Becoming a Member – yes, go for it!
Thinking of joining us? We'd love to see you.
Anyone of any standard of photography is welcome to join OPC – our only requirement is that you have an interest in photography!
Our current membership is made up of a mix of beginner/intermediate photographers and those classed as ‘advanced’, so you will find yourself in good company whatever your level.
We consider ourselves to be a friendly group and enjoy helping like-minded people on their photographic journey.
Our Club season runs from September to May each year. And those who wish to, may also continue in to the summer with a programme of casual events and get-togethers with camera in hand, dependant upon interest and what we can arrange.
We host a range of activities, including external speakers, demonstrations, competitions, and end-of-season dinner and Awards Night.
Club nights
This season sees us meeting twice a month, once on a Friday at Overton’s Recreation Club Pavilion on Bridge Street and once on a Tuesday at St Mary’s Church Rooms. All Club meetings begin at 7:30pm and run until 10pm (sometimes a little later).
Our Tuesday sessions are driven by members’ interests and we will pursue a number of themes throughout the season. The themes may be a photographic genre, such as landscape or street photography, or may be a technical topic such as macro photography or use of filters. We approach each theme in a learn/do/review format with the aim of producing images that may be suitable for entry into competitions.
Our Friday sessions are focused around competing or the reviewing of your work.
Competitions – the opportunity to have your photos reviewed
For most Members, entering Club competitions is their first experience of sharing their imagery and having it ‘judged’. While entering competitions is not compulsory, they are a very interesting experience and can result in worthwhile feedback to help improve your techniques and grow as a photographer. Many new members sit in on a competitions session so they can see how it all works before diving in.
We run a series of internal competitions; most regularly a digital league, a print league, a best of year and a natural history competition. We run two leagues one for the beginner/intermediate class and one for the advanced. All league competition scores are aggregated across the season and culminate in an Awards Night with certificates and trophies up for grabs.
On a competition nights, we invite trained judges from the Southern Counties Photographic Federation (SCPF) to review and score our images. Images are presented to the judge anonymously. Judging should be provided in the spirit of constructive feedback, intended to help us improve.
Out of 10, a score of 8 is considered to be a good standard of photography. Images with something extra – maybe they tell a story, elicit an emotion or are particularly creative – may be awarded those coveted higher scores.
As a rule of thumb if the judge hasn’t seen something similar before (and they see a LOT of images), you might be on to a winner.
Membership fees
Membership for the season is proposed to be £45. To put that in context, £45 is less that it costs to run just one evening, so it is superb value.
Please use the Membership Application Form on this website. You will receive an automated response, which will give you details of how to pay.
If you are new to the Club, you can join at any time of the year and your fee will be adjusted accordingly.
Discounted membership is available for people in full-time education.
The fee covers our entire programme, which includes workshops with visiting experts, genre talks, entry to competitions, software training and more, which makes it great value for money. External visits and entrance/transport fees etc. (for example, to the Hawk Conservancy) are not included and will be at the Member’s own expense.
We also have an annual dinner and summer casual programme at extra cost for those who choose to come along.
Non-members are welcome to visit us first, before committing to membership
Non-members are welcome to visit any of our meetings for a taster session. You can visit on any Club night, however, non-members are not eligible to enter any of our competitions. To arrange your visit, please use the contact form on this website to get in touch and choose the ‘Joining/Visiting’ option.
