Camera Club (-bing) in Seville, Spain
A camera club is rarely started or run by professional photographers or organizations . They are generally formed by local photographers wanting to share experiences, places, techniques and successes with other photographers.
Joining a Camera Club may not have entered your mind when you took up photography.
It may not be your thing or you think all camera clubs are maybe a bit cliquey (excuse the pun)! I never considered joining one. I felt I could get all the info I needed from books, magazines or the internet. As a result, they weren’t my scene...I was into skydiving, motorbikes and All Things Fast!
It was my wife who saw an ad in a local paper. It was advertising spare places on a forthcoming trip to Seville in Northern AndalucÃa in Spain. The reason my wife pointed it out was that I was planning a trip there soon anyhow. Therefore this would save the hassle of driving, parking, booking hotels etc.
Contacting the Camera Club
I met with the chairwoman who was very friendly and explained a bit about most of their members. They all sounded nice and most with a common interest of course, photography. When she told me the charge, I was amazed. For the coach there and back, and a double room in a nice hotel in the centre of Seville, they were asking for €90 (£60), great!
The guys at the club were very welcoming and it wasn't so "clicky" after all. Although I was one of the youngest there, the atmosphere was light hearted and fun throughout the stay. It was well organised and I got some cracking pictures for my library of stock photography images. In fact some have sold already.
If you ever considered joining a camera club but were too afraid to ask, go ahead. You will find that there are some great benefits to be had. If nothing else, it was nice to talk to people with similar interests for a change, so I didn’t have to bore the wife and friends for at least two days!!!
Where are the Camera Clubs?
In my youth, I moved around a fair bit. Sometimes within a UK county, other times to a different country altogether. I would on arrival sometimes do a search for camera clubs near me. Of course, nowadays there is always a camera club easy to find with a quick Google search.
Also have a look through your local paper. Maybe do a quick search on Instagram or social media groups and use the link below to find a camera club near you. Pop along and see how things are run. They normally have competitions, regular, organised trips and some have discounted stores for your equipment.
You will always learn something. However, if you are a professional or very experienced photographer, then why not payback some of your knowledge to others. It all makes the world go round very nicely.
Nick Stubbs - ATP
Below are some pics from the trip to the beautiful Seville last week. If you are planning a trip to AndalucÃa in southern Spain, make sure you put this place on your agenda. It has an incredible fun park for the kids (and big kids ; ) too!
