Camera clubs

sim667 · 30-10-2007, 12:24 PM

Hi all

Have been contemplating joing a camera club, but im quite a shy chappie and am a bit worried about whether ill fit in etc. Im also worried about my age, im only 24 and i suppose i have the pre-conceived idea about camera club members all being 40+..... is anyone a camera club member who can prove me wrong?

Anyone know good camera clubs in the south east, im based in redhill..... Im into quite dark/political photography so an accepting group for that would be good

stevegreen · 30-10-2007, 12:31 PM

Use this site to find your nearest camera club

As far as whether you will 'fit in' or not is entirely up to you. I'm 38 and probably one of the youngest at my camera club but thats fine, some I talk to, others I have not really had the opportunity to talk to as yet, same with any social gathering I suspect. The only thing I would say is to find one, give the secretary a ring and go along for a few weeks and see how you feel about it. I think you will get out as much as you put in

sim667 · 30-10-2007, 12:43 PM

Cool, i will have a look through that site.....

I just worry a bit as a i once joined a sailing club (when i was 14) and we had some races, which i won and the 40 - 50 year old age group kicked up a right stink that i'd won these races and i should have had extra weight added to the boat (even though i was a 14 stone 14 year old).... Just wanted to know if the same mentality applied to camera clubs.

stevegreen · 30-10-2007, 12:57 PM

I have not experienced it. At the end of the day competitions are always judged by outside judges anyway so there is never any 'preferential' treatment given to anyone (despite the jokes to the contrary) Many of the meetings will be talks given by other photographers which can either be very interesting or boring as hell depending on your appreciation for different styles of photography and what 'flicks your switch'. I enjoy going, I enjoy the competitons, I like the one to one critique (which can be harsh at times) and the social side is good too. As I said earlier, you get out what you put in

sim667 · 30-10-2007, 1:25 PM

Excellent will definately have a look into it then.... Im thinking about joining a mac group too

stevegreen · 30-10-2007, 3:04 PM

Tobers and Gordon@ConvergentAV will be along soon to give some more thoughts on camera clubs as they go to the same one together

hot-fuzz · 30-10-2007, 4:37 PM

I too go to the same "camera club" or "Photographic Society Meeting" along with Tobers and Gordon.
I have only been a couple of weeks and love it.
It is really useful to get together with like minded folk and talk about photography and what you can do to improve, adjust and generally compose a better shot.

This week was the photo comp and there were some great shots for which i picked up loads of tips.
There, its not about what you have, its about what you do with it, which i like as theres no pressure in spending £4000 on a camera when you dont have the money. But if you do, generally you have the equipment, all you need is the moitvation and eye to get a picture in the pro class.

If you find pone local gt down there, its very worth while.

Holowlegs · 30-10-2007, 8:59 PM

Thanks Steve for the Link

I found this lot PACC Photography Club which are just over a mile away from me.

Next club night is this

Quote:

Thursday 15th November - Club Night - Guest Speaker RSPB
We have a guest speaker Roger Tomlinson from the Royal Society of Protection of Birds coming down tonight. For club members this talk is free but if any of you would like to bring along guests, there will be a fee of £2.00. The more the merrier for this fascinating talk.

So might give it a go and kill two birds with one stone

and pay a visit

Cheers holo

Tobers · 30-10-2007, 9:15 PM

Yes indeed - I've joined the Guildford Photographic Society. The competitions are the heart of the club, and are always very interesting. Having your pics up there being judged by someone you dont know in front of a load of people is nerve wracking but very rewarding.

There are also talks & print expos from visiting speakers which have been extremely good with the exception of one which was crap. You do learn a lot though.

Lots of very nice people. Many quite old, but Gordon, Kinchy and myself are working on lowering the average age substantially. Actually, there are quite a lot of 30-40 year old types there now, and some younger as well. Everyone is very friendly though.

