The Central Iowa Camera Club has recently launched a featured photographer project, held in Conference Room A in the Fisher Community Center.

For their inaugural exhibit, photographer Ed Siems was chosen to showcase his work, which is on display throughout the room, now through Feb. 8.

Mary Giese, the exhibit manager, said she was pleased to have Siems be the first photographer to have his work highlighted for the exhibits.

“Ed is pretty outstanding. He has lots of material and we thought he would be a really great photographer to kick us off and to represent the club.”

The club, which was founded in 1977, currently has around 40 active members, who meet monthly.

Siems has been a photographer most of his life and has won awards as well as had national coverage. He was named the 2011 Photographer of the Year by the North Central Camera Club Council (N4C). In addition, his photos have been featured in and on the cover of Iowa Heritage calendars. He most enjoys photographing scenes of nature, race cars and candid shots. He takes inspiration from his 40 acres of wildlife habitat and gardens on his property.

Siems owns several digital cameras as well as ones that operate with film, noting the difficulty in finding places to get film developed. Even more important than the type of camera, Siems said, is the quality of the lens. He prefers photos which look natural and are not digitally enhanced.

“You see so many photos that have been manipulated,” Siems said. “It’s like they aren’t genuine. Nature isn’t perfect, and the photos shouldn’t be.”

Camera club president David Giese said the exhibit is a three-way win.

“The exhibit gives our members an opportunity to share their creative images, it gives the community an opportunity to enjoy the photos of the Central Iowa Camera Club members, and it enhances the ambiance of the conference room space at the Fisher Community Center.”

Siems’ pieces will be on display until Feb. 8. Next month, the winner of the Feb. 4 open contest will showcase his/her work in part of the conference room while the photography of Danny Barker fills the other side. That exhibit will run Feb. 8 through April 11.

The club meets the first Thursday of the month – September through June – from 7-9 p.m. at the Fisher Community Center. Its next meeting will be held tonight. To learn more about the exhibit or the camera club, contact the Gieses atdagiese@mchsi.com.