Try Shutterbugging at Sakai Park and other Interesting Island Locations with the Bainbridge Island Photo Club

By Jenn Hemmingsen
photos by Abby Wyatt

As the sun dips low on a crisp autumn evening, a group of photographers gather outside BARN. They’re members of the Bainbridge Island Photo Club and guests, all eager for tonight’s photo walk to Pia the Peacekeeper— Thomas Dambo’s giant troll sculpture here on Bainbridge.

Abby Wyatt, BARN’s Marketing Manager, who helped coordinate the walk, runs us through the evening’s events. We’ll walk the half-mile from BARN to Sakai Park, taking photos when the mood strikes us. We introduce ourselves by saying our names and our preferred camera equipment. We’re not 10 paces out the door when photographers start following their eyes. 

Lenses focus on the overlooked: a lone leaf, a clump of Black-eyed Susans. We pass the home of local sculptor Jeff Oens, whose yard is festooned with bronze sculptures, garden art, and other irresistible oddities. Oens is standing on the stretch of lawn between his house and studio. He waves and calls, “Hello!”

“I told them not to go in your yard without your permission,” Abby calls back.

“You’ve got it,” he says, gesturing broadly at the lawn, the art, the house, the eclectic assortment of objets d’art. We ease off the roadway, pausing at the cast bronze wolves, drawn to the light glinting off an array of silver gazing balls with butterfly wings lining the edge of a field.

The Bainbridge Island Photo Club was started in 1999 by a handful of people who wanted to learn more about photography. Since then, it’s grown to about 50 members with a wide range of skills and interests. They meet at the Senior Center at 7 PM on the second Wednesday of every month. Nonmembers are welcome to sit in or join their other events. 

Every year on July 4th, the club puts on a show where members display their best photos, and visitors can vote for their favorites. The club also organizes trips for members to take photos around the island and nearby areas – like this night.

At Sakai Park, the group converges on Pia, the 18-foot recycled wood sculpture overlooking a clearing in the trees. In the dappled light, photographers explore different angles and techniques. It’s quiet, the sound of chitchat dimmed as we focus our lenses and attention on the images before us.

Glen, a retired hydrogeologist, started taking photos at age 11 as a young Cub Scout. He was fascinated by the landscapes near his Southern California home.

“I haven’t stopped,” he says. Patrick uses a tripod to capture “ghost” images with long exposures. When he’s ready, Franklin saunters across the frame before the shutter closes, to leave a trailing image. For his part, Franklin shoots with film, using an old Leica. “I like processing it myself,” he explains. This old-school tech also adds an element of surprise: “I don’t have to worry about what it looks like until later.” Only in the darkroom will he see what he got.

Diane uses a technique called “intentional camera movement,” giving a little shake to create artistic effects. She discovered a love for photography in retirement, on a trip to Yellowstone with her brother-in-law. She loves the way it grounds her in the moment. “I’ve learned to see things so much better now,” she says.

As golden hour fades, gnats swarm in lazy zigzags, backlit to seem almost effervescent. Photographers begin wrapping up for the night. In twos and threes, they leave the clearing. Their memory cards are full, but their creative spirits are far from satisfied. For the members of the Bainbridge Island Photo Club, every moment is a potential masterpiece, every walk a chance to see the world anew.

To learn more about the Bainbridge Island Photo Club, visit https://biphotoclub.org

Jennifer Hemmingsen is a former journalist and the Marketing Communications Director at the BARN.

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