History

Ribblesdale Camera Club was founded on 6th June 1939.

Photographic film was nearly unobtainable during the war, and many subjects were forbidden or censored.

Meetings were held in a room near the Castle, later in Stanley House where exhibitions were also held. Later the castle hosted the club's exhibitions. The club eventually decided to buy the old telephone exchange at Chatburn.

However, in 2002 there was an upsurge in interest through the availability of high quality digital cameras and Photoshop. Eventually a decision was made to move the meetings to the West Bradford Village Hall.

A new chapter in the club's history started in early 2008 when we became a charity, based on our educational objectives.

The club is a member of the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union (L&CPU), and through them, the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB). We are also members of the Inter-Club Photographic Alliance (ICPA).

The club's greatest achievement was when our member John West (now sadly deceased) won the World Championship colour slide competition organised by FIAP. This competition was held near Barcelona and attracted entries from about forty countries.

In 2009, the club won the ICPA Toulmen Shield for Colour Prints. The number of the club's prints retained by the L&CPU for the folios were well above average. The L&CPU has 3,300 members belonging to 95 clubs around the North West.