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Welcome to the Otley Camera Club blog, where you can keep up to date with everything happening in and around the club.
Here you will find posts covering a wide range of activities, including club nights, competitions, outings and our involvement in the local community. It’s a great way to see what the club has been doing and the photography our members are producing.
You can use the options below to filter posts by category, including Out and About, Community, Competitions and Club Nights, making it easy to explore the areas that interest you most.
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What’s On This Week: Peter Lau – Wheeling on the Wilder Side of Life
This Thursday, Otley Camera Club welcomes Peter Lau for an inspiring evening of wildlife photography, personal stories and the power of reconnecting with nature. Peter was a British fire officer whose life changed dramatically following a mountain biking accident in 2014, which left him paralysed and reliant on a wheelchair. Despite the challenges, photography helped Peter rediscover his passion for the natural world. Today, he captures stunning wildlife images and uses his e
2 days ago
A Varied Evening of Photography at Otley Camera Club
Thursday’s meeting offered members a little bit of everything, with an inspiring talk followed by three practical photography sessions. We began the evening with a fantastic presentation from our own member Max Malisan, who shared stories and photographs from his trip to the Masai Mara last year. It was a superb talk, combining some amazing photography with fascinating facts and memorable stories from his experiences. It was a wonderful opportunity to see Max’s images and hea
2 days ago
What’s On This Week – Max Malisan & Creative Photography
This Thursday we’re looking forward to an evening with a bit of everything, combining inspiration, photography stories and a chance to get creative ourselves. We’ll start the evening with Max Malisan, who will share his photography, stories and experiences. Max has a fantastic collection of images to talk about, including photographs from his visit to the Masai Mara last year, giving members the chance to hear about his experiences as well as see his photography. Then, in the
Oct 2
What’s On This Week – Little People, Big Stories
This Thursday, our own member Richard Sells will be sharing his Miniature World project, which uses 1:87 scale model figures to create small scenes and stories in the real world. The talk will look behind the scenes at how the photographs are made, from coming up with the initial idea through to choosing the location, arranging the tiny figures and working out the lighting and composition. With the figures only around 2cm tall, it can involve a surprising amount of problem-so
Sep 27
TWO WEEKS OF CREATIVE PRACTICALS
The last two weeks at Otley Camera Club have been all about getting creative and putting photography into practice. Last week, members headed out around Otley for a photography scavenger hunt. Working in groups, they were given a series of themes to capture – from movement, shadows and reflections to architecture, colour and detail. Each group also had to come up with their own themes and challenge another group! The results show just how differently our members approached th
Sep 25
📸 Photo of the Month - August
And the winner is… Claire Wilson-Sharp! 🎉📸 A huge congratulations to Claire, whose fantastic damselfly photograph has been chosen as this month's Photo of the Month by Emily Waring. Photo of the Month is a fun little competition we run for members through our Facebook group, giving everyone the chance to share a photograph each month and see what our members think. It's all about getting involved, sharing our photography and enjoying a bit of friendly competition! As always
Sep 21
What’s On This Week – Capture the Feeling
This Thursday we're getting creative with a practical evening that challenges us to think about photography in a slightly different way. Welcome to Capture the Feeling! We'll work in small groups, with each group given an emotion or feeling to capture in a photograph. But there's a twist – you don't have to photograph a person to show an emotion. Could you communicate happiness through colour? Excitement through movement? Calm through composition? Frustration through an every
Sep 20
Behind the Lens: Photographing the Mayor Mash-Up
On Saturday night, David and Karen swapped their usual camera club surroundings for the dance floor as they photographed the Mayor Mash-Up at Otley Common. The 90s-themed night, promoted by Otley Mayor Mick Bradley, brought DJs, dancing and plenty of energy to the Common. For a photographer, though, an event like this presents a very different challenge to photographing in more controlled conditions. Working with difficult conditions The combination of very low light, coloure
Sep 13
What’s On This Week – Practical Scavenger Hunt
This Thursday we're swapping the clubhouse for the streets of Otley as we head out and about for a fun and creative photography scavenger hunt! We'll split into small groups before heading off around Otley with a list of photographic challenges to complete. The aim is to find and photograph different themes and ideas – perhaps glass, reflections, silhouettes, movement and plenty more. The challenges are designed to make us look at familiar places in a different way and encour
Sep 12
A Truly Inspiring Evening with Carolyn Mendelsohn
Last night we were delighted to welcome award-winning portrait photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn to Otley Camera Club for her talk, Portraits, Projects and Personal Stories – and, quite simply, wow! From the moment Carolyn began, the whole club was captivated. Of course, Carolyn's portraits are technically and creatively exceptional, and it was fascinating to hear about how she approaches her work. But one of the strongest messages from the evening was that, for Carolyn, the te
Sep 11
Out & About – Our First Photography Day of the New Season
Our new season isn't just about Thursday evenings at the clubhouse. One of the things that makes Otley Camera Club special is the opportunity to get out with our cameras and photograph together. Yesterday saw the first of our Out & About days of the 2026/27 season, with members heading to the wonderful Himalayan Garden & Sculpture Park near Grewelthorpe. What is an Out & About? Our Out & Abouts are informal photography days where members meet up at an interesting location and
Sep 7
What’s On This Week – Carolyn Mendelsohn
Our 2026/27 season continues this Thursday with an evening we're particularly looking forward to, as we welcome award-winning portrait photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn to Otley Camera Club. 📅 Thursday 10 September⏰ 7:30pm – 9:30pm📍 Otley Common Portraits, Projects and Personal Stories Carolyn will take us through her journey into photography and share the stories behind some of her most powerful and thought-provoking projects. Her work demonstrates how portrait photography c
Sep 6
What an Amazing Start to the New Season!
