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Isle of Thanet Photographic Society Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstairs and surrounding towns
This issue: Isle of Thanet Photographic Society
Originating in 1888, here’s a club that continues to flourish When was the club founded?
The origins of the club go back as far as 1888 in Ramsgate, where we meet today. It ceased in 1914 because of the First World War and was re-formed in 1947 as Margate Camera Club. Later, it changed to its present name, the ‘Isle of Thanet Photographic Society’.
What does your club offer new members?
We don’t offer anything specific to new members, but when they join we have a designated member at hand to make them feel welcome and talk to them about the club and answer any questions they may have.
Describe a typical club meeting.
A typical meeting consists of a range of activities organised by the programme secretary. There is either a competition, talk, or members’ evening that includes a variety of activities. This year they included a quiz night, talks and print knockouts.
Do you invite guest speakers?
We have several great speakers all through the season presenting on a wide range of subjects. Some of the topics were: ‘A Commercial Shoot’; ‘A Photographer’s Year’; Coast 17, which was about a walk around the UK with photographs; and ‘ The Life of a Hare’.
What are the most popular photographic genres among your members?
The favourite genres are Landscape, Flower, Travel, Nature and Digital Art.
Do members compete in regional or national competitions?
We participate in inter- club competitions with other clubs in and around Thanet and regional events like the Ross Cup and East
How many members do you have?
Currently we have around 35 members. This number fluctuates and was nearly 60 a few years ago. We’re always looking at ways to attract new members.
Have you planned any residential trips or outings?
We haven’t run any residential trips but, over the summer, members could take part in ‘Out and Abouts’ in various locations in Kent which were chosen by other members, to take photographs.
Can you share any funny stories about the club?
Last season we had a visitor who gave us a really great presentation about her photography. She had driven all the way from Surrey and at the end of the evening she left last with two of the members. The members responsible for locking up thought they saw two cars leave and locked the gates of the car park. When they got home, thankfully only a fiveminute walk away, they received a frantic phone call from the club secretary who had had an even more frantic call from the guest telling her that she had been locked in the car park in the pitch dark at the end of a residential street with no way out. The guilty member broke the record for the 800m dash back to the premises to release a very understanding guest from the premises. We will probably never see her again!
What are the club’s goals for the future?
Our goals are to broaden and increase our membership through greater publicity, particularly on social media, and by raising our profile locally through exhibitions and local publications. We would really like to have some younger members and two of our committee members have contacts at Canterbury University and a local secondary school, and are making links to see if we can work on joint programmes together. We have a very active management committee and a number of people from the membership who are working together to achieve this.