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May 2026

From the President...

It is that time of the year when the “seasons” change, at least for the clubs within GVR.  We start to see our friends from other parts of the country start packing up and heading back to their other homes.  That means that our club hours will also be changing starting in May.  For those of you that are here year around, just a reminder that we are only open from 9-12 during the week. 

From the comments that I heard it appears that our annual meeting/anniversary party was an enormous success.  We had over 100 members in attendance!  The food was good, and plentiful.  I don’t think anyone went home hungry.  I need to give a long list of thanks to the following people:

  • Patty Ferguson, Becky Valenzuela, Lynn Rozema, and Monica Parker.  These ladies head up our social committee.  They put a lot of thought, and effort, into making this a great afternoon.
  • Tom Parker for putting together all of the great videos that we watched.  Especially the one on the club’s history.  He spent a lot of time, and storage box diving, to put that together.  We have not been good at digitizing our history.  Maybe this will change now.
  • Sue Ready for her article that was in the GV News & Sun and also for coming up with the questions for Trivial Pursuit.
  • Todd Taylor for being our amazing AV expert.  Especially when we were sweating it out as to whether we would get everything up and running.
  • Pat Lindemann for all of the wonderful photo collages that were placed around the room.  She spent a lot of time collecting photos.

We also added a new award at this year’s meeting.  It is called the “Champion Award.”  It was given to 10 current and former club members who have had a significant impact on our club over the years.  The awardees were not chosen by the board but were nominated by club members.  This is an award that we plan to continue every year.  We may not give out as many awards in the coming years, but we have some catching up to do.  The following people received the award this year:


          Al Crawford                            Chuck Hill

          Gene Komaromi                     Paul McCreary

          John “JP” Pilger                      Phil Rock

          Sue Rock                                Carl Sparfeld

          Ron Stein                                Danny Valenzuela      

If there is someone who you thought should be recognized, remember them for next year.  When we put out a call for nominations, send in their name.

Your new board of directors and new officers were also announced at the April 7 meeting.   Here are the results:

          Kim Holmes - President          Monica Parker- Vice-President

          Patty Ferguson - Secretary     Kevin Hannah - Treasurer

          Todd Taylor - Director              Kevin May - Director

          Lynn Rozema - Director          James Gardner - Director

          Royce Jacob - Director           Kirk Hively - Director

          Pat Lindemann - Director        Sam Schean - Director

All extra programs (i.e., Showtime, Travelogue and Speaker Series) are done for the season.  Plan for those programs returning in November with new and interesting topics.

Even though things slow down for the club in the summer, we may still have the occasional field trip.  One never knows what we may do.  Stay tuned.

For those of you hitting the roads I wish you safe travels.  For those of us staying around here for most of the summer, stay safe in the heat.

“How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!” John Muir

Kim Holmes, President

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the GVR Photography Club’s founding as a Green Valley Recreation club. This is the seventh in a series of articles focused on the club’s history.

The GVR Photography Club – Odds and Ends

By Tom Parker

The GVR Photography Club has always been an active member of the Green Valley community.


The Camera Club planned and organized photographic support for the Green Valley Senior Games for most of its 35-year run, including a slideshow that was presented at the awards luncheon.  The Camera Club was commended for its “masterful job” creating the slideshow for the 12th Annual Senior Games’ Recognition Breakfast. In 2017, 50 events featuring over 900 participants were covered by club photographers. Sadly, the Senior Games became a victim of Covid-19 and faded away.


Likewise, the Country Fair White Elephant Parade - an annual tradition for 50 years which the Camera Club supported with photo and video coverage – was discontinued in 2021.


Looking    back    at    our    White  Elephant  

involvement, we ran across a 1982 request from the Camera Club to the Kodak Manager for Industrial Relations seeking two things -- their professional advice to help the club design its first float for the White Elephant Parade, and a request to “borrow” the latest version of the Kodak “Sun” Camera to take instant pictures of people against a desert scene backdrop. Oh yeah, and how about giving us a special price for the film?  We couldn’t determine from the club’s records if we ended up with a float in the parade or if we received the requested cameras and film. We do know that Walgreens donated a roll of film to enable the club to take 36 pictures for the White Elephant’s 1995 Style Show but charged full price to process the film. It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about things like that these days, eh?

The Club covered the Rose Society of Green Valley’s annual Rose Festival and organized a World War Two Veterans Project with the goal of photographing every Green Valley resident who served in that war.

In 2006, Camera Club members made a formal portrait of 37 bicyclists, then went on the road following over 40 bikers around Green Valley to take a series of action shots. The purpose was to highlight the increased traffic and growing hazards on our roads and highways specifically concerning one of the area’s most “at risk” groups – the area’s bicycle riders. Club members also documented through photos and videos the annual Ride of Silence that Chuck Hill organized for 18 years to raise awareness that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways, and to honor the lives of cyclists who have been killed or injured by motorists.

