SPS Member: 1953 to 2021
Elected to Hall of Fame in 2021
Harry Ahern joined the Springfield Photographic Society in 1953 and was a member of our club for a remarkable 68 years. Harry was president of the club in the 1958-1959 season. He chaired the Springfield International Salon for several years and worked on the salon for its entire run. Harry was responsible for orchestrating the design for the SPS medal with the Municipal Group and presented it along with other members to Mayor Ryan of Springfield.
He was a member of the New England Camera Club Council for 55 years and was one of just 8 Honorary Life Vice Presidents. Harry held several different officer positions on the NECCC board and was Chairman of the NECCC Conference in 1973. The NECCC dedicated its 45th conference to Harry in 1990.
A few years ago, Harry received a notice from the Photographic Society of America “for continuous membership of 60 years with great appreciation for long-standing support of the Society”. During this time, he was very active in competing nationally and internationally. He served as Chairman of the Honors Committee, Northeast Zone Director and on the steering committee for setting up and planning the Hartford Convention.
Nature was very exciting to Harry. That is where his concentration was for the many years. Harry and his wife Lynne have been to Yellowstone 17 times. His favorite animal was the polar bear. So, he went to Churchill for the polar bears three times, Alaska for the brown bears and grizzlies three times, Africa on safari twice, Bosque del Apache many times, and most of the popular birding spots in the US, Florida and Colorado.
We were very fortunate to view Harry‘s nature photography in our club’s slide exhibitions. Thus, our year end award for best nature digital image is now the Harry Ahern Award for Nature Digital Image.
Click the image below to see Harry Ahern’s gallery.
