Highbury Photography Club is a safe space where local connection and creative discussion can thrive.
Five years on since its founding in February 2021, the group has grown into an online community with over 2,000 members.
Each week, without fail, it hosts a competition in which 25 to 30 core members take photos focussing on a specific theme, and the ten best entries are posted on the Nextdoor website for locals to vote on their favourite.
The group was founded by professional photographer JC Hermier during the COVID-19 lockdown in February 2021.
“It was a way for people to take photos and come together while we were all very bored and scared,” Hermier said.
Describing himself as the “guardian” of the club, Hermier said the group aims to create discussion about the art, encouraging conversations and friendly debates between family and friends about their favourite photos from the week.
“It’s not always about having the best photos, but it’s about creating a community,” Hermier said. “We have young members, old members, we are very different in a way, but we have become a family.”
He added: “People voting on next door say it is the one thing they look forward to in the week, while there is all the misery in the world.”
He has facilitated a “very positive” online community that rarely receives negative comments in their competitions. This shared eagerness for creativity has evidently bonded members, who Hermier says have become “friends for life. If somebody has been having a rough time, someone will come and help them.”
Connections have lasted beyond the online space too with real-life meetups, as photographers have hosted events every few months including “photo walks”. For the club’s last event, they “took cameras and phones and went by Hackney Wick, walked around for a couple of hours and had a drink”.
Due to high demand, this year, Hermier is hoping to organise a photography exhibition in Islington with some of the winners from previous competitions to showcase his favourite images.
