Nearly every year since it was founded in the late 1990s, PhotoClub Vancouver has publicly exhibited the work of its members.
But for this year's show, there will be a bonus display to pay tribute to one of the club's founders, who passed away two years ago.
Henry Ballon, a medical doctor who practiced in Vancouver, will have a special memorial section that honours his traditional style.
Ballon was devout in his use of black-and-white film images, printing them off in a dark room. "He was a great inspiration for the club," co-president Richard Markus told The Tri-City News last week. "When we had our monthly challenges, he would always bring in a print or two, and they were always quite interesting. He was very, very creative."
Among those on the jury panel for the inaugural Henry Ballon Challenge were his daughter and granddaughter, a student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Both women (as well as Ballon's other daughter) will be at the opening reception for the PhotoClub show at Coquitlam's Place des Arts Thursday night.
As for their larger exhibition, also in the Mezzanine Gallery, 15 PhotoClub members - amateur and professional shutterbugs - will present 36 film and digital pictures from the past year "in color or black and white, out of the camera or manipulated. We encourage breaking the rules," Markus said, noting submissions were based on originality and beauty.
Meanwhile, also opening Thursday night is a display of 200 musical instruments from around the world. They were collected by Boris Sichon, an internationally acclaimed musician and stage performer who is Place des Arts' artist-in-residence for February and will be hosting four workshops with school-aged children.
A Mission resident, the Ukrainian native studied at the Academy of Music in St. Petersburg and has performed with the Jewish Chamber Musical Theatre in Moscow, the Russian National Folkloric Band and the Habima National Theatre in Israel.
The opening reception for the two exhibits is Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at Place des Arts (1120 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam). The displays end March 8.
@jwarrenTC
