What is slightly frustrating is that the club membership has a bias to a certain couple of genre’s, and anything outside of them is unlikely to score well as members score each others images and the external “judge” just comments critically on them after**.
Not strange at all, seemed quite lucid to me.What a strange first post.
No surprise he's not been back.
I’d be inclined to agree with this.I joined my club over covid for a bit of social interaction.. they were doing zoom meets and I wanted to fill my diary during lockdown while living on my own. I'm still going, the people are lovely.
In general, I'd say the scene is very 'white old man', There's a real lack of diversity in camera clubs - in terms of age, colour, class, ideas, gender. I'm not going all 'DE&I' on you, but it's clear to me the scene is so narrow and it suffers because of it.
Photography is full of gatekeepers, and no more so than camera clubs. Judges, competitions, judges who judge/train judges, federations, associations, salons, etc.. these all lead to the hemogenisation of camera club photography. At our club every so often we watch a slideshow from one of the international salons, the photos all look so similar!
Basically, the scene is a cult. If you join the cult, then you believe club photography is all photography
I'm sure not all clubs are like it
disclaimer, I take part in my clubs competitions and enjoy it. it's entertainment and I take pleasure in watching the judge struggle to talk about my photos. I'm confident enough to do my own thing, it's the people who are learning and experimenting I feel sorry for.
Can this trend be reversed?
Most of the clubs I've been a member of or visited had a decent number of female members too. Our training courses run something close to 50/50 at a guess, and the photowalks had a lot too.What an interesting post by benc98
As a member of a club (full of nice people) I’m inclined to agree with most of the points raised
we do, however, have a significant proportion of female members
That’s an excellent point and one I’d forgotten about. I once observed to the chairman of the club I was in that some members didn’t participate in anything and had no real discernible interest in photography. He said that’s right but for older people who are on their own, it’s something to do in the evening. It’ll be bridge club on Monday, local history group on Tuesday, camera club on Wednesday etc. A warm room with people to talk to is an attractive proposition if you’re lonely and don’t have much money.I think yes - and despite my criticism, I'm not sure how.
I've read a lot over the last few years about mental health and especially loneliness, this impacts the young as much, if not more than the older folk. I feel this can be tapped into somehow - a camera club could really bring people together
You might be supprised, theres lot of little ones about, in local community centres, sports clubs and pubs. I live in a fairly sleepy place and theres 4 within about 3 miles.I never joined a club and I don't think there is one near me. I always maintain that if the photo you took your happy with then it is good enough. If others like it as well then consider it a bonus. Remember everyone will have their own opinion, some may like it other may not
My local club was all about competitions but a year or two before covid new "management" took over and moved it more towards talks, meet-ups to go shooting and just sharing work for critique. That being more my thing I joined and they kept it going through Covid on zoom and they could get good speakers on zoom because no one had to travel. Then as things got back to normal they really started to struggle for ideas and speakers, the 3 guys who had kept it going were getting a bit fed up that no one else would organise anything so not it has gone back to competitions. We tried setting up a separate group to meet once-a-month or so to share work and just have a chat but again someone had to arrange a venue, etc. and that petered out.Can this trend be reversed?
Like it or not a lot of photography is now about getting likes on Instagram, a high engagement IG photo might not fair well at a camera club but does with creator want that kind of feedback? Probably not. It's like trying to convince someone who likes EDM that they really ought to like Chopin.Feedback is instant rather than every few weeks although as to how qualified that feedback is, is maybe a moot point.
My local club was all about competitions but a year or two before covid new "management" took over and moved it more towards talks, meet-ups to go shooting and just sharing work for critique. That being more my thing I joined and they kept it going through Covid on zoom and they could get good speakers on zoom because no one had to travel. Then as things got back to normal they really started to struggle for ideas and speakers, the 3 guys who had kept it going were getting a bit fed up that no one else would organise anything so not it has gone back to competitions. We tried setting up a separate group to meet once-a-month or so to share work and just have a chat but again someone had to arrange a venue, etc. and that petered out.
My take-away from that experience is that things like competitions give people a focus and something to aim for, it is hard to find something to replace that which keeps people engaged. Back in the day another reason for joining a camera club was access to developing a printing facilities but of course we don't need that now.
