Hello to all readers ,this will be a shorter than usual report since we will be “closed for Christmas “. To now, we have had a successful calendar year and take a short break. We have just had a very enjoyable social evening, thanks to everyone who helped to make it possible, we all know that these events do not just happen.

I will list the next five meetings taking us into February and they are as follows  :-

Jan. 7^th………Neil Protheroe   ZOOM  on  New Zealand Landscapes , my thoughts and knowledge of landscape photography.

  ..    14^th…….Jerry Webb      ZOOM  on  Urban and street photography.

  ..    21^st…….Creatures and Plants Competition  judging by  Sheila Giles.

  ..    28^th……Members evening  the “Show and Tell Challenge “

Feb. 4^th……..Rene de Heer   ZOOM  on  Blowing Hot and Cold,  Nature photography Up North and Down South.

May I finish by wishing everyone, the best of Season’s Greetings and a Happy and Healthy 2026.

Maurice Barker

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

We are rapidly approaching that time of year.. no don’t say the word ! There remain only six weeks to go as I put pen to paper, yes, I still produce a draft copy.

Recently, we have had some serious weather ( is there any other sort ? ) Floods, storms and some devastatingly strong winds, which reminds me of a high profile star who was engaged in a world tour involving concerts to raise money for children in need (no, this was many years before that phrase became the norm )  One such visit took place in a home for the visually impaired and a small child asked him  “what colour is the wind “? To which he carefully replied Nobody knows because it moves so fast “ What an answer, nudging me into thinking of the things we so often take for granted.

Our last two meetings on 1. Concert photography by Will Stead showed us how to get a valued position in theatre to get the top shots, through theatre management…agents to the performers… I wish !

The last one on Nov. 12^th.  the 4way battle between 3 other clubs, showed how strong a club we are. We came 4^th.supporting all above us !   It’s the taking part being the important factor.

To come this year:

Dec.  3rd.   Daniel Bridge on ZOOM  presents    Water and it’s many forms.

  ..     10^th.  Jeremy Malley-Smith  talks on Scottish Wildlife  also by ZOOM.

  ..     17^th.  Christmas ( !!! )  Social.

Dec. 7^th.   Neil Protheroe on Zoom presents  New Zealand Landscapes, my thoughts and knowledge of Landscape Photography.

Finally, may I wish all who read us the Compliments of the Season to come and every good wish for 2026.

Maurice Barker

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

The beginning of the club’s new season started off exceptionally well with it’s first night full to the brim with our regular members and some new ones. We were given a varied programme of presentations by club members and a competition of images. All in all excellent.

The dates for our meetings in October are as follows:-

Oct. 1^st.    Colin Balls, LIVE ( = not zoom L ) on  SRI LANKA BY RAIL.

“    8^TH.     Robert Millin  L.  CONFESSIONS OF A COMPETITION ADDICT

“    15^th.    Events cup judging by Richard Nicholson.

“    22cnd.  Sean Conboy L.  on  ARCHITECTURE.

“    29^th. Member’s meeting .  Stan Pearson on  IMAGE CRITIQUING.

November  5^th.  Will Stead  L.  on CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY.

All meetings take place  in the Arts Centre, Wednesday  evenings starting at 7.30.   

It is with an influx of new blood or should I say new eyes that we welcome all our newcomers and hope that they will soon feel part of our club.

Our bi-annual exhibition of work completed during 2024/’25 is now on display until mid  October. Many thanks go to all members who have submitted their images for display.

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Maurice Barker

Hello and welcome to our readers, regular and hopefully new . We are entering our Club’s new season 2025-’26.  If you are thinking of joining the club, do come along to our opening night Wed Sept  3^rd. at 7.30. You will see what we are about and you can chat informally to members to see if it interests you.  Basically, what we are about is the taking of photographs / images and I must add that we are a most friendly bunch !  We have members of different levels of proficiency from beginners to the more advanced . We accommodate every level.

We meet each Wednesday at the Arts Centre at 7.30, breaking for refreshments after the first hour. The cost for the year is £60 , a proportion of which goes to the Arts Centre and can give you access to other societies within the Centre.