Most will let you in for a couple of weeks free to see if you like it, so that's your best bet. Try and go on a competition judging night - it will give you an idea what the standard is like.

blackstone · 31-10-2007, 1:00 AM

I joined a club 2 years or so ago in anticipation of learning the basics of using a DSLR. During that time I owned a 4 meg compact and never submitted anything for internal or external comps'. I guess when I looked at my results and compared it with that of others I made the mistake of thinking a good camera would make you a good photog' ha ha . I would suggest you look at the syllabus of a few clubs and decide if the slant is toward digital or if the members are deeply entrenched in film. I would also suggest that a club is not a class or crash course in photography and like others on the forum have said enjoy the C & C and who knows maybe the odd slide battle will grow on you. Finally for £20 a year Sept through June I am pleased to be a member of my wee club. Last but not least I have picked up a lot from forum members too many to mention.

Gordon @ Convergent AV · 31-10-2007, 8:32 AM

Hi Sim667. I'm a pretty shy person as well so know your worries. Having said that I managed to go to our one a couple of times myself and still found it enjoyable. The folk there tried to engage me in conversation and I enjoyed the evenings. I managed to miss the one Tobers thought was poor but you have ot take the rough with the smooth. The external judging competitions are fun and always, for us, prove a great source for debate and discussion in the pub afterwards.

I think it's defo worth heading over to gauge the interest for a couple of nights. Also don't worry about your competence as there are bound to be foolk in same boat. We seem to have lots at our club who never enter comps but enjoy it none the less.

Gordon

sim667 · 31-10-2007, 9:45 AM

Im not worried about my competence at all, I do pro work on the side and have been shooting for around 10 years now. Its mainly my age and the style of work im into, I've said before that i do quite politically minded work which I worry about rubbing some people up the wrong way with (generally i dont mind rubbing people up the wrong way with my work but its more difficult if your in a society with them), the other thing I worry about is having my opinions on photographic processes and the industry disregarded due to my age.

As for the camera club in guildford Ill let my girlfriend know about it as she lives in Shere, she does the odd bit of work too but the problem with us both is we dont have the drive to go and shoot our own work as we dont really have anyone to show it to.

The other thing i was wondering with all you avforum photography lot is do you have any work in stock agencies? Im interested in getting involved with some stock, but want to go with an agency that allows me to retain my copyright, does not demand exclusivity and gives the photographic industry a fair deal (I am still trying to get into the actual industry and I know a lot of pro photographers have concerns about stock agencies).

stevegreen · 31-10-2007, 9:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sim667

Its mainly my age and the style of work im into, I've said before that i do quite politically minded work which I worry about rubbing some people up the wrong way with (generally i dont mind rubbing people up the wrong way with my work but its more difficult if your in a society with them)

I think you are worrying too much. The only photos people in the club will see are the ones that you decide to enter into competitons and there is no pre-narrative there so the pictures will be taken on their own merit and nothing else

Quote:

Originally Posted by sim667

..the other thing I worry about is having my opinions on photographic processes and the industry disregarded due to my age.

Again, I wouldn't worry about it. Everyone has their opinions on photograpgy and everyone is different.........thats what makes it so much fun

Gordon @ Convergent AV · 31-10-2007, 10:03 AM

Sim667: If you are worried about people being offended by the political correctness or your politics then I don't know what to say. I imagine that my camera club has some very conservative folk going to it. I am very liberal. I put up this image for a competition three weeks ago. There was stunned silence, then about 5 seconds later a chuckle...then guffaws of laughter.

I also entered this one in the print competition on Monday. I was really pround of it. It had no direct political intention but it was a comment on society and the way we treat the homeless and mentally ill...and how the way we treat folk affects the way they behave and think. The shot was heavily processed in the end to make it unsettling to look at as it's subject is uncomfortable. I named it Sign of the Times. We had been told that naming of prints or slides is important as it informs the judge of your intention with the image. The judge on Monday saw the picture (printed out A3 size) and gave it nice comments about seeing something out of the ordinary and that it was well spotted. He also thought it wasn't a pleasant image to view....and that it was probably lit by flash or headlights....he failed completely to read the signs and to work out what they said. He thought it was a picure of a rubbish tip. I still got a good mark....but I felt dejected that the purpose of the work was missed.

