Abington Camera Club
The Club, originally known as Abington Community Centre Photographic Club, was formed by a band of 14 photography enthusiasts on April 22nd 1949. Councillor Walker was in the Chair for that inaugural meeting and Mr Fred Samsun was elected as the first Club Secretary and Mr Miller as Treasurer. The aims of the Club were agreed to be to create an interest in Photography in the district and to help and encourage beginners. Public exhibitions of members work would be held at suitable times at the Community Centre.
The modern day Club, with an equally enthusiastic membership, continues to meet at the Community Centre every Monday evening with the same aims as those original forebears. Over the intervening 70 years the Club has witnessed and embraced huge changes in photography. In those early days amateur photography almost exclusively meant painstakingly producing black and white prints in a darkroom. Changing technology brought colour photography to the amateur through colour slide and negative films, processed by mail order or on the high street. Increasingly sophisticated, compact mass produced cameras became readily available to the hobbyist ; right up to the present when photographs can be taken on a digital camera or phone and prints produced on a home computer and inkjet printer.
As the years pass by, Abington Camera Club members enjoy their photography as much today as ever before and within their ranks are people of all photographic abilities, from near beginners to highly experienced amateurs and professionals. Says the Club’s longest standing member, Martin Bodsworth, “We are proud of the fact that as a Club we are still going strong when there are so many calls on people’s leisure time these days. We are a friendly bunch of people and always welcome newcomers to the Club. What better time could there be for people to come and meet us and share in our common passion for our hobby”.
With such an enthusiastic membership, and interest in photography as a hobby increasing in the digital age, it is certain that the future is bright for Abington Camera Club as they celebrate their 72nd anniversary. Anyone interested in joining the Club will find a warm welcome at the Abington Community Centre any Monday evening at 7.15 (for 7.30 start). (September to June)
Telephone enquiries can be made to the Club’s Chairman, Alan on Northampton 713867
Abington Camera Club
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Abington Community Centre 2020
