red” on the awning. He saw the red brick building and red flowers and called the photo “Red in Red Bank.”
“I like the hobby and the people who share the same interests,” Despins said.
For more information about the Metedeconk Photo Club, call Norton Milecofsky at (732) 833-7218.