Members Handbook 2023-24

Welcome from the committee
The Committee welcomes you to a new season which will consist of a mix of Zoom and live meetings. In addition, we also run a full programme of Workshops, both in the Summer months as well as during the main season.

We do try to provide something for everyone, whether you are a beginner or an experienced photographer. Let us know your ideas and what you would like the club to provide. Members may invite guests to the regular meeting of the Club and prospective new members are welcome to attend one club meeting before application for membership.

A list of Committee Members, with their special responsibilities and contact details can be found in the following pages.

1          Club Programme
The Club meets most Tuesdays at 7.30pm between 5th September and 7th May. Live meetings are held at St John’s Methodist Church, Rose Hill Street, Conwy, LL32 8LD.  Attendees pay £3.00 at the door.  Parking available opposite the venue – the cost is currently £1.50p for the evening.
For a detailed google map showing the precise location of our venue please view out location map page.
The online programme will run on some Tuesdays and start at 7.30 pm. Live Zoom meetings will open earlier to allow Members to converse before the meeting. Zoom invites will be emailed to members at least 24 hours before the meeting. Some meetings will be recorded and made available for viewing for a few days afterwards in which case a YouTube link will be sent. Images are intended for Club Members only and may not be suitable for viewing by non-club members who may be present when viewed from other than Club venue.
A “finalised” Programme will be sent out at the start of the season but please note that it may be subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances. An up to date copy is always available for view on our Calendar page

            2          Safeguarding
The Club has a policy regarding safeguarding of all Club Members including vulnerable adults and children (young people up to the age of 18 years). See Rules & Constitution Appendix 3.

          3       Code of Conduct
The Club has a policy regarding conduct of our Members and Committee Members.  The purpose of the Code is to maintain high standards of conduct, assist members in their membership and to protect the best interests of our Club. See Rules & Constitution Appendix 5.                                                 

          4       Complaints & Disciplinary
The Club has a policy in place regarding complaints and disciplinary matters. See Rules & Constitution Appendix 4.

            5       Workshops / Health & Safety
In addition to the regular Tuesday Club meetings, all members have the option to participate in Club Workshops, normally on a Thursday evening. Workshops, depending on the subject or theme can be arranged indoors at a nominated venue or at an outside location.
Attendees are normally asked to pay a fee but where a speaker/model or activity occurs, an extra fee may apply. Members can seek advance notice of planned Workshop’s through the Club Calendar page on the webpages.  Members need to be aware that dates, venues, or both could change due to circumstances as the season progresses.
As the season progresses and Workshops are confirmed (normally two weeks prior to the Workshop date) the Workshop Co-Ordinator will forward a Workshop Invitation e-mail to each Club Member. The Workshop Invitation will detail the event, location, equipment requirements, cost to attend and a location.
On receipt of a Workshop Invitation, each Member is expected to review the content, location and Risk Assessment of the event and come to a decision if they are going to attend. See Rules & Constitution Appendix 2.
Where a Member decides, they are going to attend the Workshop then must confirm their intentions to the Workshop Co-Ordinator by completing a Workshop Attendance Registration form which can be found on the Club’s Members Only Webpage under “Other Stuff”.  Completion of the Workshop Attendance Registration can only be completed when the attendee has completed their Next of Kin details and ticked the relevant box to confirm they have read the event Risk Assessment. Confirmation of your wishes to attend the Workshop will be returned via email from the Workshop Co-Ordinator.
The Club’s insurance provides basic public liability cover to Members provided they remain as part of the organised group. There is no cover under the policy if you want to proceed independently.

            6       Support
Should you need assistance with using your camera, or for general photographic help, please contact any member of the Committee. If you are new to photography, the Committee can nominate an experienced mentor at your request. There will be a series of Thursday Surgeries commencing in September providing support on all things photographic.

          7       Club Website www.conwycameraclub.com
The general public has free access to the Club’s website which features a comprehensive selection of members’ images. The site is updated regularly and if you wish to submit some of your digital files they need to be jpgs at normal competition size of 1600 x 1200 pixels maximum.
If you wish to contribute to the clubs various galleries please use the Various Image Uploads contact form to submit your images.
Please regularly check the site for last minute Programme updates to Club and Workshops. There are links to competition rules, competition dates, competition winners and photographic fact sheets. We are also on Flickr and Facebook just search “Conwy Camera Club” or use the social media buttons on our website.
To access the members section of the website you must have an existing valid username and password. New members will receive an email providing instructions on how to access their account.

            8       Your Competition Category
Members will retain their current category unless otherwise advised by the Competitions Secretary. New members will be allocated a category based on Rule 3 in the Competition Rules

            9          Competition Entries
All digital competition entries must be submitted online via the members only section of the website. This includes PDI’s corresponding to your Print Entries. Due to high volumes and difficulties in processing, submission by email attachment, memory stick or disk is not permitted. Special instructions for forwarding exceptionally large files will be advised by email.
There are two pages for competition image uploads and a further pages for uploads relating to various projects and various image uploads:
Internal Competition Upload Form
External Competition Upload Form
One-off Events & Special Projects Upload Form
Various Image Upload Form

          10     Data Protection
Routine electronic Club communications to Members will continue to be forwarded using the functionality of “Google Groups”. New Members will be automatically enrolled to the Google Group “Conwy Camera Club Membership” and will receive a welcome email confirmation. Being part of the Group will not reveal the Member or their email address to other Group Members, nor will it allow contact with other Members.
Young people under the age of 18 will be contacted through an email address provided by their parent or person with parental responsibility, with consent being obtained on acceptance of their membership application See Rules & Constitution Appendix 1.

            11     Succession Planning
The Committee encourages Club Members to be engaged with the running of the Club and actively supports Members who wish to take on Committee activities. See Rules & Constitution Appendix 6.

Rollcall for the current committee

Past Chairs