September 8, 2020 | St. Lucie Cultural Alliance | Member Spotlight – Treasure Coast Photography Center
Contributed by Laura Louise Tingo
Member Spotlight – Treasure Coast Photography Center
Robbie Sheets, and John Furlong believe in the power of membership. Both accomplished visual artists, now retired, they credit longevity and enjoyment of photography to sharing knowledge, experiences, and ideas with others who embrace the ever-evolving medium.
One such vehicle is The Treasure Coast Photography Center, a 501(c)3, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to foster creative collaboration between fellow photographers. Sheets has been a member – and a proponent of photography as art – almost since the club’s inception in the late 1980s when he recalls, it was known as a ‘camera club.’
“We realized we are not a club of ‘cameras,’ he said. “We are a club of photographers.”
Sheets said his fondness for photography started at a young age, ‘fooling around’ with instamatic cameras and ultimately mastering the art of shooting with a 5 X 7 view camera. “It was fantastic! I couldn’t believe what I could do with it,” he said.
While recognizing that the medium has evolved greatly over the years, he prefers to stick to the basics. “We believe in shooting in manual,” he said. “With photography, you have to deal with the realism, compared today’s editing capabilities…Photography is painting with light.”
The club offers classes to provide focused, personalized mentorship and coaching, and serves as a discussion group, with artists submitting images for feedback and criticism.
“Members offer suggestions…ways the image can be ‘improved,’” said Sheets. “In photography, a little bit of change can make the difference in an image.”
Other perks to membership include social opportunities like field trips and monthly contests, with members competing in a vast array of inspiring themes, such as ‘emotion’ and ‘floral.’ An anticipated favorite for members is its traditional, end of year holiday tradition, when they pull from the winners of each month and choose the ‘top’ for a cash grand prize.
Furlong, of Port St. Lucie, has enjoyed membership in The Treasure Coast Photographic Center for seven years. He picked up a camera for the first time in his early 20s and since, has enjoyed many elements of the medium including film development, printing, shooting on slides, film, and digital-formats, and underwater photography.
Since joining, he chairs the group’s annual fundraising event with a Treasure Coast charity each year, has raised more than $45K. Past beneficiaries of the event: “From the Heart Juried Photo Exhibition,” have included, Hibiscus Children’s Center, SafeSpace, The Humane Society of St. Lucie County, Family Meals, Mustard Seed Ministries, New Horizons and GraceWay Village.
Throughout the year, members of The Treasure Coast Photographic Center are also invited to show their photographic works in exhibitions, in public and private galleries.
“We are trying to help artists and the community as much as we can,” said Furlong, adding that The Treasure Coast Photographic Center finds a natural tie to the mission of the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance.
“We promote photographic arts, and the Alliance promotes our artists. We appreciate that,” he said. “The Alliance has another organized arts organization that they can talk about and get more of a feel for inter-workings between artists and the artist community.”
“Together we offer a ‘place’ for photographers to learn and get exposed to a lot of things and serve as a way to rebuild the County’s position and footprint as a cultural destination and center.”
The Treasure Coast Photographic Center currently has 100-plus members. Currently they have 90 active members, which Sheets credits mostly, to ‘word of mouth.’
“When I see someone holding a nice camera,” he said, “I walk up and give them a business card and invite them to check us out online.”
To learn more about the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance and the benefits of membership, please visit ArtStLucie.org, email: info@artstlucie.org or call 772-462-2783
To learn more about The Treasure Coast Photography Center, visit www.tcpcinc.org, or get social with them on Facebook at Treasure Coast Photography Center, Inc.