Welcome back to the Newsletter after the summer break. It should appear every other Tuesday (or Wednesday) in your inbox starting on 1 September. Information is a two way process and if you think you have something that will be useful to other members then send it to me and it can either go in the next Newsletter or published on our website.

The new season starts on 4 September at 8pm with the opening night member’s exhibition and social event when all members get the opportunity to display their prints, meet other members in an informal setting and enjoy a buffet and a glass or two of wine! Tony asks members to deliver their prints to the clubroom on the next 2 Fridays to allow plenty of time to prepare the exhibition. You can collect the new programme for the 2015/16 season at the same time.

The first lecture – The Doug Lewis Memorial Lecture – is given by Tony Thomas EFIAP, supported by Paper Spectrum on Friday 11 September. Tony has been a club member for more than 35 years and has held many positions in the club. He is currently Treasurer and Programme Secretary. Look at the programme that Tony has prepared for this season http://wrekinartspc.com/main-programme/ and I think you will agree that we have some very strong and varied speakers.

This year we have introduced a learner’s programme that starts at 6.45pm on Friday 18 September. It runs for 1 hour and will be held in the small theatre studio immediately at the rear of the club room. This should give you plenty of time to get to the main event at 8pm. Calvin was responsible for organising the programme and getting the speakers. You can see the programme at http://wrekinartspc.com/learner-programme-2015-2016/ Please support these events – it has taken a lot of organising and was requested by a large number of people. It’s something that you asked for in the questionnaire that was circulated last season.

There are three localphotographic competitions you might like to enter. The first one is organised by Friends of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/support-us/friends-of-igmt/friends-photo-competition-2015/ and has “Shropshire Industry “ as its theme. There is a cash prize of £100 for the winner, £50 for second and £25 for third prize. Closing date is 31 August. Full details and terms and conditions can be found on the link.

The second competition is run by Wellington Town Council to promote a free talk given by Mark Sisson as part of the Wellington Literary Festival on 20 October. The theme of the competition is “Wild Shropshire” Details of both the Photographic Competition and the Literary Festival can be found on the Town Council’s home page http://www.wellington-shropshire.gov.uk/

And the third competition is “Loving Life in Lawley” run by the Lawley Village Developer Group. To enter the competition, participants can submit photographs that focus on the architecture, the local facilities, residents, the lifestyles or the landscapes at Lawley Village. First prize is £500 and club members have won this competition in the past. Full details http://www.telford.towntalk.co.uk/news/d/67832/photography-competition-returns-for-residents-loving-life-in-lawley/

The Wrekin Salon http://www.wrekinarts.com/ is now open and is attracting a steady flow of entries. If any member wants to enter then follow the instructions given in the email I sent out on 31 July. If you can’t find it then contact me and I’ll send you a copy.

Finally, if you have been think about taking out a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop and Lightroom) then you can buy it for £6.98 per month before 28 August. https://creative.adobe.com/plans