In the beginning...
The first meeting of local photographers took place in Canterbury in 1898. We have handwritten records of 'The Canterbury Camera Club' dated 9th September 1898 and 12 people attended: 11 gentlemen and one lady! Further minutes tell us that the subscription fee was set at 3/- 6d.
We have copies of notes with detailed explanation of the chemical processing and developing used to produce photos at the time as well as the types of lenses used.
Members were definitely adventurous and there are minutes on slide talks being given after groups visited Wales, Belgium & Switzerland on photographic trips over the next couple of years.
There seems to have been a temporary change of name as a meeting of the 'New Century Camera Club' was held on January 20th 1901, with the same members but subsequently the name was changed back to The Canterbury Camera Club. It met continuously, either weekly or fortnightly on a Tuesday, even throughout the 1914-18 war.
The Kent Herald of March 18th, 1925 recorded the Club's 25th Annual exhibition.
Canterbury Camera Club continued meeting till some way into 1939 when all clubs and societies were discouraged from attending evening events, because of the likelihood of blackouts and air raids as the Second World War progressed.
There was no club activity again till, in 1953, a public meeting held by a Mr R.E. Cranston proposed that the Club be re-formed and it duly was.
From records, we know that annual membership in 1964 cost a guinea for one person and thirty shilings for a married couple and membership was about 40 people.
In May 2004 members voted for a new Constitution and to change the name of the club to Canterbury Photographic Society, which has remained our name to the present day.
Meeting Places
The club met in a variety of places including the Red Cross Hall, Lower Chantry Lane Canterbury which was its venue for the best part of twenty years in the 70's and 80's. As mentioned above, Club night was a Tuesday, not Wednesday as it is currently.
In 1999, the club moved premises to the Lower Hall of Canterbury Baptist Church as numbers had dwindled from nearly 70 members to about 20 and the club could no longer meet the costs of hiring the Hall.
But, it soon regained its mojo and went on to build up membership again. In the early 2000's, the club was again thriving and using Room 3 in Kent College for its then fortnightly meetings.
During 2015, the club moved to its current premises in Tyler Hill Memorial Hall.
Exhibitions
Exhibitions were held from early days, and there are several records of using the Public Library to display members' work.
One Annual Exhibition was held in the County Hotel, Canterbury in 1968. It was officially opened by the Sheriff of Canterbury, Councillor Mrs E.M. Rothermel and nearly a full page in the Kentish Observer and Canterbury Times was given over to the proceedings. The space was only shared with news of a shoplifter who was fined £15 for stealing £3 of goods from Woolworths...
For a while in more recent years, the Exhibition was held in St Peter's Hall in Canterbury during the Canterbury Arts Festival which takes place in October.
Most recently, our Annual Exhibition is now being held in July at the Creek Creative Arts Centre and attracts many visitors during its two week run.