camera club

rickj

rickj

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don't know if this is in the right section or not but i would like to tell anyone that is thinking of joining a camera club give it a go, I have just joined the Worcester one I went to my first meeting a few weeks ago and it was different peoples pictures being shown which were all very good but to be honest did not really interest me, what i wanted was to know how they achieved these, camera settings ect. I really thought oh well I came and had a look but not really for me. someone then mentioned there was a also a digital only monthly meeting, so I thought I would go and have a look before making my mine up, well this was better again peoples pics but explanations were given then someone gave a demo of some adobe tips, this was more like it, but to be fair I was still not sure weather to join, this Tuesday there was a practical evening we all took along cameras tripods and table top shots were taken advise freely given. this was more like it so I joined and thought I would go to the meetings that I think I will get something out of and the monthly digital meetings, then one of the members got up and invited anyone that wanted to could go round to his house on a monthly basis and he would teach us all about adobe photo shop , so last night was the first one and what a great night it was 2 1/2 hrs of good practical advise ,a print out of what we learnt. tea and coffee all this and he does it for free!!! he does this to help others learn what a great bloke.
any way enough rambling but if anyone is new to photogography and are thinking about joining a club go and have a look but don't make your mind up there and then I am glad I didn't or I would have missed out on something good :)
 
Thats really what I was looking for too, but a little closer to home IE Gloucester.:)

I'm glad it worked out so well for you.:p

R:love:
 
I have only been to one club night and got bored to tears with a 2hr talk on the History of Leica camera's.. Yawn...
I have not been back and have not found any other Practical clubs around North Warks..
 
I went to one once and all they did was show some guys holiday snaps!(and I mean snaps). While playing the same sort of god awful music that they play on the phone! You know the type they play while your waiting for an operator who's busy but will be with you shortly because your phone call is really important to them (my a***). So we did a quick:exit:to the pub for a:beer:
 
Glad it wasn`t just me then....

I went, and we had a two hour slide show of underwater pictures.

All very nice and all that, but I want practical lessons! Hence why I`ve signed up for an evening course instead.
 
rickj said:
don't know if this is in the right section or not but i would like to tell anyone that is thinking of joining a camera club give it a go, I have just joined the Worcester one I went to my first meeting a few weeks ago and it was different peoples pictures being shown which were all very good but to be honest did not really interest me, what i wanted was to know how they achieved these, camera settings ect. I really thought oh well I came and had a look but not really for me. someone then mentioned there was a also a digital only monthly meeting, so I thought I would go and have a look before making my mine up, well this was better again peoples pics but explanations were given then someone gave a demo of some adobe tips, this was more like it, but to be fair I was still not sure weather to join, this Tuesday there was a practical evening we all took along cameras tripods and table top shots were taken advise freely given. this was more like it so I joined and thought I would go to the meetings that I think I will get something out of and the monthly digital meetings, then one of the members got up and invited anyone that wanted to could go round to his house on a monthly basis and he would teach us all about adobe photo shop , so last night was the first one and what a great night it was 2 1/2 hrs of good practical advise ,a print out of what we learnt. tea and coffee all this and he does it for free!!! he does this to help others learn what a great bloke.
any way enough rambling but if anyone is new to photogography and are thinking about joining a club go and have a look but don't make your mind up there and then I am glad I didn't or I would have missed out on something good :)
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thats just what i was looking for pity its not a bit nearer to Brum :)
 
its not that far away just off junction 6 of the m5.

I hear what most of you are saying and like I said after the first meeting I wasn't going back, but the bit of particle we have done and the free adobe lessons are reason enough for me to join for now, weather I will still be a member next year only time will tell ;)
 
Was it at the St Stephens church? thought about giving it a go myself. I am from Brum and the journey to the church is less than 30 minutes.
 
Time used to be when it felt like most camera clubs were on a mission to destroy all passion and enthusiasm for photography.

Many have changed lots since the dark days and are great groups of people full of passion and friendly with it. You're local may be one of these, it may be one of the dinosaurs. Thing is, you never know till you check it out.
 
yes it is at St Stephens church every tuesday, which is to much for me as I have to travel 25 miles , and like I have said some of the meetings dont interest me, there is a full list of the meetings so you can just pick what you fancy
 
I joined my local club this year, and so far it has been fantastic.
week 1, club togs explained how they got the photos for the summer exhibition.
week 2, (digital) slide show from Gordon Langsbury FRPS on wildlife in Florida.
week 3, Mounting workshop and introduction to Elements 5.
week 4, projected competition. placed 3rd:clap:
week 5, another show about Ladakh and Zanskar.
week 6, print competition. placed 2nd:woot:
week 7, another show, british safari.
week 8, a talk on colour management, which was excellent and i learned lots.
really looking foward to the rest of the year.
Dean:)
 
I joined 2.

The Houston camera club was first, we spent a whole evening looking at pretty poor photgraphs whilst someone shouted out some numbers (which, I soon realised were scores), we then had a cup of coffee and went home. I was the youngest there by about 30 years (I'm 46).

So I gave the Houston Photochrome Society a try. Not quite so dull on the first evening and at the end of the meeting they announced they'd be holding a class at a studio in downtown Houston, aimed at helping us to understand how to light a nude. So I selflessly decided I'd make the sacrifice of a whole Saturday and I went along.

