About

Milngavie and Bearsden Camera Club is a photographic society open to those with a keen interest in photography. Most members of the club live in and around Milngavie, Bearsden, the Greater Glasgow Area, East Dunbartonshire and West Stirlingshire.

Club activities are centred on weekly meetings, normally held on a Tuesday evening between late September and April at the Community Education Centre, Allander Road, Milngavie G62 8PN. Meetings begin at 7.30 PM and last for about 2 hours. In the club year 2023-24 we will return to the pre-pandemic situation of meeting in person. Only a small number of lectures will be available on Zoom, that is, when distant or international speakers  present via  the internet and the member cannot attend because of illness.

Currently, there are 77 members. The members elect a committee of approximately 10 members at the AGM and the club is operated by a formal constitution. Although the membership is predominately male there are active and talented female members. Members come from all walks of life. By occupation, many are retired although others have demanding work lives.

Our Activities

On most weeks an external guest speaker will present his or her work in print or projected form. In addition, there are five competition evenings where members submit digital images and prints for adjudication by an external judge. Every year nights are given over to the display of members work and practical nights. 

Potential new members are encouraged to look at the syllabus pages, and the club outing galleries for a better idea about club activities.

Location

Map of Where Milngavie and Bearsden Camera club meet

The club normally meets at Milngavie Community Library and Education Centre,
Allander Rd, Milngavie, Glasgow G62 8PN. (Image source: Openstreetmap)
Location on larger map >

Milngavie CE Centre

Club meetings are held in the lower floor of the CE Centre, Milngavie

Membership Fee

The annual membership subscription is £40, which is tremendous value for money in comparison with any professional photographic organisation. For enquiries about membership please e-mail Malcolm Boddie, the club secretary or use the form below. The secretary invites applicants to join the club when places become available.

Club Affiliations

The club is a member of the Glasgow District Photographic Union (GDPU) and the Scottish Photographic Federation (SPF). We enter print and projected images competitions of the SPF. The club has been consistently successful, and one of its members is on the Roll of Honour of the SPF. Several members have gained awards and acceptances in international exhibitions. Some also hold distinctions of the Royal Photographic Society. If you live in Scotland and want to join a local camera club or photographic society you can check the long list of SPF clubs.  If you live in the Greater Glasgow area there is a listing of many local clubs on the GDPU clubs page.

Historical Origins and Development of the Club by R. Cumming

The Club owes its origins to a successful photographic competition promoted by Mr Bett of Anderson and Bett, a local pharmacist, and held in connection with Milngavie week 1969. The competition judge expressed surprise that with the high standard of entries, Milngavie did not have a camera club. A small committee was formed to rectify the situation and the first recorded meeting of the Milngavie and District Camera Club took place in December of that year.

The syllabus for the 1970 season was prepared, and meetings were held in Milngavie’s Lesser Town Hall. There was no darkroom since most members were interested in colour slides. The keen print workers possessed their own enlargers. The photography of the present membership is now based entirely on digital cameras, printers and on the use of editing software.

In 1975 the name of the club was changed to reflect the fact that many of the members lived in Bearsden, and the following year the meetings of the club moved to the Milngavie Community Education Centre. From its inception, the club has only had two secretaries, the late Robert Simpson (1972- 1987), and Malcolm Boddie, the present incumbent since 1987. Robert Simpson became the chairman and honorary president. His memory is commemorated by the presentation from his son, of a trophy bearing his name, which is now competed for annually.

Website

This website is now edited by Jack Quick. It was reconstructed in 2020 by Steve Campbell.  David Ritchie, who is the Competition Secretary, organises the collection of images for Photo Challenges and Competitions through the Photoentry platform. He also produces the competition reports that are published here with the Dicentra competition software. Members can view all competition entries via the Photoentry website.

Contact Form

The club welcomes membership enquiries. We are also pleased to receive approaches from experienced speakers with an online presence who offer lectures in person and through Zoom. You can also email our club secretary if you prefer.