John Clare ARPS EFIAP CPAGB BPE2* PPSA - Chairman
Contact John
I first picked up a camera, an Instamatic, on a school trip to Paris aged 15. At 20 I got my first film camera, a Praktica, and converted the cupboard under the stairs into a darkroom in my London flat. More than 40 years later I have travelled widely and I love my Leica. My photography embraces many genres, including landscape, street, portraits and architecture. I also have a drone with a great camera.
---------
Andy Roberts - Vice Chair, Outings Co-ordinator
Contact Andy
I first joined the club in 2004 and joined the committee a few years ago. I enjoy all aspects of photography, particularly street photography and have learned a lot since I joined the club after living in London many years. One role I have at present on the committee is Outings co-ordinator and if any member has any suggestions for outing venues please feel free to suggest them.
----------
Peter does a great job as secretary for the committee, hosting and organising meetings. Judging by the hundreds of travel guides he owns his main interest in photography involves travelling around the world.
----------
Roger Bracewell ARPS- Treasurer
Contact Roger
I developed and printed my first roll of Ilford FP4 black and white film at the age of 10 when I inherited my grandfather’s camera gear and darkroom equipment. The first results were mixed but good enough to kick start a lifetime interest in photography.
My genres include wild and remote landscapes, urban environments and architecture – focusing on the relationship between people and places
I ran a successful IT consulting business for over 15 years before friends and family encouraged me to do what I most enjoy and inspire others to get more out of their own photography.
I joined Cheltenham Camera Club in 2014 and became a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society in 2017.
Please take a look at my website – rogerbracewell.com or follow me on Instagram @cityandwildphoto
----------
I have enjoyed photography since getting my first camera at the age of 12, a Brownie 127. I still have this camera and owned many others before buying my first digital camera in 2009, the year I joined Cheltenham Camera Club.
------------
Linda Kirkhope AFIAP - Committee Member
I received my first camera 60 years ago and have dabbled in photography, off and on ever since. I joined the Club about 15 years ago, benefiting greatly from lectures, competitions, training courses and chatting with other members as well as making great friendships. I’ll have a go at most genres but particularly enjoy wildlife and macro photography. A few years ago, I downsized my hefty Canon equipment and now shoot with Olympus m4/3 which makes for a much lighter backpack so am less likely to have left the perfect lens for the job at home!
-----------
I have been a member of CCC since 2005 and the In Focus (newsletter) editor for the past 4 years. This is an ex-officio post, but I do muck-in and help the committee in various areas. I am most interested in the ability of the camera to capture interesting, curious or unusual images (especially street photography) but will have ago at almost anything. I was very involved in the 150th celebrations, exhibitions and books which was very rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable.
-----------
After many years of photographing mostly landscapes, travel and the family for my own enjoyment, since joining CCC as a camera club novice several years ago I have thoroughly enjoyed the resulting stimulus to expand into other genres and to share my work with others and the opportunity to learn from them. Much of my photography is done in conjunction with walking and cross-country skiing, and so over the years I have enjoyed the move from heavy medium format film gear to much lighter digital kit as well as from darkroom to Lightroom. I became a Licentiate of The Royal Photographic Society in 2019. I’m looking forward to retirement next year offering more photographic opportunities.
------------
My interest in photography started with the birth of my daughter and wanting to capture every moment of her growing up. I then found myself starting to experiment a bit more, which ended up with me joining CCC. The wealth of knowledge in the club helped me to develop my interests further and I became a licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society in 2020. My main interest is people/street photography, with a bit of sport thrown in for good measure. I joined the committee a few years ago and look after all the equipment, setting up and our various social media accounts.
------------
I have been photo’ing for decades as part of my passion for pictures – trips to London see me in the Tate not Camera Shops. So I don’t obsess over grain, pixels or lenses, although a techie background propped up my meagre picture making skills when I was asked, way back, to take over an ailing photo class, coaching to ‘O’ level & GCSE, devising ways of conveying the aesthetic & technical stuff along the way. After a decade’s forced break I emerged into a digital world – and got stuck in, deciding, after all these years, it might be good to join a club. Then quickly took the Chairman’s shilling onto the committee, a not unfamiliar situation for me, as well as using a bit of previous to help re-instate the studio group. I photo all sorts of objects and subjects trying, but usually failing, to draw out an essence or find a fresh perspective.
-------------
I have always enjoyed photography since being given a camera at an early age, learning the basic skills by experimenting and developing my own prints (initial black and white, and then colour through the use of my school’s purpose-built dark room). Subsequent to this I only took holiday snaps, until around 10 years ago I bought my first DSLR which inspired me to re-engage in capturing images. Family and friends have always encourage me to ‘do more’ with my images, hence why I recently joined CCC so that I can update my skills and hopefully become a better photographer. Landscape and nature are my specific interests but will hopefully broaden out to other genres going forward.
------------
Mark Wardle LRPS, CPAGB - Membership Secretary
Contact Mark
After a very long gap between film photography and digital, I dabbled in various 'travel' cameras until joining the club in 2011 and buying my first DSLR. CCC transformed my view of photography and inspired me to 'have a go'. Today I am fortunate to travel a lot and particularly enjoy nature and landscape photography as well as maintaining an NGS garden with my wife, and the occasional trout fishing trip.
------------
Jimmy Fletcher - Programme Secretary
Contact Jimmy
My photography journey started in 2019 when I began using a DSLR and small telephoto as a tool for birdwatching (telescopes gave me bad motion sickness). I initially started out using my camera to take record shots of wildlife but quickly learned how to control the camera settings manually and began to experiment with my work.
My newfound photography skills and love for experimentation led me to take a leap and enrol at the University of Gloucestershire on their Photography: Editorial and Advertising Course where I learned further technical skills which included both film development and editing software. I also spent time experimenting with different genres of photography as well as filmmaking, whilst learning about the creative industries. I graduated from the course earlier this year with a 1st Class Bachelor Degree.
Since then, I have been a photographer for The Kennel Club covering some of Crufts 2022, had work exhibited in London and Cheltenham and most notably my Short Film, Bempton was awarded Best in Show at the Association of Photographers Student Awards 2023. This award has led to my most recent project to be funded and supported by Fujifilm UK.
------------
Competiton Secretary
----------
Rob Bullingham - Committee Member
I have been interested in photography for many years and cut my teeth on the classic Zenit SLR before upgrading to my trusty Praktica MTL which served me well for many years until my wife surprised me with my first Nikon F301 SLR for my 40th. I’ve since remained with the Nikon brand and plunged into the world of digital with the humble Nikon D50 but have now since upgraded many times through the range.
I have a wide photographic interest including Motorsport, Nature, Landscape and Architecture and now enjoy exploring the creative side of light and movement combined with long exposures and also touching on the Astrophotography subject which is proving to be a tad challenging at times, but mainly with the lack of clear dark skies.
----------
Jim Sharrock LRPS - Studio Group
I have been interested in photography for many years and in the good old days I developed and printed my photos. I had a holiday from photography for about 40 years, then when I retired I purchased my first digital camera. I joined the Cheltenham Camera Club over 10 years ago to improve my photography and with the help and advice of members I recently obtained my LRPS.