At our first meeting, we have club members giving short presentations on different subjects in order to whet your appetite.

Our programme for September and early October is as follows :

Sept. 3^rd.     Welcome back and see above.

  “      10^th.    Lee Metcalf on  Local photos: Landscapes  local and further afield.

  “      17^th.    Sue Freeman on Artificial Intelligence ; the latest overview.

  “      24^th.   John Griffin on battles between clubs.

Oct.  1^st.      Colin Balls on Sri Lanka by rail.

I hope that you are able to join us, remember  “friendly “ is the word.

Maurice Barker

garstangcameraclub.co.uk          

Hello to all…….just where is this year going ? July has seen the completion of our second year’s “freebie”, four weeks of tuition for members of the public who, having a camera, but not knowing how to get the best out of it, Digital cameras have a programme known as the green square ie you just point and shoot, the camera doing all the work. This course is to make the owner to become more proficient and creative. It has been very well attended with an average of around 15 places each week.

Thanks must go to two people particularly, our Chair, Mike who I think must have some Swiss genes in his persona, his organisational skills on the nights run on time and are like clockwork ! Secondly to Stan Pearson for the hard work and preparation of the course content, not forgetting his knowledge. Well done the both of you. A very big thank you, also,  to the membership as a whole for their conviviality, tuition and refreshments . Well done everyone !

We continue to use our “quiet period “ with our Events Cup Competition and on the free nights (something about hen’s teeth) to visit local places of interest, more on a social basis.

As you are reading this, it will only be four weeks until the start of our new season which begins on Wednesday, 3rd.September.

Ther are still many photograph opportunities left during the summer with the Garstang Show, 2 Air Shows, both free, Blackpool Aug 9-10^th.  Southport Aug 30-31^st.and a number of local Village Shows, why not enter the photography section IT’S FUN. Not as Bill Shankley was asked if football was a matter of life or death, his reply  “ oh no! It’s much more important than that ! “

Maurice Barker

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

This will be a brief report since we are now into our “ close season “ although it’s hard to believe.  We continue to meet each week although on a less formal basis.  We have had three successful outings during the past month to Heysham,  Kirby Lonsdale and Sunderland point, each blessed with good weather and well attended.

By the time this goes to print there will be three out of the four weeks remaining on our free tuition course  “ YOUR CAMERA, LEARN IT, LOVE IT “ and so if you missed the first, there is still time to catch up.

JULY 2cnd / 9^th. 16^th.  held at the Arts Centre, High St. Garstang beginning at 7.00pm – 10.00pm and the important word is FREE !  Just turn up.

For all information regarding the Club, go to the website below, or ring Mike our Chair on     07340  314408 .

Maurice Barker
garstangcameraclub.co.uk

June already ! Regular meetings have ceased until September  BUT……. for non- members, we are again offering a FREE 4 week course to anyone with a camera or thinking of buying one.
The meetings take place at the Arts Centr on the High St. on Wednesday evenings on the following dates;
– 25th June
– 2nd July
– 9th July
– 16th July
Meetings begin at 7.00pm prompt and finish at 10.00pm.  The technicalities are broken down into easy to grasp stages, starting with  how a camera works/what it can do, composition with images, being creative and editing with software.  Do avail yourselves of this superb offer, where else do freebies exist without a catch ?  I must add that we are a very friendly club so, come test the water.
By the time this goes to print, we will have completed our year’s programme, social evening and prizewinners being given their awards.
Finally I look forward to meeting up in June, and also for our new year in September .

Maurice  Barker
garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Hello to all.  I hope all is well.  Here is the copy for May.

Hello readers and as I write this, what glorious weather we are having, let’s hope this is not our summer !  We are nearing the end of another season which has been a most successful one. It culminated in a win for Garstang with our annual battle with our link club in New Zealand at Rangiora. There remains only one presentation  to go, this is by Steve Proctor presenting THE WILDSIDE and takes place on Wed. May 7^th at 7.30 pm.

