04/09/2026
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1511378094364337&set=a.603104411858381
Interesting conversation brought up by the Aspley camera club.
Camera clubs should have a huge advantage right now. They contain decades of photographic knowledge, people who understand lighting, printing, wildlife, motorsport, composition and all the difficult little things that are hard to learn from a ten-minute YouTube video.
And yet many clubs are struggling to attract younger photographers.
Jason Row argues that part of the problem is cultural rather than photographic: ageing memberships, dated meeting formats, an obsession with competitions and gear, and sometimes a sense that there is a “correct” way to practise photography. Meanwhile, smartphones, drones, video and newer creative approaches have changed what photography looks like to the next generation.
The interesting question isn’t whether camera clubs still have value. They clearly do.
It’s whether they’re willing to change enough to make that value accessible.
If you’ve ever belonged to a camera club, what would you change first?
