Croxley Camera Club Calendar

Producing a calendar featuring local views taken by members was first discussed by the CCC Committee as early as 1975 however commercial colour printing was relatively expensive in those days so the project was placed on hold. A saviour was found in discussions with TRDC during 1983 and the first calendar appeared for 1984 featuring members’ photographs taken in the wider geographical Three Rivers area. Production costs were shared and profit from calendar sales became an important source of revenue for the club over the following years.
There was disappointment in 1992 when TRDC withdrew from the project and CCC attempted to have their costs and loss of revenue recompensed via the Small Claims Court but this was unsuccessful. However, around that time Three Rivers produced a new District Guide and used seven images taken by members without permission which constituted a breach of copyright. Settlement was eventually reached with TRDC and the authors were each awarded £100 for the use of the images by TRDC.
CCC continued to independently produce an annual edition of the calendar for many years with Croxley Revels and Croxley Library being the main sources of customers, particularly Revels where copies for former residents were often purchased by family members. By 2004 the project had run its course, despite sales remaining high at around 2000 copies it was challenging to keep the publication fresh given the limited geographic area to feature. The 2005 Calendar was the last to be produced and once again it sold out.
It is the nature of local clubs without their own premises to lack resources to archive material like the calendar, particularly as the photographs used were colour slides owned by the members themselves. Within the club no copies of the 21 editions of the calendar exist but help was at hand when a local resident came across his mother’s scrapbook which contained over 100 pictures all from a period when the calendar featured perforated postcard sized prints, a feature that contributed hugely to the popularity of the calendar. These were scanned and are available to view via this link. (insert link). The set comprises photographs taken within Croxley Green, each marked with the location and authors name, though undated they will have been taken between 1983 and 2004.

Mike Loose
June 2024