by Mid Cheshire Camera Club is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Five decades ago the popular club started as Winsford Camera Club in 1974 and now has 34 members.
The young amateur and professional photographers meet between September and the end of April every Wednesday night at 7.45pm at St Andrew’s Church in Winsford.
Club member Karen Swift said: “It was founded in 1974 as Winsford Camera Club.
“We joined the L&PCU and PAGB in the early 1980s and in 1986 we changed the name to Mid Cheshire Camera Club to expand the area.
“During the 1990s, the club met at the Arts Center on Dene Drive, where they built their own darkroom but relocated to the Dingle Center in 2002 when the town center was redeveloped.
“When the Daing Center was closed due to Covid-19, we moved again to our current home, St Andrew’s Church.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the club ran regular Zoom competitions and had guest speakers join them every week.
It is still the choice of some members of the camera club to attend meetings by zooming.
We spoke to three members of Mid Cheshire Camera Club to find out what sparked their interest in photography, their favorite place to take pictures and their favorite photos to see.
Anyone for ice cream 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 come from a technical/computing/science background and 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 photograph 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: “Living in Cheshire, we’re lucky to have all these fantastic sites within two hours’ drive.
“I love landscapes and seascapes and we are spoiled for choice in the UK.
“I think my next trip will be up to Scotland for the amazing scenery and hopefully some great images.
“One more place I’m really interested in visiting is Iceland because of its unique features and potential for great photos.”
Richard’s favorite photo is ‘Anyone for ice cream’ taken on Black Rock Sands near Porthmadog in North Wales in April 2018.
Richard said: “It’s a very simple photograph with great colours.
“The blue sky matches the blue ice cream van, the clouds are in just the right position within the frame and the orange toned sand complements the teal blue sky perfectly.
“It looks great printed large and hanging on the wall!”
A lone tree on a limestone path by Colleen Ashley
Colleen Ashley lives in Winsford and has been taking photographs for over 20 years but didn’t ‘get serious about getting better’ until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic when she quit.
Colleen saw an advert for Mid Cheshire Camera Club and is just coming to the end of her third season.
Colleen said: “My photography has developed greatly with feedback from the competition judges and support from some of the more experienced members, who are happy to act as sounding boards and answer some of the more obscure questions our members have.
“My favorite place to take photos is when I’m travelling.
“Thanks to the meetings that took place in person and over Zoom, I was able to participate in club competitions from all over the world including Scotland, Montenegro, Croatia, Spain and France.”
Colleen loved taking long exposure landscape photos in the West of Ireland but her favorite photo is of a lone tree on a limestone path in the Yorkshire Dales.
She said: “I love this photo for two reasons – I had to find a place and climb up in the middle of nowhere to take this photo and I think it’s amazing that, against all odds in such a stark environment, this little tree manages to survive. .”
Into the fog by Petar Sobic
Petar Sobic has lived in Tarporley for over 40 years and has been interested in photography since he was 12 years old.
Petar said: “My interest in photography was sparked at the age of 12 by my father, a World War II immigrant from former Yugoslavia, who did wedding photography as a sideline to his main job.
“My first Kodak camera was a basic 35mm film camera with a fixed focal length as a ‘reward’ for removing my tonsils!
“Although my father did his own development and printing, this side of the experience never appealed to me.
“Over the years, I’ve owned 35mm format film cameras, taking snapshots of my children growing up and on vacations, collecting boxes of prints that are poured over and over again in moments of nostalgia.”
Petar’s true passion for creative art evolved with the dawn 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 fueled by thousands of images consuming gigabytes of computer memory in search of a unique and magical photograph.
“My emotional connection to the natural world is important to me – very ethereal and difficult to describe but nevertheless, a Holy Grail that I strive to capture in my work.”
Petar joined the Mid Cheshire Camera Club just last year and has enjoyed meeting other photography enthusiasts and seeing their work.
Petar said: “There are so many talented people in the club who encourage me to develop and expand my own skills, taking on other genres such as portraiture, street photography and more abstract images.”
Petar’s favorite photograph was taken with a long telephoto lens from Tarporley looking towards Buckley Hill.
Petar said: “I love the layers of fog and the golden light that diffuses the image and makes it a bit mysterious.
“Your favorite image was a spontaneous jump I took early in the morning in my grown-up clothes – and it worked!”
