Very sadly Peter McSporran passed away in January 2018, he will be greatly missed by, amongst many others, Crieff Camera Club. He was the driving force behind the Club over the last 30 years and without him it is quite possible the Club would not have survived. No one knew the history of the Club more than Peter and for that and in recognition of his significant contribution to the Club we have left his personal history of the Club in place.
Crieff Camera Club – The First 30 Years - By Peter McSporran
In the beginning
I knew there had been a Camera Club in existence in the late 1960s early 70s and they met in Crieff Library then in East High Street. There were approximately 12 members including Roy Flatt, Michael McFadyen, Ian Cooper, Duncan and Doreen Forbes and Moira’s father Willie Hood and his sister Jean.
Eureka
Fast forward to the mid 1980s Then came my EUREKA moment and with the support of Alan Crawford, David Findlay and John Rutherford we put a notice in the Strathearn Herald on 14th September 1985 inviting anyone interested to attend a meeting in the Strathearn Institute the following week. A local business man stopped me in the street to tell me I was wasting my time and we would be lucky to get 12 people turning up and interest would soon fade away.
Over 40 people attended that meeting and we formed a committee and organised the first meeting proper which was held in the George Hotel on Thursday 17 October 1985 when 58 local photo enthusiasts paid £8 each to join Crieff Camera Club. The treasurer David Findlay did not want that amount of cash in his possession overnight so I took the money home and hid it in a video box under the stairs until I could bank it the next morning.
We almost called the club Crieff Photographic Society but Michael McFadyen of the previous camera club offered that if we adopted their name and constitution we would inherit some funds that lay untouched in a bank account for a number of years. So decision taken.
This was the first syllabus card - note that there is no speakers or subjects listed - we were booking speakers as we went along – not the best way to do it. Other than Jimmy Mitchell and Bill Chambers from Dundee I cannot recall who else appeared on the programme in that first session.
The first Crieff Camera Club committee - Hugh Mullholland, David Findlay, Jim Cameron, John Rutherford, myself, Agnes Morton, Angus MacDonald and Ian Holoran. Now the gentleman on the right of the back row is the reason that our more mature members do not enjoy a cheaper rate of membership fee. At a very early committee meeting it was suggested that there should be a concessionary rate for senior citizens - John Rutherford was quick to reply ‘ Naw the old yins in this club are a’ wealthy’ - so means testing was not required.
The Logo
The Crieff Camera Club Logo was created by David Findlay and was highly commended in the Scottish Photographic Federation newsletter.
Crieff Camera Club Entertains or Open Night
Crieff Camera Club Entertains or Open Night as it was originally known was the idea of Nancy Culley and we are delighted that it has become a fixture in the Crieff calendar. In the early years AV sequencies tended to be lengthy and we would only require 4 or 5 items on the programme, now with short punchy digital AVs we now need 10 or more to fill an evening. In fact since the first Open Night in 1989 Crieff Camera Club members have produced over 200 audio visual sequencies. As you would expect a successful evening such as this takes a considerable effort by a large number of members but I want to make a special mention of 3 people without whom there would have been fewer Crieff Camera Club Entertains - Ian Holoran, Robin Rae and Richard Murray who each at different times operated the equipment on the evening.
Outings
Summer Outings was the idea of Agnes Morton and she organised first outing which was to Cuross and Dean Village in Edinburgh on a warm sunny day in June 1986. The first of many successful outings thanks to Agnes Morton, Maud Shaw, Margaret Moran and others.
Every year I kept a note of the destination and whether the weather was good to us.
On several outings I passed around a sheet asking for suggestions for future outings and every time there was an anonymous suggestion for The Scots Whisky Trail with Tasting Sessions. Wonder whom that could be Robert.
Not everyone could last the pace on the outings
The Competitions
The club has 9 trophies to be competed for each session the Colour Prints Bowl, Monochrome Prints Bowl, Digital Image Bowl, Audio Visual Shield, Norman Stewart Cup, Mary Curr Bowl, President’s Cup, Photographer of the Year Bowl and the New Photographer of the Year Bowl.
