Are you a member of a local camera club?

Are you a member of a camera club

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 26.7%

  • No

    Votes: 45 50.0%

  • Thinking about it

    Votes: 8 8.9%

  • I was but not anymore

    Votes: 13 14.4%
  • Total voters
    90
  • Poll closed .
ian-83

ian-83

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1,502
Name
Ian
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Yes
Just wondering what sort of percentage of people on here are a member of a local camera club?
Also now we are in lockdown is your club still doing anything? Like online meetings etc? Also what frequency did/does the club meet?
If your not a member of a local club what's your motivation to go out to shoot?

I'm finding since lockdown started March last year I've hardly touched my camera. My local club I go to still doing a monthly assignment but I just not feeling motivated to take part.
 
Not a member. All the local ones (and not so local too) seem to have half their meetings devoted to competitions, which I think are bad (this isn't the place to give my reasons). Somewhere where photographs could be displayed and discussed would suit me, but as far as I can see I'm in a club of one on that...

My motivation isn't to go out and shoot, it's more to go out, use my eyes and record what interests me in the way I think best expresses and conveys what I saw and others might miss.
 
Mr Badger said:
Not likely... I wouldn't join any club that would have somebody like me as a member!
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What a grouch... o :D

But I agree with @StephenM that The clubs near me are very much focussed on comps both within clubs and between clubs. My photography was never good or relevant enough for that and it was quite a regular thing and I had trouble with producing to the deadlines.
i gave up when one judge commented on one of my photos " I can never understand why someone takes that kind of photo"
I just like to go out for a walk and take some shots, particularly if the weather is bright.
My motivation is in the interest in recording something , be it family, a place, an animal or an event and then trying to produce a good end product. I quite enjoy the whole tactile experience , including pp.
 
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No, I find I'm not much of a clubby person. Like Stephen above, I don't like the fixation on competitions, and the rather sad evenings when a young woman is hired to be photographed pouting etc. Maybe that latter happens less these days, I don't know.
 
StephenM said:
Not a member. All the local ones (and not so local too) seem to have half their meetings devoted to competitions, which I think are bad (this isn't the place to give my reasons). Somewhere where photographs could be displayed and discussed would suit me, but as far as I can see I'm in a club of one on that...

My motivation isn't to go out and shoot, it's more to go out, use my eyes and record what interests me in the way I think best expresses and conveys what I saw and others might miss.
Click to expand...

The club I go to is more like you said about discussing photos than having a competition, which I enjoy more.
I think without that interaction to talk with like minded people I am finding that's what's giving me a lack of motivation.
I think I need to take a note of your approach go out with the camera not to take pictures but record what I see that interests me.
 
That's a no from me too, much as @Lindsay56 says above really.

Don't even know if there is such a club in North Wales now?

GC
 
I joined a local one a month or so ago... just for something to fill my diary with, one night a week during the pandemic. Everything is a novelty to me so far, I am completely new to club photography - lots of comps and viewing images from other competitions, salons has been on the agenda so far?
 
With camera clubs I think it depends on the particular club and the members it attracts. I had a funny experience of camera club members a few years ago at a village show. The local camera club tend to do the photography there but don't have any exclusive rights to that. When not playing with old film cameras, I like to do documentary style photography, along the lines of Martin Parr, Tony Ray-Jones, et al. So a local village show is a happy hunting ground for me. On arriving, I asked the steward of the vegetable and flower marquee if I might be allowed in towards the end of the judging, before the public were allowed into the tent, and she was happy to agree to this request. So I stood outside the tent while I waited for the agreed entry time.

While standing there, a couple of the local camera club members saw I'd got a decent looking camera and stopped for a chat. It turned out they were committee members and invited me to call in and see their stand in the craft tent afterwards, and have a look at the photographs they were exhibiting, which was nice. We bid each other good day and off I went into the marquee. Half way up the first isle I saw a man and woman wearing cameras walking towards me, I'd have put them both at retirement age. When they got within around 5m I was greeted by a loud challenge of "Who are you?!" from the man.

Now, I'd lived in that area for quite a few years previously and knew that some of the residents tended to have a rather over-inflated opinion of themselves, so I knew just how to respond! I stepped forward, held out my hand to shake his, and announced my full name proudly, in such a way that indicated, as a photographer, he really should have heard of me! Followed, by "...and you are?" This left the chap completely wrong footed!

At which point the lady accompanying him (who I think had realised that things were not going too well for her friend) stepped in "Oh, it's alright dear, I saw this gentleman outside the marquee earlier... and he was talking to our chairman." The man suddenly seemed in a hurry to leave! I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing, it reminded me of a scene from Midsomer Murders! Absolutely priceless! I loved that fact that it wasn't "and he was talking to Derek" or whoever, but "and he was talking to our chairman"! I spent the rest of the day chucking about it!

I did call in to the club stand and had a look at the photos and another quick chat with 'our chairman', but didn't mention the previous incident... least said soonest mended I thought! So, no, I'm not a member of a camera club, but it seems they're still going strong and just the way I remembered them! :)
 
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I am a member of a local camera club. They meet online once a week at present.

