SPS Member: 1983 to 2021
Elected to Hall of Fame in 2021
Dick Simmons joined the Springfield Photographic Society in 1983 and was a member of the SPS for 38 years. Dick was elected president of our club three times: in 1998, 2007 and 2008.
Dick got his start in photography in the Army at the end of World War II, serving our country in 1945 and 1946. He won a camera in a PX raffle and took two pictures of Endersbach, Germany at that time. He returned in 2001 and took two more pictures from the same exact spots. We have included all four images in Dick’s photo gallery.
After the war, Dick worked full-time managing shoe stores in Holyoke, Chicopee and Northampton. But photography called him back, and he started an event photography business called Holland Photography with a partner, shooting weddings, bar mitzvahs and sweet sixteen parties on the weekends. When formal portraits were requested, Dick handled those. Club member (and business owner) Karen Geaghan began to work with Dick toward the end of his business days, and Karen would be the first to tell you what a great teacher she had in Dick Simmons.
Dick was a member of PSA; he entered many international competitions and won numerous awards (mostly in the color slide division).
He was a past president of the Westfield Camera Club and was a continuous member since joining that club in the mid-1970’s. He was the Westfield club’s NECCC rep for many years. Dick, and his wife Jean, were very active in managing the hi-jinx (set up) room at the NECCC conference.
In later years, Dick continued as one of our exhibition judges, and many of us benefitted from Dick ‘s insights in the art of judging photography.
In recognition of Dick Simmons’ contributions to the Springfield Photographic Society, especially in teaching and evaluating photography, our year end award for best general digital image is now the Dick Simmons Award for General Digital Image.
Click the image below to see Dick Simmons’ gallery.
