History

The Guildford Photographic Society was first founded in 1892 with the object of "advancing the art and craft of amateur photography". More than a century later we have not lost sight of this objective nevertheless we have not stood still.

Our members possess a wealth of experience which we look to marry with the skills of good photography and the range of techniques and technology now available to us. The knowledge extends across all aspects of photography and photographic media including digital.

Looking to the future of the Society this is also an ideal opportunity to recruit and encourage the enthusiasm and vigour of new members, who may drive us into the next 100 years.

Meetings

The Society's season runs from September to July. During this period, regular meetings are held every Monday evening from 7:45pm for an 8pm start, in Burpham Village Hall. (Burpham Lane, Burpham, Guildford, GU4 7LP)

The subject of each evening is planned during the previous season, and published in a booklet, and on the Programme of Events page.

Workshops are held throughout the year on the first Tuesday of each month. Originally focused on digital photography, the programme has broadened  to include all aspects of photography. These have an informal format, and are generally more interactive and hands on than the main Monday meetings. The content of each evening is planned about three months in advance, and is published on the Programme of Events page.

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Events

This is a summary of the types of events held during the season. See the Programme of Events for full details of events held in previous seasons, and events that are planned for this season.

Lectures

Covering various aspects of both colour and black and white photography by speakers who are very well respected in their field

Club Evenings

These evenings are arranged by the members for the members to share their knowledge and experiance within the photographic field.

Outings

Outings are organised to combine a photo opportunity with an interesting day out. For example, previous outings have been to Ely Cathederal, the Hawk Conservancy, Avebury Stone Circle, Leeds Castle, Didcot Railway Museum, Rye and Oxford.

Bring and Buy Sale

These are hosted in some years to provide an entertaining evening where members may 'dispose' of surplus photographic items and/or purchase bargins.

Biennial Exhibition

This is the principal occasion on which our work is seen by the general public. This is usually held at the Guildford House Gallery, in the High Streetr, and all members are invited to participate.

Internal Competitions

These competitions are for members only. This is an opportunity to show your work to other members, as well as receiving constructive critisism from an acknowledged expert. Separate competitions are held in slide, print and digitl mediums. There are five competitions each year in each medium, and there are silver trophies awarded for the series winners in each class.

Albany Cup Competition

This external competition is organised and hosted by the Guildford Photographic Society each spring. A number of other clubs are invited to compete with us, alternating each year between prints and slides. The competition is for a panel of four pictures on a theme, displayed simultaneously and judged singly as a panel for interest and technical merit.

Concorde Print Competition

This is a very competitive print competition normally held in November. Six prints are submitted by each club.

Surrey Rose Bowl

This event is organised by the Woking Photographic Society in February. Five slides are entered by each club and commented upon, but not scored. The award is given to the best club overall.

Woking Silver Jubilee Trophy

This external competition was originally created to celebrate Woking Photographic Society's Silver Jubilee in 1970 as a one off competition between clubs in the Surrey area. It was won by GEMS who then created an annual competition between four Surrey clubs for the trophy.

Members of the Committee
President	Ven Dodge
Chairman	Marilyn Taylor
Secretary	Veronica Barrett
Treasurer	Mark Denton
Programme Secretary	Marilyn Taylor
Internal Competition Secretary	Elizabeth Molineux
External Competition Secretaries	David Jarman Dennis Read
External Exhibitions Secretary	Sue Roche
Public Secretary	Colin Lewis
Committee Members	Walter Benzie Simon Harvey-Williams David Hogg