A Brief History of Brooklands Photographic Club.

We were founded in 1968 as the Reckitts Photographic Society , as part of their Sports and Social Club in Chamberlain Road. In about 1997 the Sports and Social Club was sold by the company to The Hull Brewery Company. They then renamed the Reckitts Sports and Social Club to Brooklands Sports and Social Club and so the Photographic Society decided to change its name too, to Brooklands Photographic Club. In 2005 the Hull Brewery Company asked the Photographic Club to leave their premises. We were kindly offered our present room at the Methodist Church Hall Sutton, which we were happy to accept.

Since moving to Sutton our membership has steadily grown. Shortly before the move, we applied for a grant from the National Lottery and were successful. This enabled us to purchase a laptop computer, a digital projector, a flatbed scanner and a printer. As most members are now using digital cameras, we are now able to help with their use.

We also have studio lights and have regular practical evenings using this equipment. A varied programme of speakers, presentations and members' own print competitions all makes us a very busy club indeed. There's always something going on. Our more knowledgeable members are always happy to help the beginners.

Last, and by no means least important, we have facilities on the premises to provide refreshments during the evening, which gives members the opportunity to socialise. Visitors will find our members welcoming and friendly.

About our new logo : a comment by your Webmaster

This website went 'live' in the early hours of Feb 15, 2007. The club had determined that, with the onset of a website of their own and full entry into the digital age, it would be appropriate to have a logo.

Gordon Gledhill presented us with four designs to choose from, three of which had the heraldic device of Sir John de Sutton, who died in 1357 and was a veteran of Agincourt. The logo chosen, seen above, has the device which appears on Sir John's tomb in St James' church in the village, a device which could be said to be Sutton's own, and further cements our club's relationship in its new home.

We wouldn't want anyone to think that we 'exclude' possible members from West Hull ... the design of the logo and the red & white 'bend', as it's properly called, is obviously well over 700 years old, and I'm afraid we can't do anything about the late Sir John's choice of colour.

Some may say that, notwithstanding three-quarters of a millennia of history, Sir John was obviously a Hull Kingston Rovers supporter. He may well have been. In the words of a recently departed bard of the English stage ... "They may say that ... I couldn't possibly comment ... "

So West Hull, any part of Hull & the East Riding, members from anywhere, are all most welcome and will be assured of a friendly club where a good laugh is as much part of the evening as the photography and a cup of tea. And to show we are impartial when it comes to support all our local teams, links to all three of Hull's fine football clubs, of both disciplines, are to be found on our Links page ... Rovers first, of course.
                                                                                ~ Rob     :-)

FINALLY, A GOOD JOKE

Good photography jokes are not easy to come by. So when I came across this one, I thought of the club.

There is not one dirty word in it, and it is funny.

The Smiths were unable to conceive children, and decided to use a surrogate father to start their family. On the day the proxy father was to arrive, Mr. Smith kissed his wife goodbye and said, "Well, I'm off now. The man  should be here soon."

Half an hour later, just by chance, a door-to-door baby photographer happened to ring the doorbell, hoping to make a sale. "Good morning, Ma'am", he said, "I've come to..."

"Oh, no need to explain," Mrs. Smith cut in, embarrassed, "I've been expecting you."

"Have you really?" said the photographer. "Well, that's good. Did you know, babies are my specialty?"

"Well, that's what my husband and I had hoped. Please come in and have a seat".

After a moment she asked, blushing, "Well, where do we start?"

"Leave everything to me. I usually try two in the bathtub, one on the couch, and perhaps a couple on the bed. And sometimes the living room floor is fun. You can really spread out there."

"Bathtub, living room floor? No wonder it didn't work out for Harry and me!"

"Well, Ma'am, none of us can guarantee a good one every time. But if we try several different positions and I shoot from six or seven angles, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results."

"My, that's a lot!", gasped Mrs. Smith.

"Ma'am, in my line of work a man has to take his time. I'd love to be in and out in five minutes, but I'm sure you'd be disappointed with that."

"Don't I know it," said Mrs. Smith quietly.

The photographer opened his briefcase and pulled out a portfolio of his baby pictures. "This was done on the top of a bus," he said.

"Oh, my God!" Mrs. Smith exclaimed, grasping at her throat.

"And these twins turned out exceptionally well - when you consider their mother was so difficult to work with."

"She was difficult?" asked Mrs. Smith.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I finally had to take her to the park to get the job done right. People were crowding around four and five deep to get a good look"

"Four and five deep?" said Mrs. Smith, her eyes wide with amazement.

"Yes", the photographer replied. "And for more than three hours, too. The mother was constantly squealing and yelling - I could hardly concentrate, and when darkness approached I had to rush my shots. Finally, when the squirrels began nibbling on my equipment, I just had to pack it all in."

Mrs. Smith leaned forward. "Do you mean they actually chewed on your, uh...equipment?"

"It's true, Ma'am, yes.. Well, if you're ready, I'll set-up my tripod and we can get to work right away."

"Tripod?"

"Oh yes, Ma'am. I need to use a tripod to rest my Canon on. It's much too big to be held in the hand for very long."

Mrs. Smith is reported to have fainted.