Like it or not a lot of photography is now about getting likes on Instagram, a high engagement IG photo might not fair well at a camera club but does with creator want that kind of feedback? Probably not. It's like trying to convince someone who likes EDM that they really ought to like Chopin.
Having been syllabus secretary for a pretty big big club back in the day, I have to say it takes a lot of time and effort to plan a years events and comps and guest speakers etc.My local club was all about competitions but a year or two before covid new "management" took over and moved it more towards talks, meet-ups to go shooting and just sharing work for critique. That being more my thing I joined and they kept it going through Covid on zoom and they could get good speakers on zoom because no one had to travel. Then as things got back to normal they really started to struggle for ideas and speakers, the 3 guys who had kept it going were getting a bit fed up that no one else would organise anything so not it has gone back to competitions. We tried setting up a separate group to meet once-a-month or so to share work and just have a chat but again someone had to arrange a venue, etc. and that petered out.
My take-away from that experience is that things like competitions give people a focus and something to aim for, it is hard to find something to replace that which keeps people engaged. Back in the day another reason for joining a camera club was access to developing a printing facilities but of course we don't need that now.
Like it or not a lot of photography is now about getting likes on Instagram, a high engagement IG photo might not fair well at a camera club but does with creator want that kind of feedback? Probably not. It's like trying to convince someone who likes EDM that they really ought to like Chopin.
Good man!I take part in my clubs competitions and enjoy it. it's entertainment and I take pleasure in watching the judge struggle to talk about my photos.
I'm not sure how.
Finding like-minded folk has always been my problem. Not just when it comes to photography!I've visited all the local clubs in my locale and they all suffer from many of the negative points raised here and weren't for me.
However, one group stood right out for me. I used to run night school classes on photography - from beginner to experienced beginner. Once the three courses were up, my final lesson had a "what next" component to it. What can you do if you enjoy photography and want to get better in a social, group environment. The obvious answer to that is "join a camera club". However another option I gave was to "start your own". Three groups tried this, and one has been going for 5 years now (the other two died with COVID). It's not geographically tied (but they are all relatively local), is very loosely organised, but importantly, is filled with like-minded people who all enjoy photography.
They decide on a theme every month. Come the end of the month, images are submitted, pasted into a powerpoint, and when they meet at the pub, the images are displayed. Feedback from everyone on each (anonymous) image is encouraged and everyone gets one vote. Winner is the person with the most votes and their prize is deciding next month's theme. Then they go round the group with the photographer owning up to their photo, talking about it briefly, and responding to the feedback. The rest of the time is spent chatting/socialising. It's very laid back, and those that don't want their photos critiquing, don't enter. They've had a couple of speakers as well as days/nights out taking photographs. The important thing, is that it works for them. What I noticed was that whilst people like to "win", no-one seems to care whether they do or not. For them, it's about improving their photography and getting/giving feedback in order to improve.
First, they have all quickly learned to develop a thick skin and respond to critical feedback without losing their s**t. A skill many people today would benefit from!
Second - in my opinion, they have all significantly improved as photographers. Some aren't interested in improving. They just enjoy it for the simple sake of what photography is. But it hasn't changed the fact that they have improved. About half of them are still on auto (and they don't care). There is a definite "split" between technical and creative skills and it's really good to see these skills rub off on others.
Third - it's fun, lively, entertaining and gets me (and them) out of the house.
I guess what I'm saying isn't that "clubs need to be like this", but if your local club is rubbish because of reasons, consider starting something that you think is worthwhile. All you need is half a dozen like minded folks and you're on your way. In today's social media climate, it shouldn't be that hard. These guys did it with no experience, and just "love" for the art. Which is, as I understand it, the literal translation of [French] amateur. Online groups are certainly helpful, but there's nothing quite like meeting in-person and having a pint with someone who has the same hobby as you.
Challenges on TP such as the 365s, 52s, & 12s, the zine exchange, the various POTYs, the nifty 50 etc are all versions of what you could do with a group if you so desired. Don't wait for the right thing to fall in your lap - make it happen.
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Edit - Ben - I wasn't meaning "you" personally when I said "you". It was a general "you" as in "the dissatisfied with camera clubs reader"