Continuing from the blog page describing what we got up to over the summer break of 2023, which is here.
A new page covering the summer break of 2024 is here
A new page covering the summer break of 2024 is here
3 May 24
We met in the clubhouse on 29th April for the final meeting of the season, which was the annual general meeting and trophy presentations.
The highlights from the AGM are that Andy Alexander and Gordon Baird have been members for 40 years, the committee will be unchanged for the next year, as will the membership fees. There will be some changes to the internal competitions, full details will appear in the internal competitions page in time for the restart.
After we enjoyed pakora and pizza, sourced from a nearby takeaway, our guest handed out the year's trophies. The guest was Alison Graham, the daughter of Peter Turner, who founded Kirkintilloch Camera Club in 1951, and she was accompanied by her two daughters. Alison entertained us with stories of trips with her father out to take photos, and said he'd be delighted if he saw how the club is thriving. more photos
We then had a raffle to raise more funds for the club, and that concluded a successful night and a successful season.
The highlights from the AGM are that Andy Alexander and Gordon Baird have been members for 40 years, the committee will be unchanged for the next year, as will the membership fees. There will be some changes to the internal competitions, full details will appear in the internal competitions page in time for the restart.
After we enjoyed pakora and pizza, sourced from a nearby takeaway, our guest handed out the year's trophies. The guest was Alison Graham, the daughter of Peter Turner, who founded Kirkintilloch Camera Club in 1951, and she was accompanied by her two daughters. Alison entertained us with stories of trips with her father out to take photos, and said he'd be delighted if he saw how the club is thriving. more photos
We then had a raffle to raise more funds for the club, and that concluded a successful night and a successful season.
27 April 24
The second last Monday meeting of the season was on the 22nd, when we had the judging night for both our annual projected images and themed print panel competitions. It was a marathon evening as there were 80 digital images and 19 panels to get through. Many thanks to Roger Stewart for judging them all, and congratulations to George Robertson and Colin Kerr for taking the wins in these. The results are on the Competitions page.
We've also had two well attended Wednesday evening outings in the interim, the first was to the Arria sculpture beside the M80 at Cumbernauld, and the second was a stroll round Lenzie Moss.
16 April 24
After we had Easter weekend off, our guest speaker on April 8th was the award-winning Richard Fox, who showed a series of stunning nature and landscape images, all captured within easy travelling distance of Stirling. Take a look at his Flickr stream or his website to be impressed.
The following Monday we had another visit from Martin Sproul of F Stop Training. This time he demonstrated the power of Photoshop to blend images. This inspired us to get out on Wednesday night to take photos for those techniques.
Between those, our Wednesday night session was in the studio when we used flowers brought in by Ian as subjects.
The following Monday we had another visit from Martin Sproul of F Stop Training. This time he demonstrated the power of Photoshop to blend images. This inspired us to get out on Wednesday night to take photos for those techniques.
Between those, our Wednesday night session was in the studio when we used flowers brought in by Ian as subjects.
27 March 24
On the Monday before our Easter break, we had local photographer Douglas Harris as guest speaker. Douglas had us all amused and entertained as he showed us prints from 50 years of photographing models.
Our annual inter-club match with Milngavie & Bearsden Camera Club was the following evening. On this occasion the scores were tied for the digital images, but we came second to a very strong panel of M&B prints. The results are on the External Competitions page.
Our annual inter-club match with Milngavie & Bearsden Camera Club was the following evening. On this occasion the scores were tied for the digital images, but we came second to a very strong panel of M&B prints. The results are on the External Competitions page.
15 March 24
It's been a competition heavy couple of weeks. We've travelled to two inter-club matches. We suffered a defeat in our annual match against Airdrie and Coatbridge, but then bounced back the following week to win both the colour and mono sections of the Williamson Trophy against the Stirling and Falkirk clubs. The results are on the External Competitions page.
Between those was the judging night of the Annual Print Competition. Congratulations to Lynne who won the A section, B section winner Hazel, and Graham and Hazel for the best prints from each division.
Between those was the judging night of the Annual Print Competition. Congratulations to Lynne who won the A section, B section winner Hazel, and Graham and Hazel for the best prints from each division.
5 March 24
On 26th February we had a very entertaining night with Angus Johnston, who'd brought slide shows with musical accompaniment covering his many decades of photography. The insights into yacht building at the Fife Boatyard in Fairlie were particularly powerful.
Then we had a full meeting room on 4th March for the results night for the Stewart Bell Memorial Trophy. Congratulations to Frank Wayman on his win.
Then we had a full meeting room on 4th March for the results night for the Stewart Bell Memorial Trophy. Congratulations to Frank Wayman on his win.
23 February 24
Half a dozen of us attended the SPF Print championships at Dunblane, where we had over 50 images entered. No awards were won, but we showed progress. The results are on the External Competitions page.
Talking of competitions, the Stewart Bell Trophy is live, and we need members votes in by 29th February.
