Southgate Photographic Society

29th January 2020

Southgate Photographic Society by Kevin O'Neill View their exhibition between January and March in our gallery

Today, most of us are photo graphers with phones in their pockets, and naturally some would like to develop photography further as a pastime. Our phones and cameras have capabilities that would make a professional photographer of 20 years ago green with envy. The question is, once you’ve chosen your implement, what do you want to do with it?

Southgate Photographic Society has been helping members to answer that question since 1938. We meet once a week on Tuesdays in term time, as well as organising photo walks and social events. In a friendly social setting, we work on improving our pictures via a mixture of critiqued competitions, workshops, lectures, walks and many cups of tea. Help is always available on technical or creative challenges, making learning photography easier and more stimulating than following a book or online tutorial.
One of the advantages a photo club has over social media is access to external judges to get useful, impartial feedback on our images. We work with projected images and prints. Members are not obliged to show their work until they are comfortable with it, and our evenings accommodate beginners and experienced photographers alike, so everyone learns at their own pace. You can learn a lot from listening to other people’s images being critiqued and the occasional lively argument once the judge has left!
The 2020 programme is now on our website and we have speakers covering landscapes, astronomy, macro, travel and street photography.

We reserve some nights to bring in our cameras and work on some of the topics we’re learning about. Experienced members will also hold workshops and Q&A sessions on subjects such as post-processing techniques, or printmaking. We have a set of studio lights which we use as a learning tool for portrait photography. We will also compete against other North London clubs and will have a sprinkling of social occasions during the year from dinners to pub evenings to coffee mornings at home.
A year’s membership is only £75. We meet in the upstairs hall to the rear of the St Paul’s Church in Winchmore Hill, where there is ample parking. Tuesday meetings are between 8 and 10pm, with a tea break in the middle.

You can reach us at info@southgatephoto.org.uk, and you can see our programme and our pictures at www.southgatephoto.org.uk or via www.facebook.com/southgatephoto
We welcome anyone who is interested to drop into a couple of meetings and check us out. Hope to see you soon!