Dave Hollows: A Short History of My Time at SPS.
At the end of last year I asked a number of Members if they would consider putting pen to paper so to speak, and produce some content for the club website. The brief was to contribute around 1500 words or so on any topic associated with photography or the club.My aim is to try to introduce a semi-regular feature to the site to make the site a bit more of an interesting read, and hopefully promote greater pro-active use by members.
Dave Hollows has the dubious honour of being our first 'featured writer' therefore, so I hope you enjoy his retrospective of club life as much as I did. If so please show your appreciation in the comments section, and feel free to email me with any similar written contributions you would like to submit for future features - Craig
A Short History of My Time at SPS.
I joined Sale Photographic Society in 1979. As far as club competitions were concerned I was a beginner although I had had an interest in photography since 1955 when I got my first enlarger.
When I first joined we met in the dining room at the Eskdale Hotel and it was a tight squeeze some evenings to fit us all in. It was a very sociable club then, as it still is, probably enhanced by the fact that nearly everyone had a drink before or during the meeting and at the interval. Some evenings, after the official meeting was over, it continued for some hours downstairs. It was here that a lot of information was exchanged and tips passed on.
At that time we still had merits and quarterly competitions although the merits, as I remember, were only a Set Subject, no Open section. The maximum print size allowed was 10”x8”. This was to encourage members to enter the set subjects without the expense of producing larger prints (remember that at this time almost all the prints were home processed). I don’t recall anyone entering trade processed mono prints at that time, even though SPS was quite ahead of its time in accepting trade processed colour prints, long before the L&CPU decided they were acceptable.
I think it was in 1985 that this was cleared by the L&CPU to such an uproar that several societies broke up and a few people went so far as to form new clubs that were only allowed to enter “Home Processed” images. The furore at the L&CPU AGM’s went on for a few years with attempts, by a few clubs, to change this back to the original rule. Happily, common sense prevailed with the view that what really mattered was keeping people interested in photography and that the end resulting image was what counted not how it was achieved.
Does this scenario seem familiar?
After having to leave the Eskdale and move to a Local Authority building at Atkinson Road the membership increased. I think the reasons were mainly that:
· We had a lot of room.
· We were not tied to a strict closing.
· The catering facilities were good.(we went from alcohol to tea & coffee)
· On portrait night we were easily able to accommodate two full studio sets.
· As the numbers increased, and the turnout percentage was very high, funds became more available to invite lecturers from further afield which in turn encouraged regular attendances and even more funds.
This all came to an end unfortunately when the L.A. decided to close the building and sell off the land. They did, however, offer us alternative accommodation at the Norris Road Community Centre and as we could find no other suitable room at the time we took it. It was very cheap so as far as club funds went it was a good deal. In the time we were at this Centre we lost half of our regular membership. It was due to a combination of thieves operating on the car park, a low ceiling room with little or no atmosphere and noise from the adjoining dance group. Members were having to patrol the car park in turns to try and curtail the damage and thefts.
We soon began looking for new premises and finally found our present room, although we had to wait a year whilst the new St Mary’s Centre was finished. That move has proved a great success on the whole although the rent is a lot more than LA rooms. Visitors from other clubs have often said that the warm feeling of the building makes it feel welcoming.
Here is where we come full circle in a way, with the advent of DIGITAL. This also caused concern in some clubs when it became accepted in competitions. It’s not fair, it’s cheating, you only have to press a button, it’s too expensive and only for the rich, it’s not photography. These are all things that we have heard about digital photography in the past few years, and don’t they seem very similar comments to those made when commercial printing was first allowed? At the time of commercial colour printings being allowed many clubs were in the doldrums, and the new rules increased enthusiasm and, consequently, the number of entries in competitions. The number of members also went up.
The same thing seems to have happened with the arrival of the dreaded digital, entries in print competitions have greatly increased to the extent that the L&CPU have had to reduce the limit on print entries. A similar ruling followed at our own AGM this year.
The renewed interest in monochrome work has resulted in increased entries in this field also which can only be good.
Another side interest is the increase in digital AV shows of all kinds, travelogues, technical, historical and family shows. AV in the past was an enjoyable evening’s viewing, but only a very small number of people were able to produce the work. Now, with the advent of digital projectors and the number of clubs having bought them the quantity of AV has increased as witnessed by the number and variety of entries by our members the other night. It bodes well for the future. Slide entries have suffered, though, and this is sad but is evolution in a way. It is not only in our club, but throughout the club scene, that print entries are on the increase to the detriment of slides. Slide film is even getting difficult to buy in some places and the range has certainly reduced. Some major camera manufacturers are stopping making film cameras.
To my knowledge clubs that broke away in 1985 to form home processed images only clubs are now wholly embracing digital printing and in general it appears that at least 90% of print entries are digitally printed and probably about 80% digitally acquired.
In our club, the people who took to digital processing first, were the people who actually had printed their own wet prints and now used the digital opportunities to increase the development of this, and come blinking into the daylight.
The generation of younger members have grown up with computers and are more adaptable to the use of them and hopefully this will keep them interested for a few more years to come. What then? New technology that isn’t fair, too expensive etc. Full circle again. I only hope I am alive to see it and have enough faculties left to make use of it.
Dave Hollows
posted by Craig @ 7:26 pm
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