Club meetings perked up a little after that, and although even in this club there's a half hour slot at each meeting where we look at (mainly poor) shots and someone shouts out numbers, I've rather taken to the practical sessions and field trips.
 
I've recently joined my local club and it seems like fun. Although a lot of it is competitions and shows, they can be good to judge your progress and also to get inspiration (a bit like here!)

There have also been a couple of interesting talks from guest speakers. The best thing is that it runs for about 45 minutes, then breaks for tea and then another 45 minutes. The tea break seems to be the highlight for many people!

Paul
 
I have currently rejoined a club after a long interval. In my previous club I served on the committee and it's not easy getting speakers and judges.
Larger clubs have more flexibility in that they can afford good speakers, and can pay expenses from a greater distance.
The secret is to find a club that meets your needs and contribute. You cannot judge a club by one night, every club will have good and bad events, indeed, they may have a good meeting but in a subject you are not personally interested, you have to stick with it.
Club life might not be for everyone, but I would recommend everyone at least gives a couple of clubs a go.
 
Couldn't agree more. I'm planning to offer a talk on safari photography when I've settled in a bit more. You get out what you put in.
 
I agree too, go for a few weeks before making your mind up. On the first week i went, i was probably amongst the youngest and if im honest i thought the olduns would be a bit set in the old school ways. How wrong i was, they know loads, mostly shoot digital and have a wicked sense of humour.
Forgot to mention, on a different night we had a full studio set up, and was great fun.
Dean:)
 
James,

Where abouts in the west midlands are you?
 
Many years ago when still shooting film on my old Praktica, I went to a local club for one night.... and gave up, I really didnt like it, and since then, I have found the variety of meets with people from here much more my kind of thing.

I did look at joining a local-ish club [the only one I could find] several weeks ago, but an examination of their timetable put me off to be honest, it looked totally 'old school' and with a heavy emphasis on film.....so if anyone fancies starting a club in the nth london/sth hertfordshire area.... :lol:
 
the thing is if new younger people dont go these clubs , they wont change how they run the evenings. like most things in life you only get out what you put in ;)
 
When I moved up to Edinburgh I went to the Edinburgh Photographic Society for a meeting. I was really enthusiastic about it beforehand but the meeting really put me off. It was incredibly stuffy, very staid and felt almost the antithesis of creativity. And, at 29, I was certainly the youngest person there by a good 10 years.

On the up-side, the talk that was given was really interesting. It just wasn't enough for me to want to go back. A real shame.

I've since been looking for a more suitable local photography group to join with little success. Reckon I might give that Scottish Photographers group that JimRead posted about a punt, looks a lot more like my kind of thing.
 
Dino f said:
I joined my local club this year, and so far it has been fantastic.
week 1, club togs explained how they got the photos for the summer exhibition.
week 2, (digital) slide show from Gordon Langsbury FRPS on wildlife in Florida.
week 3, Mounting workshop and introduction to Elements 5.
week 4, projected competition. placed 3rd:clap:
week 5, another show about Ladakh and Zanskar.
week 6, print competition. placed 2nd:woot:
week 7, another show, british safari.
week 8, a talk on colour management, which was excellent and i learned lots.
really looking foward to the rest of the year.
Dean:)
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I live in Maidenhead, same as Dean, and I met him at the camera club last night. First time I've ever met someone "in the flesh" who I first communicated with over the internet. Weird.

Anyway my experience has been a little different from Dean's:
week 3, My first visit: Mounting workshop and introduction to Elements 5 - I've never mounted prints but having seen it I'm keen to try!
week 4, sent by my company to troubleshoot a project in Glasgow
week 5, Glasgow again
week 6, Glasgow again
week 7, Glasgow again
week 8, Glasgow again
week 9, Glasgow again
week 10, hurrah! the end of glasgow. Some Photoshop tutotials, I knew 80% of the stuff and could probably have presented it better, but picked up some useful tips.

It looks it could be fun. (Let's see if I'm still saying that after next week's competition!)
 
I found the same problems where I live. I shoot digital and that was frowned upon. Most of the meetings were taken up looking at slideshows.

So 12months ago a friend and I set our own club up, we meet weekly with about 15 other members and have weekly and monthly themes. Each week we do a practical session of some sort whether that is with our cameras or laptop tutorials. We also hold competitions and occasional photography related trips.

How about thinking about doing the same in your area, setup a club to run in the way you would like to see and you will be suprised by how many other people in your area will be interested.

If you want to have a peek at our website please feel free and any comments most welcome.

www.justdigital.org.uk
 
boozybill said:
thats just what i was looking for pity its not a bit nearer to Brum :)
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Veracocha said:
Was it at the St Stephens church? thought about giving it a go myself. I am from Brum and the journey to the church is less than 30 minutes.
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Have you tried Smethwick PS one of the more famous clubs in the UK.

jimread said:
There is another type of 'club', slowly, very slowly, gaining some interest, the 'Independent Photography' groups, their reason for being is to encourage in an atmosphere of non-competition.
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Is that similar to schools not having sports days for fear of upsetting the kids that lose? :bonk: ;)

I am only joshing obviously
 
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