I was looking for the photographer when I began delving into
the life of Harold A. Taylor. This is the photographer who founded the Camera
Enthusiasts of San Diego in 1927. This is the first photography club to meet in
Balboa Park. He was an active participant with Dr. Scott Watson and his
Photographic Arts Society. Harold Taylor also assisted in the formation of the
current Southern California Association of Camera Clubs in 1949-1950. This organization
continues to meet in Balboa Park.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Camera Clubs of Balboa Park
Balboa Park, the Gem of San Diego has hosted a multitude of camera clubs since the Camera Enthusiasts first met in August of 1927. The majority of clubs came into existence after 1947 with the greater number of those clubs founded under the auspices of the Southern California Association Camera Clubs.
Evidence for these clubs have come from rosters and scraps of papers. There is a very good chance that other groups may be found.
Evidence for these clubs have come from rosters and scraps of papers. There is a very good chance that other groups may be found.
Camera Clubs Associated with Balboa Park |
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| Camera Enthusiasts Photographic Arts Society Southern California Association of Camera Clubs Camera Pictorialist of San Diego Camerart Club of Chula Vista Carlsbad Camera Club Century Travel & Photography Club Convair Camera Club Darkroomers Photographic Club Daytime Camera Club Fallbrook Camera Club General Atomics Camera Club Helix Showmasters La Mesa Camera Club La Mesa Movie Makers Lens and Shutter Camera Club Lens Art Camera Club North Island Camera Club Pacific Beach Camera Club Photo Arts Camera Club Photo Naturalist Camera Club |
Photo Pictorialist Poly Photo Camera Club Pro-Am Club of National City Rancho Bernardo Camera Club San Diego Amateur Movie Club San Diego Camera Club San Diego Photoshop Users Group San Diego Portrait Club San Diego Press Photographers San Diego San Diego Stereo Club Sierra Club - The Photo Section Tuesday Morning Workshop Thursday Morning Workshop Vista Camera Club La Jolla Camera Club Coronado Camera Club Foto Learners Camera Club Showette Camera Club Escondido Camera Club North County Video Makers Digital Workshop Pixels Photo Club |
Saturday, January 23, 2016
The Sexagesimus Sextus Anniversary of SCACC
The San Diego Association of Camera Clubs will see
its 66th anniversary this coming February 2016. Imagine, Sixty-six years in
Balboa Park, the gem of San Diego. Sixty-six years of teaching, learning, competitions,
friendships. Sixty-six years of bringing photography to the community of San
Diego.
The Photographic Arts Society (PAS) of San Diego
filed as an Articles of Incorporation in the State of California on September
1, 1937. There was a boom in photography after World War II and by the closing years
of the 1940s there were twelve member camera clubs under the responsibility of
the Photographic Arts Society.
Dr. Watson referred to the
member clubs of the Photographic Arts Society as the “associated camera clubs”[1] as
early as February 1947. By November 1949 Carl F. Reupsch, Photographic Arts
Society President sent letters to all member clubs which included the following,
“…the name of the
organization should possibly be changed to, “The Southern California
Association of Camera Clubs”, which better expresses the intent and purpose of
the organization. Any name, in fact, would be satisfactory which designates
this society as a group of camera clubs rather than an organization composed of
individual members.” [2]
Monday, January 4, 2016
Dr. Scott Emery Watson: Brief Bio
The 1940s were a time of drama and complexity in the evolution of today’s Southern California Association of Camera Clubs. This decade not only set the structure and tone for their member clubs; but also for the clubs into the 21st century. At the forefront of this exciting decade was a Yankee dentist from New Hampshire by the name of Dr. Scott Emery Watson. He would be a moving force in bringing photographic art to the San Diego.
Scott Watson was born on October 16, 1883 in Laconia, New Hampshire. He was the only child of John W. Watson, tailor by trade, and Emma C. Cox. He was imbued with the characteristics of Yankee ingenuities: self-starting, self reliant and individual enterprise.
Within the scope of one year he graduated from dental school at Tufts University, married Alice E. Hemenway (9 September 1907), moved across the United States to San Diego County (about October 1907), completed the California Dental Boards (26 December 1907) and began his dental practice at the age of 24 years in the Watts Building (located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and E Street.) The 1910 U.S. Federal Census has him residing in the city of Coronado, California where he remained until he was found in El Cajon, California in 1942.
Dr. Scott Watson is first mentioned in photographic circles in 1937. I believe he filed Articles of Incorporation for the new Photographic Arts Society on September of that year. He is also mentioned as the president of the Photographic Arts Society in 1940.
Scott Watson was born on October 16, 1883 in Laconia, New Hampshire. He was the only child of John W. Watson, tailor by trade, and Emma C. Cox. He was imbued with the characteristics of Yankee ingenuities: self-starting, self reliant and individual enterprise.
Within the scope of one year he graduated from dental school at Tufts University, married Alice E. Hemenway (9 September 1907), moved across the United States to San Diego County (about October 1907), completed the California Dental Boards (26 December 1907) and began his dental practice at the age of 24 years in the Watts Building (located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and E Street.) The 1910 U.S. Federal Census has him residing in the city of Coronado, California where he remained until he was found in El Cajon, California in 1942.
