From award-nominated jazz shots to hyper-local mentorship, meet Newmarket’s go-to photographer, building a creative home for local shutterbugs<\/p>\n
Newmarket Photography space<\/a> host Greg King is a self-taught photographer who started learning photography and dark room work in high school in the early 1970s. He\u2019s lived in Newmarket since 1992 and is regarded as the\u00a0town\u2019s de facto photographer. He is the perfect fit\u00a0to be the photography host in SPACES<\/a>.<\/p>\n SPACES<\/a> is NewmarketToday\u2019s hyper local social media network, where neighbours, community members, hobbyists and enthusiasts can get together virtually and chat about their areas of interest, in a safe, secure place that\u2019s focused on their community.<\/p>\n After being a scientist, software developer and systems engineer, King is now fully immersed in being a photographer.<\/p>\n King has been photographing performers since 1981, specializing in photography of live performances. His live jazz photography was nominated for National Jazz Awards in 2007 and 2009.<\/p>\n King’s images have been exhibited in Toronto and area as well as published in a number of magazines and newspapers, and on numerous music CDs and websites, including the CBC Radio 2 website. In addition to private collections, King’s work is on permanent display at the Newmarket Community Centre and Toronto’s Rex Hotel.<\/p>\n King regularly photographs news and feature events for NewmarketToday and AuroraToday, and for the Aurora Jazz Festival, Toronto Blues Society, Bravo Academy and Opera York. He has also worked for Jazz City (Edmonton). He also does commercial and industrial photography, and his clients include the Town of Newmarket as well as local businesses and construction contractors.<\/p>\n NewmarketToday’s Photography space<\/a> is slowly building. King pointed out that launching a photography space in the dead of winter didn\u2019t help it get off to a roaring start, but now that spring has arrived, some local shutterbugs, other than King, are posting in the space, and that makes his heart happy.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, it is a fair amount of work finding stuff to post. Newmarket SPACES<\/a> started up in the dead of winter so\u00a0I had to mine my photo archives,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is still pretty slow going, but a couple weeks ago, someone else started posting their photos and we have been dialoguing. I am hoping that with the arrival of warmer weather that people will get out and take photos.\u201d<\/p>\n Recently, King posted some photos of bumblebees<\/a>, while others have posted fox pups<\/a>, and architectural work<\/a>. King comments on each post, which builds interaction. King is planning on posting some tutorials on using electronic flash, as well as \u201cmistakes\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI regard mistakes as teachable moments,\u201d he smiled.<\/p>\n “I\u00a0tell everybody I meet about SPACES<\/a>. In real life, I am not on social media. Never needed it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When asked about his hopes for the future of Newmarket SPACES<\/a>, King had this to say: \u201cAfter a career on the ‘bleeding’\u00a0edge of technology (this is the stage before leading edge), I do not hope. One does, measures the results, analyzes the results, and adjusts. In the immortal words of Yoda: ‘Do or do not, there is no try.’\u00a0\u2014 I love quoting fictional characters.\u201d<\/p>\n