Special Interest Groups
Biggleswade & District Camera Club have three additional Special Interest Groups available for members to join in addition to the normal Thursday evening meetings. There is no additional joining fee, but some groups involve additional costs. These Special Interest Groups are (Click on any links for more information):
Visits for Photographers – a monthly mid-week photographic outing for members to visit areas of photographic interest, travelling by car or public transport, with an opportunity for coffee and cake! Each outing is open to any club member who would like to take part and there is no additional charge except for any transport, admissions and refreshments. Locations visited include Oxford, London, transport and living history museums, National Trust properties, gardens, etc. sometimes with exclusive use by members. The group is led by Richard Thomas.
Critique Group – a monthly Zoom meeting for members to discuss each other’s digital images. Each month members may upload one or two digital images with two versions of each if useful, such as a before and after post-processing. All of the images are then sent to every member of the group who have a week to look at them and may work on them to produce another version if they would like to. A Zoom invitation is sent to each member and a two hour meeting takes place where each photographer first describes their image – what it is, where and how taken, what they were trying to achieve, what processing has been applied, etc. Others then offer their comments with ideas for improvement. It is amazing what a fresh pair of eyes will notice that the photographer themselves missed. There has been very positive feedback on this resource from members. It helps those who take part to improve their images and to prepare them for club competitions, or for entry to national and international exhibitions as well as for possible RPS distinctions and PAGB awards. There is no charge for this group. The group is led by Brian Hunt and Tim Walton.
Studio Group – this group meets every two months at present, at a local venue. There is an attendance limit of 10 members for each studio session to allow plenty of time for each photographer to shoot on a one-to-one basis. Using equipment belonging to the club and other members, which consists of studio flash lighting, soft boxes, backdrops and stands, etc., a makeshift studio is set up at the venue. The club has a good variety of different coloured background paper and members are encouraged to bring along props. Sessions are charged at a rate which shares the cost of the model and venue hire between those attending. The models and image styles vary from session to session. The club has two specific annual competitions for People images – digital and prints and the Studio Group is one way of attaining some high quality shots for these. Members are encouraged to provide images for the models. The group is led by Hugh Spence and Tim Walton.