Beginner Should I..........

Oldbones

Oldbones

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Edit My Images
Yes
Join a camera club, very tempted to do so, appears to be plenty of them around, are you fellows and ladies part of a club.
 
Only you can be a judge of that, check them out and their programmes, see if you can attend a few sessions before committing.

Very much depends on what you want to get out of it. Every club has their cliques and particular foci areas, you can forge your own path in them, and take no notice of gear snobs...

I learn a lot from my club, and taking part in regular competitions allows my to realise where I am with my photography thus driving me to improve.
 
Oldbones said:
Join a camera club, very tempted to do so, appears to be plenty of them around, are you fellows and ladies part of a club.
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I've been a Club member for over 25 years, and of 3 different Clubs now - one I helped start, which went on to have over 50 members within its first year and featured in the local newspaper

They can be daunting for some, cliquey too sometimes, but if you find one what's welcoming with a good range of subjects in its programme then they can be great

Best is finding fellow togs and getting out & about shooting with them

Even as a seasoned Pro and Club Judge I still enjoy being a member, partly as Photography can be a lonely hobby so the social side is great; especially if they meet in (or go to) a pub each night :D
 
I think all the negatives about camera clubs have been mentioned above. And correct in may cases. However, I found them to be very good, enjoyable and you can learn a lot. Listen and learn from what is said, take on board what you agree with, be aware of what you don't, as it may come in handy later on, as photography is very subjective and what works for one photograph will not work for another.

If the club style suites you, go for it. If it doesn't, follow your own path and enjoy the social side and discuss ideas with other members.
 
I tried 3 different clubs before finding one that suits me and my style of photography. Very happy now and really enjoy the regular outings, even entered a few competitions ....
IMHO best to try yourself , as they say nothing ventured nothing gained, if it does not work for you then so be it !
 
droj said:
No way. Unless you like subscribing to group think. Find your own path.
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I've tried out several clubs over the last sixty years or so.

On mature consideration, I agree with Groucho Marx: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members.”
 
Depends on what you want to get out of it - I joined mine for a bit of social interaction and meet some new people during and after lockdown. I'm still a member for this reason.

There are better options out there if your aim is to improve your photography and 'find your voice'
 
Dave Goodier said:
I've been a Club member for over 25 years, and of 3 different Clubs now - one I helped start, which went on to have over 50 members within its first year and featured in the local newspaper

They can be daunting for some, cliquey too sometimes, but if you find one what's welcoming with a good range of subjects in its programme then they can be great

Best is finding fellow togs and getting out & about shooting with them

Even as a seasoned Pro and Club Judge I still enjoy being a member, partly as Photography can be a lonely hobby so the social side is great; especially if they meet in (or go to) a pub each night :D
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Is this the return of the prodigal son?
 
I kept falling asleep so gave it up :( 90% of time they where talking about stuff I wasnt interested in :(
 
I did not think this would attract so many posts.
It is my wife who pointed it out to me about joining a club, she even found one just a few miles away.
I am retiring in two years, and she thinks that it would be good for me, as I do as well, keep me active and in the loop of life.
Some say I have never ever been in the loop, but that's OK with me.
I so far have found it bit of a learning curve, but in life that happens all the time.
Therefore I will go to this club and at least participate and learn hopefully.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Lots of help on this fourms as well it has really been good for me.
 
I'm in the "give it a try" camp. What have you got to lose? All the clubs I've tried had tea & some form of biscuit or cake, so it wasn't a total dead loss for me.

Everyone learns differently and not every club is the same. The club near you might be amazing, it might be terrible. But unless you try it, you'll never know.

We have 2 clubs within 5 miles of each other. One is a "competitions and talks on sharpening in photoshop", the other is a group of photographers trying to improve their creative output by discussing their art, and seeking feedback on how to improve it. They're wildly different (well... they both have tea & biscuits) and looking at attendance, are popular to those that go.
 
I have been a member of several clubs over the years. Some were terrible, with snobbery, tactical voting in competitions and in one case fiddling the prize money of a big competition (fraud). I called them out and quit.
Other clubs on the other hand can be good fun. They can have interesting guests, and lots of friendly banter and visits to the local pub. It's luck of the draw.
As Groucho Marxs said " I wouldn't join any club that would have me" Now...... ;)
 
One of the problems with a club is that, as Andreas Feininger said, it can become that dreaded thing:

A Mutual Admiration Society

and to join in you have to produce photos which conform to others expectations
 
Been a member of my local club for 8 years.