The guest speaker in the club on the 19th was Edinburgh-based nature photographer Charles Everitt. His individual approach to photography wowed everybody. Check out his website at charleseveritt.com.
Talking of competitions, the Stewart Bell Trophy is live, and we need members votes in by 29th February.
The guest speaker in the club on the 19th was Edinburgh-based nature photographer Charles Everitt. His individual approach to photography wowed everybody. Check out his website at charleseveritt.com.
13 February 24
The 4th and final round of the Annual League competition was judged by Clive Watkins on 5th February, Hazel, Duncan, Eric and Colin were winners. Following on from a presentation by our own Angus Wilson, who took us into his farming history (who knew agricultural machinery could be so interesting?), on the 12th we had our first external speaker for a while. We went diving with Charlie Moore who showed us what's under the water.
25 January 24
This month we’ve had another speaker who had to cancel at short notice. Our members have been stepping up to the podium to fill the gaps and keep us entertained. Firstly, Duncan took us on a journey through his images of Uzbekistan, then Lynne, Bobby, Eric and Ian did some shorter presentations. This series will continue next week as our own Angus is on the schedule.
The work on the kitchen is finished now, and it’s proving to be a useful workspace. We’ve compiled an entry of 54 prints to go to the SPU Print Championships (18th February, Dunblane) and 20 images for the forthcoming competition against Airdrie and Coatbridge PC (5th March).
Talking of prints, the club printer is now up and running and members can arrange to print their images in house.
The work on the kitchen is finished now, and it’s proving to be a useful workspace. We’ve compiled an entry of 54 prints to go to the SPU Print Championships (18th February, Dunblane) and 20 images for the forthcoming competition against Airdrie and Coatbridge PC (5th March).
Talking of prints, the club printer is now up and running and members can arrange to print their images in house.
11 January 24
The festive season has passed, and the club met for the first session of the year to see the kitchen renewal more or less complete. It’s bright and shiny!The third Monthly League competition saw a good spread of winners, and we should have some close finishes when the fourth and final round happens. The results and standings are on the External Competitions page.
What else is new is that the club now has a quality printer which has been set up in the clubhouse and will be available for members to use for their works of art.
20 December 23
Reports coming from the clubhouse are that good progress is being made and it's looking good.
We wrapped up 2023 with the annual quiz night at Crow Wood Golf Club. It was a great fun night where we managed to raise £240 for club funds from the raffle and roll the £1 coin game. Thanks are due to Eric for creating the quiz and Ian for organising the venue.
The first meeting of the new year will be in the clubhouse on 8th January.
We wrapped up 2023 with the annual quiz night at Crow Wood Golf Club. It was a great fun night where we managed to raise £240 for club funds from the raffle and roll the £1 coin game. Thanks are due to Eric for creating the quiz and Ian for organising the venue.
The first meeting of the new year will be in the clubhouse on 8th January.
12 December 23
After another hectic couple of weeks for the club, we’ve moved out of the building for the new kitchen to be installed. In fact, the builders moved in early and had the old kitchen ripped out before our last meeting. Looking forward to the annual quiz night next week, which we’re holding at Crow Wood Golf Club.
We had another big entry for the 2nd Monthly League competition on the 4th December, winning shots below. Unfortunately, our scheduled speaker for the 11th had to cancel, so Gordon Baird filled in with an informative talk about Stock Photography. We also viewed this year's SPF Portfolio sideshow, cheering when any of our own images appeared.
We had another big entry for the 2nd Monthly League competition on the 4th December, winning shots below. Unfortunately, our scheduled speaker for the 11th had to cancel, so Gordon Baird filled in with an informative talk about Stock Photography. We also viewed this year's SPF Portfolio sideshow, cheering when any of our own images appeared.
28 November 23
It’s been a busy week at the club. A dozen members travelled to Stirling Camera Club on Wednesday night for the Four-way competition. We didn’t win, but it was a close thing - results page.
The Monday meeting featured our regular visitor Martin Sproul of F-Stop Training who demonstrated the latest advances in Lightroom editing. Martin also drew the raffle for the valuable bottle of whisky, the winner being none other than our president. Thanks to Ann for the donation which raised £350 for the club.
In other news, with the clubhouse being closed for building work, the Christmas quiz meeting on 18th December will now be at a live venue rather than on Zoom. Thanks this time to Ian for arranging that we can go to Crow Wood Golf Club.
The Monday meeting featured our regular visitor Martin Sproul of F-Stop Training who demonstrated the latest advances in Lightroom editing. Martin also drew the raffle for the valuable bottle of whisky, the winner being none other than our president. Thanks to Ann for the donation which raised £350 for the club.
In other news, with the clubhouse being closed for building work, the Christmas quiz meeting on 18th December will now be at a live venue rather than on Zoom. Thanks this time to Ian for arranging that we can go to Crow Wood Golf Club.
