Have joined a photo society.

[Thunderer]

Against my better judgement I have joined a photo club.

For competition purposes I have to start in the beginners section and if I get a minimum number of marks from judges I get promoted next year into the intermediate section. Strange thing is I have been told I am the only entrant in the beginner section. Therefore I will get best and second best marks ( 20 and 19 ) for each competition and get auto promotion. I hope the judges comments are useful.

I handed in the attached photos tonight - two prints and two DPIs - and await the outcome in two weeks time. Couldn't bring myself to stay for the meeting which is a matching dpi battle - arghhhh.

I'll put the pictures in the appropriate sections and see how comments compare with judges remarks.

Jeff

[Paul]

I hope it wasn't Wigan 10 you joined, lol..

 

Paul.

[JHFoto]

I have been a member of a local camera club for a couple of years, I joined for the competitions within the club and inter club. I have met and picked the brains of some very good photographers along the way. So all in all its been a great experience..

[Leon]

I went to one in atherton, some very very strange people there.... good luck with the entry though

[JHFoto]

I went to one in atherton, some very very strange people there.... good luck with the entry though

If they were giving funny handshakes, you went to the wrong place.....

[Craftysnapper]

 Strange thing is I have been told I am the only entrant in the beginner section. Therefore I will get best and second best marks ( 20 and 19 ) for each competition and get auto promotion. 

Jeff

 

Strange indeed, the usual procedure in a case like this would be to put you in the intermediate section.

 

Usually the top two in a section go up and the bottom two go down, the only way you can get to this situation of no one in the beginners section is if the club has not had many new members for a few years and existing members in that section have left or are no longer entering.

 

Either way competing against yourself seem pointless and I'm pretty sure the Judge would have something to say about it...I know I would.

[JHFoto]

I started in beginner section until I won this trophy now I am intermediate.

[Thunderer]

I hope it wasn't Wigan 10 you joined, lol..

 

Paul.

If only :-((

Jeff

[THELONGMAN]

Make sure you keep taking pictures for YOU, not what the judges like??

[Thunderer]

Strange indeed, the usual procedure in a case like this would be to put you in the intermediate section.

 

Usually the top two in a section go up and the bottom two go down, the only way you can get to this situation of no one in the beginners section is if the club has not had many new members for a few years and existing members in that section have left or are no longer entering.

 

Either way competing against yourself seem pointless and I'm pretty sure the Judge would have something to say about it...I know I would.

It didn't occure to me that there could be demotion. That really would make the judge's job impossible.

Looking around I think it fair to say there have been no young recruits recently!

Actually I am not a beginner but as a newcomer the rules say I start at the bottom. This does not bother me much because the judges comments rather than marks are what wil interest me and I am not foolish enough to try to be competitive. What I would like is to talk about making photographs and get some comments about my pictures - even if I disagree.

I have been a member of a local camera club for a couple of years, I joined for the competitions within the club and inter club. I have met and picked the brains of some very good photographers along the way. So all in all its been a great experience..

Against my better judgement I have joined a photo club.

For competition purposes I have to start in the beginners section and if I get a minimum number of marks from judges I get promoted next year into the intermediate section. Strange thing is I have been told I am the only entrant in the beginner section. Therefore I will get best and second best marks ( 20 and 19 ) for each competition and get auto promotion. I hope the judges comments are useful.

I handed in the attached photos tonight - two prints and two DPIs - and await the outcome in two weeks time. Couldn't bring myself to stay for the meeting which is a matching dpi battle - arghhhh.

I'll put the pictures in the appropriate sections and see how comments compare with judges remarks.

Jeff

PS Couldn't attach the pictures so will post them separately

[Thunderer]

I went to one in atherton, some very very strange people there.... good luck with the entry though

Too early to have informed view of other members. Some might say I am the one who is a bit odd and socially inept, so perhaps I might fit in in a couple of years.

Jeff

[Thunderer]

I have been a member of a local camera club for a couple of years, I joined for the competitions within the club and inter club. I have met and picked the brains of some very good photographers along the way. So all in all its been a great experience..

A good club then. And it does seem that the photographers at the top are the most helpful.

Jeff

[Thunderer]

Make sure you keep taking pictures for YOU, not what the judges like??

Aha. I am aware of that trap. It is so difficult not to fall into it.

Also I think a good objective test is to put photos up for sale and see which sell. Often they are the least expected. I should say I am referring to sales in local galleries and library.

Jeff

[JHFoto]

When entering images into a competition, you should never worry about the judges subjective opinion...

[Korky]

Wigan 10? Anything I should know about?

 

To be honest, I think I could make a good guess 

 

Korky

[Thunderer]

When entering images into a competition, you should never worry about the judges subjective opinion...

Subjective? That would be easy. Just look at their galleries and copy and job done

Seems to me that the normal way is to start at 20 then deduct for " not on thirds", "sloping horizon", "wheel spokes not blurred", etc. etc. IE stick to the rules of composition or slide down the greasy pole. Only joking. It must be a difficult job for people without an educated appreciation of art to judge art.

