A model is photographed at the studio at the new Canon Club. Pic: Supplied

Canon Club Myanmar will officially open its clubhouse to professional and amateur photographers on October 3, offering a variety of services from group activities to studio hire.

“We have extended the services, built up a better clubhouse to offer more facilities; we are going to have a lot of activities planned for the next few months,” said Gerald Pang, Operations Manager for Accel International, the company spearheading Canon sales and distribution in Myanmar.

Although the Canon Club began operating in 2007 as an extension of the Canon showroom at Aung San Stadium, Yangon, it moved in June to larger premises located on the 4th floor of FJV Commercial Centre, Strand Road. The extra space has allowed the club to expand its services to include printing, quarterly competitions, product tutorials and advice, seminars by professional photographers, and lens and camera hire. The club also has a studio that members can use.

“The studio is something we offer to the club members; especially the hobbyists who don’t have a studio to do the shots, who just want to try shooting in the studio environment,” said Gerald Pang.

A number of camera clubs already exist in Myanmar, notably the Myanmar Photographic Society (MPS) based in Yangon and the Photographic Society of Upper Myanmar, based in Mandalay. However, Gerald Pang sees the Canon Club as playing a complementary role to the services already on offer to photographers.

“A lot of the members of the MPS are actually members of the [Canon] camera club, even amongst the executive committee…There is no restriction in saying you can only join one of the clubs,” he said.

Membership of the Canon Club has been steadily growing and now stands at more than 140, mostly based in Yangon, with approximately 30 percent based in and around Mandalay, according to Philip Tun Aung, Assistant Manager for Accel International. Anyone who purchases a DSLR camera from the Canon operation in Myanmar is eligible for membership.

“We are offering the membership to all the people who buy a Canon DSLR… so anybody from the low entry level 1000D to 450D all the way up to the 1Ds,” said Gerald Pang.

“At the moment [membership] is free of charge,” he added.

The club also have big plans for the future, and will organise trips, classes on photography, product demonstrations and possibly even a clubhouse up in Mandalay for their members in the region.

“In terms of logistical planning and budget wise we’ll have to take a look, if the membership grows and if Yangon is successful, anything is possible,” said Gerald Pang.