In 2022, the club’s Multimedia Special Interest Group collaborated on a project to help Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary get the word out on its important non-profit mission.


This is just a sampling of the many organizations and causes the club has supported over its 50-year history.  The club 

and its members continue to provide photographic and multimedia support for special events, as well as local civic and non-profit organizations.


Over the next few months, we will be exploring different aspects of the club’s history. Please stay tuned for future installments in this newsletter and on the club’s Facebook page. If you have historical information you’d like to share, please contact Tom Parker so we can include it in future articles.

GVR Centers' Photo Exhibits 

Be sure to stop by the club and the GVR centers to check out the beautiful photos!

If you have questions please contact Kirk Hively, kehively@yahoo.com (520-349-5593) or Julie Howard (402-202-4423).

Kirk Hively, Exhibits Coordinator

Keep Our Facebook Page in Mind

Remember to keep the Photography Club in mind while on vacation. We'd love to see the places you have enjoyed. Be sure to send me your favorite photos so I can post them in Facebook. Those photos are also where I get to choose the Photo of the Month featured in the newsletter each month. Your photo could be chosen next!


Sue Ready, Facebook Coordinator

Photo of the Month

The May Photo of the Month was taken by Andy Glavac and we are taking a few liberties here by showing not just one photograph from Andy, but four (see News You Can Use). Andy said, "The first photo is from Saguaro National Park using a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera with a 1,000 mm lens." 


The Photo of the Month is chosen from new and archived photos submitted to Sue Ready, the club's Facebook Coordinator. Keep sending the best of your work to Sue at suready@yahoo.com so we may continue to showcase the refined capabilities of GVR Photography Club members. Photos should be submitted in .jpg format and please include its title and location. -ed

Safe travels to all members heading home for the summer! While you’re away, we will be hard at work on programs and classes to make your membership even more enjoyable.

This spring, Danny Valenzuela and I have been leading sessions in the lab to demonstrate how to print and scan to the club monitors.

We’ve noticed that many of our current and new members haven’t had a chance to explore the lab equipment. We’re planning to offer training classes on how to use the lab equipment for both new and existing members.

The SIG leaders are updating and refreshing the web pages, and we’re aiming to have them ready before the fall season. They will also send out an email to all announcing the new season schedule. Be sure to check your email to keep informed.

Please feel free to reach out to me at (jgardner65@comcast.net).

Don't Stop Learning!

Jim Gardner, Education Chair

Library News

Photojournalism

A number of photos shot by news photographers on location in war, disaster areas, celebratory and record-making events, and documenting America’s culture have become part of our visual history. They are icons of our time.

Think of the poignant photo shot by Joe Rosenthal of U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima — Arizona’s Ira Hayes was the Marine on the left. Or the sailor kissing the girl at Time Square on V-J Day, the instant captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt. Who can forget Dan Farrell’s photo of three-year old John Kennedy, Jr. saluting his father's horse-drawn casket?

When the Hindenburg caught fire and burned, photographer Sam Shere shot two photos “from the hip.” He said he did not even have time to bring the camera to his eye. And we cannot forget the documenting of the Great Depression by Farm Security Administration photographers, like Dorothea Lange and her iconic Migrant Mother.

The Photography Club Library has several books on photojournalism. Looking through them makes us appreciate the often dangerous, competitive, but always rewarding work of photojournalists.


Becky McCreary, Librarian

News You Can Use!

Andy Glavac took these marvelous photos of a blooming saguaro.  Andy said he took these three photos with his Fuji XT5 from a recent bike ride on Abrego here in Green Valley.

Here are some fun facts about the flowering saguaro:

  • Their peak bloom is from early May to early June

  • The blooms have a short lifespan, blooming for less than 24 hours, opening at night and remaining open through the following day

  • The whole saguaro, though, can produce many blooms throughout the season

  • They get a little help from their friends as the saguaro flower relies on several desert-dwelling animals to help with pollination. At night, that's the lesser long-nosed and Mexican long-tongued bat

  • According to the Desert Museum, bees and birds, such as the white-winged dove, pollinate the flowers during the daytime

  • Saguaro flowers are often described as having a pungently sweet melon scent. Bats and other wildlife can't get enough

  • It's the official state flower of Arizona, designated in 1931

This Month's Club Activities

Check the Club Calendar for the latest information on all club activities. Photography Club members are also welcome and encouraged to attend the club’s monthly Board of Directors meetings. Check the Club Calendar for the date of the meeting and attend in-person at the club, or remotely by registering using this link. The Board is always interested in comments and new ideas from the members.

