Guest Speaker: Thomas Stirr
Barrie Southshore Community Centre
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In-Person and Zoom Meeting
Thomas’s Presentation Topic
Handheld Macro & Close-up Photography
Social Media Link
Presentation Description:
This is a fast-paced presentation that shares a wide range of macro and close-up photographs created with an assortment of camera gear. One of the hallmarks of Tom’s photography is that he shoots everything handheld.
Some of the subject matter covered in Tom’s presentation includes:
bees and wasps
blossoms
butterflies
dragonflies
flies
grasshoppers
spiders
Many of the subjects such as bees, wasps, butterflies, flies and dragonflies were captured in-flight.
Thomas will be sharing detailed EXIF data for each of the photographs featured in his
presentation, as well as providing some context for individual images. He will be
pausing at intervals throughout his presentation to field questions and comments.
Bio:
Thomas has a well-earned reputation in the photography community for being very independent and self-reliant. He is a dedicated handheld photographer. His approach to macro and close-up photography is highly experimental and experiential… often incorporating the use of
computational technologies.
Tom’s photography journey began more than 5 decades ago when he purchased his first interchangeable lens film camera as part of his job requirements at a community newspaper. He has owned and used a variety of digital camera equipment including full frame, APS-C, Nikon 1,
OM/Olympus M4/3, and some point and shoot zoom units.
Since mid-2019 Tom has been using OM/Olympus System M4/3 camera gear exclusively. In the spring of 2020 Olympus North America named Thomas a ‘Featured Pro’ and profiled his work on their corporate website. In March 2026 his bird photography was the subject of an OM System User Spotlight.
Before launching his own photography website in January 2015, Tom wrote over 160 photography articles that appeared on leading photography websites such as Photography Life, Mirrorless Comparisons, Nikon Rumors and Photo Rumors.
Over the past ten years Tom has created and published more than 1,525 articles on his photography website (https://smallsensorphotography.com) and shared over 16,000 of his original photographs with his readers.
Tom has authored 10 photography related eBooks which have been purchased by readers in more than 30 countries around the world. His most recent eBook publication (Blossoms, Bugs & Butterflies) was published in April 2026.
Tom’s client work focused on industrial photography and safety videos. He also created and produced a custom line of over 150 business-related posters. Over the past few years Tom withdrew from his client assignments so he could concentrate on his photography website, and
his eBooks.