Macclesfield Camera Club

Above all in whatever format you operate, photography should be fun and we aim to encourage this enjoyment whilst providing the opportunity for you to learn more about photography in a supportive and friendly atmosphere.

The Club is affiliated to the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) through the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union (L&CPU). These groups represent amateur photographers nationally and locally and organise competitions, judges and speakers.

Meetings

Activities are arranged around weekly meetings, usually on Mondays at 8pm, running from September to April. Meetings, held upstairs in Macclesfield Library, last around 2 hours with time for an informal break and discussion. The programme consists of a mixture of lectures by invited speakers, competitions of various kinds, folios of photographs from the L&CPU as well as various practical/instructional and fun events. The aim is to let members see and display as many aspects of photography as possible without resorting to formal teaching. The opportunity is then there for members to try things for themselves and discuss them with the more experienced members. Only by taking lots of photographs will you discover where your talents and interests lie.

Committee

The Club is run for the members by an annually elected Committee, according to a Constitution. There is an Annual General Meeting at the end of the season to discuss the programme and any other matters. The Committee members should be able to guide you on any aspects of photography, if they don't know; they should know someone who does. Current Committee members are listed on the programme card and the Club web site.

Competitions

To improve your results, nothing works better than showing your pictures alongside your peers. The opportunity is there to enter your work in our internal Club competitions and the Annual Exhibition & Competition. Amongst the former are four internal competitions (not shown publicly) held during the year on open and themed subjects. In particular, these internal competitions are very informal and allow beginners to learn the techniques of exhibiting. Our highlight is the Annual Exhibition & Competition which is displayed in the library and is open to the public: this acts as a showcase for the club, exposing our work to a wider audience.

Work is usually selected from these Club events to go forward to the L&CPU and PAGB competitions where the Club is currently achieving good success. The judging of images, where the author of the photograph is usually not revealed, can be both kind and cruel. The judge is concerned only with the best photograph in his or her opinion, others may take a different view, but it is always useful to listen and try and learn from the constructive advice.