ViewFinder

ViewFinder: Belchertown Nature Photography program is an inclusive, accessible, and intergenerational opportunity to participate in learning, exploration, and expression. Belchertown lies in a beautiful part of the state with nature abounding, which provides a unique opportunity for getting out to enjoy what our community has to offer and capture it in photographs. ViewFinder includes a series of educational workshops—both adult/teen and youth-focused—a juried all-ages community photo contest, and an exhibition of awardee photographs in each age group, displayed throughout July 2025 at the Clapp Memorial Library. Several camera kits and smartphone microscope attachments have been secured and will be made available for Library card-holders to check-out starting in May!

Workshops

ViewFinder includes a series of workshops geared towards youth, teens and adults, respectively, and that will be led by four Belchertown-based nature photographers. Use your camera phone, your own camera, or check one out from the library for use.

Teen & Adult Workshops: Learn how to capture beautiful images of nature in this series of photography workshops. Belchertown’s abundant natural resources offer limitless opportunities for creating amazing photos. Through these workshops, you’ll gain an understanding of photography fundamentals, and then go into the field to apply what you’ve learned. All levels of photographers are welcome, as are all types of cameras (including smartphones). Attend one or all workshops. All sessions are free for Belchertown residents. This series is sponsored by Clapp Memorial Library, with support from the Belchertown Cultural Council.

These workshops are only the beginning. Use what you’ve learned to enter the 2025 Belchertown Wildlife and Landscape Photography Contest. This is your chance to showcase the beauty of Belchertown! Submit up to three photos shot anywhere within the town’s boundaries. The submission deadline is: May 30, 2025. Get more details about the contest below or use this link to submit your photos starting on April 18th.

Featured Viewfinder events, see our Event Calendar for full details and registration:

  • Tuesday, April 22 from 9:30 to 11am – for ages 5&up, led by Holly Field, located at Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA with field excursions to practice skills along the Lake Wallace Sensory Trail
  • Saturday, April 26 from 9:00 to noon – for Teens & Adults, Introduction to Basic Photography led by Mark Lindhult and Ed Comeau, located at Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA with field excursions to practice skills along the Lake Wallace Sensory Trail
  • Saturday, May 3 from 9:00 to noon – for Teens & Adults, Introduction to Basic Photography led by Mark Lindhult and Ed Comeau, located at Belchertown Recreation Department, 66 State Street, Belchertown, MA with field excursions to practice skills along the Lake Wallace Sensory Trail
  • Saturday, May 3 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm – for ages 5&up, led by Holly Field, located at the Swift River Elementary School Pavilion with field excursions to practice skills at the school gardens and the McPherson Sensory Garden.
  • Saturday, May 10 from 9:00 to noon – for Teens & Adults, The Art of Smartphone Photography: Nature and Landscape, led by Linda Repasky, located at Les and Terry Campbell Visitor Center at Quabbin Reservoir, 100 Winsor Dam Road, Belchertown, MA

Workshop Leader Bios

www.marklindhult.com

Mark’s passion in photography is capturing the beauty of nature and the unique behaviors of birds and wildlife in their environment. As a Professor Emeritus of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Principle Emeritus at The Berkshire Design Group and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, he brings his knowledge of landscape, ecology, design and composition to inform his photography and advocate for habitat preservation. His photographs have been exhibited at UMass Amherst in the Design Building Gallery, the US Fish and Wildlife Headquarters Gallery, Cooley Dickinson Hospital Gallery, Franklin Medical Center Gallery and the Baystate Medical Center Gallery. He has also granted permission to several non-profit groups to use his photographs in newsletters, reports, note cards and postcards, including the Friends of Quabbin, the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and the Kestrel Land Trust.

https://www.instagram.com/lindarepaskyphotography/

Linda is a Belchertown resident who enjoys capturing the beauty of local natural resources with her iPhone. She particularly enjoys exploring around the Quabbin Reservoir, as well as pursuing macro photography to capture the tiny details in nature that are so easy to overlook. Her iPhone photos have received recognition in numerous international photography competitions.

www.comeauphotography.com
Instagram @edcomeauphotography

Ed’s interest in photography goes back many years, but upon moving to Belchertown over 25 years ago this interest reached a whole new level with his proximity to the Quabbin Reservoir and access to the beauty of Western Massachusetts. While he can often be found sitting in some remote part of the Quabbin, waiting for wildlife to come his way, has also explored Maine, Alaska, and Colorado, resulting in a number of beautiful landscape and wildlife photographs. Several local businesses have exhibited his works and his photographs in their calendars and his Quabbin photographs are currently on display at Atkins Farms in Amherst. He is a member of the Friends of the Quabbin Board of Directors and is also using his knowledge of the Quabbin as a part of a historical mapping project for the Swift River Valley Historical Society. He is a member of the Quabbin Photo Group and was an instructor for the inaugural Belchertown wildlife and landscape photography program in 2024, now renamed ViewFinder: Belchertown Nature Photography Program.

Holly is interested in the colors, forms, and patterns displayed throughout the diversity of life. She believes that photography allows us to look more thoughtfully and carefully at all of nature’s beauty, big and small. She volunteers with students at Swift River Elementary and in the Belchertown School Garden.

Contest

A juried all-ages photo contest for Town residents will run from April 18 through May 30th. Contestants will be juried alongside their peers in youth, teen, and adult age groups, and between wildlife, landscape, and “small frame” (up close and personal) categories. Support will be offered through the library for any adults or youth seeking help completing the online submission process.

Link to submit here: https://form.jotform.com/250616471746056

Dates for Library staffed submission support:

  • Saturday, May 24, 10am-12pm
  • Tuesday, May 27, 5:30-6:30pm
  • Wednesday, May 28, 5:30-6:30pm

Exhibition

The winning photographs will be exhibited at the Library throughout the month of July and announced publicly in June, and viewable on the Library website. The exhibition opening on Tuesday, July 1 from 6-7pm will include an awards ceremony to acknowledge the creative achievements of our local photographers in capturing the beauty and natural diversity of Belchertown.

Partners

The program is a partnership between the Clapp Memorial Library (CML) and Belchertown Creative Economy Committee, with support from several community arts, photography, conservation, and youth organizations.

Supporters

Belchertown Cultural CouncilBelchertown Cultural Council Logo - council name over a stylistic field and sun.

History

The spring 2024 edition of this program included a series of workshops—both adult- and youth-focused—a juried all-ages photo contest, and an exhibition of awardee photographs in each age group and wildlife or landscape category, displayed in May 2024 at the Clapp Memorial Library. The exhibition opening included an awards ceremony to acknowledge the creative achievements of our local photographers in capturing the beauty of Belchertown.

In spring 2025, View Finder will include the same components of educational workshops, photography contest, and exhibition with awards ceremony. We will build off of the previous year’s program and deepen our commitment to foster a more accessible and inclusive photography program experience by: (1) programming guided outdoor photography workshops in accessible outdoor recreation locations, (2) providing digital cameras for free check-out from the library, (3) offering staffed support at the library to upload photographs to the accessible contest application portal, (4) providing captioning during indoor programs and the exhibition opening at the library, and (5) bolstering outreach partnerships towards stronger program participation among community members of all economic means, including youth, seniors, and people with physical, sensory, developmental and intellectual disabilities.