Improve your photography with us
General Information
W.D.C.C. meet every other Monday on the 1st floor of Grappenhall Community Centre (Bellhouse Club / GYCA and attached real ale, CAMRA listed bar) & are affiliated to other clubs in the area via the Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union. We are a non profit making, voluntary organisation. Subscriptions cover the costs of equipment/lecturers etc. and room hire. The club has approximately thirty members aged from early 20’s upwards (to 60+), with several lady members and students. Our membership varies from beginners, new with a camera, to the very keen. The club is relatively young, (with importantly a membership young in years) (established in 1981), and we would like to think, forward thinking. We are a group of people who enjoy photography without stuffyness or elitism and that is the sole aim of the club.
Meetings generally start at 7:30pm. Outings / walkabouts usually start more promptly, assembling in the car park at 7pm sharp. We are about 3 minutes from M6 junction 20/M56 junction 9. Bus stops are located nearby, close to Chester Road / Dog & Dart pub. Many members share transport or can provide lifts where necessary.
"Living Large" with at least 4 internal competitions with a fixed theme are staged throughout the year to encourage members to use their cameras. Each competition has two sections, prints & slides. No distinction is made between ‘beginners’ or ‘Intermediate’ etc. Outside judges are selected wherever possible to provide impartial but positive comments on entries. Prints do not need to be home processed, some members are fortunate in having a darkroom for colour or black and white printing, but most do not. Winners receive prizes at an awards ceremony at the close of the annual AGM which is usually held in the first week of February each year. Opportunities to enter the Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union (L&CPU) competition (usually held April annually) are offered to all members and a club entry (of over 80 items) is usually submitted. There is always somebody in the club who can advise on preparing images for competitions (i.e. how to crop, mount etc.). Many members have had success in other regional and national competitions, information for which is available at club nights throughout the year.
Members are encouraged to improve their technique for their own satisfaction, whatever their particular interest might be. E.G. Landscapes, Portraits, recording another hobby, Still-life or a mixture of subjects. Members are encouraged to bring their work into club nights for positive comments. A number of ‘studio’ nights are included in the programme each year. These are selected to give everyone a chance to use their cameras, usually using the club lighting equipment and backgrounds. Subjects have recently included a falconer (together with game birds), belly dancer, clown (complete with rabbit), punk rockers and a night club singer. In most cases, the subjects appreciate some prints or enlargements from the session and members are encouraged to bring a few prints in to be passed on.
An exhibition of members work is usually organised in late summer. Around 40+ (mounted) prints from a mixture of members are displayed in a number of libraries around the Warrington area. All club members are encouraged to submit work for this show case exhibition.
Membership runs from February to January (the following year), & currently costs £16 per year & £1 per club night. At the start of our season there is an option to pay £26 for the whole year (inclusive). Joiners part way through the year receive a discount. WDCC Members should also join the Grappenhall Community Centre This entitles use of facilities, subsidised bar (to which we generally retire after meetings (around 9.45pm)), & entry into a weekly prize draw.
No charge is made for anyone coming along to try us out for a month to see if the club is suitable for them. New members are welcome at any time. Members are free to occasionally bring guests to meetings and usually up to date information on 'coming events' is available for people to take away. An up to date list of coming attractions can be obtained by contacting one of the numbers quoted in the heading above. We are also listed in the ‘Thomson Local' under 'Clubs & Groups'.
The club has close links with other voluntary groups in the community (the Warrington CVS), and have been involved with the Warrington woman’s action group, Warrington YMCA night shelter, the annual Disabled Awareness Day (DAD), Warrington Collegiate, The North West Wheelchair tennis association, Warrington athletics club and the I-Witness theatre group among many others. These links offer our members a mix of potential photographic opportunities and (by passing images back), return something to the community.
Studio lighting and flash meter, darkroom equipment, print coloration/toning kit, slide projector, instructional videos & other items are available for members use/free hire. Discounts on certain items (E.g. 10% on film, paper etc.) has been negotiated locally and is available on producing a valid, current membership card. Our members’ interests are quite varied & cover studio, darkroom experience etc., use of colour / Black & White print film, slides, 35mm compacts, SLRs & larger cameras (E.g. Bronica / Mamiya). The programme through the year is quite flexible and can be altered to specific needs and interests. In general the club provides a relaxed forum for meeting new friends, improving / showing off your images, discussing problems & sharing solutions.
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You can contact us now
Call Chris on 01925-653244
Alan 01925-730614
or Email us at thewdcc@hotmail.com or chris_roxby@lineone.net
for free information by return.
Alternatively, find us fast in the Warrington Thomson Local directory, under the ‘Clubs & Groups’ section .
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