Vera Markham has been a member of the Camera Guild for about three years, after moving to Sun City.

Her first exposure to photography happened many years ago due to her father’s own interest in black and white photography and doing all his own developing in a dark room. Being born in London some 70 years ago, Markham loved the outdoors and all it had to offer. Her father was always photographing the family as they grew, keeping a history log for all time. In 1957, Markham and her family immigrated to a rural area around Ontario, Canada. This was a very advantageous move for her, as she began to discover the wonders of nature. She started to observe birds and other critters in their habitat which prompted her parents to provide bird books and binoculars for her sister, brother and herself. Markham became a birdwatcher, formally, at an early age and has been involved with it for 48 years and counting.

Markham eventually moved to New York City, working for Con Edison as an executive secretary. While living there she became a member of the Linnaean Society of New York and attended many bird watching trips. When retirement came into the picture, Markham and her friend, Charlie, decided to come west to Arizona. At this time digital photography was a fairly new medium on the market and desiring a fast, efficient way to capture all the different species of birds she was encountering, Markham entered into the digital world of photography. She has purchased several bridge cameras over the years, always buying a new updated version and selling the old model. She started with an Olympus then moved to a Panasonic Lumix, then a Nikon, a Canon and her most resent is a Sony. Bridge cameras are more reasonably priced, usually quite light weight and you don’t have to carry multiple heavy lenses with you when out in the field photographing as the internal zoom works quite well.

Markham finds photographing birds more challenging than just viewing them through a set of binoculars. She is now involved with taking images of all nature: wildlife, insects, landscapes, the moon, wildflowers and of course, birds. She is planning a trip this fall to Utah and several national parks.

The Camera Guild has continued to educate and stimulate Markham’s interest in photography even during COVID 19 and she sings her praises to John Wood and the members for doing a great job running the club. COVID 19 took a toll on her friend Charlie, and he passed away last January. The club activities help keep her busy now, along with a new puppy, Callie.