Calendar
The meeting will start promptly at 7 pm, but we’ll open the building at 6 pm for setup and social hour.
Join us for our Monthly Critique Night!
Our judge for June will be Sam Chen.
Members bring prints for critique on the third Wednesday of each month. Prints accepted by the Judge will hang for up to 2 months in the Photographic Arts Building gallery.
Visitors are welcome, however, submitting images for critique is available for members only. If you’d like more information about joining Darkroomers, please check out our membership page and email us if you have any questions.
About Sam
Sam Chen first became intrigued with photography at the tender age of 5 when he picked up his father’s vintage Minolta rangefinder camera. But it wasn’t until high school and after years of saving his allowance money that he was able to finally afford his very own SLR film camera – a Minolta Maxxum 5000. It was love at first sight.
But like any good, obedient Asian son, he abandoned his dreams of shooting for NatGeo and spent the first 10 years of his young adult life working as a Creative Director for a Fortune 500 company in Silicon Valley. Sam then dove headfirst into animation filmmaking and taught his skills as an adjunct professor at the Art Institute of CA.
It was then that Sam stumbled upon drone aerial photography which led him to found Aloha PhotoVideo with early commissions shooting for Port of San Diego, Pacific Sotheby’s, Berkshire Hathaway, and Compass. Aloha PhotoVideo has grown to be the leading provider of photo/video services for the luxury real estate market in San Diego.
Sam currently stays active in several local and international photographic groups and regularly contributes as a Judge for the annual San Diego County Fair Photo Contest. When not slaving away in front of Lightroom & Photoshop, Sam is an avid music lover and enjoys slurping ramen, strumming his Les Paul guitar, and cruising San Diego in his new eBike.

Come to the San Diego County Fair and represent Darkroomers! We’ll promote our club at the Exhibition of Photography’s Photography Club Mixer. Members who attend and are willing to help at the mixer will receive complimentary fair tickets (7 are available, first come, first serve). Come earlier in the day to enjoy the fair and then mingle with photography enthusiasts in the evening.
If you’d like to attend and receive complimentary tickets, please RSVP to Angela.
The meeting will start promptly at 7 pm, but we’ll open the building at 6 pm for setup and social hour.
Join us for our Monthly Critique Night!
Our judge for July will be Greg Klamt.
Members bring prints for critique on the third Wednesday of each month. Prints accepted by the Judge will hang for up to 2 months in the Photographic Arts Building gallery.
Visitors are welcome, however, submitting images for critique is available for members only. If you’d like more information about joining Darkroomers, please check out our membership page and email us if you have any questions.