Ignore the judges' comments if you get a bad score. As long as you like the image that's all that matters.

Unless it's a sh1tty image, then a low score is deserved.

Also ignore the "I use so & so system and it's better than such and such".

I use micro 4 3rds and I'm never last, often up the top of the table.
 
I am now looking forward to going, since I have read all the above posts.
And I did receive a publication from a member here that will also help me. A very nice gesture indeed.
Going out with my camera, the first day went reasonably well and the pics I took were fine.
The second day I took plenty of pics but, after playing about with the setting, I landed
up with just white imiages, because the shutter speed was far to long, I think over a second, nearly two.
Least I leaned that the hard way.
So reading and experimenting will get me so far and hopefully mixing with other club members will propel me into the early stages of actual taking decent photographs.
Now I also do quite a bit of fishing, so I may combine the both of my hobbies and get some sea or river scape pics.
Lots of ideas swirling around in my mind at the moment.
 
For me the test is if anybody is friendly. One club nobody even said hello for three weeks (that was going to be my last) then a bloke came up and said he's been choosen by the members to say hello.......
Another club I'd been there all of five minutes and a chap comes up, sticks out his hand and say hello, I'm Fred. We all usually go over the Kings arms for a pint after a meeting, you'd be welcome to come over. Thats more like it./
 
swanseamale47 said:
For me the test is if anybody is friendly. One club nobody even said hello for three weeks (that was going to be my last) then a bloke came up and said he's been choosen by the members to say hello.......
Another club I'd been there all of five minutes and a chap comes up, sticks out his hand and say hello, I'm Fred. We all usually go over the Kings arms for a pint after a meeting, you'd be welcome to come over. Thats more like it./
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Yes our club's friendly too.

And we walk over the pub after a Monday meeting.

Luckily the club's in walking distance of my house.
 
I tried a Couple - problem was - they very much were CAMERA clubs - a bunch of people nerding out about CAMERAS instead of what i'd hoped - a bunch of people who used Cameras to go out and take PHOTO's and spent their time discussing their latest photo taking jaunts. Those two weren't for me - I have the kind of personality that is prone to go down rabbit holes, and get obsessive about things - and I really, really didn't want another potentially hugely expensive rabbit warren to delve into. I did find one club that was billed as a "photography" club, and that was better - at least initially - I joined in late November, and for the first 3 months or so, it was pretty good - but then they hit the competition season, and as a beginner, I jsut couldn't get my head around what they were wanting - after a couple of entries where my shots were slagged unmercifully, and a total of "nul pointe" I realised that unless I was shooting people (ie paying for models) or a very specific niche of landscapes, there was nothing for me in the competition - and paying a years subs for 9 months of non-participation made me think "you know, that'll pay for a fair bit of film" (yep, it was THAT long ago)

Didn't help that the third club meetings were held in a methodist chapel, 45 minute drive from home, so no socialising after the meet either...

Obviously, this was a good while ago, and hopefully as cameras are more appliance-like these days, the modern clubs will be less focussed on hardware. Was it a waste of time for me - Yes. Do I regret bothering - A little. Would I tell people not to bother - NO. Mine is a limited sample of 3 - enough for me to be put off, but not enough to say that it's all going to be like that. Top and bottom of it is - if you're thinking "should I" - then you very probably SHOULD - whats the worst that can happen - you waste an evening (that'll be long enough to tell if it's not for you most of the time) - and at this time of year, there's plenty of wet dismal nights that you're highly unlikely to care if you waste it going to a crap camera club, or sitting in front of crap tv shows...
 
