History of our club
It all began when two local photographers - Ken Jones and Stuart Coy - were enjoying a pint in the bar of The Fowey Hotel.
They got chatting about photography and the idea formed to start a Camera Club in Fowey for like-minded people.
The Club started in May 1990 with Ken as the President, Stuart as the Secretary, and 4 other people.
Meetings were first held in the Fowey Hotel. The club then moved to share the premises of the Troy Art Club in South Street, Fowey.
This was an ideal venue, as it had the space and facilities for a studio and a darkroom. Our meetings started with studio work, followed by the second half spent in the darkroom processing and developing negatives or prints.
Unfortunately a change in ownership of the building meant another move, this time to the 'Safe Harbour' inn. Later we moved to the St John Hall, which had more room but was cold and draughty. Burst pipes in the very cold winter of 2009/10 made the hall unusable, so we quickly moved to the newly refurbished (and warm!) Fowey Parish Hall.
Now Fowey is an ancient town with very narrow streets and very little parking for cars in the lower part of town. The very limited parking at the Parish Hall meant in September 2019 we moved again, to the newly opened Squire's Field Community Centre at the top of town, where there is plenty of free parking in the car park opposite the park.
With the majority of photographers having moved from chemical photography to digital, in 2007 we successfully bid for an 'Awards4All' lottery grant, which means that we now have all the equipment necessary to enjoy a varied programme of workshops, talks, and competitions, etc.
All of our members now use digital cameras (which can be anything from mobile phones through to full-frame DSLR's) although we do have some who still like to dabble in chemicals as well! But no matter the level of individual's photography, we encourage all to learn and improve, although our main aims still remain: To enjoy photography and to have fun.
As with all clubs, membership has ebbed and flowed over the years, but we are honoured that Ken is still a member today. Stuart has sadly passed away, but our cup for our 'Photographer of the Year' is named in his honour.
They got chatting about photography and the idea formed to start a Camera Club in Fowey for like-minded people.
The Club started in May 1990 with Ken as the President, Stuart as the Secretary, and 4 other people.
Meetings were first held in the Fowey Hotel. The club then moved to share the premises of the Troy Art Club in South Street, Fowey.
This was an ideal venue, as it had the space and facilities for a studio and a darkroom. Our meetings started with studio work, followed by the second half spent in the darkroom processing and developing negatives or prints.
Unfortunately a change in ownership of the building meant another move, this time to the 'Safe Harbour' inn. Later we moved to the St John Hall, which had more room but was cold and draughty. Burst pipes in the very cold winter of 2009/10 made the hall unusable, so we quickly moved to the newly refurbished (and warm!) Fowey Parish Hall.
Now Fowey is an ancient town with very narrow streets and very little parking for cars in the lower part of town. The very limited parking at the Parish Hall meant in September 2019 we moved again, to the newly opened Squire's Field Community Centre at the top of town, where there is plenty of free parking in the car park opposite the park.
With the majority of photographers having moved from chemical photography to digital, in 2007 we successfully bid for an 'Awards4All' lottery grant, which means that we now have all the equipment necessary to enjoy a varied programme of workshops, talks, and competitions, etc.
All of our members now use digital cameras (which can be anything from mobile phones through to full-frame DSLR's) although we do have some who still like to dabble in chemicals as well! But no matter the level of individual's photography, we encourage all to learn and improve, although our main aims still remain: To enjoy photography and to have fun.
As with all clubs, membership has ebbed and flowed over the years, but we are honoured that Ken is still a member today. Stuart has sadly passed away, but our cup for our 'Photographer of the Year' is named in his honour.