The Quabbin Photo Group (QPG) began in 1984 by picking up the remnants of the Belchertown Color Camera Club, which was founded in 1948 by noted local photographer, Les Campbell.  Quabbin Photo Group has evolved over the years from being a small group of friends meeting in homes a few times a year in the mid-1980s to having monthly meetings with a committee to run the club.  By the 1990s, the group was meeting at the (then-named) Quabbin Visitor Center at the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown.   In June of 2018, QPG held its last monthly meeting at that location before moving to the Hope Methodist Church, also in Belchertown.  Just this summer, meetings moved to the Belchertown Recreation Center.  During the COVID pandemic, meetings were held virtually over Zoom, and today we continue to have a mix of in-person, hybrid, and virtual meetings to accommodate members near and far who are unable to attend in person.

Les Campbell (1925-2020) founded several other groups in addition to this one, and he continued as a QPG participant who attended meetings into his 90s.  He was an accomplished, nationally recognized photographer who held three of the highest awards given by the Photographic Society of America, and his work has been in many national publications.  Les’s photographic journey stemmed from a love of birds.  He also had a passion for Quabbin Reservoir, and he wanted to share not only the beauty of Quabbin and its surrounding region, but also the story of the reservoir’s creation and the sacrifices of the people whose homes were lost due to that creation. His deep love and respect for the region can be realized through his own words: “We must hear and listen to all of Quabbin’s many Voices.  Voices of the Past, as well as Voices of the Present and of the Future.  Voices of the Trees, the Sky, the Rain that falls, and all the Wild Things;  Voices of the People who depend on this valuable resource for their daily needs of clean water, and Voices of those who draw upon it for deeper needs of the Soul.”  Les and his wife, Terry, also created the reservoir's visitor center, which has been renamed Les and Terry Campbell Quabbin Visitor Center, at the DCR Quabbin Administration Building in Belchertown.Many of our current QPG members were fortunate to know Les, having taken his photography and/or matting and framing classes, or visiting his property,  “Sky Meadow”, where he had a gallery in his barn. Les was kind, helpful, and generous with sharing his time and his skills.  He enjoyed teaching others and he encouraged photographers to share their work.  His vision for the club was to share nature images and to learn from one another.  

Today, Quabbin Photo Group continues with that same vision.  We are a nature-focused photography group where those who enjoy nature photography are welcome regardless of their experience or skill level.  Meetings held throughout the year are a mix of educational programs and “member nights”.  Programs on a variety of photographic subjects, presented by professional photographers, guest speakers, or even QPG members, are selected to help others to advance their photographic skills and to foster an appreciation of nature photography.  “Member nights” are for members to showcase their work, up to 6 photographs, that preferably have a common theme or tell a story.  We encourage not only the sharing of photos, but we also encourage discussion of technical methods, composition, and post-processing in order to enhance the learning experience.