Message From the Founder

It really started out of love! Yes, loving the art of photography, and living it! That was the first reason behind this group.

The second and most important reason came when I realized how lucky I have been to actually be "making it" in the world of photography, and how painful it was to see other wonderful and very talented photographers getting all the doors literally shut in their faces.

So after years of living all around every corner of this beautiful country, but mainly in Boston, I realized how little we have in this town with regard to photography and how thirsty and frustrated all the shutterbugs are.

What is available in Boston, especially to amateurs photographers, is almost... well how shall I say: Nonexistent.

Around October 2004, I joined a photography group on meetup.com. At the very first meetings only 2-3 people would show up. I decided to take matters into my own hands and use the tools given to me by meetup to achieve what we needed in Boston: a place for all photographers, pro and amateurs alike, to get together, to learn and to share.

And that's exactly how the Boston Photography Center came to life! BPC's mission is to share ideas and knowledge, to educate, to mount group exhibitions, and to promote the advancement of the fantastic art of photography and photographers in Boston and across the state of Massachusetts.

Registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2007, BPC has expanded its force statewide with the help and support of other area photographic organizations. BPC is not just a place for photographers to socialize. Rather, it's a place that challenges the brain and adds to the creativity of each individual, a place for people to share their knowledge of photography and a place where people can show their work without fear of unproductive negative criticism.

All I see are possibilities.

I believe there are more than a few ansel adams, avedons, etc, loose somewhere in this world. I want this foundation to give a voice to all of those photographers!

-- Banafsheh Ehtemam