George had an engaging, relaxed and amusing style of presentation. In addition to viewing his excellent images and learning about his photography techniques, we also enjoyed questioning him about the role of the professional sports photographer. We learned that it is a highly pressurised and competitive profession. The sports photographer, with his or her competing photographers nearby, has to marshal a range of photographic equipment and a laptop in all types of weather and environments, capture the useable images which are most in demand (involving famous sports people and particular actions) in a split second and to quickly send them, together with a range of required information such as the names of everybody whose faces feature in the photographs, to the central agencies who decide whether they want to use them. As we discussed, it is not a relaxed or fun environment, but the top sports photographers do get a "real buzz" from their work.  
Our members thanked George and agreed that it had been an enjoyable, interesting and informative evening. 
Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary
​

Members Night with Saviours Haven Sanctuary.
​
Last night was the first Members evening with a mixture of Talk from Steve Lucock about his sanctuary and some practical photography, and of course a bit of a catch up.

​So we got the room set up with three “sets” for the creatures, Harpo the Green Winged Macaw, Sapphire the Barn Owl, Eugene the African Pygmy Hedgehog and of course Zante the Fox. Due to guidelines Zante was kept out of sight until we had an opportunity to photography the animals. Not forgetting the lovely Carla Roberts who turned up to model for us with Zante.

​The first hour was spent with Macaw, Barn owl and Hedgehog and I think all members got a chance to take a variety of images and get help (if needed) from other members. Then Steve put the animals away and brought out Zante to pose with members and Carla.

Chris (Our President) gave us a talk and presenting some stunning photo's from around the Austrian Alps.

​We resumed our summer programme on Thursday evening 8th August with a trip to the Newbiggin RNLI station which, we discovered, is the oldest in the United Kingdom. It was formed shortly after 5 local fishermen attempted to save the lives of 4 fishing boat crews which capsized on 22nd March 1850. Two of ten lives were saved. A boathouse was established permanently soon after at Newbiggin and the following year the Duke of Northumberland paid for a boat and established the lifeboat station. 

Our genial host for the evening was RNLI volunteer and former policeman, Rory. Rory showed a dozen of us the station lifeboat (cost about £250,000) and tractor (cost about £100,000) and the various elements of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) used by the lifeboat crews. There are over 30 volunteers at Newbiggin and about 20 of these are trained, qualified and able to go out to see. It was clear to us all what a great and selfless job these volunteers do; they receive "shouts" at all times of the day and night and then immediately report to the station where a 4-person crew is selected by the Helm before they set sail. Rory's pride and enjoyment in what he does was clear for all to see and he said that joining the RNLI was one of the best things he had ever done. He was delighted to be able to make a contribution to the community. He answered all of our questions and explained the importance of communications, teamwork and working in coordination with other lifeboat crews along the Northumberland coast. ​

​The RNLI at Newbiggin is still looking for more volunteers, including more people to carry out shore-based roles. Those of us in attendance undertook to make a donation via of President, Chris Houghton, and of course, donations are always welcomed by the RNLI.
 
We were able to take photographs of the evening and some of us will return to take action shots when the volunteers train on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings. Despite being caught in heavy rain as we left the station, we all agreed that it had been an enjoyable and informative evening.  
 
Ray Barnes
CCC Programme Secretary  

We had a chance to show off to the public what Cramlington Camera Club is all about. There was a lot of interest in the images shown and a number of people interested in possibly joining the club. All in all it it was a successful day. 

Colin Byrne 
PDI Competition Secretary

On 11th July some of the club members joined up for a walk along Cambois Beach ending up at the harbour where there are local small fishing boats.

Even though the BBQ was cancelled as the weather didn't look too good we still had a pleasant walk and the rain held off for us. 

Colin Byrne
PDI Competition Secretary

​Timed to follow the (disappointing!) Euro 2024 match between England and Denmark, ten members of Cramlington Camera Club met at Church Point, Newbiggin on the evening of 20th June. It had been hoped to spot and photograph some dolphins but, unfortunately, they didn't accommodate us on this occasion. 

We managed to take some shots from a cool and breezy Church Point and then, having scrambled over the rocks, walked along the seaside path and in front of the RNLI station. We found some decent photography subjects, including Sean Henry's Couple sculpture, a lone fisherman, dogs being walked and views across the bay. The varying light, due to the sun peeping in and out behind the clouds, aided some interesting shots. After a very few drops of rain, we were treated to a rainbow across the bay. ​

As always, it was good to catch up with our fellow members and after we had finished taking photographs some of us then headed to our usual pub in Cramlington.  Our next summer outing will be on Thursday 11th July at Cambois Harbour, following which we will be setting up our own BBQ.

Ray Barnes
Programme Secretary ​

​On a chilly and windy evening on Thursday 6th June, a group of hardy members (other than one who turned up in his customary T-shirt!) met at Low Lights Car Park to spend time photographing the scenes at and near the Tynemouth Fish Market.

​There were a variety of subjects to photograph including fishing boats and gear and Herd Groyne and the The Collingwood Monument in the distance. However, the highlight proved to be an RNLI boat and dinghy which sailed in while we were there. The crew soon spotted us, smiled and gave us something of a demonstration close to the shore. This provided us with plenty of photo opportunities and some laughs.   

​As our AGM took place 7 weeks ago, it was good for our members in attendance to catch up with each other. At the end of a pleasant evening, some went home and some went to the pub. Our next summer meeting will be at Newbiggin Church Point on the evening of Thursday 20th June when we hope to spot and photograph dolphins. All are welcome to join us.
 
Ray Barnes, Programme Secretary

​Wednesday 15th saw the first field trip to May Island and it was one to remember. Five club members set off at 07:45 driving to Dunbar arriving at 09:00 giving time to get breakfast before we boarded a boat from Blue Wild.
The sea was quite choppy but everyone held onto their breakfast. From Dunbar we set off for Bass Rock and Alan the skipper skillfully steered the boat around the Rock and managed to get close in. Bill the crew member from Blue Wild was an encyclopedia of information about the wildlife and the history of the area.

After a while at Bass Rock we set off again for May Island located out in the North Sea at the outer entrance to the Firth of Fourth in total a trip of 12 miles from Dunbar. 
May Island is an absolute gem for bird life and a listed reserve fully protected. We were fortunate enough to see Terns, Puffins, Shags, Razor bills, Gannets and the list could go on and on.
A great day out enjoyed by all and a must to visit again next season.

​The group picture is not a boy band if it was we would be the called The Puffin Crew.

Chris Houghton - President

​Thursday 9th May was the first event of the summer program where several members took a leisurely walk around Killingworth Lake taking shots of the local wildlife with guidance from Natalie to what we are hopefully looking to see. The weather was pretty good. 

​Colin Byrne
​PDI Competition Secretary & Webmaster