I most enjoy the talks, which are sometimes inspiring, sometimes not, but there is always something of interest.

I used to like the competitions, but increasingly I find that my idea of "Good", and the judge's idea of "Good" are drifting in different directions. I am naïve enough to believe that might be a sign that my photography is improving, but that is probably self-delusion. At least with online meetings, I can hurl muted abuse at the judge.

My motivation rarely comes from the club competitions nowadays. Instead I try to set myself little projects. The past year I have also been going back to film (my early photographic experience was with film) and have found that very inspiring.
 
Mr Badger said:
While standing there, a couple of the local camera club members saw I'd got a decent looking camera and stopped for a chat. It turned out they were committee members and invited me to call in and see their stand in the craft tent afterwards, and have a look at the photographs they were exhibiting, which was nice. We bid each other good day and off I went into the marquee. Half way up the first isle I saw a man and woman wearing cameras walking towards me, I'd have put them both at retirement age. When they got within around 5m I was greeted by a loud challenge of "Who are you?!" from the man.
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'Read the competition rules! READ THEM AND UNDERSTAND THEM!'
 
Not just a member but the treasurer as well.
As our Chairman died last summer I guess I'm know the only one with an official position.
Hopefully when Covid's cleared up enough for us to meet again I'll manage to persuade someone else to 'volunteer'
 
Yes, I'm in Kidderminster Camera Club and thoroughly enjoy it.

Won the league a few times now and altogether a great bunch of people.

Just on Zoom for this year by the looks of it. (Our year finishes in July I think).
 
Yes, joined 18 months ago.
Normally meet every two weeks with a summer break.
Now on Zoom about 10 or 12 join in as apposed to 20 to 30 at meetings.
Competitions and presentations....members don't talk about photography too much as our small town people talk about our small town and its residents...a lot!
I'm from a big city and have travelled a bit.
 
I haven't had good experiences with clubs of any type.
They start with great intentions then you get a group of higher ups in control, then things start changing and it feels like a clique.
It's why I like forums so much easier.

There is a local photography club that I thought about visiting many times but it screams of a clique, only photos that win their competitions are all very very similar by a very small group of the same people.
There also doesn't seem to be a wide range of ages looking at their members photos, they all look 50+ with all Nikon gear. It just puts me off.
 
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I've tried a few, but have found them mostly the same. Far too much emphasis on competition - mostly for very average and pretty mundane pictures too.

This would be acceptable if it was just a percentage of the club's activities, but the most recent I've been a member of it's their sole aim. Its members get all of ten minutes to talk amongst themselves at tea break and are then almost ushered out of the door at the end of the session so they can lock up.

In my opinion a club should have a variety of; speakers, competition, demonstrations, displays, instructional sessions etc. There should also be plenty of time allowed for members to mingle and to discuss the topics they like with like-minded people they have either met or would like to meet. More emphasis should be put on members' needs and not on the committee's wants.
 
Sky said:
I've tried a few, but have found them mostly the same. Far too much emphasis on competition - mostly for very average and pretty mundane pictures too.

This would be acceptable if it was just a percentage of the club's activities, but the most recent I've been a member of it's their sole aim. Its members get all of ten minutes to talk amongst themselves at tea break and are then almost ushered out of the door at the end of the session so they can lock up.

In my opinion a club should have a variety of; speakers, competition, demonstrations, displays, instructional sessions etc. There should also be plenty of time allowed for members to mingle and to discuss the topics they like with like-minded people they have either met or would like to meet. More emphasis should be put on members' needs and not on the committee's wants.
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Our club/workshop hasn't had a competition in about 3 years, so it's probably high time we had another. We generally have several exhibitions locally but there haven't been any of those in the last year...
It's always been considered that all members have an equal say on what we do - but getting input on this can be really hard so we tend to fall back on the same bunch offering suggestions then everyone voting for their favourites. We often get some one on one sessions alongside the main event when a member has a particular problem. I miss it a lot!
 
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Some of us belong to Photographic Societies... Richmond and Twickenham in my case

We have weekly zooms, monthly competitions and regular challenges (just PDIs at the moment). It took me a long time to submit entries to competitions as it seemed to be the same people enterring and winning all the time. I got 'challenged' to enter and suddenly won last year's best PDI challenge...

Our club has special interest groups as well monochrome, portraiture, nature, pictorial etc that meet monthly - again by zoom. I run our nature group.

2-3 nights per month we have a presentation by a speaker, our programme secretary does a fabulous job of finding speakers - varied themes too. Shaky start as everyone was getting used to zoom now but more and more people are getting proficient at using the technology - and we can cast our net for speakers nationally now too.

It has quite an informal feel, everyone gets on and meetings run very well....
 
Not my cuppa either.

