Penryn Camera Club - Welcome Pack
Welcome:
The members of Penryn Camera Club are pleased that you have decided to officially join us so a big Welcome! Our meetings are an eclectic mix of competitions, speakers, practical and fun activities, which we hope you will not only participate and enjoy but maybe even wish to organise or run yourself. We are a very inclusive club and are always happy to listen to suggestions and welcome the involvement of new and existing members alike.
PCC was established in 1980 and hence we have a wealth of experience and knowledge to help members progress to whatever level they wish, whether it be club competitions, inter-club battles or even County or National Salons of photography. During summer months we also hold meet-ups at various photogenic venues and more impromptu sessions such as teas or lunches together and you may wish to organise one of these yourself.
The Club Committee:
Members are voted in annually and comprise Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, Competition Secretary, Programme Secretary, IT & Media Organiser and CPA Representatives with the remainder from ordinary members. We also have long standing members appointed as President and Vice-President. Additionally there is a Selection Team made up from the committee plus ordinary members, which chooses images to represent the club in Inter-Club Competitions with other clubs. Committee Officials are as shown on the current Club Programme.
Penryn Camera Club Constitution:
It is a requirement that any photography club that wishes to be affiliated with the PAGB and hence the WCPF MUST have a published Constitution. Penryn Camera Club is no exception and our current document can be found on our website here: https://www.penryncameraclub.co.uk/constitution
It details the aims of the club, how we are organised and run, the number, titles and responsibilities of officers along with general rules on meetings and voting, financial reporting etc.
Annual General Meeting:
As required in our Constitution, the club holds an AGM each year whereby reports from all of the committee members are presented and ordinary members may ask questions or seek clarification. In addition all club members may seek election to any committee positions and new committee members are required to be voted in to their posts. However, the Committee are always willing to discuss improvements or queries regarding the day-to-day club activities, so please feel free to raise any such queries with the our current Chairperson.
Affiliations:
PCC are affiliated to a number of photographic organisations, giving us access to third party and liability insurance, external competitions, judges and speakers. At the top of the tree is the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB), the organisation that co-ordinates specific activities for photographic clubs in England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland and it does this through 15 geographical regions known as Federations. Representing the clubs in the South West is the Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF), which has similar activities to the PAGB, but at a more regional level.
More details can be found in this short 5 minute video from the WCPF website which explains the link between the WCPF and PAGB, the history of the WCPF, how the WCPF helps photographers to achieve photographic distinctions and how the executive is made up:
http://www.dropbox.com/sh/oohsuygqczaipe8/AADu4mLb-AEksivsz5jVeRPWa?d
Cornwall Photographic Alliance (CPA) is the umbrella whereby member Cornish Clubs have a forum for arranging talks, events and competitions. All member clubs have CPA delegates who are voted in by the clubs themselves to represent the interests of their club. The CPA also has a directory of speakers and judges and also organise both the Nature & Wildlife Competition and the Charles Hosken Competition which are both DPI based with images chosen by the club members themselves.
The CPA also organise the annual Inter-Club competition and exhibition for all the affiliated Cornish clubs comprising both Prints and Digital Projected Images (DPI) and hold regular meetings at which all the planned activities are discussed and agreed by majority vote. The AGM of the CPA is held annually and is fully open to club delegates and observers.
Annual Programme:
The club has a dedicated Programme Secretary who works with the committee and co-ordinates the programme of competitions, speakers and practical events throughout our season which runs from September to April. All members are provided with a printed copy along with access to the programme on the website. This is regularly maintained for any changes made throughout the year. Our Programme Secretary welcomes suggestions.
In addition, social events are organised throughout the club season and the Summer break. https://www.penryncameraclub.co.uk/progamme
Competitions Overview:
Please also see our current PCC Competition Rules at: https://www.penryncameraclub.co.uk/competition-rules
We have a full programme of Competitions which are organised and co-ordinated by our Competitions Secretary. All entries must be made using the dedicated PhotoEntry system with prints being handed in by the published date.
Some founding member’s names have been adopted and used for the competitions that are held and consist of combinations of Prints, Digitally Projected Images (DPIs) and Off Camera (OC) projected images in both Colour and Black and White. As a general rule and dependent upon your skill levels, you can decide if you wish to enter EITHER
-
a) Prints and Digitally Projected Images (DPIs) OR
-
b) Prints and Off Camera digital images (OC) with no editing allowed.
President’s Award:
This competition normally kicks off our season and consists of the President’s choice of Set or Open subject.
Ken Maynard Award:
The subject for this competition was originally established by Ken Maynard but has now been brought in line with the Cornwall Photographic Alliance (CPA) competition named “Nature and Wildlife” and rules defined by the WCPF. – NO domestic or farm animals.
The Ken Farnell Series:
These competitions are run in parallel over three segments, each of which is scheduled for a different evening during the season. The subjects for the three segments of the Ken Farnell competition can change each season.
Image of the Year:
This is a multi-faceted competition of member’s own choice of images already judged in the current year’s competitions and the images MAY be edited to incorporate enhancements/improvements. However Off Camera images may NOT be edited.
Dennis Watson Award:
This is an ‘All Season’ competition where all the individual scores achieved by each member during the year are aggregated, the winner being the member with the highest score. Thus it encourages members to enter as many competitions as they can.
Off Camera restrictions are as follows - the image has to be a straight shot as taken in the camera, but may be straightened and/or cropped with no other editing allowed.
Awards Ceremony:
At the end of the season we have a celebratory Trophy award ceremony, which usually takes the form of a luncheon and awards’ ceremony.
WCPF/PCC Competition Rules:
Like all affiliated clubs, Penryn Camera Club has its own general rules but also tends to abide by the specific rules laid down by the WCPF and as agreed by the CPA as they relate to print and file sizes, definitions of wildlife, mono etc. This ensures that our inter-club and external competition entries are consistent across all competitions and can be entered universally in National competitions.
Prints can preferably be A4 or A3 size that fit into a 40cm x 50cm mount whilst digital images need to be 1600 pixels max wide by 1200 maximum pixels high for landscape configuration, 1200 pixels high for portrait configuration or alternatively 1200 pixels square.
PCC Newsletter:
We have a dedicated PCC Newsletter which is circulated weekly through the season and provides members with updates and reminders for competitions etc. It also includes information regarding trips and member’s activities. The Newsletter is currently edited by our Vice-President who is always happy to include member’s contributions.
Club Mentors:
Derek Godridge LRPS AFIAP – Derek has been a member for over 25 years, a judge for local Cornish clubs and is always available for general advice on Nikon cameras, print presentation and critiques of work.
Paul Cooper – Paul is our IT specialist who is also a judge on the Cornish circuit and can advise on any social media issues you may have regarding preparing and sharing your images further afield. He is also responsible for providing authorisation to the member’s access to the PCC Website and PCC member’s FaceBook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/penryncameraclub
John Yarrow – John is our “Go To” member to get you started with all of our competition entries and will provide access and any training on the PhotoEntry database.
https://photoentry.uk/information/welcome.html
Finally for now, Penryn Camera Club has an active presence on the Internet with our website that you may be familiar with by now and which has a mountain of handy and useful information regarding the club’s activities, newsletters, photographic terms, images etc. We also have a Facebook page where members can post images. We also have a WhatsApp page which is used by members socially to provide current updates on our outings and activities.
Once again we would like the opportunity to welcome you to our club, and whilst we realise there is a great deal of information to absorb please remember we have dedicated “Mentors” to help and guide you through!
Basically if you have a question about ANYTHING – just ASK !