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TheBigYin said:
I tried a Couple - problem was - they very much were CAMERA clubs - a bunch of people nerding out about CAMERAS instead of what i'd hoped - a bunch of people who used Cameras to go out and take PHOTO's and spent their time discussing their latest photo taking jaunts. Those two weren't for me - I have the kind of personality that is prone to go down rabbit holes, and get obsessive about things - and I really, really didn't want another potentially hugely expensive rabbit warren to delve into. I did find one club that was billed as a "photography" club, and that was better - at least initially - I joined in late November, and for the first 3 months or so, it was pretty good - but then they hit the competition season, and as a beginner, I jsut couldn't get my head around what they were wanting - after a couple of entries where my shots were slagged unmercifully, and a total of "nul pointe" I realised that unless I was shooting people (ie paying for models) or a very specific niche of landscapes, there was nothing for me in the competition - and paying a years subs for 9 months of non-participation made me think "you know, that'll pay for a fair bit of film" (yep, it was THAT long ago)

Didn't help that the third club meetings were held in a methodist chapel, 45 minute drive from home, so no socialising after the meet either...
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I have been a member of two Camera Clubs over the last 40 years and do not recognise your description. Although we are called a camera club, this is historical as we are really about photography. In fact new members, keep asking about equipment and surprised that we rarely discuss equipment. I understand that competitions bother some but other are very attracted by them. In my club only half the members ever enter competitions (and I gather this is typical for many other clubs). We have large club so we can have many activities and few will be able or want to attend them all. Though attendance at competition evenings is high among those who have not entered as well as those who have. We also meet in a Church Hall but there are few rooms for hire now anywhere apart from Church or large Village halls. This does not prevent a small group of our members have a swift drink at a local pub after. We organise some specialist evenings monthly at another location which does have a bar. However, access to a bar has only ever been added accessory not essential as we could meet at a pub for a social if we wished which did happen a couple of times in the summer. I learnt a lot from entering competitions in my early club years.

Dave
 
Try it - you might enjoy it ;)

I'm a member of Bon Accord CC here in Aberdeen.
Its nice to attend meetings and chat to like-minded members.
We have our own premises with a fully functioning studio.
We also have extra meetings for learning about creating AVs, learning editing techniques using different software packages and outings.
There really is something for everyone.
 
Aberdeen, I am just south of these and am planning to go to the Mearns CC I'd Stonehaven.
I used to think that the land scape around hete was quite unphotogenic but now as I really look its very much the other way round.
Plenty of farm land and old harbours, lighthouses and old buildings, we get some stunning sunrises on the coast .
 
I was a member of a local club for about 5 years and my photography definitely improved in that time, but I also found that I was becoming more interested in documentary photography and that didn’t really have a place in the club scene so left. I subsequently joined the local monochrome group which is sort of a photographic society, but it’s far more aligned to my interests and I’ve enjoyed that far more. Interestingly half the people in the group are in their local camera club, the other half used to be in one but left.

I wouldn’t rule out joining one again in the future for the social aspect of it and it’s always good to be exposed to genres of photography that you’d never otherwise look at.

Having looked at the programs of my local clubs, I probably won’t be joining one soon though.
 
I did join the local camera and photography club.
I have been twice now, first week was fine, one of the members gave a talk and demo on how to edit film, which was interesting while not something I have really though about.
Also he had made three videos with other members material, one of which was wild life.
It was spectacular, lovely shots of eagles and owls in flight.
Yesterday, I did go again and we were supposed to be on location to do a workshop held by this young man, https://scotlandsnightsky.com/
Unfortunately the sky was not clear so we went back to the club premises and he gave a talk on what astrophotography is.
That was amazing and very informative
Next week, its competition results from club members materials, which I really want to see.
So I am glad I went.
Already have talked with a couple of members and enjoyed that as well.
 
Oldbones said:
Aberdeen, I am just south of these and am planning to go to the Mearns CC I'd Stonehaven.
I used to think that the land scape around hete was quite unphotogenic but now as I really look its very much the other way round.
Plenty of farm land and old harbours, lighthouses and old buildings, we get some stunning sunrises on the coast .
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I think it comes down to being too familiar with our surroundings.
I live near the banks of the River Don and when I take other photographers along there, they are snapping away and I'm wondering what they're seeing even though I'm there 3-4 times a day :LOL:
We're certainly spoiled for choice here in Aberdeenshire ;)
 
mstphoto said:
I think it comes down to being too familiar with our surroundings.
I live near the banks of the River Don and when I take other photographers along there, they are snapping away and I'm wondering what they're seeing even though I'm there 3-4 times a day :LOL:
We're certainly spoiled for choice here in Aberdeenshire ;)
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And I read the first half of that thinking ‘ooh another SY local’
:coat:
 
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