I think you'd have to be really quite in your face and offensively vulgar to wind folk at these places up. I would expect that they will judge more on compsotion, exposure, print quality rather than political or ethical commentary.

hot-fuzz · 31-10-2007, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

I also entered this one in the print competition on Monday. I was really pround of it. It had no direct political intention but it was a comment on society and the way we treat the homeless and mentally ill...and how the way we treat folk affects the way they behave and think. The shot was heavily processed in the end to make it unsettling to look at as it's subject is uncomfortable. I named it Sign of the Times. We had been told that naming of prints or slides is important as it informs the judge of your intention with the image. The judge on Monday saw the picture (printed out A3 size) and gave it nice comments about seeing something out of the ordinary and that it was well spotted. He also thought it wasn't a pleasant image to view....and that it was probably lit by flash or headlights....he failed completely to read the signs and to work out what they said. He thought it was a picure of a rubbish tip. I still got a good mark....but I felt dejected that the purpose of the work was missed.

This is the beauty of the clubs. We could have discussed your shots for ages after the pub, seriously and to take the **** (artist), but at the end of the day, it was a good shot, that probaby deserved a bit more (at least a 9), but the judge missed the message, and gave a slightly different opinion to it that you had intended.
Was it a Freudian slip when he started off saying "This photo is rubbish", it was his little joke.
And a picutrue of an out of focus Dragonfly getting the same mark !!!!! very subjective views i feel.
It does make for a good conversation though.

stevegreen · 31-10-2007, 11:14 AM

It seems to me that marking out of 10 and never using below a 7 is a complete waste if time........why not just mark out of 3. I'm sure if that was suggested people would say it too limiting and doesn't allow for enough scope in marking but in essense it's exactly the same. I'm so glad we don't have that scoring system at Wrekin Arts for the comps. The only time it is used is on the Ladies v Gents night which is very lighthearted.

hot-fuzz · 31-10-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevegreen

It seems to me that marking out of 10 and never using below a 7 is a complete waste if time........why not just mark out of 3. I'm sure if that was suggested people would say it too limiting and doesn't allow for enough scope in marking but in essense it's exactly the same. I'm so glad we don't have that scoring system at Wrekin Arts for the comps. The only time it is used is on the Ladies v Gents night which is very lighthearted.

The judge did say at the time he had marked highly, but his justification was that if he thinks they deserve a 7-10 then he will give it.
The lowest he gave was i think a 7, but that was for 1 pciture, and then 7.5 for about 3 or 4 others, the rest were 8+.
I cant comment on how other judges have scored.
It was my first compentition attendance (i hadnt entered) and i was very impressed with some of the photos and some did deserve a high mark.

sim667 · 31-10-2007, 11:35 AM

Cool well ill have a look at the site that was posted earlier in the thread and wander down to my local camera club to see what they're saying.....

Cheers for all the advices chaps. I know my uncle was in a camera club when he was my age and he suggested it something that i get involved in.

ddodia · 31-10-2007, 11:45 AM

Nice one ... found 6 near me

Thanks SteaveGreen

iGiDK · 31-10-2007, 12:05 PM

I've been attending my local camera club this year, it's a good way for me to escape from the house for a few hours each week

Generally speaking the majority of the members are a lot older than me but there are a few folk close to my age (27) who I'm getting on with well. One of the guys is an excellent landscape photographer.

Have submitted a few prints for the competitions as well which is a good alternative method of getting some constructive criticism on your shots.

The clubs tend to be very welcoming to new members

All in all it's a postive experience IMO, you do occasionally get the odd slideshow that sends you to sleep but I've seen quite a lot of inspiring stuff as well

ryart · 31-10-2007, 3:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

He also thought it wasn't a pleasant image to view....and that it was probably lit by flash or headlights....he failed completely to read the signs and to work out what they said. He thought it was a picure of a rubbish tip. I still got a good mark....but I felt dejected that the purpose of the work was missed.

My cycling club has an annual photographic competition, usually judged by the judges on the camera club competition circuit. Like your judge, they so often seem to ignore the use of a photograph to say something about a subject. One even reckoned that a photograph was artisitic because it made good use of thirds

.

Sorry to stray a bit off topic but really felt the need to say that I reckon Gordon's "Sign of the Times" is one hell of a powerful and disturbing picture. It put me in mind of Don McCullin, one our truly great photographers.

If attending a camera club gets you to see pictures like this and meet people the people that take them then perhaps I ought to join one...