Happy New Year from everyone at Irvine Camera Club! I am using this first issue of 2023 to bring you a few of my favourite images of this season so far. Rather than repeat the selections made by our competition judges, I have put together a set of photographs that, although they didn’t necessarily meet all the exacting standards expected by the judge, still had something to say to me.
Our club has members of differing experience and photographic knowledge, but what they all have in common is a desire to express themselves through photography. Often the “rules” of camera club competitions can stifle creativity and lead to rather formulaic images designed to look pretty, have impact and to avoid technical mistakes.
It is ironic that looking through the history of photography some of the most celebrated and important images have been far from technically perfect. Rather, they reflect life and experience back at the viewer. They go deeper than what can often be the rather superficial, sometimes even banal, perfection of a classically beautiful image.
That’s not to say that images presented here are not of a very high technical standard – many of them are. These are just some of the ones that I don’t think the judges quite understood and that I think deserve your attention and time. And that is important, because in a world of none stop scrolling where images are flashed up for a microsecond, it is worth slowing down and appreciating what we are looking at.
All the best for 2023, I hope that this year you pick up your camera, or smart phone, and get out to tell your story in photographs. If you want to join a vibrant community of like-minded photographers, you would be very welcome to join us at Irvine Camera Club. All are details are on the website irvinecc.co.uk. Until next time, Enjoy the light!
Comments
In my opinion, this piece is one of the reasons the club is thriving. It is inclusive of everyone and their abilities and is happy to promote this. Thanks Clive x
Thank you Fiona. It is one of the main aims of the club committee to make sure that our club includes everyone in everything that we do.
It's not all about competitions - it's much more important that everyone feels able to express themselves through their photography and to learn and grow artisticaly as well as technically.
That's really good to hear, Fiona, thank you for recognising that.
As someone who came in as a female beginner only a few years ago, and after being elected as Chair a year later, I've championed inclusivity - we want all of our members to feel valued and know that their contribution counts towards making the Club a success. For camera clubs to continue and succeed in the future, we need to be progressive, open minded and forward thinking and it's great to see our Club thriving despite all the challenges we've faced over the last few years.
It's also a large part of what the Monday night workshops are about - sharing knowledge, information and skills with anyone who is willing to come along and get something from it, helping and assisting each other to create a better photography community. See you there! :)