Photography News Issue 68

Photography News | Issue 68 | photographynews.co.uk

Club profile 36

Bristol PS Meet the clubs BPS has been going for over a century

Club biography

Membership 143 members Subscription Basic annual subscription is £65 Meeting time and place Every Wednesday 7.30pm-9.30pm. The club meets all year round. Unit 13, Montpelier Central, Station Road, Montpelier, Bristol BS6 5EE Facilities Bristol PS has its own two-floor clubhouse. The main meeting room can seat 100+ people with a stage at the front. There is a projector and a sound system. Part of the main room can be converted into a studio Specialist groups Digital and studio Annual exhibition None. The Salon tours local clubs Contact Chairman Jeff Hargreaves, chairman@bristolphoto.org.uk Web address bristolphoto.org.uk

and has its own clubhouse. Chairman Jeff Hargreaves takes us on a tour of his club

Photography News: How long has your club been going now? How long have you been a member? Jeff Hargreaves: The club was founded around 1866, so it is over 150 years old. The original name was the Bristol & West of England Amateur Photographic Association – we were the first organised photographic society in the city. I have been a member for 14 years. PN: Bristol PS is one of the few clubs with its own premises. How did that come about? JH: Over the years we met at various locations around the city. Our club rooms were at 42 Park Street, but these were destroyed, along with the club’s valuable permanent collection of prints, in the major air raid of 24 November 1940. It was thanks to a generous bequest from the late FredMatthews FRPS that we were able to buy a permanent base. He joined the club in 1954 and was a committee member for many years. After much searching, we moved to our wonderful new home in Montpelier in May 2015. PN: Can you outline what the club offers in terms of facilities? JH: Our clubhouse has two floors. The main meeting room can seat

100 people. It has a stage, projector screen and ceiling-mounted digital projector. We have print display racks on the projector wall and the prints can be displayed on two TV screens for improved viewing. The main meeting room has a smaller area that is used for serving tea and coffee. There is a small kitchen suitable for preparing hot drinks and buffet-style catering. Part of the meeting room can be converted into a studio, which includes a Hi-Glide track system complete with various flash units. There is a backdrop support with a number of coloured backdrops. On the first floor there is another smaller meeting/committee room, again fitted out for both print display and projected image equipment. It also has an area for models to change. PN: Can you give our readers an idea of your club’s membership in terms of age and experience? JH: We have a very wide range of experience and interest in the various genres of photography. We have workers in wildlife/nature, landscape, studio, sports, macro, travel, street/photojournalism and many other interests. The average age is, like most clubs, over 60. In terms of skill level, we have many members with

RPS, PAGB and FIAP distinctions. With the Royal Photographic Society distinctions, we have 14 Licentiates, 23 Associates and eight Fellows. PN: Can you give us an idea of skill level within the club? JH: We have a full range of experience levels within the club and we try to cater for them all. For example, we have an interest group to encourage younger members, called ‘Beyond the Wall’. This group meets monthly with a variety of subject and location shoots. We also have an advice group for prints, which is run by two members who are both FRPS and experienced judges. This is for people to show their work and receive advice for RPS/PAGB distinction applications.

We have a very wide range of experience and interest in the various genres