The Lowestoft & District Photographic Society was established in the year 1900. A handwritten invitation card exists, dated February 12, 1900 and this club was in existence until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

The Lowestoft Photographic Society was established after the Second World War, in 1952, and one of its founder members was Sidney Reynolds, who was President of the Lowestoft Photographic Club until he passed away in 2001. Many of the original members from the 1950's, such as Spencer Burt, Ernest Graystone - each of whom were members of the club for over 35 years - Bob Moore and David Crawford are also sadly no longer with us, but all are fondly remembered by the Club's current members.

Throughout the 1950's, the Lowestoft Photographic Society built up a strong and loyal membership and prided itself on the friendly, helpful meetings and the way in which all members were encouraged to be actively involved in the running of the Society. This has continued to the present day, with members always willing to share their photographic knowledge with others.

Informal outings are arranged throughout the year, with a balance of activities and lectures of interest to all members. Competitions, both internal and external, are well supported by members and the Club now boasts many accredited Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB) judges.

In 1964, the Lowestoft Photographic Society split into two clubs - the original Photographic Society and the Lowestoft Camera Club. However, The Lowestoft Photographic Society continued to increase its membership and maintained a full programme of events and social gatherings. Two archive photographs included here show LPS members at Sheringham, in Norfolk (1970) and Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire (1973).

By the 1990's, changing work patterns, the impact of new technology and the steadily rising costs of promoting and maintaining a high quality programme of weekly meetings, meant it was becoming increasingly difficult to recruit new members, especially young people. To increase awareness amongst the younger generation, The Lowestoft Photographic Society entered a float in the 1993 Lowestoft Carnival.

In 1997, the Lowestoft Photographic Society successfully put forward a very detailed and proposal for a photographic project entitled 'Lowestoft Towards The Millennium', which resulted in a grant of over £4,000 from the Arts Council and a supporting grant from the local authority, Waveney District Council. A selection of the resulting 2500 negatives were printed and displayed in the Lowestoft Central Library during October 1998 and now form part of the Suffolk Archive, an historical record available to future historians.

Following the success of the Millennium Project, talks began between the Lowestoft Photographic Society and the Lowestoft Camera Club about a possible merger. In May 1999, after much careful discussion, it was agreed that a full merger between the two clubs would take effect from May 2000. The new club was to be called The Lowestoft Photographic Club; stronger, with a larger membership, and the ability to support a high quality programme of events. David Standley (LPS) and Sidney Reynolds (LCC) were the joint Presidents of the new club.

The Lowestoft Photographic Club enjoyed unprecedented success, winning the East Anglian Shield competition for the first time, in 2001. With greater opportunities to support special interest groups, the new club was able to promote a wider range of photographic and social activities and to compete successfully at local and regional level.

In 2004, having fully embraced the exciting new digital photographic technology available to more and more people, the club has been renamed The Lowestoft Photographic & Digital Imaging Club and is confident of moving towards ever higher standards of excellence in the future.

[Thanks to Derek Leak & Alan Hale for their assistance. All photographs © Derek Leak]