East UK - FADU members get together?

[Roy_H]

Contact with a local FADU member (Xpres) a year ago raised the idea of perhaps organising an informal evening get-together for those in our area - that area being centred on the Herts/Essex border, probably encompassing surrounding counties and North London.

A busy 2010 meant that the plan got shelved, but I think I'm in a better position this year to float the idea amongst the Friends here to gauge interest.

This is in no small part due to a very enjoyable evening spent in the company of the London Independent Photographers - Ruislip Metroland group, where I had been invited to give a talk last December. A very sociable and informal evening that made me think 'why not do the same here?'.

The concept is still in development (as it were) and I have no idea exactly how many members may be in the vicinity. Basically my house has enough room (and parking space) to fit in around 12-16 people comfortably, a few more if need be, and it's reasonably close to the M11, on the main line from London Liverpool Street (35 mins) and not far from Stansted Airport if you're that keen!
If only a few were interested then my darkroom/workplace can accommodate about six comfortably, has all mod cons, and is next to the house.

I thought initially that a good format would be for each attendee to bring along maybe two prints and be prepared to talk about them with the group for a few minutes as a kind of introductory ice-breaker. That way everyone gets a feel for the kind of work you like to do, what interests you, and what equipment/processes you favour.
That bit wouldn't be obligatory - if you just fancied coming along to socialise, meet others from the area, ask questions, etc, that would also be fine.

Of course, if you are not local and still want to come along, that's fine too - bed and breakfast is not provided however!
(There is a new Premier Inn about 5 minutes away…£29 room only.)
For any non-UK members - you're welcome if you can make it!

I'm sure we all have varying degrees of experience, expertise, interests and time available, so no one should feel that they would be out of their depth or insufficiently equipped. It's really just a way of bringing the social and knowledge network of the FADU Forum into the real world, in the same way that the annual FADU meets do, only this one is local to an area and only lasts a few hours one evening.

In the longer term, if it's successful, I would hope that it might lead to more direct contact between local enthusiasts, perhaps assist folk in arranging their own photo meets and excursions, and generally encourage the pursuit of traditional photographic image-making.

I'd need to know roughly how many people would be interested in attending, if only to ensure that we have enough seats, mugs and biscuits!
At present I'm looking at a date sometime in April, when the evenings are a bit lighter, probably a Friday evening.
My actual location is Sawbridgeworth, if you want to work out travelling logistics.

So, what do people think?
Please reply to this thread if you might be interested - no need to commit definitely, just let me know if there's interest in such a thing.

Thanks,

[Dave miller]

Sounds of interest to me Roy, if it's in the second half of April I will be interested in coming along.

[Roy_H]

Definitely the latter part of April as I'm away at the begining of that month.

Friday 22nd is looking like a possibility.

[Dave miller]

Originally Posted by Roy_H

Definitely the latter part of April as I'm away at the begining of that month.

Friday 22nd is looking like a possibility.

That's Good Friday. OK for me but may clash for some.

[mikeinmono]

I'm interested Roy, please count me in.
Mike

[Roy_H]

Yep, just realised that Easter is that weekend but I'm okay with it.
However the following Friday is a possibility too (29th) so I'll leave it open for the time being and see what others can manage.

Dave and Mike, glad you are interested.

[Rob Archer]

Me too, Roy. It's only just over an hour for me by train.

Rob

[Xpres]

Yes, count me in. Both dates seem OK at the moment, but I'm not the keeper of the diary so will have to check.

[Tom Kershaw]

I'd be interested in coming for the day, as long as you're not planning a very early start (90 min drive for me) although cannot commit to dates yet. David Chow put on something a few years ago starting at 12:00 which seemed to work well.

Tom

[Tom Kershaw]

Is a Saturday out of the question, e.g. April 30th?

Tom