About

Llandudno Photographic Society has a reputation for its friendliness, as well as its competitiveness. It is made up of people from all walks of life. Whether you are a beginner to photography with a cheap compact camera (or even your phone), or a camera buff with a top of the range DSLR or medium format camera, the club caters for all.

Our Programme includes a mixture of illustrated talks by club members or invited lecturers and practical evenings to try out new skills. We also have competitions either on set subjects or ‘open’, where members can submit their work to be judged by outside judges who give constructive criticism — or praise — to each image. In this way, we learn what is good and what is not so good about our photography.

Meetings take place at Craig-y-Don Community Centre in Llandudno on Wednesdays, doors open at 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start. Our season runs from September to April each year. We have a programme of informal outdoor shoots over the summer.

Newcomers are welcome. Potential members may come on two evenings (not necessarily consecutive) for £2 to see what they think of us, before joining. Visitors are welcome for any particular evening, paying £5.

Club History

The club was officially formed at a meeting on Tuesday February 3rd 1981, upstairs in Llandudno Public Library in Mostyn Street. It was agreed that ‘Lady members be members in their own right.’ Times change! The eight founder members were given certificates to mark the occasion. This one is Elwyn Sharp’s. [image]

From these very humble beginnings, the club has grown and flourished. There have been some ups and downs in membership and a number of changes of venue until moving to the Community Centre, Morley Road in 1993, then into the new Craig-y-Don Community Centre in 2005.

We had always thought that ours was the first camera club in Llandudno. That is until an old book was discovered at Llandudno Library. The Life of George Cruikshank (the artist) had a 1935 library label. On the front cover was another label dated 1894. It said: ‘Llandudno Newsagents and Library, Amateur Photographic Society, no. 44 Mostyn Street.’

These eight founder members were given certificates to mark the occasion. This one is Elwyn Sharps.

Gwyn Williams was the first club secretary, J. Baron Williams the treasurer, and his wife Pauline the first chairperson. Arthur Lewis became our first new member a week later. The club closed for the summer in April 1981, and started again in September. From these very humble beginnings, the club has grown and prospered into the mighty bastion of photography that we know and love today.

We had always thought that ours was the first camera club in Llandudno. That is – until Gwyn Davies Williams told Peter Carlyon over the phone about a discovery that his wife Cicely had made in Llandudno Library. She was looking at an old book they were selling off : “The Life of George Crookshank” the artist. The book had a 1935 library label.

On the front cover was another label dated 1894. It said: “Llandudno Newsagents and Library, Amateur Photographic Society, note: 44 Mostyn Street.”