Members of St. Mary’s University’s Photography Club stepped out from behind the lens to put on a wonderful showing of their art on Tuesday April, 4. Held in the new Heritage Centre on campus, the pop-up showing featured various shots from members of the students-club with photos ranging from portraiture to abstract composition.

Armed with a suggestion from the Student Association and a desire to host something other than a party, the photography club decided to host an open event in hopes to engage more students and engage with the community.

For fourth year psychology student and photography club member Rainer Dalton, the exhibition was a good way to get the group’s name out into the St. Mary’s community as well as engage with like-minded individuals who may also share a love for photography.

“Since the photography club is up-and-coming we wanted to get our name out there,” said Dalton. “We’re a very open group, we want people to not only model, but who have a strong passion for photography to enjoy and join us.”

Dalton describes the experience of having their art displayed on campus and the engagement of the St. Mary’s community as surreal citing that he hopes this type of event can become a regular occurrence at St. Mary’s.

“It’s a blessing and it’s an overwhelming feeling,” says Dalton. “I couldn’t be much happier, I wish we could do it every year now but this is surreal.”

Dalton encourages anyone who may be interested in joining the photography club to do so as the club is a welcoming community of like-minded individuals creating art together.

“We’re all in this together,” says Dalton. “It’s the passion for photography, it’s a creative outlet for everybody.”

“It’s the pure art of the photos themselves,” Dalton says about his love for getting out and capturing photos. “It’s the mood, the creative feel that you get from looking at photos.”

“It’s art, it portrays more than anything you could ever imagine.”

For more of Dalton’s fantastic photos visit his Instagram page, @rainerjaydalton.