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Read about Nottingham and Notts Photographic Society
When was the club founded?
In 1892, when our President was the 7th Duke of Newcastle. At first it was deemed ladies shouldn’t be allowed. There followed a split and one half formed a club allowing ladies, which became more successful. The men soon saw sense and the society reformed. It’s evolved through a few name changes continuously since then, apart from a two-year break in the very early 1900s while the then-president Samuel Bourne travelled to India with a darkroom in a horse- drawn carriage.
What does your club offer to new members?
We’re keen to welcome new members. We have reintroduced an entry level to our competitions so less- experienced members can compete at a level reflecting their abilities. We’re going ‘back to basics’ on some of our practical evenings; we recently had an evening which started with a demonstration on how to mount prints, followed by a critique where members showed their work and the more experienced gave feedback and tips on how images could be improved.
Describe a typical club meeting.
Most evenings involve a visiting speaker or a round of the club competition. We are introducing interactive evenings, some in the programme and others as extra- curricular.
Do you invite guest speakers?
Our programme secretary works very hard to ensure that we invite people with an excellent reputation, and that we cover a wide range of subjects. This season includes around 20 speakers covering landscape, portrait, sport, travel, creative, macro, wildlife and even ‘how does a monkey take a photo?’ We welcome visitors to these events, with no limit on the number of visits, for a charge of just £3 on the door, including refreshments.
Do members compete in competitions?
Yes. As a club we enter regional, national and international competitions, thanks to our External Competition Secretary, and we have several individual members who compete regularly. We’ve recently enjoyed celebrating several successes with them, including PAGB Gold and Silver medals. We also host the Robin Hood Exhibition which is a national competition with PAGB patronage.
How many members do you have?
Currently there are 62. Like everyone else, we lose a few along the wayside at renewal time, but we’ve attracted new people so numbers have stayed quite consistent. We’re becoming more active on social media and in promoting the club, so are hoping to build on this.
Are any residential trips or outings planned?
Last summer we organised a couple of studio sessions during the break, and also invited a group of Viking re- enactors to come and model for us in the grounds of a local stately home, which was great fun.
Do you have any funny stories about the club?
We had a speaker fail to turn up recently (unavoidable and not their fault). With no warning the committee had to think quickly and came up with the idea of using a box of prints that had not been accepted in an exhibition and just been returned to the club. They went through the images saying why they thought they hadn’t made the grade and what could be improved. The members loved it – it was amusing that we ended up with a successful evening from a box of rejected images!
What are the club’s goals for the future?
Having built a solid reputation on the back of our programme we don’t want to do anything to lose that, but we are hoping to include more practical /social sessions where members can share practical advice and get to know each other better. If we can add to our reputation and build a name for ourselves as being a friendly society – a great place to meet like-minded people and see your photography improve – then we’ll be very happy.
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