King’s Lynn and District Camera Club
History of the Club
Our Club, King's Lynn and District Camera Club (also described as Lynn Camera Club in press reports), was formed after King's Lynn Photographic Society, which pre-dated it was disbanded. The history of the earlier club is not the subject of this description, but it is believed that it had become less orientated to the novice photographer, which may have led to it's demise. The standard of photography had been high and there was a strongly competitive attitude, with many members striving for Royal Photographic Society status. Some of these formed a separate club called the X Group. When that Club closed there was a gap of about three years before the current club was formed in 1962 and its membership consisted of enthusiasts who had attended the same photography course at the King's Lynn Technical College (now West Anglia College), run by the experienced local photographer, Jim Tuck. One of those, who some of the present members will remember, was Fred Pick.The Club met at the Metal Scrap By-products company at Setchey, which fortunately had a large canteen which was not used in the evenings. The fact that the manager, Stan Mills, was also the club chairman was useful and Dave Apps who worked with Stan became the Club's secretary after another employee, Les Lewis.
Dave continued as Secretary for 11 years and 5 years as Chairman. During his chairmanship Metal Scrap by-Products moved out of the area, forcing the Club to find new premises, which was the St. John's Ambulance H.Q., London Road, Lynn. It turned out to be an ideal alternative. When Dave eventually resigned there was a period when the Club had to renew its team spirit as up to then Dave Apps had virtually run the Club. There were some parting of the ways, with the more serious members moving to other clubs, leaving a core of members who wanted to improve their photography, but to whom photography was more about enjoyment of seeing each other's work and organising photographic quizzes and visits. Membership was quite low, but stable.
In recent years it could be said that King's Lynn and District Camera Club membership has expanded at a time when many others have declined. They have kept up with the new age of digital photography and support a wide range of styles and preferences. These features and a high quality website have been contributing factors in the club's fast expansion. Initially there were many competitions throughout the year, the essence of which was more to do with seeing and discussing each other's work, creating a pool of ideas to expand their photography. Having moved from St. John's Ambulance Headquarters due to changes in St. John's plans they moved to "The Pink House" for a short time until the increase in numbers forced a search for larger premises, leading to the current venue.
Based on the survey conducted in 2007 the Club has become more involved in inter-club battles with increasing success. In the last year a new Constitution has been added and charity status has been granted. It has an extensive training programme and an active committee is always looking for ways to increase what is on offer to the members including more talks by professional photographers and more use of visiting judges.
The membership continues to increase rising from 36 members in November 2005 to 66 in November 2008.