My 1st visit was a talk on how to do white balance in photoshop. 2 Hours of it. Rich is right. Proof of life is essential. My second visit was some bloke droning on about his "wildlife" photography (flowers in his garden) and how essential a zoom lens & tripod was.

Since then, I've spoken to many photographers who are members at different clubs, and it really very much depends on the club. Some are progressive innovative and sound great. Others are dreary, crusty and should be put down.
 
No - there is a decent one nearby but never felt the inclination. I am happy with my photography and my pictures. Only landscape and architecture interest me and I have no time for competitions. Given I have very strong views on what I like for a picture - why be judged by someone who might have very different views.
 
No- went once never again. My dad was in one and to be honest, he never came back and talked about it so it couldn't have been that good.
 
I did go along to join a club once, I went a good few times to get the feel of it. Each time I went I took my camera, but each time it was just talk about photoshop, and how to edit images, stuff like changing the sky and such like. There was never any talk about taking images. I got fed up, and I never went back.
 
My photography club is very much of the getting together and talking about where we’ve been and what we’ve got up to once a month type, along with (at least) monthly trips out to actually take photos; I really enjoyed those, I ended up going out when I perhaps wouldn’t have done to places I probably wouldn’t have gone to myself and taking photos that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. No competitions or formal talks, we have a good mixture of people from the just doing it for some fun to professionals, if there’s something a few of us are keen to learn we have some workshops in lieu of outings, usually in the winter.

There’s still been a Zoom meeting once a month for the past year, but I’ve often not joined, the ones I did have been much the same - no one’s really gone anywhere, and that’s what I like seeing. When we can travel further and go back to taking photos, or even have socially distanced outings again, I intend to become more active again.
 
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SFTPhotography said:
No - there is a decent one nearby but never felt the inclination. I am happy with my photography and my pictures. Only landscape and architecture interest me and I have no time for competitions. Given I have very strong views on what I like for a picture - why be judged by someone who might have very different views.
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Totally agree Steve.
Although I take part in our monthly competitions, my feelings are, what right do judges have to criticise my images. They are processed and presented to my liking and that's all that matters to me.
I have had heated discussions with others asking them whether they are taking images for themselves or to please the judges?
Granted, when I first started out, I found the constructive criticism from some judges to be a big help ;)
 
I was in one of my local ones for about 5 years but other than the monthly competition, it was all lectures which were of a variable standard. We had maybe one practical night a year where someone brought their lights and talked someone into model. I enjoyed it while I was a member but left as my photography was going in a different direction, and the quality of lecturer that was being booked was declining.

However I still give lectures to clubs - 45 or so to date - with the last half dozen or so on zoom, so I know that not all clubs are created equal!

I’m also in Lancashire Monochrome as I’m primarily interested in black and white, and in this group we don’t do competitions, just meet to show and discuss our work, which is far more to my liking. We also have one speaker a year, normally someone with an interesting body of work for example Tom Stoddart, Ian Beesley, Eamonn McCabe who have all had long careers in documentary and photojournalism.
 
ian-83 said:
Just wondering what sort of percentage of people on here are a member of a local camera club?
Also now we are in lockdown is your club still doing anything? Like online meetings etc? Also what frequency did/does the club meet?
If your not a member of a local club what's your motivation to go out to shoot?

I'm finding since lockdown started March last year I've hardly touched my camera. My local club I go to still doing a monthly assignment but I just not feeling motivated to take part.
Click to expand...
It may be easier to add a poll to the question to give you better idea of the actual numbers.
 
Never had the inclination to join a club...was invited to join a couple when living in France but was even less inclined to participate in meetings in French. :)

My motivation at the moment (since last May) is to take enough photos throughout the year to have a wide choice of images for a project I'm working on. It may or may not come to fruition but it forces me keep going out, whatever the weather, to take the shots! :)
 
I’m not a member of a camera club. I’ve thought of joining a local club having to their exhibitions. I was a member of an online group but after a year I left. I did the online forum to get to know other members and went along to a couple of meets but found the social aspect hard.

To be honest the competition aspect is what puts me off. I’d enjoy the talks by pros/excellent photographers. The general camera club stereotype doesn’t help. Whilst not everyone who goes will be like it it puts me off going. I’m not sure they are really for me.
 
I don't know. It's something I've thought about. I might do it if you can sort of drop in, or out and it's not too organised. I'm not sure I would like to get involved otherwise. I like to photograph what interests me, and I know it's not to everyone's taste, so I'm happy just to go at my own pace. Otherwise I suspect it could very soon get old.
 
Not a member. I have considered joining but the generally negative comments on forums and the focus on competitions have put me off. I haven’t completely ruled out joining as I expect I would learn something.
 
Tried it once. Someone in to give their opinion of club members photos and scoring them. Put me off completely. Much prefer a drop in cafe type session and a natter about what people have been snapping. Can't take the criticism I suppose.
 
I went to a club meeting once, it wasn't really for me.

StephenM said:
Somewhere where photographs could be displayed and discussed would suit me, but as far as I can see I'm in a club of one on that...
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You are not alone ;)
 
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