PHSNE Turns Fifty

January 2023’s Zoom meeting (recording can be found at the bottom of this article) is a discussion of PHSNE’s past, present, and future. Long-time members reminisce about the earlier days of the group; newer members can learn how the organization grew into the society it is today.

PHSNE was started in April 1973, when a small group of local camera collector enthusiasts decided to meet regularly to buy and sell cameras and associated equipment among themselves, swap stories and information, and develop a local photographic show. The photograph above is the earliest group photo of our founding members, dated June 1973.

Fifty years later, as a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and cultural organization, the Society has grown to include hundreds of members throughout the country and across the world. Along the way, PHSNE has established speaker programs, a highly respected Journal, a monthly snap shots newsletter, a high school photographic equipment donation program, an annual Photographica show that attracts dozens of dealers and hundreds of visitors, an annual auction, an expanding online presence (https://phsne.org), and a strong commitment to help preserve photographic equipment, images, and history.

PHSNE’s tradition of in-person monthly meetings goes back to the very start of the society, with presentations by members and outside speakers, show-and-tell objects and images, and informal auctions and bartering. The last in-person presentation was March 1, 2020, when Dick Moore recreated a classic 19th century magic lantern show. Two weeks later, COVID-19 shut down everything, and changed everything.

As Zoom took over through the spring and summer of 2020, PHSNE started presenting meetings on Zoom in August of 2020. Initially a solution to a temporary problem, we soon found the new format offered many benefits. We now share these meetings live with an audience of members and interested visitors from all over the world. The recorded meetings can be viewed on our YouTube channel: PHSNE Virtual-Meetings. Speakers join PHSNE with a complimentary one-year membership, as our community keeps expanding.

 

We have also adopted a tradition of having the December holiday meeting formatted as a series of member show-and-tell mini-presentations, sharing cameras, images, and stories. Many thanks to Ben Couto for his technical expertise in keeping us up and running on Zoom, and to all who propose speakers and present programs.

Dana Gee, Program Coordinator, arranges for interesting presentations on very diverse topics. She is always open to suggestions and can be contacted at programs@phsne.org.

PHSNE Publications History-At-A-Glance

• April 1973: First newsletter, one mimeographed page
• August 1980: PhotoNostalgia, precursor to The Journal
• January/February 1982: first issue of The Journal, 16 pages
• July/August 1984 to November/December 1987: Photographica Journal, a joint publication with the American Photographic History Society
• Spring 1988 – present: return to The Journal published solely by PHSNE
• Snap Shots, PHSNE’s monthly newsletter (10 times a year) has been published in various formats for decades. The current archive is continuous from 2005 to the present. Visit https://snapshots.phsne.org to download and view past issues.

PHSNE’s fifty years have been filled with discoveries, the rise and fall and rise again of photographic processes, image-making systems, and new forms of visual presentations. Most of us now carry digital cameras everywhere in a purse or pocket, sharing images through the ether by the billions every day. But images are still magic, and PHSNE celebrates the past, embraces today, and looks forward to tomorrow. Sign up for our FREE email notices and Zoom announcements HERE.