Need help with your digital camera, smartphone camera, slide/print scanning, photo printing or a photo editing software application? Photography Club Volunteer Helpers are available to help. Log in to the club’s website. Click on the three bars at the far right of the home page menu bar and select Volunteer Helpers. Once you've found a helper, scroll down to see their contact email listed. Help is just a few clicks away.


Showtime

We’re officially on summer break from SHOWTIME, but that doesn’t mean your cameras get a vacation. Get out there, explore, and capture fresh photos and videos while the days are long and the light is perfect. We’ll be excited to showcase your new creations when we kick things off again in November.

Respectfully,

Todd F Taylor, Showtime Host


Travelogue


We look forward to seeing everyone in the Fall. Please keep the videos coming our way this summer so we can prepare another great season for you. Anne Karakatsoulis at daveandanne@msn.com and Sherrie Lee Lucia at sherrie.LCBG@gmail.com.


And remember, some of the Travelogues are now available on YouTube. Search GVR Photography Club/Travelogue.


Thank you so much!


Sherrie Lee Lucia & Anne Karakatsoulis, Travelogue Co-Coordinators


Speaker Series

Have a safe and enjoyable summer!  Watch for new and exciting speakers starting in January. 


Kim Holmes, Speaker Series Coordinator


Field Trips

As the new Field Trip Chair, I’d like to tell you we’ve got a ton of trips lined up for this month. The fact is we’re taking a bit of a breather from the very active field trip season we just concluded – 64 trips were completed. Many of our Field Trip Committee members and trip leaders have started the journey north or are currently taking some vacation time away from Green Valley

Historically, the summer months have been a quiet period for field trips. I’m hoping to change that this season. Although we tend to think that most residents are either snowbirds or rainbirds, the most recent GVR Member Survey, completed in 2022, revealed that 69% of GVR residents live here year-round.

With that in mind, we’re exploring field trip opportunities that would be good candidates for the summer months. Most would likely be indoors or underground to give us a break from the heat, but we’re also looking at visits to lavender farms when they peak in June, Skydive Arizona, and other outdoor venues. Stay tuned!

As always, we’re on the lookout for members who would like to become field trip leaders or help take care of the many behind-the-scenes tasks that help us make field trip administration look effortless (it certainly isn’t). Please let me know if you are interested.

Wishing everyone a fun summer and safe travels wherever your journeys may take you! 

Tom Parker, Field Trip Chair


Photo Opportunities

There are ample opportunities to get out and enjoy southern Arizona while the weather is still fairly moderate. Several of the venues will be transitioning to summer hours (or closing for the summer altogether), so be sure to check them out while you have the chance. Several cultural festivals and walking tours are among the month’s events. The Fiesta de Garibaldi showcases student mariachi band performances and folklorico dancers. There’s quite a bit going on in and around Sierra Vista. And you can always count on shoot-em-up excitement in Tombstone. All great reasons to get out, take some photos and videos, and enjoy the fun.

Registration is now open for the Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival in Sierra Vista, which will be held August 5-8. Many of the events sell out early. Find more information here.  https://www.swwings.org/summer-festival-2026   Additionally, registration for the Tucson Bird Alliance’s Southeast Arizona Birding Festival to be held August 12-16 is also underway. Learn more here. https://tucsonbirds.org/festival/

Historic Canoa Ranch

  • Dates, times, events and costs vary – registration may be required
  • Historic Canoa Ranch, 5375 South I-19 Frontage Road, Green Valley, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Triangle L Ranch Sculpture Park

  • Open daily, dawn-to-dusk – Suggested donation $10/person or $20/carload
  • Triangle L Ranch, 2805 North Triangle L Ranch Road, Oracle, AZ
  • Find more information here. 

Pima Air and Space Museum

  • Ongoing thru May, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Ticket prices vary
  • 6000 East Valencia Road, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Tucson Military Vehicle Museum

  • Ongoing thru May, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Ticket prices vary
  • 6000 East Valencia Road, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Butterfly Magic

  • Ongoing thru May 31, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm – included with garden admission
  • Tucson Botanical Gardens, 2150 North Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Nature Walk at San Pedro House

  • May 2 and 16, 8:00 am to 9:00 am – Free
  • San Pedro House Visitor Center, 9800 East Highway 90, Sierra Vista, AZ
  • Find more information here. 

