THURROCK Nub News is delighted to bring you news of an approaching centenary celebration of one of the borough's oldest clubs. And going forwards as we approach next year's anniversary we will be sharing tips from Thurrock Camera Club – and celebrating some of the work of its members.

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THURROCK Camera club is a local camera club affiliated to The East Anglian Federation (EAF) of photographic Societies and is comprised of a group of friendly photography enthusiasts of mixed abilities that hold weekly meetings throughout the season, which runs from the first Tuesday in September through to the end of June.

The club is always looking to attract new members and visitors are welcome to attend two meetings before joining in order to get a feel for the club and its activities prior to committing to join. Members are keen to share their skills and tips with newcomers and you can view some of the members' work here.

Hopefully, when the restrictions of coronavirus lockdown are eased and as the club approaches its anniversary in 2021 the meetings will resume, to which borough residents are cordially invited.

During the past 100 years the club has witnessed various major events and has undergone a number of changes in both its meeting locations and the nature of activities undertaken by the club.

Many of the buildings that previously housed the club are now gone, but some of them may be familiar to older residents of the borough.

The club's inaugural meeting, under the name of "Grays and District Photographic society, was conducted on 7th November 1921 and was held at the Victoria Café Assemble Room, High Street, Grays. The first Chairman of the Club was the Rev A. E. Fox Over the past 100 years the club has conducted its meetings at numerous venues and operated with a variety of different names.

In 1927, the club conducted its meetings at "Flints" in Orsett Road Grays under the name of Grays Camera Club. In 1938 it moved to "Raths Studio" in Orsett Road next to the public library and had changed its name to Thurrock Photographic Society. In September that year the name changed again, this time to "Thurrock Camera Club".

Despite the tragic events of World War II, the club continued its activities from 1939-1940 and after the war it relocated to The Bull Hotel, Old High Street, Grays and reverted to its former name of Thurrock Photographic Society.

1958 saw the club in another new home, this time the Library in Orsett Road Grays where it stayed until May 1970 when the building was due to be demolished. It was during this period that the club readopted its previous name and branded itself again as Thurrock Camera Club.

For the period 1970 to 1982 the club conducted meetings in the Stanley Lazell Memorial Hall in Dell Road, subsequently moving in 1982 to Tilbury Methodist Church Hall, Calcutta Road. The club's last move was in 1984 when it relocated its meeting venue to Cowdray Hall in London Road, West Thurrock.

While the outbreak of Covid-19 and the need for strict social distancing measures have meant that the club is currently unable to meet in person, it has managed to continue to hold weekly "virtual meetings" via the internet to allow its members ongoing interaction with each other and the completion of it's 2019-20 syllabus.

Over the 100 years of the club's existence, it seen some significant changes in the nature of club activities.

In 1921 the first programme shown was "Developing Plates and Papers" and the 1992 programme included a lecture on "gaslight printing". Since that time club members produced their images through the medium of film, with the associated "dark room" developing and printing techniques, as well as exhibiting images on 'Transparencies', often referred to as slides and finally it was in 2011 that the club held its first practical demonstration of how to produce "Digital Projected Images" for presentation in competitions.

Today the club's syllabus is a mixture of internal and external print and Digital Projected Image competitions, interspersed with Lectures and Practical evenings covering a range of topics and techniques to help the members improve their photographic skills.

If anyone would be interested in finding out more about the club and/or membership, there is a Facebook Group, entitled Thurrock Camera Club which presents details of upcoming events and other photography related articles and the club also operates a website with a contact page here.. The club also has an active Facebook page here.

In association with the club, we will be sharing a photographic tip once a month and our first is connected to composition.

A General Photograph Composition Tip

The background of your image can be as important as the subject. Accordingly, always try to consider what is in the background when composing your picture.

A good photograph needs to have a focal point and the key element needs to stand out. Therefore check what's behind your main subject. For instance, bright colours or background signs may distract from other elements in the image or the main subject.

Basically the background can do two things to your main subject, either bring attention to it or detract from it.

In view of this, to create a good composition, it is important to consider objects, colours and lines within the image to determine if they add or detract from what you are trying to capture in your photograph.

To capture your best picture, always remember to try and be attentive to the background prior to pressing the shutter release.