MID Cheshire Camera Club celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Five decades ago, the popular club started as Winsford Camera Club in 1974 and now has 34 members.
The budding amateur and professional photographers meet every Wednesday evening at 7.45pm at St Andrew’s Church in Winsford between September and the end of April.
Club member Karen Swift said: “It was founded in 1974 as Winsford Camera Club.
“In the early 1980s we joined the L&PCU and PAGB and in 1986 we changed the name to Mid Cheshire Camera Club to broaden the catchment area.
“In the 1990s the club met at The Arts Center on Dene Drive where they built their own darkroom, but moved to The Dingle Center in 2002 when the town center was redeveloped.
“When The Dingle Center closed due to Covid-19, we moved again to our current home, St Andrew’s Church.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the club hosted regular Zoom competitions and had guest speakers every week.
Attending meetings via Zoom is still an option for some camera club members.
We spoke to three members of Mid Cheshire Camera Club to find out what sparked their interest in photography, where taking photos and viewing their favorite images is their main focus.
Everyone for Ice Cream by Richard Breland
Richard Breland lives in Middlewich and has been taking photographs for five years.
He said: “I think people have two sides to their nature: the scientific/technical side and the artistic/creative side.
“I have an engineering/computer/science background and I really wanted to see if I could improve the artistic side of my brain – photography is a great way to do this.”
Richard’s favorite places to take photos are The Peak District and North Wales for landscapes and seascapes and New Brighton in Wirral, Blackpool, Liverpool and Manchester for street and architectural photography.
Richard said: “We are very lucky to live in Cheshire and have all these great locations within a two hour drive.
“I really love landscapes and seascapes and in Britain we are spoiled for choice.
“I think my next trip will be to Scotland for the beautiful scenery and hopefully some great images.
“Another place I really want to visit is Iceland for its unique features and potential for great photos.”
Richard’s favorite photo is ‘Everyone for Ice Cream’, which was taken in April 2018 at Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog in North Wales.
Richard said: “It’s a very simple photo with great colours.
“The blue sky matches the blue ice cream truck, the clouds are in exactly the right place within the frame and the orange-hued sand perfectly compliments the teal blue sky.
“It looks great printed large and hung on the wall!”
Lonely Tree on a Limestone Sidewalk by Colleen Ashley
Colleen Ashley lives in Winsford and has been taking photographs for more than 20 years, but didn’t ‘get serious about getting better’ until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when she retired.
Colleen saw an advert for Mid Cheshire Camera Club and she is just coming to the end of her third season.
Colleen said: “My photography has developed enormously thanks to the feedback from competition judges and the support of some of the more experienced members, who fortunately are happy to act as a sounding board and answer some of the more obscure questions on our members’ minds.
“My favorite place to photograph is when I’m traveling.
“The meetings held in person and via Zoom have allowed me to participate in club competitions from all over the world, including Scotland, Montenegro, Croatia, Spain and France.”
Colleen would love to take long exposure landscape photos in western Ireland, but her favorite photo is of a lone tree on a limestone pavement in the Yorkshire Dales.
She said: “I love this photo for two reasons: I had to find the middle of nowhere and climb up to take this photo, and I love that this little tree, against all odds in such a stark environment , manages to survive. .”
In the Mist by Petar Sobic
Petar Sobic has lived in Tarporley for over 40 years and has been interested in photography since the age of 12.
Petar said: “My interest in photography was stimulated at the age of 12 by my father, an immigrant from the former Yugoslavia after the Second World War, who did wedding photography as a side job alongside his main job.
“My first camera was a standard 35mm Kodak film camera with a fixed focal length as a ‘reward’ for having my tonsils removed!
“Although my father did his own development and printing, this side of the experience never appealed to me.
“Over the years I have worked with 35mm film cameras, taking photos of my children growing up and on vacations, and collecting boxes of prints that are occasionally drenched in moments of nostalgia.”
Petar’s true passion for creative art began with the rise of digital photography and the use of post-processing technology.
Petar said: “My interest in the natural world in all its forms – landscapes, wildlife, trees and birds – has been unleashed with literally thousands of images taking up gigabytes of computer memory in the search for a unique and magical photograph.
“Important to me is the emotional connection I have with the natural world – very ethereal and difficult to describe, but nevertheless almost a holy grail that I try to capture in my work.”
Petar joined the Mid Cheshire Camera Club last year and has enjoyed meeting other photography enthusiasts and seeing their work.
Petar said: “There are so many talented individuals in the club who inspire me to strive and expand my own skills, tackling other genres such as portrait art, street photography and more abstract images.”
Petar’s favorite photo was taken with a long telephoto lens from Tarporley, looking towards Buckley Hill.
Petar said: “I love the misty layers and the golden light that spreads the image and makes it a bit mystical.
“It’s a favorite photo, a candid photo I took early in the morning while in my adult clothes – and it worked!”