Contribute to Close-Up Digital
Share Your Photography Journey
Every member has something valuable to share.
Whether you’re documenting a field trip, explaining a technique, reviewing a piece of equipment, showcasing a personal project, or telling the story behind a favourite photograph, your experiences can inspire and inform fellow photographers.
Contributing to Close-Up Digital is a great way to share your work, celebrate your photography journey, and help build a vibrant photographic community within the Victoria Camera Club.
We welcome submissions from photographers of all skill levels.
What Can You Submit?
We welcome a wide variety of photography-related content, including:
- Field trip reports
- Photography projects and personal stories
- Techniques, tips, and workflow articles
- Camera, lens, and gear reviews
- Book and exhibition reviews
- Travel photography experiences
- Historical photography topics
- Club activities and special events
- Photo essays and portfolios
- Videos and multimedia projects
If you’re unsure whether your idea is suitable, contact the editor —we’re happy to discuss it.
Submission Guidelines
We welcome articles of all lengths, from a few paragraphs to approximately 2,000 words.
Please identify all authors, photographers, and contributors, and ensure you have permission to publish all submitted material.
Photo Requirements
Submit high-quality JPEG images. Images between approximately 1500 and 3000 pixels on the longest side are preferred, but larger files are welcome.
Please clearly identify your chosen Feature Image. This image will appear at the top of the article and may also be used as the thumbnail image on the Close-Up Digital blog page and in club communications.
Photographs may be cropped slightly to fit website layouts.
Video Submissions
Videos that support a story, project, field trip, technique, or photography experience are welcome.
Please provide a link to the video file using a cloud-sharing service such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or WeTransfer.
Edited videos are preferred over unedited footage and should include clear audio, good image quality, and content that complements the accompanying article.
Accepted videos may be published on the Victoria Camera Club’s YouTube channel and embedded within Close-Up Digital articles.
Writing Tips
These simple suggestions can help make your article more engaging:
- Choose a clear, descriptive headline that tells readers what the article is about.
- Start with an engaging introduction that captures the essence of your story and encourages readers to keep reading.
- Use subheadings to organize your article into logical sections. Subheadings make articles easier to scan and help guide readers through your story.
- Consider your audience. What might fellow photographers find interesting, useful, or inspiring?
- Most articles also benefit from a brief conclusion that summarizes the experience, key takeaways, or final thoughts.
Most importantly, write in your own voice and share your enthusiasm for photography.
What Happens Next?
The editor will review your submission and may contact you with questions or suggested revisions.
The editorial team may make edits for readability and layout.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Welcome to our blog.
This blog was created in November 2022 as a replacement for our paper publication Close-Up. Close-Up served us well for the many years that we published it; it received many awards and garnered a lot of praise for its articles and stories, as well as it’s photographic content.Times do change and we felt it was time to move forward. The world has become more interconnected with electronic media, and we felt it was time to join in that trend with an electronic version of our magazine.
We knew we would be in pioneering territory as no clubs anywhere have a blog to get their message out. We were on the leading edge.
Everyone from our web designer, Quadra Street Designs, the app developer, Icegram, to our Editor, Roger Botting, and everyone in between when through weeks of headaches and setbacks. It’s called bleeding edge for a reason.
But now it’s done and working spectacularly. Our subscribers have grown and grown; interest has spread far beyond the club and will continue to grow.
This is a great achievement for our club, and it only happened because nobody gave up. This is something the club can be proud of.
James Dies – President – Victoria Camera Club
A Club of Photography Enthusiasts
The VCC is the largest camera club in BC, with roots back to 1944. Currently approximately 250 members, who meet to learn, share, and promote the art and science of photography. There are a wide range of regular events such as workshops, field trips, competitions, and shared interest groups.
Workshops
A wide range of topics are presented each month ranging from instruction on the basic elements of photography, photo editing, to advanced techniques for both shooting and post-processing.
Competitions
The Club holds six monthly Internal Competitions through the year. The Club and individual members also compete in External Competitions with other clubs and though CAPA and PSA.
Field Trips
An opportunity for members to take photographs in the company of others. Two to four trips per month are held on weekends and during the week, both in-town and beyond. In addition, Tuesday AM shoots are held each week featuring specific subjects or locations.
Presenters Night
Monthly specialized presentations from guest speakers from the community and beyond to entertain and educate members.
Members Night
A monthly opportunity for members to share their images, techniques, knowledge and questions.
Shared Interest Groups (SIGs)
An opportunity for members to pursue their particular photographic interest and passion. Current SIGs include Nature, Creative, and Aerial Photography.
Social
All the Club’s activities give members the chance to socialize with others and to share our common interest in photography. Many of our activities often conclude with a lunch or dinner to relax and review how the activity went.
We need your help
The Victoria Camera Club welcomes submissions to Close-Up Digital from club members of all skill levels.
Submissions should be on topics of interest to the membership—club events and workshops, tools and techniques, reviews of photography shows and books, the history of photography, the role of photography in society, and so on.
Articles should be 500 to 2000 words in length but exceptions will be considered. Photographs may be submitted with articles. Video submissions are also welcome.
All materials, writers, photographers, and videographers must be clearly identified. Permission to publish must be provided and material must be free of copyright claims.
Authors must expect that articles will be reviewed for suitability and may be edited for readability and flow, clarity, grammar, and punctuation.
Submission details
Submissions must be in either Text or Word files. No other formats please.
Photographs are to be JPEG and must include one horizontal 2000 pixels wide and one or more of any shape photo, 2000 pixels wide or high.
Photographs may be cropped to fit layout.
The photographs should be sharp, clear photographs, properly edited for colour, exposure, etc.
Videos should be submitted with a Youtube link and if accepted will be transferred to the club’s Youtube account. Videos are expected to be properly colour graded and exposure corrected, with good sound quality.
Articles will be published when the content is finalized and can be scheduled if needed.
The decision to publish, decline, or retract any article lies solely with the editor and the Board of Directors of the Victoria Camera Club.