Boston West Photographic Society was founded in June 2005 by a handful of members of Gateway Camera Club. Founding members included Jim Brady, Ian Dicker, Frank Forward, Debbie Guyer, Susan Keator, Nancy LaPelle, Ed McGuirk, Michael Roman, and Bruce and Edith Sooy. They met in early July to begin laying the ground work for the club to start up in September. It was a daunting challenge but exhilarating to be working toward a common goal with other people who are excited about both photography and the idea of a new club.

There was a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. Jim Brady did a great job putting together our web site. Equipment was required and everyone pitched in to help locate what was needed. By September 2005 everything was in place and the club hit the ground running with about 20 members and a great sense of excitement and purpose. By June 2006, Boston West had grown to nearly 50 members. The club expanded its activities to include slide and digital image competitions, hands-on photography teaching programs, Photoshop teaching sessions, and field trips.

In its first year, Boston West earned numerous individual and club awards in various national and regional photography competitions. These awards included First Place finishes in both the Color Slide and Nature Slide interclub competitions of the New England Camera Club Council (NECCC). Achievements like these illustrate why Boston West is one of the most successful and talented camera clubs in New England and the United States.

Many people have asked why we left Gateway and started Boston West. While Gateway is successful in its own right, creating Boston West gave us the opportunity to offer a different type of camera club experience. We believe Boston West provides more of a hands on environment. Our instructional program nights and field trips emphasize learning by doing, with significant levels of one on one teaching. Boston West also places a strong emphasis on developing the skill levels of our photographers through the club's image critiques and competitions. The strong talent level of our master photographers serves as inspiration to those seeking to improve their own skills.

And we wanted to create a more relaxed, friendly, and nurturing environment that would attract photographers who are passionate about photography and creativity. Breaking off from Gateway allowed Boston West the freedom to come at these things from a different angle. It allowed us to build a club based upon these operating philosophies, while ultimately providing more choices to the photographers of Metro West.

To build such a successful camera club from scratch is an accomplishment that we can all be very proud of. The first year of Boston West has been an outstanding success thanks to the hard work and dedication of all our members. Without their contributions, none of this would have been possible.

Ed McGuirk