Hi, I belong to a camera club. Camera clubs are a great way to learn about photography. We sometimes have outside judges and sometimes our own members judge the entries. Our club still uses prints (most of us use our own colour printers or print at Kmart). Some clubs only use EDPI (projected images). Most members use Photoshop or Lightroom to do the basics , rotate, crop, colour adjust and sharpen. Sometimes I get a mention or win a section entry and when asked how I did a certain thing, they are amazed that I use Gimp and get the results that they attribute to Photoshop or Lightroom. Gimp is considered a difficult program to master and I have had only one request for assistance with the use of Gimp. I think I am the only one who uses Gimp. Sometimes I also use Ps.

I would love to think that there are other members here that are Photography Club members . Could we have a show of hands of members that belong to a Photography club. We need not know where or what the name is as that may identify you.
I would love to know how you run your clubs. Do you have weekly or monthly meetings, Do you have in-house tutorials regarding lighting, focus, use of camera, etc. Do you have outings where a group of members might go to a scenic place and take a walk and shoot. Do You have social outings? A bbq prior to the shoot? Can you just tell us a bit about your club?
BTW I am still very much a mediocre photographer but sometimes I get lucky and get a nice shot. (usually a crop/ detail in a larger image, and I kick myself for not seeing that crop in my viewfinder)
I use an older Canon 450D EOS - with a standard lens kit, nothing fancy.
Cheers Wbool

Not a member of any club, I would like to learn some stuff so I could take my own resources photo's. I only have a digital bridge camera, would I be laughed out of such a club if I don't posses the equipment.

It's true that photo clubs very often turn out as cliques (this is also true of many photography forums). For these I think Groucho Marx had the best answer.

Hi He4rty, a lot of people have bridge cameras. (I understand a bridge camera to be a smallish dslr without interchangeable lenses or without an optical viewfinder). There are also people that have professional cameras and professional lenses. Whilst some of those cameras will make a better shot, (technically, as in sharper, depth of field) if the operator knows his stuff, most of us are hacks and it is not the camera that makes the shot, it is the photographer (and usually the money shot is a fluke). Yes there is some lens and camera envy in every club , just as there is in running (Adidas, Balance Niki or whatever footwear) but it does not interfere with the camraderie and companionship. The bulk of members own a small DSLR such as mine in Canon or Nikon. I can not guarantee you being a laughing stock as I have no idea of how many members in your local club are "up themselves". Why dont you go along to a meeting without your camera and see what the club is all about.
Cheers Wbool

Hi ofnuts , are you a member of a photography forum or a camera club?
I agree with you that there is a definite division between Canon and Nikon supporters (much like Ford and GM) but it is all a friendly debate and the photographic end results are much of a muchness .
Where in your experience have you found this "cliqueiness"(did I spell that right?), and how did it it manifest itself?
You have me at a disadvantage, I have no idea what Groucho Marx said about cliques or camera clubs?
Cheers Wbool

That must be the saying that goes something like; "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member".

I didn't know it was Groucho Marx who said it.

I used to, several of them...

I joined my local camera club last August, it's the first time I've been in a photography club. We have weekly meetings and there are competitions, usually one a fortnight. They alternate between print and digital contest. The prints are A4size, though some people use bigger sizes, and the digital images are projected on to a large screen. I always smile to myself when the judge says something like, "This has had some photoshop work done to it," if only they knew.
As far as I know I'm the only one who uses Gimp for the post processing work.
I don't bother using my own printer any more, I can get an A4 print at good quality and done within the hour for £4 from a local shop, which probably isn't any more than I was spending on the ink and paper when I was printing my own.
I enjoy the meetings and am learning stuff from the lectures we have, and I hope that my photography is getting better. Must be headed in the right direction as a judge awarded one of my pictures a ten out of ten the other week, shame the other two images I had entered that night didn't do nearly as well.
There is even the odd night when we have a model turn up for a photoshoot, brave girls to have all those cameras pointed at them.

If it counts I'm a member at, Cambridge in Color.

Thank You Caz and Odin for your replies. I am amazed that so few of us are members of a camera club.
Caz it seems that you are enjoying the experience. Our camera club (Warrnambool Camera Club) is not as progressive as yours with models. We run on a shoestring and just cannot afford to have models.
Odin , I am very impressed with your Camera Club's portal and had a quick look around. Thank You for sharing.
Cheers Wbool63

Just to be clear, Cambridge in Color is only online.