Dr. Scott Watson is first mentioned in photographic circles in 1937. I believe he filed Articles of Incorporation for the new Photographic Arts Society on September of that year. He is also mentioned as the president of the Photographic Arts Society in 1940.
The Photographic Arts Society: 1949
The Camera Enthusiasts had a vision of a single club that would serve all photogrphers when they were founded in 1927. Yet eight years after their founding they had a partner, the Camera Pictorialists of San Diego.
The Photographic Arts Society (founded 1937) had a member club, the San Diego Camera Club, by 1941.There was a boom in camera clubs after the close of World War II. Dr. Scott Watson unofficially renamed the Photographic Arts Society (PAS) to the Photographic Arts Society and Associated Clubs by 1948.
There were twelve camera clubs under the umbrella of the Photographic Arts Society in 1949. They were:
It was clear to Dr. Scott Watson that the PAS had become something much different than what was intended in 1927 and 1937. He died before continuing with plans at a reorganization of the PAS's respondsibilities. That task fell to Carl Reupsch, the new president of the PAS. The Southern California Association of Camera Clubs was formed in 1950.
The Photographic Arts Society (founded 1937) had a member club, the San Diego Camera Club, by 1941.There was a boom in camera clubs after the close of World War II. Dr. Scott Watson unofficially renamed the Photographic Arts Society (PAS) to the Photographic Arts Society and Associated Clubs by 1948.
There were twelve camera clubs under the umbrella of the Photographic Arts Society in 1949. They were:
- Amateur Movie Club of San Diego (1949-2004)
- Camerart Camera Club of Chula Vista (1947)
- Coronado Camera Club (1947)
- La Jolla Camera Club (1947)
- La Mesa Camera Club (1947)
- Lens Art Camera Club (1947)
- Pacific Beach Camera Club (1947)
- The Photo Pictorialist (1947)
- Poly Photo Camera Club (1947)
- Pro-Am Club of National City (1947)
- San Diego Press Photographers Club (1947?)
- San Diego Camera Club (1942-1953)
It was clear to Dr. Scott Watson that the PAS had become something much different than what was intended in 1927 and 1937. He died before continuing with plans at a reorganization of the PAS's respondsibilities. That task fell to Carl Reupsch, the new president of the PAS. The Southern California Association of Camera Clubs was formed in 1950.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
San Diego YMCA Camera Club
The earliest camera club in San Diego was formed in 1900 and named the San Diego Camera Club. As a matter of interest the San Diego Camera Club was found as a member club of the Photographic Arts Society in 1942. I doubt that this was the 1900 club.
Harold A. Taylor founded the YMCA Camera Club in January 1920. This is the same Harold A. Taylor who helped found the Camera Enthusiasts in 1927. He was involved with the Photographic Arts Society and had a hand in reforming that group into the Southern California Association of Camera Clubs (SCACC) in 1950. He remained active in the member photography clubs of SCACC for the opening years of 1950s.
The San Diego YMCA had their first photographic exhibit in the summer of 1920. About fifty prints that represented the best of the club were hung in the lobby of the YMCA Building.
Harold A. Taylor founded the YMCA Camera Club in January 1920. This is the same Harold A. Taylor who helped found the Camera Enthusiasts in 1927. He was involved with the Photographic Arts Society and had a hand in reforming that group into the Southern California Association of Camera Clubs (SCACC) in 1950. He remained active in the member photography clubs of SCACC for the opening years of 1950s.
The San Diego YMCA had their first photographic exhibit in the summer of 1920. About fifty prints that represented the best of the club were hung in the lobby of the YMCA Building.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
The Structure of Research
The collection of information for a history of Camera Clubs in Balboa Park is a huge task. In spans a time period of 1927 to the present. It is the story of the men and women who created, grew and maintained the clubs through that stretch of time. It is not only the history of Balboa Park; but also the history of a 150 years of San Diego.
I have chosen to use Evernote, a cross-platform app designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving information.
The app allows users to create a "note" which can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten "ink" note. Notes can also have file attachments. Notebooks can be added to a stack while notes can be sorted into a notebook, tagged, annotated, edited, given comments, searched, and exported as part of a notebook.
This massive amount of information is able to be tamed with the creation of a Table of Contents which is hyperlinked to specific areas within a notebook named "Camera Clubs of Balboa Park". Specific information is able to be located easily with the Table of Contents, Tags and Search functions.
I have chosen to use Evernote, a cross-platform app designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving information.
The app allows users to create a "note" which can be a piece of formatted text, a full webpage or webpage excerpt, a photograph, a voice memo, or a handwritten "ink" note. Notes can also have file attachments. Notebooks can be added to a stack while notes can be sorted into a notebook, tagged, annotated, edited, given comments, searched, and exported as part of a notebook.
This massive amount of information is able to be tamed with the creation of a Table of Contents which is hyperlinked to specific areas within a notebook named "Camera Clubs of Balboa Park". Specific information is able to be located easily with the Table of Contents, Tags and Search functions.
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