Meet the kids in f0t0klub! Andrew Avalone, Pearse Pinch and Shayna MacDonald (from left to right) are the original three members of the group and they have been together since the beginning. Tom Rogalsky, Leah Hetzel, and Andrea Szegedy-Maszak are new this year. Taylor Bartolotta and Mike Prince graduated Middletown H.S. and Connor Lucey graduated Xavier. All three are now in college, Florida, UCONN and UVM respectively and post their images regularly.

We meet every weekend, one week for a photo session and the next for an image critique.

I started f0t0klub for a few reasons. First and foremost, I love working with kids and after doing the math, I realize this is my 30th year of volunteering. So, it's no secret that I love to give my time from everything from coaching soccer to scouting. Although, I can't say enough about working with teens who share my passion for photography. It's very rewarding creatively and they keep me young or atleast young at heart.

Don't get me wrong, I love the scouts and I have a special place in my heart for scouting. Photography on the other hand, is something I have been doing for a very long time and I can't seem to get enough of it.

Back in the '80's and '90's, I taught photography at Mercy High School in an after school program. I loved every minute of it and I still keep in touch with some of the girls on facebook. Actually, many are married with children of their own. When I started at Mercy, I was 26 and single. Eventually, I married and had a son. Andrew, now 17, who is a member of f0t0klub. He came to class with me often and the girls would take turns walking him through the halls to keep him busy.

Photography was more complicated then, ahh, the smell of chemicals, the rolls and rolls of film , processing, printing, there were so many steps to take before you saw results. I really miss the Polaroid transfers and the exhibits at the end of every school year. We covered every available inch of bulletin board with images, mounted and matted for presentation. Matt cutting on the floors of Mercy, those were the days!

Well, fast forward a few decades and enter the world of computers and digital photography. A DSLR allows you to correct exposure, composition and lighting within seconds after pressing the shutter. And best of all, you can delete images immediately. Megapixel, image stabalization, who cares... it's instant gratification! You can buy a pack of paper from just about at any drugstore, supermarket or of fice supply store and print beautiful images at home.

f0t0klub has come a long way in just the past few months. We are now on facebook. Last year, I was responsible for sending out most of the notifications.

Today, we have 22 members and a fan page. We have an established group of models and Pearse, our administrator of the site is now responsible for sending individual invitations to models before each photo session. Yah, we've come a long way and I am loving it! Pearse sent out a list of rules, well actually, he said he hated to use the word rules, so he referred to them as guidelines. I like that!

Our favorite place to photograph is abandoned buildings, definitely an urban look! Leah would much prefer a park or the woods. The train bridge is another popular spot. We took two trips, one to Hartford and the other to New Haven. Our next venture is a train ride to New York City.

Last year, we set a few goals for f0t0klub, none of which have been accomplished to date. An exhibit is on the top of our list and we have tried to secure gallery space at MAC650 Gallery. Secondly, we would like to create a book of images and last, but not least, give back to the community. One idea was to photograph mothers and their children in the WIC program at no cost.

The photographers post their images on facebook and critique online by posting a comment. Eventually, they make prints for their portfolio which will create a smooth transition into the exhibit process. The weekend following a photo session is spent critiquing images. Shayna's Dad, Dan came to a critique session last year and was so impressed with the dynamics of the group. He commented on how well everyone gets along and how they manage to critique and not offend each other. I am still impressed! There is no question about it, this is all about photography... no question about it! I also get a kick out of watching them improve, there is nothing like it!

So how do you join? Only current members can nominate you for a position in f0t0klub based on your current portfolio, then there is a vote! Also, I am constantly looking for new talent when I visit the high schools in the county.

Tom Rogalsky photographs Jake Gawlak and Martha Henzy. Pearse Pinch works the light reflector.

Alfred Stieglitz : Wherever there is light, one can photograph.

After a consultation with the members of f0t0klub, I will start a weekly gallery of images produced by these fine young shooters. You will become witness to young creative talent at its best!

Tonight was amazing! I had the pleasure of photographing the CIAC Class LL State Championship at Mohegan Sun. I love all my teams in Middlesex County and whether the kids know it or not, I really enjoy shooting their games, all of them. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am recovering from back surgery and missed most of the fall and winter season. Believe me, I missed you guys!