47 people. A packed clubhouse. Lots of new faces. And an incredible atmosphere. What a fantastic way to launch the 2026/27 season at Otley Camera Club! After the summer break, it was wonderful to see our members returning to Otley Common last night, excited to get back together and get the new season underway. And it was a good job we moved to our larger clubhouse at Otley Common! We had an incredible 47 people through the door, filling the clubhouse with conversation, laught
Sep 4
Welcome Back – The 2026/27 Season Starts This Thursday!
After our summer break, we're delighted to be getting the cameras back out and launching the 2026/27 Otley Camera Club season this Thursday. 📅 Thursday 3 September⏰ 7:30pm – 9:30pm📍 Otley Common Our first evening is all about getting back together, looking ahead to the exciting year of photography we've got planned and sharing some of the photographs our members have taken over the summer. Three images from the summer We've asked our members to bring along three of their fa
Sep 2
Photo of the Month – August Winner
It's time to announce another Otley Camera Club Photo of the Month winner! 🏆 Congratulations to Emily Waring! 🎉 This month's competition once again gave last month's winner, Richard Sells, a difficult decision. There was a fantastic variety of photography among the entries, including colourful Pride photographs, landscapes, wildlife and a great car photograph. However, it was Emily's analogue photograph that ultimately caught Richard's eye. A photograph with a timeless feel
Aug 31
A New Season of Photography Starts This Thursday!
The summer break is nearly over and we're excited to announce that Otley Camera Club returns this Thursday for a brand-new season! Following a fantastic year of photography, competitions, practical sessions, guest speakers, trips and plenty of socialising, we're looking forward to welcoming our existing members back — and hopefully meeting lots of new faces too. Something for every photographer Whether you've only just picked up a camera, have been taking photographs for year
Aug 30
Learn by Doing: Practical Photography and Out and Abouts at Otley Camera Club
Photography is something you learn by doing. Of course, there are always techniques to learn and ideas to explore, but sometimes the best way to improve your photography is simply to pick up your camera, try something different and see what happens. That's why practical sessions and ‘Out and Abouts’ are an important part of the programme at Otley Camera Club. Get hands-on with your photography Throughout our 2026/27 season, we have a range of practical sessions designed to gi
Aug 28
FANCY PUTTING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY TO THE TEST?
Competitions are an important – and enjoyable – part of life at Otley Camera Club. You don't have to be an experienced photographer to take part. They’re a chance to share your photography, try something a little different and get constructive feedback from experienced photographers. 📅 Our new season starts Thursday 3 September 📍 Otley Common 🕢 7:30–9:30pm New members of all abilities are very welcome. Come along and discover what Otley Camera Club is all about. 📷
Aug 25
A NEW SEASON. A FANTASTIC LINE-UP OF SPEAKERS.
Our new season at Otley Camera Club starts on Thursday 3 September – and we’ve got some brilliant photographers lined up to inspire us throughout the year. From powerful portrait projects and stunning wildlife to light painting, architectural photography, smartphone photography, abstract work and filmmaking, there’s a fantastic variety of subjects to explore. Each speaker brings their own style, experience and approach to photography, giving our members plenty of inspiration
Aug 20
Meet the Members – John Northover LRPS, CPAGB
This week we meet John Northover LRPS, CPAGB who joined Otley Camera Club two & a half years ago after moving up north. John is a fabulous photographer and his talent has certainly been recognised within the club, having been crowned Photographer of the Year for the last two years running! John is always happy to share his knowledge with fellow members, particularly during our practical sessions, where he is often on hand to help and offer advice. He has also shared his photo
Aug 19
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