Morning All
Well… that’s it! Four weeks have disappeared faster than a fully charged camera battery on a cold day, and our ‘From Auto to Awesome’ Photography Camera Course has officially reached the finish line.
I really hope all our intrepid photographers enjoyed themselves – learning new skills, making new friends, drinking the odd cup of tea (or three), devouring biscuits/cake and finally discovering that the little green “Auto” box isn’t the only setting on the camera! Hopefully everyone’s cameras are now producing more masterpieces than mysteries… although we’ll quietly blame any remaining blurry shots on the wind.
We started with 24 enthusiastic participants. We unfortunately “mislaid” two along the way (no rewards offered!), but then picked up another two as word spread, so we’ve ended up exactly where we started. Proof, if ever it was needed, that photographers know how to frame a good picture!
I sent everyone an email thanking them for taking part and asking for some honest feedback. Thankfully, the replies were overwhelmingly positive – which is always nice, because nobody enjoys reading, “I’ve learnt more from YouTube!” The comments below are for you to enjoy:
Many thanks for this and a big thanks to you and the crew for putting on such a brilliant course. I really enjoyed it and learnt plenty
I genuinely didn’t think anything needing changing or improving as it seemed to work perfectly over the 4 weeks. I will definitely be considering joining but just need to look at my calendar and see how feasible it would be going forward.
Many thanks again Mike and a big congratulations to a successful course. Hopefully catch you again in the near future.
Thank you for the course. It was interesting, and useful, though of course mobile phones don’t do as much as proper cameras. I have certainly learned a few tricks for my mobile phone, and may also dig out my compact camera and see what that can do too.
Ian on mobile phones was so good, friendly, knowledgeable, and keen to pass on his expertise. Please thank him. I enjoyed going onto the park with the dog!
One negative… on the last night, I thought the editing was way beyond a beginner. I have used Photoshop a fair bit, and you still lost me. Also, I would have liked some instruction about portrait photography before setting off to have a go.
Thank you for having me. Maybe see you again with my compact camera.
Hi Mike.
Just to say thanks for a great 3 weeks. It’s been very beneficial.
Hi Mike,
Great session tonight! We all had so much fun. 🙂 Thanks again, the four weeks have been amazing and we’ve learnt so much!
Hi Mike
Gutted to miss the last session! Thank you so, so much for these amazing sessions – please do send any notes from tonight.
Now for the really important bit…
A gigantic THANK YOU to every club member who gave up their time to help, serve tea/coffee/biscuits/cakes and wash-up, deliver talks, answer questions, untangle camera menus that seem to have been designed by NASA; the willingness of everyone to muck in was fantastic and generally reassure everyone that they weren’t the only person who couldn’t remember what aperture actually did!
The social side of the club absolutely shone throughout the course. New friendships were made, plenty of laughs were shared, and there was always someone willing to help – often before the question had even been finished!
Once again, we’ve put the club firmly on the Garstang map and shown what a friendly, welcoming bunch, and slightly camera-obsessed gathering we are. The course simply wouldn’t have been the success it was without every single one of you.
So, give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back… and if anyone asks, yes – we did mean to take 600 photos to get one really good one. That’s called photography!
Notices:
Meetings:
Please note: the next meeting at the Arts Centre is on Wednesday 26th August.
Club outing: Sunderland Point, Wednesday 29th July:
I suggest you meet at Kirkland Memorial Hall, The Avenue, Churchtown, Garstang, PR3 0HR at 6.30pm and car share where appropriate.
If we leave at, say 6.40pm, we’ll be there for 7.15pm
If you can’t make this time, you can obviously make your own way there and meet up with us.
It could well be muddy/wet so I suggest suitable footwear!
Tide times at Sunderland Point for 29.07.26:
Low tide: 6.37am
High tide: 12.18pm
Low tide: 6.39pm
Weather – looking good, at the moment! Sunset is at 9.15pm
Events Cup:
The final destination for the Events Cup is Levens Hall. The 2 dates are either, Tuesday 11th August OR Saturday 15th August.
Just a gentle reminder – you can only visit once!
Levens Hall
Address: Levens Hall, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 0PD
Opening Details: 27 Mar 2026 – 08 Nov 2026; Open 7 days a week during the season
Gardens: 10am – 5pm (Last entry 4pm)
The House: 11am – 3.30pm (Last entry 3pm)
Admission:
Reduced prices 25th June until 1st September, (only available to buy on arrival).
House & Gardens: Adult: £15.12
Gardens Only: Adult: £11.36
Levens Kitchen: Open 7 days a week. Drinks & Cakes from 9.30am. Food from 10am, last Food orders 4pm.
Up and coming programme of events:
Wednesday 29th July – Club outing to Sunderland Point; details above.
Wednesday 5th August – Club outing to the Crook o’ Lune; details in next week’s newsletter.
Tuesday 11th August – Events Cup, final destination – possible first visit to Levens Hall. Details above.
Wednesday 12th August – NO MEETING – Committee meeting at 7pm start.
Saturday 15th August – Events Cup, final destination – possible visit to Levens Hall. Details above.
Wednesday 19th August – Club outing to Scorton and Scorton Picnic area.
That’s all folks!
Mike
Garstang Camera Club 