‘There’s no place like home’, as the old saying goes. And returning to Buller, my birthplace, to live, fifteen months ago, has been a great pleasure. The lack of traffic and pollution and the clear night skies are wonders to behold. Yes we get a drop or two of rain, but without it we wouldn’t have the glorious rain forest right at our doorstep. But apart from the scenery the best thing about the West Coast is the friendliness and honesty of the locals. Where else in the world can you leave your money on the bar for a whole evening while the barman tops up your drink and takes the appropriate amount? At the end of the evening if you forget to take what’s left it will be kept aside until your next visit. And it’s been great to renew old friendships and meet up again with local photographers, old and new, at the Buller Camera Club.

Alan’s early processing gear Photo Alan Cox

Alan Cox, 86, is a foundation member of the Buller Camera Club. The walls of his home are covered with photographs that he has taken during his lifetime in Westport. It was nostalgic spending a morning with Alan as he reminisced. Alan left the Westport Technical College and started work as the office boy at Westport United Dairies. He worked his way up to manager and retired 50 years later in 1987. In 1941 he was posted to the New Zealand 7th Anti Tank Unit in Italy and met Romana, the love of his life, in Monfalcone near Trieste. After the war he returned home and corresponded with Romana until she came to New Zealand. They were married in Westport on 1 November 1947.

Alan’s involvement with the Buller Camera Club continues to this day. He is a past president, continued as a committee member until two years ago and still attends most meetings. He is a Life Member but still pays his annual subscription, “Because the club needs the money.”

The Buller Camera Club was founded in 1956 by Leo Morel, Westport professional photographer and past president of the New Zealand Professional Photographers Association. “Leo had been teaching photography at the tech night school and with a few keen students suggested that it would be a good idea to start a club,” said Alan. Those early members included Frank Callaghan, Bill Miller, John Mallard, Miss Niven and Eric Russell. Leo Morel continued to help. (I remember being taught portraiture and black and white enlarging by Eric Russell on his medium format Durst enlarger. HM) Graeme Howard, the other local professional photographer, also helped the club over the years, most notably as the chairman of the Club’s organising committee for the 1975 PSNZ Southern Regional Conference, which was held in Westport.

Alan built his own darkroom and taught film processing and print enlarging to new members. His darkroom these days is a bit of a storeroom but is still operational. “I spent many hours in here with Frank making both black and white and colour enlargements,” said Alan as he showed me his gear. Always keen to move with the times, he was quick to take up colour printing and now he is set up with a computer, Epson scanner and Epson printer. “I marvel how far photography has progressed in my lifetime,” he says. Alan’s cameras over the years have included Kodak Box Brownie, Kodak and Ilford folding 120, Braun Paxette 35mm, Exacta 35mm SLR, Pentax and Olympus 35mm SLRs, Pentax 6×7 medium format SLR and Kodak DX7590 digital. And of course there were ranges of lenses for the SLRs.

Alan is very proud of the Buller Camera Club. “The club used to have lots of regular outings but it is harder these days as people seem to be too busy. While other clubs have folded we have continued, mainly because it has always been a very social club.”

Alan Cox was presented with a ‘Service to Photography Award’ by the PSNZ in 2006.

Eileen Goodwin Photo Harold Mason

Echoing Alan’s sentiments about the Buller Camera Club’s friendliness is new member Eileen Goodwin, 29. She describes herself as a technophobe and has joined the club to learn more about photography. Already she has achieved an honours and a highly commended in the Novice division of the first club competition she entered. Eileen, who was born in Geraldine and raised on a sheep farm, is a reporter with the ‘The News’, Westport, the daily regional newspaper. After secondary school in Oamaru she completed a Bachelor of Arts at Canterbury University in 2000, an Honours Degree at Victoria University in 2002 and the National Diploma in Journalism at Aoraki Polytechnic in Timaru in 2003. She worked as a reporter on The Christchurch Star, The Southland Times and as Chief Reporter on The Oamaru Mail before leaving for Britain in May 2006.

“I spent two years travelling and working, while also completing the long-distance postgraduate Certificate of Narrative Research from the University of East London. Mainly I worked as a live-in carer for the elderly, in a variety of households throughout England and Scotland, managing health and family appointments, driving, cooking and general household chores,” said Eileen. Returning to New Zealand in May 2008 she got a job with The News as a reporter/photographer. “With small newspapers these days you take your own photos,” she said. Eileen is good with people and has already produced several excellent front-page pictures. Along with her camera club success she is displaying an excellent eye for composition. By continuing as an active member of the Buller Camera Club, participating in competitions and learning from judges’ critiques of her photographs, she will surely improve her photographic skill. And isn’t this what camera clubs are really all about?

Words: Harold Mason

Photo captions

Alan in his darkroom Photo HM

Alan’s early processing gear Photo Alan Cox

Eileen Goodwin Photo HM

Historic Building Oamaru Photo Eileen Goodwin

Wendy Photo Eileen Goodwin

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