In the last few years, I will do anything to shoot a lacrosse or soccer game. In the 1980's, I lived for basketball. The game was a little different back then and then there was Mike Grenier, a Coginchaug guard who had more fast breaks than anyone around at the time and I love shooting fast breaks! Vin Baker was playing then too! Call me crazy, but I liked Mike! I believe Mike is a father of two, and runs Uncle Bob's Gardens on Route 66 in Middlefield.

March 19, 2010, mark it on your calendar people, I wanted to shoot basketball! My alma mater, Mercy High School made it all the way to the State Championship!

I arrived at 8:05 p.m. quickly checked the scoreboard, Mercy was down, but not for long. I grabbed a seat, a perfect spot on the floor directly under the hoop. You can't beat those courtside seats...although I am getting a little too old to sit on the floor. And if you must know, I am a member of Mercy's Class of 1977. Seventy-seven, seventy-seven, 77 will be heaven! Those were the days! Thirty-three years and counting girls!

Heaven indeed! Mercy, has been classified in the local sports world as the underdog in this matchup against powerhouse Norwich Free Academy. This is one for the history books girls and Maura, Danielle, Mallory, Alyssa, Amy-Lynn, Amber, Hunter, Kristen, Monica, Sadie, Maria, Sheena, Cassie and Meghan, carry your heads high, ya done good!

I had to leave just before the end of the third period and maybe if I stayed, maybe that one extra Mercy girl cheering them on would have helped.

But this is the best part for me! Wednesday afternoon, the CIAC held a basketball state championship luncheon at the Mohegan Sun. All eight teams were there. Class S - Portland vs. St. Paul of Bristol, Class M - Brookfield vs. Kolbe, Class L - Wethersfield vs. Hillhouse and Class LL Mercy vs. Norwich. Good luck Portland Highlanders!!!!

This was quite the affair! I was sitting at one of the designated tables for the media and heard a conversation between Paul Nichols, Press sports reporter and Bristol Press sports writer, Paul Angilly. I over heard Angilly say it was too bad that CIAC couldn't put on a spread like this for the boys. No question about it, it was top shelf...we had salad, chicken, roasted potatoes, carrots, and chocolate cake. Members of the CIAC were there, Tribe Elders from the Mohegan Reservation and guest speaker, Kara Lawson, a guard for the CT Sun . Each team selected one player to talk about their team. Senior, Mallory Perry spoke for Mercy, she was the perfect choice, her Mom Tanya is a former Mercy Hoopster, Class of 1978! Yah Tanya I know '78, '78, '78 is G R E A T! ugg...

Sorry, but when I heard the boys I got defensive. It is about time! Back in '83, Amy Stanisiewski, a Mercy senior scored 1,000 points and was heading to play Division 1 basketball at URI and it may have been on a sports scholarship. I shot a picture of Amy for Mercy and it ran in the Press, in the social news section. Amy was very social, but she scored ONE THOUSAND points! Definitely worthy of the sports section.

So, don't ask me the score, it doesn't really matter any more.

GO TIGERS!

THANKS FOR A GREAT GAME...AND FOR THOSE WHO MUST KNOW, FINAL SCORE 50-47!

I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it. ~Author Unknown

Thursday afternoon, on my quest for a warm weather standalone, I found Pat and Jill Flynn! I saw this cute couple at Town Beach in Old Saybrook and asked if they were celebrating their anniversary. Jill said, " We are celebrating a warm day!"

I decided to run the Flynn pic in today's paper because they were actually celebrating the not so typical March weather.  

Check out the Press today to see which image I chose. Body language is an important part of communication and I it's my job to tell a story with pictures. I love Jill's feet and check out Pat, he is one happy dude smoking his $2.00 stogie. Aww shucks...did I just give it away?

Another quote, this one from Ansel Adams. 

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."

Boy, what gorgeous weather we're having! Managing Editor, Lauren Flaum, suggested a "standalone" pic would work nicely for the front page. These images run with a cutline (caption) only. So we had a quick pow wow and the winner is Old Saybrook. Ahh, the beaches, the boats, gotta love OS.

When time is not the issue, backroads are the only way to travel. I absolutely love Route 154 and I can hardly wait for Higgies and the Pilot House to open . I guess I take after my Dad, Danny Cienava when it comes to the open road. He drove my maternal grandfather crazy! Dad always drove the side streets, anything to avoid those annoying traffic lights. My grandfather, Ed Specyalski used to say, "Ahh, you're just like you father...just wasting gas!"

