Grand Rapids Camera Club Hall of Fame 2001

Ken Ward joined the Grand Rapids Camera Club in 1977. He was inducted into the GRCC “Hall of Fame” posthumously in 2001. Ken served in the US Army for 24 years, serving in World War II where he met and later married Hannelore. He also served in the Korean War and Vietnam, were he got his first camera.

Ken and Hannelore enjoyed learning to photograph together, taking pictures of landscapes and wildlife, simple things they could do together. On one such outing they met a photographer who invited them to a meeting of the Woodland Camera Club; they later joined the Grand Rapids Camera Club (GRCC).The lectures and workshops helped them develop techniques and understand terms of film and stops, they learned to get on their knees to get close ups of wildflowers and insects. They learned to build props and to file and manipulate slides.They learned to raise butterflies, walk trails and shared all their experiences with club members.

Ken was active in GRCC for over twenty years, volunteering for what ever was needed, offering his home for competition judging and board meetings. He distributed the Lights & Shadow to all Grand Rapids camera shops each month; he presented workshops of closed up and still life photography. He competed in both GRCC and Southwestern Michigan Council of Camera Clubs (SWMCCC), earning hundreds of awards and ribbons for his wildlife photos. He directed the Photographic Society of America (PSA) International Salon and presented the results to many SWMCCC Clubs.

Ken and Hannelore presented workshops at the SWMCCC Summer School for many years and enjoyed the companionship of it all.

“We would never have come this far without the membership of the club.”