Jeff

[JHFoto]

I am very glad I joined my local club.....................

[Thunderer]

Wigan 10? Anything I should know about?

 

To be honest, I think I could make a good guess 

 

Korky

I would guess your guess is good

I think they have been knocked off their perch by Chorley PS. I live in Chorley ( for the time being ) but they are far too good/competitive for me. But good for them in rising to the challenge of shoving Wigan 10 aside.

Jeff

[Black Pearl]

I've tried two local clubs over the years but because I worked at Jessops all (and I mean ALL) I got out of them was earache and an extension of being in the shop. 

 

If I filter out that then the people were a bit clanny (my word and I'm sticking with it) for my liking with factions that were too deeply rooted in a particular point of view/style of photography/point in history or with darn weird agendas.

 

You got ancient, dusty, myopic tweed wearers who thought photography had its heyday when you still put a big black cloth over your head. You had slightly creepy middle aged men with beer bellies and an unusual love of darts who only turned up when there was a pretty (ish) young female model to shoot (drool over) who spent the whole night making inappropriate comments and taking more pictures than is healthy. Add to the pot the blokes who at home were dominated by a brick sh*thouse of a wife who only turned up to be on every committee going so they could have a say and feel important. You had the gear snobs who shot with a particular camera because they were convinced it was the best and anyone who disagreed was looked down upon and sneered at in a manner that was so condescending it would make a head teacher look normal. The other problem with clubs is the very fact that they are clubs - by which I mean they tend to attract people who are already socially inept, have god awful jobs that no one else finds interesting, holiday in the same place year after year, have a minuscule social life, buy clothes because they are practical, swap their branded camera strap for a wide one with a colourful pattern on it and who when they do find a group of like minded folk they fixate on the hobby and obsess about it to the point of becoming a bore.

 

Joking aside I hope you get something positive from the group you have joined.

[Thunderer]

Hi Jeff

 

I have to ask if joining the club was "against your better judgement" why did you join...lol

 

I wish you well with it though

 

Ron

A case of hope v experience. If I can get to talk about photography it should be ok.

My comments about comps are a bit tongue in cheek as you might guess.

I'll see out my year's subscription :-)) and see how it goes.

Anyhow now going out to my art club for a bit of daubing in acrylic.

Jeff

[ChrisLumix]

I've tried two local clubs over the years but because I worked at Jessops all (and I mean ALL) I got out of them was earache and an extension of being in the shop. 

 

If I filter out that then the people were a bit clanny (my word and I'm sticking with it) for my liking with factions that were too deeply rooted in a particular point of view/style of photography/point in history or with darn weird agendas.

 

You got ancient, dusty, myopic tweed wearers who thought photography had its heyday when you still put a big black cloth over your head. You had slightly creepy middle aged men with beer bellies and an unusual love of darts who only turned up when there was a pretty (ish) young female model to shoot (drool over) who spent the whole night making inappropriate comments and taking more pictures than is healthy. Add to the pot the blokes who at home were dominated by a brick sh*thouse of a wife who only turned up to be on every committee going so they could have a say and feel important. You had the gear snobs who shot with a particular camera because they were convinced it was the best and anyone who disagreed was looked down upon and sneered at in a manner that was so condescending it would make a head teacher look normal. The other problem with clubs is the very fact that they are clubs - by which I mean they tend to attract people who are already socially inept, have god awful jobs that no one else finds interesting, holiday in the same place year after year, have a minuscule social life, buy clothes because they are practical, swap their branded camera strap for a wide one with a colourful pattern on it and who when they do find a group of like minded folk they fixate on the hobby and obsess about it to the point of becoming a bore.

 

Joking aside I hope you get something positive from the group you have joined.

 

Hahaha. Sounds like every society I've ever fallen foul of! (Not just photographic either - all committees are like that lol). You should have had a word in Korky's shell-like - I'm sure Matron would got them sorted out in two shakes..

 

Great read.

[Korky]

If I said I've not ventured near a Camera Club, sorry Photographic Society, for over 30 years, would that give an indication of how I feel about them?

 

I realise that lots of folk are happy in a club - and I'm happy for them to be happy - but it's not for me I'm afraid.

 

I don't want to say owt else other than of all the 'types' BP mentions (and I do realise they are jokey caricatures) , it's the gear snobs who really, really give me the screaming sh*ts.

 

Korky

[kev7d]

I keep thinking about joining the local one to me. But always chicken out.

[Leon]

Too early to have informed view of other members. Some might say I am the one who is a bit odd and socially inept, so perhaps I might fit in in a couple of years.

Jeff

I went for 5 weeks, I did meet a couple of nice people, the big sweaty biker bloke wearing a pink dress did stand out a bit though!

[Craftysnapper]

Make sure you keep taking pictures for YOU, not what the judges like??

 

In my younger days when I did the occasional lecture at camera clubs I always used to start of with...

 

If you like it then you have succeeded

 

If someone else likes it then that's a bonus

 

And if a judge likes it that's a bloody miracle.