A Short History

In the years following the Second World War, photography became affordable for making everyday/family photographs, but some people wanted to explore its potential as a creative medium.

There was a photographic club in the city (Christchurch Photographic Society), but some people in New Brighton wanted a local club, so in early 1957 Peter Dunbar, a New Brighton chemist, hosted a meeting to create the New Brighton Photographic Club.

Meetings were initially fortnightly, moving to weekly at a later date. Members were encouraged to compete in monthly competitions, using the then popular media of slides and prints, as a way of improving their photographic skills while moving from the novice C grade to B grade and finally to the advanced Agrade.

The oldest trophies in the club are the Baileys Cup (Open print) and Kevin Power Cup (Open slide), both awarded for the first time in 1957. The late Sylvia Lundy was one of the most successful club members in internal competitions, winning the A grade print competition 13 times in a 17 year period, and also winning the Natural History print award 11 times in 12 years. This trophy is now the Sylvia Lundy Tray.

The late Reg Carson was also a club stalwart and competed actively with both prints and slides. Reg epitomised the club photographer of the 1960s and 1970s, using a 35mm SLR camera for colour slides and a Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera for black and white film (for prints). The most recent change in 2008 was the introduction of Projected Image (Digital) to club activities to cater for the ever-growing popularity of digital cameras.Over the years the club has used at least nine venues in the New Brighton, South New Brighton and Aranui suburbs for meetings with the current location (New Brighton Freemasons Centre) being used since April 1997.