BATH

For the first time, community members will have a chance to see coastal heritage through the eyes of Brunswick’s First Light Camera Club at Maine Maritime Museum this month.

The club’s exhibit, aptly titled “Coastal Vision,” includes photographs and images that capture Maine’s maritime culture in a unique way, and will be displayed at the museum until March.

“They were particularly looking for photographs of that nature that would tell a story that would be oriented around the ocean or the coast line, the islands and working on the waterfront — it’s a nice show,” said Christine Macchi, the club’s publicity chair.

The organization, which has been around since 1990, has welcomed photographers of all different skills and backgrounds over the years, and is currently made up of about 60 to 80 members.

“The club does all kinds of things — it’s basically an educational club for photographers of all abilities to learn,” said Macchi.

In addition to guest speakers, field trips and a one on one mentoring program, Macchi said the club also offers a monthly “tech night” for members to come in with computers and photographs to ask specific questions about software, processing or shooting.

“It’s got a lot of very interested members and some very good photographers and it’s very active,” added club member Bill Boyd, who was also in charge of putting the maritime exhibit together.

“(Boyd) is always scouting locations and looking for good venues for the photographers to show their work,” Macchi explained.

Boyd said he had reached out to curator Christopher Hall at the museum, who was interested in helping the club put a photography exhibit together.

All photos in the gallery were considered by a panel of five judges who rated and selected from among 45 photos that were captured and submitted by members of the organization.

“We tried to have broad participation among our members in the exhibit,” Boyd added.

“What I think is particularly interesting is that of the maritime photos, there’s not one of a sailboat for example …” he said. “There’s one I think of a lighthouse, but we tried to stay away from what you’d consider a postcard photograph and really emphasized the fact that it was up to each photographer’s interpretation of what maritime meant.”

Boyd also commended Hall for his role in putting the exhibit together.

“We have a smaller gallery we change out more frequently,” Hall said. “It seemed like the right size, and it was nice to involve a local group.”

In addition to the judges, Hall also weighed in on the final selection process of the photos.

Hall said he and Boyd “really paired (the photos) down to fit the real estate on the wall.”

Museum goers will have an opportunity to visit the exhibit until March 13. Maine Maritime Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

dkim@timesrecord.com