We’ve had excellent guest speakers on the last couple of Mondays. Firstly we had John Farnan, who showed us what he does with his unconventional cameras, with or without lenses. John’s work can be seen at www.johnfarnan.co.uk.
Following that, Mark McColl showed us an absolutely first class selection of his images from northern lands. He had us in the Faroes, Iceland, Northern Norway and even further north to Svalbard before coming back to Scotland. Mark's inspiring website is at www.markmccoll.com.
Following that, Mark McColl showed us an absolutely first class selection of his images from northern lands. He had us in the Faroes, Iceland, Northern Norway and even further north to Svalbard before coming back to Scotland. Mark's inspiring website is at www.markmccoll.com.
21 November 23
This year, the club ventured an entry into the Plate Competition SPF Digital Championships at Dunblane on 19th November. Half a dozen members travelled to the event, and we were happy to finish mid-table with our first attempt. Our best scoring images were Duncan's Kelpies in the Wild and Lynne's Emerald Green Dragonfly. The results are on the External Competitions page.
While we were there, Lynne was presented with her AFIAP certificate.
While we were there, Lynne was presented with her AFIAP certificate.
The first monthly competition was held on 6th November. It was a good night for our current and past presidents, both of whom had wins. The results page is here and all the photos here.
Later in the week we had a work party of members who had a productive morning stripping the walls ready for the builders next month.
Later in the week we had a work party of members who had a productive morning stripping the walls ready for the builders next month.
In other news, building work has been arranged for a major revamp of the clubhouse's kitchen area. The building will be closed after the 11th December meeting, and we should be back as normal on January 4th. The Annual Christmas Quiz on 18th December will go ahead, we'll run it on Zoom.
And let's congratulate our hard working secretary, Lynne. Not only has she arranged all that, as a photographer she's achieved AFIAP status. Well done Lynne.
Here's a selection from the photos which have appeared on the club Facebook page this month.
And let's congratulate our hard working secretary, Lynne. Not only has she arranged all that, as a photographer she's achieved AFIAP status. Well done Lynne.
Here's a selection from the photos which have appeared on the club Facebook page this month.
October has passed in a flash, and we've had four excellent speakers who brought interesting material. Many thanks to
Robert Chalmers who took us on ultra-long cycling events
Roger Stewart, who started wildlife photography locally during the lockdown, leading to it becoming a passion.
John Hannah, who showed some more wildlife shots before taking us on a street photography adventure in Jerusalem.
Ian Sturrock, who came all the way from the east coast with a selection of prints and photography advice to encourage us to participate in the Scottish club scene.
Robert Chalmers who took us on ultra-long cycling events
Roger Stewart, who started wildlife photography locally during the lockdown, leading to it becoming a passion.
John Hannah, who showed some more wildlife shots before taking us on a street photography adventure in Jerusalem.
Ian Sturrock, who came all the way from the east coast with a selection of prints and photography advice to encourage us to participate in the Scottish club scene.
Our guest speaker on October 2nd was Denis Alyshev, who had us wearing 3D spectacles while he ran two slide projectors as he displayed his three dimensional images. What a fascinating talk. Thanks Denis.
On the following Wednesday we had a good turn out of members in the clubhouse as we helpedsome less experienced members develop their skills.
On the following Wednesday we had a good turn out of members in the clubhouse as we helpedsome less experienced members develop their skills.
Your webmaster has been away, so let's have a catch-up on what’s happened in the last couple of weeks.
Firstly, the whole club is shocked and saddened by the news that Hunter Kennedy passed away suddenly, so soon after he entertained us with an excellent talk.
We had a talk on equestrian photography by Andy’s boy, Colin Alexander, and the results night for our new annual Mono competition. results - images
We also managed a Wednesday night out, as some members returned to Stockingfield Junction, but after dark this time.
Firstly, the whole club is shocked and saddened by the news that Hunter Kennedy passed away suddenly, so soon after he entertained us with an excellent talk.
We had a talk on equestrian photography by Andy’s boy, Colin Alexander, and the results night for our new annual Mono competition. results - images
We also managed a Wednesday night out, as some members returned to Stockingfield Junction, but after dark this time.
Our first guest speaker of the session was a well known face of the Scottish photographic scene, Hunter Kennedy from Carluke Camera Club. Hunter drew on his long and varied experience to entertain us with an excellent and much admired presentation on September 11th.
A good group of members were out on Wednesday 6th September enjoying the late summer sunshine at Auchinstarry basin.
We previously mentioned that we'd been asked to provide an image for the wall at the entrance to the new ASN School in East Dunbartonshire. We're delighted to announce that Gordon Baird’s image was selected. Well done Gordon, the image looks amazing.
There was a great attendance in clubhouse on the opening night of the new season on September 4th with a good few new faces among the regulars. We had slideshows of our summer activities and members' 'minimalist' summer portfolios.