The Ladies v Gents Shield was competed for from 1986 – 2014 and the Ladies won the trophy for the first 3 years in a row, modesty forbids me saying which side had the most wins by 2014, but it wasn’t the Ladies.
Every session we compete in 2 inter club competitions – The Stirling Auchterarder Crieff Trophy and the Perthshire Photographic Alliance Trophy.
Jim Cameron was the first Competitions secretary and he set up the basic structure that we still use today, Robert Harrisons ensured the competitions ran smoothly for a good number of years.
Publicity and Newsletters
The advantage of being a member of a club is that if you have a photographic problem there are several very experienced members to ask for advice. Recently a member stated that her images taken indoors always had a yellow tinge to them – the solution offered by a senior member was, and I quote ‘just fiddle with the white balance thingy’.
The Members
Eleanor Miller and myself have been members of the club continuously since that first session in 1985/86.
We had a policy of making an extra effort with new or potential new members to make them feel welcome in the club and at an early meeting in the George Hotel everyone was seated and the speaker was about to start when the door opened and an elderly gentleman looked in, Nancy Culley was out of her seat in a flash and taking the visitor by the arm escorted him to the only vacant seat at the very front. The speaker restarted but was soon interrupted by the newcomer who said ‘this is not the darts final’ and then made his exit in silence and as the door closed the room exploded with laughter.
Recently former member Agnes Morton, who now resides in Perth, was in conversation with Jo Cound and asked Jo if Crieff Camera Club was still on the go and Jo confirmed it was, Agnes then asked if Peter was still on the committee. I did resign in writing on one occasion about 15 years ago but the rest of the committee ignored the letter and I carried on.
Crieff Camera Club has been part of my life for 30 years now, how can that be I hear you say as he is only 40ish years old, I am actually slightly older than that. In that time I have met and seen up close the work of dozens of photographers including some of the very best in the country – George Birrell, Roy Robertson, Duncan McEwen, Trevor Taylor, Rod Wheelans, Polly Pullar, Dino DeLuca, Jo Cound, David Hay and Rikki O’Neil to name a few.
I have attended over 100 committee meetings and debated about the best speaker, the best venue, the best equipment, the best image, the best wine for Christmas meetings and enjoyed every minute.
But more important than all that because of Crieff Camera Club I have made many friends - people I would not otherwise have met.
...and this is where the next 30 years begins
I knew there had been a Camera Club in existence in the late 1960s early 70s and they met in Crieff Library then in East High Street. There were approximately 12 members including Roy Flatt, Michael McFadyen, Ian Cooper, Duncan and Doreen Forbes and Moira’s father Willie Hood and his sister Jean.
Eureka
Fast forward to the mid 1980s Then came my EUREKA moment and with the support of Alan Crawford, David Findlay and John Rutherford we put a notice in the Strathearn Herald on 14th September 1985 inviting anyone interested to attend a meeting in the Strathearn Institute the following week. A local business man stopped me in the street to tell me I was wasting my time and we would be lucky to get 12 people turning up and interest would soon fade away.
Over 40 people attended that meeting and we formed a committee and organised the first meeting proper which was held in the George Hotel on Thursday 17 October 1985 when 58 local photo enthusiasts paid £8 each to join Crieff Camera Club. The treasurer David Findlay did not want that amount of cash in his possession overnight so I took the money home and hid it in a video box under the stairs until I could bank it the next morning.
We almost called the club Crieff Photographic Society but Michael McFadyen of the previous camera club offered that if we adopted their name and constitution we would inherit some funds that lay untouched in a bank account for a number of years. So decision taken.
This was the first syllabus card - note that there is no speakers or subjects listed - we were booking speakers as we went along – not the best way to do it. Other than Jimmy Mitchell and Bill Chambers from Dundee I cannot recall who else appeared on the programme in that first session.
The first Crieff Camera Club committee - Hugh Mullholland, David Findlay, Jim Cameron, John Rutherford, myself, Agnes Morton, Angus MacDonald and Ian Holoran. Now the gentleman on the right of the back row is the reason that our more mature members do not enjoy a cheaper rate of membership fee. At a very early committee meeting it was suggested that there should be a concessionary rate for senior citizens - John Rutherford was quick to reply ‘ Naw the old yins in this club are a’ wealthy’ - so means testing was not required.