Our presentation evening is on  May 21^st. when, a meal will be followed by the presentation of certificates along with trophies.  Although this is the last programmed meeting, we are again running our summer course entitled  YOUR CAMERA, LEARN IT , LOVE IT.  for non members

It will run for 4 weeks from  June 25^th. and is FREE.  We are aiming at beginners or those with a camera, maybe still in it’s box !  You need to bring it along. We are a very friendly club with members encouraging and helping out each week. If you are thinking of buying one and need some advice, perhaps we can advise you on such a purchase. I will be giving specific details of course content/times etc in the next issue of this magazine so, mark it down in your diary. With very little free in these times without a catch, please avail yourselves of such an opportunity.

Finally, it cannot go unsaid that the success of the club is due to a good team. Firstly to Mike Jenner as the Chairman, who is said to work the 25 hr day on behalf of the club, ably supported by the committee. To the members of GCC who turn up in all weathers and help out whenever asked. A very big Thank You to one and all.  I wish you all, a good summer.

Maurice Barker
garstangcameraclub.co.uk

Each year, the Club puts on two exhibitions of member’s prints which have been entered for all or any of our internal competitions.The one in September displays which were awarded a !st,  2cnd  or 3^rd place in our big 5 ( for more details see the website ) These are held in the Arts Centre.

We begin with our first display which will be open for viewing from April 5th through to May 1^st. This consists of images which were not awarded a place and may include prints not having been entered for whatever reason. Without the many prints the competitions would not be viable…..thinking back to my marathon days I never assumed a win as the many thousands in front will testify ! The efforts and the satisfaction of a good print  ( it’s not the winning but the taking part ……..! )

Please give us a visit and why not take the weight off and have some coffee and cake, you will be made most welcome.

I intended to publish the results of our annual battle between ourselves and our colleagues in New Zealand , unfortunately it had to be switched to a later date. Next edition…..!

Also soon to be published , our 5 summer outings to various places of interest, these may be entered into one of our big 5, the Events Cup.

Our programme for April is as follows-

April 2nd.    Kas Stone on  Making Meaningful Photographs  (by way of ZOOM )

  ..  .. 9^th.       Paul Dunmall  CPAGB  QCP  on An Iterchangeable Critic Night.

..   ..16^th       the judging of one of the big 5  ANYTHING GOES  Judge  Simon Ray.

..  .. 23^rd      Presentation by two of our Members,  Stan Pearson and Lewis Thompson

..  ..30^th       A G M.

May 7^th        Steve Proctor  on  The Wildside.   ( could this be a walk ? )

Maurice Barker

garstangcameraclub.co.uk

The recent old snap although giving massive opportunities  for superb landscapes, and fell views, does little to encourage photographers of a certain age to grab the kit and get out there in the sub zero temperatures…..nuff said !

Even my dog is quite content to look at the outside from within.

We finished our Autumn term session with a very successful social evening and as we know these events don’t just happen, so a big vote of thanks for all involved .The first two meetings in 2025 were by zoom and on Jan 22cnd comes the third of our internal competitions  CREATURES AND PLANTS.

February gives us BOYD HARRIS  live A  PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY.

Feb. 12^th. is our 4 way battle between Morecambe /Lancaster and J 26. This will be on ZOOM

Feb.19^th.  MICHAEL  BARKELY  on SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY  via ZOOM.

Feb  26^th.  We battle it out with a a New Zealand club in Rangiora

March 5^th.  TESNI WARD on British Wildlife   via ZOOM.  And so, a healthy collection of meetings should ensue.

The above image shows that there is always an opportunity to capture an image. This was at St. Hilda’s Bisborrow and shows Bilsborrow Young Farmers taking the plough/the seed and the milk to be blessed. An annual event here in Bilsborrow, not so in many other Parishes.

If you are reading this for the first time, and have a modicum of interest in cameras or mobile phones do come along and see what we are about, you will be made most welcome. We meet in the Arts Centre each Wednesday at 7. 30 prompt.

Maurice Barker

Info@garstangcameraclub.co .uk