Club History - 1980s
The 1980s saw a significant increase in membership, which rose to 91 members at the end of the decade; the society’s best ever. At the time, the committee considered capping the membership at 100. By 1985 the subscription was £6 and nearly doubled to £11 in 1989.
In the mid eighties sub groups were established for natural history and portraiture. In 1988 an audio-visual group was set up creating short film stories using two projectors to show slides set to suitable music. These varied from local places and events to distant travelogues, flora and fauna and even comic events; these were shown to other local camera clubs and to entertain social clubs and the elderly in Horsham.
The majority of the internal and external competitions remained in the same format of print and slide sections which were assessed by qualified external photographic judges. Some competitions had specific subject matter or themes, but most were open to the photographers’ imagination. The purpose of the Society at this time was not to formally teach photography, but for members to share experiences and learn from assessments, stimulating ideas and creativity. Some members were expert at processing their own prints, but commercially processed prints were also accepted in competitions, as subject matter and composition were equally important.
In the mid eighties sub groups were established for natural history and portraiture. In 1988 an audio-visual group was set up creating short film stories using two projectors to show slides set to suitable music. These varied from local places and events to distant travelogues, flora and fauna and even comic events; these were shown to other local camera clubs and to entertain social clubs and the elderly in Horsham.
The majority of the internal and external competitions remained in the same format of print and slide sections which were assessed by qualified external photographic judges. Some competitions had specific subject matter or themes, but most were open to the photographers’ imagination. The purpose of the Society at this time was not to formally teach photography, but for members to share experiences and learn from assessments, stimulating ideas and creativity. Some members were expert at processing their own prints, but commercially processed prints were also accepted in competitions, as subject matter and composition were equally important.
