About FocalPOINT

FocalPOINT is a club for anyone interested in photography. The level of expertise is not a requirement with interest being the key. The club has members of every level of experience. FocalPOINT meets the third Tuesday of each month at the Northland Arboretum, located behind the Westgate Mall at 14250 Conservation Drive in Brainerd. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. for those interested in digital photography. Social hour begins at 6 p.m. followed by the business meeting at 6:30 p.m. where old and new business is discussed. The presentation of monthly assignment photos as well as photos submitted for critiquing follows the business meeting. An educational presentation on a photography subject is also part of the meeting.

Also part of each meeting is the Northland Arboretum photo contest where members submit photos taken that month at the Arboretum. The submitted entries are displayed and voted on by Club members with the winning entry displayed at the Arboretum during the next month.

Field trips provide popular activities for club members. During past years trips included Grand Marais and the North Shore, Lake Superior’s Bayfield area in Wisconsin, Como Park Conservatory and the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul. State and local parks are also popular, and included a 2009 spring photo event at Fritz Loven Park in Lake Shore.

Club members have also teamed up to attend seminars sponsored by The Rocky Mountain School of Photography, Layne Kennedy’s workshop at Grand Marais, Crex Meadows Nature Photography Seminar at Grantsburg, Wisconsin, John and Barbara Gerlach Nature Photography seminar in Duluth in 2009, and the 53rd Annual N4C Convention held in Duluth in October of 2009.

Picturing is an annual juried photographic exhibit sponsored by the Crossing Arts Alliance and promoted by FocalPOINT. Photographers from the area are encouraged to submit images for the event. Selected images are displayed at the Franklin Arts Center in Brainerd where the event is held. The event includes workshops on various photography topics, a keynote speaker, and the presentation of the Photographer of the Year Award. An evening reception follows the workshops to honor the recipients of the awards and the Photographer of the Year.

Each member of our Club has the opportunity to have their own gallery on the website, allowing them to display and share their images with other Club members or anyone visiting the website.

If you are interested in joining the FocalPOINT Photography Club, please contact us.