A sit-down with founder, future of county’s photo club
Courtesy of Jerry Hardy
This photo of a misty morning was taken by a member of the Greene County Photography Club.
Courtesy of Grace Bradmon
This photo of a wooded area was taken by a member of the Greene County Photography Club.
Natasha Heinz/For the Observer-Reporter
Greene County Photography Club founder Jerry Hardy
Courtesy of Grace Bradmon
Greene County Photography Club member Grace Bradmon
On the fourth Tuesday of every month, Greene County Photography Club gathers at Waynesburg Bible Chapel. Members do presentations, share experiences and participate in themed contests.
The group of photographers is diverse – younger, older, professional, amateur. On one side of the spectrum is Jerry Hardy, club founder and longtime Greene County photographer. On the other is 19-year-old Grace Bradmon, who first got interested in photography after creating an Instagram account.
Hardy moved to Waynesburg to be with his wife, Fran, after graduating from West Virginia University. The couple planned to move back to their native Clarion County as soon as Hardy was done with college, but the school district wouldn’t let Fran, a teacher, leave, so Hardy found a job in Greene County and they stayed.
Hardy, who described himself as a “permanent student,” had certifications in all high school sciences, as well as mathematics, when he started teaching at Central Greene School District. So, from 1968 until he retired in 2001, Hardy taught everything from math and physics to Earth and Space science at Waynesburg Central High School.
But the teacher also influenced students in another way: telling them to take more pictures – and showing them how to do it the right way.
Photography came into his life during college, when Hardy used the last $45 he had to buy a camera from a Morgantown drug store.
Why? He simply liked taking pictures.
Growing up in the countryside, the campus was interesting to him, so Hardy would photograph the students, buildings and anything else that caught his eye.
“I don’t think I was too bad at it by the time I was 30 years old,” he joked.
In Waynesburg, his interest for photography caught the attention of a biology teacher who sponsored the school’s camera club. She invited Hardy to join and, when she retired, he became the club’s advisor. He said they would meet every Thursday evening, talk about photography and use the school’s dark room to develop film and print pictures.
Hardy also became the school photographer, capturing images of everything that went on, from football games to school dances. He encouraged the students to go out and take pictures, too. In fact, every time the students looked at a camera from photography club, they saw a reminder from Hardy: “Take more pictures.”
“Now, that’s something when you stop and think about film and processing and stuff like that,” he said. “It’s not like today when you can take a million pictures and throw all of them away.”
“It’s great, I hope somebody learned to do some pictures,” he continued.
Hardy, whose mobility is now limited by multiple sclerosis, seldom takes photos anymore. However, he still “instigates,” according to Fran.
What does that mean?
“Whatever devilish I can get away with,” he said, but also trying “to improve the way things come out.”
Although he talks a lot about the joys of teaching, he is more reserved when it comes to recognizing the impact of his photographic work, especially around Greene County.
“As one of the founders of this club, he has influenced many of our photographic journeys,” photography club member Andrea Semenoff said. “If you see photographs displayed around town of the court house, Greene County bridges or local events, there is a good chance Jerry Hardy (or Ben McMillen) took the photograph.”
Due to his impact, the theme of the club’s August contest was “Jerry Hardy inspired.”
“That was embarrassing, if you want to know the truth. I don’t know who did it,” Hardy said. “They always do a good job and it’s great but it’s embarrassing to have something like that, Jerry Hardy going around big headed. I’ll sit and brag about myself all day long but we don’t need to do a challenge.”
Fran, who said she’s not a photographer but helps by giving advice, disagreed.
“I thought they were trying to honor him … because he has been instrumental in keeping the photography club going from the beginning until now,” she said. “He can’t attend and do everything like he used to do but he’s still kind of like a backbone or a spine. He still encourages and likes to be involved as much as he can.”
During the club’s September meeting, members voted on the best Jerry Hardy-inspired photos. Third place went to Bradmon. She joined the club two years ago, after her grandmother saw an ad for it.
By then, Bradmon had already started experimenting with photography and had a good camera to shoot her favorite subjects with: Nature, especially flowers and landscape. She said she started by photographing her dog and growing from there.
“I got bored with him and I started to take pictures of things I liked, mostly nature and flowers, what I still take pictures of,” she said.
For her, the club is a chance to talk about photography in person with other people – something she doesn’t have a chance to do in her daily routine.
“I don’t really have any friends near me that I can talk photography with so it’s kinda nice to go to the club where there’s other people who I can talk about photography with,” she said. “If I have any questions, I can always ask and everyone will do the best to help.”
This is a little bit of what Hardy had in mind when he first came up with the idea for the club in 2007. After putting together the Sheep and Fiber Festival photography exhibit, Hardy thought about creating a camera club for Greene County. Although he found people who were interested in it, the project only started when Pam Blaker got involved and advertised the club in any way she could.
The format then is the same they still follow now: A presentation or some kind of educational program, voting for the contest and general conversation about photography.
Although Hardy himself doesn’t usually participate in the contests anymore, he has a hope for the club’s future:
“To remain active,” he said. “So many things just go away when the person that got them started can no longer do it.”