In November 1979, Dankwart Koehler, a local photographer, acted on a desire to start a new camera club in the northern Monmouth County area. Along with the support of two other photographers, Gary Slawsky and Joanne Brody, and a list of people who might be interested, Dankwart sent an invitation to attend the first meeting of the new “Hazlet Camera Club.” The initial meeting location for the new club was an attic space in the old Hazlet fire house on Holmdel Road next to the train station. A program for the first club year was generated, including lectures by club members and outside speakers and critiques of member submitted images. The structure of club’s programs has evolved from those early days and now include field trips, four “User Groups”, a social “hour”, a year end dinner and exhibits.
Our growing membership, and a decision by Hazlet Township to sell the firehouse for commercial office use, forced a move to Raritan High School for one year and then, in the fall of 1985, to the police training room in the Holmdel township hall until we outgrew that space a year later.
As the club had moved away from the Hazlet area, it changed its name to Monmouth Camera Club. Our next meeting location was the Holmdel Community United Church where we ‘lived’ for a few years, until our membership grew to 50. We then moved to our present location at the Reformed Church in Colts Neck.
The club is geared to people of all experience levels. Our goal is for members to continuously learn and improve their skills.
The club meets twice a month on Thursdays. The first meeting of each month is usually a presentation and the second meeting is a photo competition with a critique by a judge. The meetings take place at the meeting hall of the Colts Neck Reformed Church, which is located behind the church. The address is: 139 County Road 537 in Colts Neck. The doors open at 7:00 for socializing, coffee, tea and a cookie. The meeting starts at 7:30. We also Zoom the meetings beginning at 7:15.
The club is a member of the Photographic Society of America, the New Jersey Federation of Camera Clubs and New York Metro Area Camera Council.
Through countless hours devoted to the club by our many volunteers over the years, the commitment to teaching and learning that Dankwart established back in 1979 has helped us evolve into one of the largest and most active Camera Clubs in New Jersey.
Presidents through the years:
Dankwart Koehler
Gary Slawsky
Jeffrey Lubchansky
Joanne Brody
David Lewis
Howard Royce
Alan Leckner
Vicki DeVico
Cheryl Auditor
Alan Bogard
Terry Pilitzer
