BBC feature on film resurgence

Lachlan Young said:

I think anyone with even the slightest sense of artistic integrity has no desire to get involved in the competitive and sociologically bizarre mediocrity of camera clubs, and have not for at least a century.

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It's a nice way to socialize. Photography can be a lonely hobby, unlike let;s say, bowling. I go out to shoot by myself (usually) and then spend hours alone at the scanner and computer editing. So I'll make slide show of trips and vacations that few people want to see. It's frustrating at times. It;s why I post many of my pictures on Flickr and YouTube and encourage others to do the same. If you write poetry, wouldn't you want others to read it and read theirs? This forum is a way to socialize as well. It's easy to isolate with a camera.

Alan Edward Klein said:

Photography can be a lonely hobby, unlike let;s say, bowling.

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One of its many perks.

Alan Edward Klein said:

It's a nice way to socialize. Photography can be a lonely hobby, unlike let;s say, bowling. I go out to shoot by myself (usually) and then spend hours alone at the scanner and computer editing. So I'll make slide show of trips and vacations that few people want to see. It's frustrating at times. It;s why I post many of my pictures on Flickr and YouTube and encourage others to do the same. If you write poetry, wouldn't you want others to read it and read theirs? This forum is a way to socialize as well. It's easy to isolate with a camera.

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News flash - I agree with Alan on this!

Its just that clubs aren't the type of socializing that younger photographers are gravitating to.
Group photo walks organized over Instagram or Reddit are more likely for them.

RalphLambrecht said:

Unfortunately, a lot of nostalgic myths. Please visit your local photo club and see how many young people you find there; it looks more like the waiting room of a urologist or a meeting of WWI veterans. Every new young member drops the average membership age from 87 to 86 1/2! You can't fight smartphones. They are here to stay.

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Even before smartphones became ubiquitous, but after digital cameras had taken over, our local club was trending older and less relevant. I attended a couple meetings 20 years ago, but it just wasn't interesting and seemed not terribly interested in photography. They also had a weird meeting schedule where they didn't even meet for most of the year. I was hoping for more discussion about photography, planned outings, etc. They seemed more focused (no pun intended) on the next photographic competition and the members' submissions.

How about some photo walks in our town (this is a historic locale) or trips to other historic and photographic areas in the broader geographic region (we're not far from Washington DC), or discussions on developing, printing, composition. Heck, with the move to digital, we could have done a single-subject project where we all take a picture of the same "still life" at the meeting and talk about our approach while sharing the picture on a projected screen or computer monitor. Something, anything but just blathering on about the next competitive event.

I see plenty of young (or at least younger than my 53 years) people about with digital and film cameras. I've had a few approach me when they see me shooting film. The interest is there.

Chris