Unfortunately today, time was of the essence, it was 4:00 p.m. and I had a scout meeting at 6:30 in Middletown. So, I set my cruise control to 65 mph, popped in my Classics 4 CD, opened the window and I was off. The one thing I miss this time of the year is my Grand Cherokee, it had a sun roof.

I decided to hit the beaches. Whoa jackpot...Town Beach in Old Saybrook. A woman sitting on a bench that was literally buried in an incredible sand drift. She was talking on her cell phone and pretty much ignored me. A dream come true for a photojournalist. Hint, just pretend you never see us and we are good to go. I had the 300mm 2.8 on and I photographed her from about 50 feet away, two different angles.

After 30 or 40 exposures, I knew I had something and it was time to get her name and more importantly ask who she was talking with. So I politely interrupted to find out her name was Nancy Albert and that she was having a "long sister talk" with her sister Alice. At that point, she said something about two hours. She was very pleasant and since I have two sisters, I completely understand the long sister talks. In fact, it was only a few days ago I had a one hour conversation with my baby sister Tina.

I arrived back at the Press at about 8:30, fired up the MAC and edited the 40 exposures down to two, but one is all I need. Which image would you pick? Photo A- at the top or Photo B-at the bottom.

Today's quote is from Dorethea Lange.

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still."

A little while ago, I approached my editor, Viktoria Sundqvist, about starting a photo blog. I can remember the day like it was yesterday. Old man winter mustered enough energy to create a winter wonderland in Middlesex County and I couldn't wait to get out in the middle of it! The snow was coming down hard and accumulating fast, but I live, I ride, I am Jeep. Seriously, there is nothing like four-wheel drive in a snow storm...it truly is incredible!

I knew my husband Bob, who really looks out for my best interest would suggest I wear my "duck" boots to work. These boots are stiff, uncomfortable and since I really do feel like I walk like a duck when I am wearing them, I decided to leave the boots at home.

After spending much of the season indoors recovering from back surgery, I was tired of composing pictures in my mind, but going back to work after three months off is tough. Viktoria suggested I take advantage of the fresh fallen snow and grab a few pics for the 2011 Middletown Press calendar. So it would be just me, the old Nikon and the open road. Although I love photographing people and this is what I do day after day, I haven't spent a day shooting landscapes in years, decades really.

My photo expedition began on Route 2 in Portland... and what a find. A red pickup truck parked along a white fence on the edge of Hale Hill Christmas Tree Farm. My first image of the day was screaming December, December, December. When I stepped out of the Jeep, I stepped right in a puddle, my left shoe and sock soaking wet, a little uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as those boots, not a big deal.

Just down the road a bit on Route 17, I noticed several pieces of antique farm equipment. I pulled over and hiked up a short but steep embankment only to find pockets of snow almost knee deep. I am not exaggerating, at 4'11", well, 4'10.5" it was knee deep! You know, those duck boots are stiff, but after walking in them for a little while, they're not so bad.

Speaking of ducks, I can't believe what I am seeing. A flock of geese in a corn field, there must have been over one hundred of them and the snow was coming down in buckets, big buckets. I quietly removed my wide angle lens and began to attach the monopod to a 300mm 2.8. I managed to pull off a few shots when all of a sudden, they waddled off in the other direction. I remember shouting, "Hey guys, wait a minute, I am only shooting images not bullets." I think the story is actually more interesting than the image, so unless you really want to see, I am not going to post it.

Next stop, where else but the foothills of Middlefield, Lyman Orchards. You really can't go wrong at the apple orchards. Well, most of the time!

By this point, I realized that Bob was right and since we were meeting for dinner, I didn't hesitate to ask him to grab my boots and a pair of socks.

Working with a group of wordsmiths all day can be difficult for a shooter. Writing appears effortless and is intimidating to say the least, and with that said,  I look forward to sharing my stories with you.

A quote by one of my favorite photographers , Margaret Bourke-White. "Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand."

Brett Doering teaches a class in digital photography at Middlesex Community College in Middletown on Tuesday afternoon.

Middletown Press Photo Editor Catherine Avalone will blog here about photography, her photo club and her day-to-day experiences in Middlesex County.