The Logo
The Crieff Camera Club Logo was created by David Findlay and was highly commended in the Scottish Photographic Federation newsletter.
Crieff Camera Club Entertains or Open Night
Crieff Camera Club Entertains or Open Night as it was originally known was the idea of Nancy Culley and we are delighted that it has become a fixture in the Crieff calendar. In the early years AV sequencies tended to be lengthy and we would only require 4 or 5 items on the programme, now with short punchy digital AVs we now need 10 or more to fill an evening. In fact since the first Open Night in 1989 Crieff Camera Club members have produced over 200 audio visual sequencies. As you would expect a successful evening such as this takes a considerable effort by a large number of members but I want to make a special mention of 3 people without whom there would have been fewer Crieff Camera Club Entertains - Ian Holoran, Robin Rae and Richard Murray who each at different times operated the equipment on the evening.
Outings
Summer Outings was the idea of Agnes Morton and she organised first outing which was to Cuross and Dean Village in Edinburgh on a warm sunny day in June 1986. The first of many successful outings thanks to Agnes Morton, Maud Shaw, Margaret Moran and others.
Every year I kept a note of the destination and whether the weather was good to us.
On several outings I passed around a sheet asking for suggestions for future outings and every time there was an anonymous suggestion for The Scots Whisky Trail with Tasting Sessions. Wonder whom that could be Robert.
Not everyone could last the pace on the outings
The Competitions
The club has 9 trophies to be competed for each session the Colour Prints Bowl, Monochrome Prints Bowl, Digital Image Bowl, Audio Visual Shield, Norman Stewart Cup, Mary Curr Bowl, President’s Cup, Photographer of the Year Bowl and the New Photographer of the Year Bowl.
The Ladies v Gents Shield was competed for from 1986 – 2014 and the Ladies won the trophy for the first 3 years in a row, modesty forbids me saying which side had the most wins by 2014, but it wasn’t the Ladies.
Every session we compete in 2 inter club competitions – The Stirling Auchterarder Crieff Trophy and the Perthshire Photographic Alliance Trophy.
Jim Cameron was the first Competitions secretary and he set up the basic structure that we still use today, Robert Harrisons ensured the competitions ran smoothly for a good number of years.
Publicity and Newsletters
The advantage of being a member of a club is that if you have a photographic problem there are several very experienced members to ask for advice. Recently a member stated that her images taken indoors always had a yellow tinge to them – the solution offered by a senior member was, and I quote ‘just fiddle with the white balance thingy’.
The Members
Eleanor Miller and myself have been members of the club continuously since that first session in 1985/86.
We had a policy of making an extra effort with new or potential new members to make them feel welcome in the club and at an early meeting in the George Hotel everyone was seated and the speaker was about to start when the door opened and an elderly gentleman looked in, Nancy Culley was out of her seat in a flash and taking the visitor by the arm escorted him to the only vacant seat at the very front. The speaker restarted but was soon interrupted by the newcomer who said ‘this is not the darts final’ and then made his exit in silence and as the door closed the room exploded with laughter.
Recently former member Agnes Morton, who now resides in Perth, was in conversation with Jo Cound and asked Jo if Crieff Camera Club was still on the go and Jo confirmed it was, Agnes then asked if Peter was still on the committee. I did resign in writing on one occasion about 15 years ago but the rest of the committee ignored the letter and I carried on.
Crieff Camera Club has been part of my life for 30 years now, how can that be I hear you say as he is only 40ish years old, I am actually slightly older than that. In that time I have met and seen up close the work of dozens of photographers including some of the very best in the country – George Birrell, Roy Robertson, Duncan McEwen, Trevor Taylor, Rod Wheelans, Polly Pullar, Dino DeLuca, Jo Cound, David Hay and Rikki O’Neil to name a few.
I have attended over 100 committee meetings and debated about the best speaker, the best venue, the best equipment, the best image, the best wine for Christmas meetings and enjoyed every minute.
But more important than all that because of Crieff Camera Club I have made many friends - people I would not otherwise have met.
...and this is where the next 30 years begins