Camera club puts itself in focus for its centenary

A CALENDAR charting some of the changes to Kidderminster's townscape over the last 100 years has been created by Kidderminster Camera Club to mark its centenary.

Members have used the project, in association with the Shuttle/Times and News, as a showcase for their talents and the result is a 2006 calendar fit to grace any wall or desk.

The aim was to celebrate a major landmark in the club's history and to enthuse newcomers to join, thus making sure the club carries on for another century.

In the late 1930s Kidderminster was one of the biggest photographic societies in the Midlands with more than 100 members, but membership has dwindled to around 25 today.

The advent of point-and-shoot, digital and instant cameras brought about a decline in club photography but the town club - formed in October 1906 - still meets monthly and enjoys regular competitions among members and with other clubs.

Despite its modest resources - both human and financial - it has managed to create an imaginitive calendar which gives a flavour of Kidderminster past and present.

But it also a 21st century album showing off the skills of today's members, cleverly illustrated with images ranging from the delicate feathers of barn owls and rose petals, to a rich sunset and eerie mountain mist.

Club secretary, Maureen Mundon, said: "It is a special year for us and we set out to use the centenary project to raise the profile of the club and, hopefully, attract new members to secure the future.

"Proceeds from the calendar will be used to extend the services we offer to our members or anyone interested in photography wishing to add to their knowledge or develop their skills."

The club has chosen archive images of the town from each of the 10 decades since it was formed and set them with modern views taken by current members to show some of the many changes that have occurred since 1906.

Intriguingly, a contemporary view of High Street can be seen alongside scenes from 1915 and 1949 while modern-day Mill Street can be compared to a view during the floods of 1920 and reconstruction in 1968.

Similarly Vicar Street in 1935 with its horse-drawn vehicles, is compared with 1950 under more floodwater and again in 1954 and 2005, illustrating the changing retail landscape over the years.

It is a street for which the club has a soft spot because it was here - in the long-disappeared Coffee Tavern - that its inaugural meeting was held.

The Bull Ring in 1910, well before the Richard Baxter statue was moved to its current location, High Street, Arch Hill and Church Street also offer fascinating glimpses of the past.

The club meets in Baxter Church rooms in the Bull Ring and more details are available from Maureen Mundon on 01562 850856.

WHERE

TO BUY

THE calendar, costing £7.50, is available from today from club members and from:

The Shuttle/Times and News office in Blackwell Street, Kidderminster, and Post offices at Arley and Wolverley.

The calendar comes with a strong envelope to enable it to be posted to friends or relatives.