Mainly Murals Walking Tour

  • May 2, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm – $35, pre-registration required
  • Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Turquoise Trail Walking Tour

  • May 2, 10:00 am to 12:30 pm – $35, pre-registration required
  • Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Fiesta de Garibaldi

  • May 2, 10:00 am to 10:00 pm – Prices vary
  • Jacome Plaza, 101 North Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Gadsden-Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum

  • Sundays in May (except Mother’s Day), 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm – $5
  • 3975 North Miller Avenue, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

San Pedro River Walk

  • May 5 and 12, 6:00 am to 9:00 am – $20, reservations required
  • Casa de San Pedro Bed and Breakfast, 8933 South Yell Lane, Hereford, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Festival and Market

  • May 5, 11:00 am to 2:00 pm – Free
  • Tucson Mall, 4500 North Oracle Road, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.  

Rolling Thru Time Auto Museum

  • Thu-Sat, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm – Ticket prices vary
  • 4750 South Park Avenue, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Bull Riding in Tombstone

  • May 9, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, pre-show at 6:00 pm - $15
  • Shoot-Out Arena, 365 South 3rd Street, Tombstone, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Vigilante Sunday

  • May 10 and 24, 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm – Free
  • Downtown Tombstone, 311 East Allen Street, Tombstone AZ
  • Find more information here.

Bird Walk at San Pedro House

  • May 13 and 27, 7:00 am to 10:00 am – Free
  • San Pedro House Visitor Center, 9800 East Highway 90, Sierra Vista, AZ
  • Find more information here. 

America250 Celebration at Patagonia Lake

  • May 16, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm - $20.00 per vehicle
  • Patagonia Lake State Park, 400 Patagonia Lake Road, Nogales, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Hummingbird Banding at the San Pedro House

  • May 16, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Free
  • San Pedro House Visitor Center, 9800 East Highway 90, Sierra Vista, AZ
  • Find more information here. 

Turquoise Trail Walking Tour Shortened Version

  • May 17, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm – $35, pre-registration required
  • Presidio San Agustin Museum, 196 North Court Avenue, Tucson, AZ
  • Find more information here.

Wyatt Earp Days

  • May 23-24, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm – Free
  • Downtown Tombstone, 311 East Allen Street, Tombstone AZ
  • Find more information here. 

9th Annual Wine, Beer & Spirits Festival

  • May 23, 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm – Free to enter the event venue
  • Veterans Memorial Park, 3105 East Fry Boulevard, Sierra Vista, AZ
  • Find more information here. 

We are always looking for recommendations for future photo opportunities. Please feel free to contact me If you have suggestions for upcoming events of interest.

Tom Parker, Photo Op Coordinator

Special Interest Groups are fun and educational. Any member of the Photography Club is welcome to attend any of the SIGs.

Click on any of the links listed to get more information on each one.

Monitor Notes

Monitors typically welcome and check in club members, answer the phone, and inform those seeking information about the club. We are all indebted to the dedicated team of monitors who volunteer to keep the Photography Club open. Many thanks to all of you.

We are always looking for additional monitors. Help us provide all the benefits the club offers to its members. As you take advantage of the club's activities and its extensive digital processing equipment, consider sharing the effort in providing these services by volunteering as a monitor.  You are not expected to know how to use the equipment. Training takes about three hours.

Contact: gvrcameramonitors@gmail.com for more information.

Photography Items

Wanted

or

For Sale

Do you have any used photography equipment that you want to sell or are looking for to buy? List those items in the newsletter.

All items:

  • May be placed only by current, past or families of past members.
  • Must be for used photography related equipment.
  • Must include your name, or the name of the past member, and contact information.
  • Should be submitted to mparker582@aol.com.
  • Must be placed by the 25th of the month prior to the month of listing.
  • Will run for one month but may be resubmitted up to three times to be listed again.

GVR Photography Club

The GVR Photography Club is one of the largest photography clubs in the U.S. with over 600 active members. Regardless of your skill level, you'll have fun honing your skills in taking, editing, and presenting photos and videos. Share your photographic passion with others. Take FREE courses and join our Special Interest Groups to get the most from your digital camera, smartphone, action camera, or drone. Learn the ins and outs of post-processing software. Use our state-of-the-art equipment to digitize and edit photos, slides, and videos. Go on club Field Trips to practice your photographic skills. Exhibit your photos/videos at our Showtime and Travelogue events. Come make friends and photographs!

The Photography Club is located on the 2nd floor of the west wing at the Santa Rita Springs GVR Recreation Center. You may contact us at:

PO Box 1423, Green Valley, AZ 85622 or gvrphotographyclub@gmail.com. 

Monica Parker, Newsletter Editor 

mparker582@aol.com, 618-304-1164


The GVR Photography Club is located in the Recreation Village of Santa Rita Springs.
921 West Via Rio Fuerte, Green Valley, AZ 85622 
Phone 520-648-1315

If you have any questions or concerns please call the above number during business hours or email us at: gvrphotographyclub@gmail.com

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