Our first virtual meetup of 2026 will be on Sunday, January 4 at 7:30 PM ET. Sign up here to receive notifications about the meeting, including the Zoom info when it is available. Keep reading to learn more about the upcoming presentation!

Photographers develop not just through experience, but through the tools that shape their vision. Cameras — from simple point-and-shoots to modern digital hybrids — inevitably become companions, mentors, and sometimes even co-authors in the images we create.

In this presentation, photographer and multimedia storyteller Charles Baldwin will take us on a journey through the cameras, techniques, and visual discoveries that have shaped his artistic evolution. Baldwin’s talk, Beautiful Tools: A Photographer’s Evolution, explores the idea that tools are more than equipment — they are catalysts for curiosity. From the early film cameras that first sparked his fascination with light, to the digital compacts and specialty gear that refined his voice, he traces how each tool opened a new doorway into the world of creative seeing.

A central focus of the program will be the Olympus TG-6, a surprisingly powerful, rugged camera that has become one of his primary creative instruments. Baldwin will discuss how its unique strengths — macro capability, point-blank focus, fast optics, underwater resilience, and exceptional durability — make it an ideal partner for fieldwork and spontaneous image-making. Members will see how a compact, go-anywhere camera can produce images that rival far more complex systems, especially when placed in skilled and imaginative hands.

He will also explore light painting, a practice that merges long exposure photography with gestural movement, performance, and improvisation. Baldwin will share how he uses handheld LEDs, optical toys, environmental reflections, and spontaneous motion to create luminous forms that feel both scientific and dreamlike. These images become collaborations between photographer, tool, and environment — a dance between control and happy accident.

Along the way, Baldwin will weave in stories from his diverse background in media production, antique photography, and documentary work, including his NASA-archived short film Rocketman John Glenn. His experiences photographing historical artifacts, working in challenging field conditions, experimenting with unconventional light sources, and blending old and new technologies have all contributed to a perspective that treats tools as partners in discovery.

Members will come away with a renewed appreciation for the instruments in their own hands, whether large or small, simple or sophisticated. Charles’s presentation reminds us that photography is ultimately a dialogue with our tools — and that the right tool, used with curiosity and intention, can open worlds of possibility.

Charles Baldwin is a photographer, media producer, and visual storyteller based in New York’s Southern Tier. His documentary Rocketman John Glenn is preserved in NASA’s official archive , his music video Dakota: Leaves You Sitting There received a Bronze Medal from the Global Music Awards. He has worked extensively in antique photography, historical image restoration, product photography, and location-based visual studies. His creative practice spans traditional cameras, digital hybrids, light painting techniques, and experimental optical tools. He is also active in multimedia, radio, and narrative development, bringing a unique blend of technical precision and artistic imagination to every project.