AYWMC meetup & kit SUpport facebook groups
You are welcome to join as many groups as you like. There are a lot of overlaps, especially in the Midlands in the UK - join whichever are local to you.
Please read the following before you join a group - these rules apply to all groups:
The groups are run by volunteers. Their purpose is to support and encourage anyone taking part in A Year With My Camera (or those who have finished).
If you request to join a group you must answer the screening questions, otherwise your application will be declined. The groups are only for AYWMC participants, and if you don’t answer the questions the admins have no way of knowing that you have signed up.
Posting guidelines
1. Only post images you have taken unless you have permission from the photographer, and credit them in the post.
2. Think twice before posting anything the majority would find unpleasant, disturbing, or awkward if viewed at work - eg nudity, adult themes. No offensive, vulgar or obscene language.
3. If you are upset or offended by anything you see please report the post to an admin rather than engaging with the poster.
4. No sales in the group.
Admins may delete without warning anything in breach of these guidelines, at their sole discretion. They may remove repeat offenders from the group. If members post illegal, discriminatory or hate speech in the group or elsewhere, they will be removed without warning and reported.
Meet up guidelines (meetups on hold during Covid-19)
1. You attend meet-ups at your own risk. The person organising the meet up selects the venue, but does not do any safety checks. Please satisfy yourself that the venue is somewhere you are happy to visit.
2. Group members are not screened or vetted. Please take sensible precautions when meeting people: don’t meet anyone alone, only meet in a public place, tell someone where you are going, don’t accept lifts from people you don’t know, don't give out personal details.
3. Please help the organiser by replying promptly with a “yes/no/don’t know yet” when they ask for interest. A firm “no” is much more helpful than no reply at all.
4. Partners, friends and dogs (where allowed) are welcome if they come with a member.
5. The meet-up organiser will wait for a maximum of FIVE minutes after the publicised start time, unless you get in contact with them and they agree to meet you at a new time. Please let them know if you are going to be later or can't attend at the last minute.
6. Meet-ups will not go ahead if a minimum number (chosen by the organiser, usually at least three) does not turn up. Such meetups may be cancelled by the organiser on the day for everyone's personal safety. This is why it's particularly important to keep the organiser informed if you aren't attending.
If you are taking part in AYWMC and want to start a new group, first check whether there is one already in existence (below). Please wait until you've finished the first 6 weeks of the main course (the exposure module), then drop Emma an email with details of the area you want to cover, or camera model (use the contact form at the end of the page). (I ask that you wait just so you can check you still love the course after the first module and are still enthusiastic about being an Admin.) No new meetup groups are being made until the pandemic is over.
If you find a broken link, or a group that has closed down, or you know of a new one not on the list, please drop me an email using the contact form at the end of this page.
AYWMC kit groups
Canon - all: https://www.facebook.com/groups/151657838831972/
Canon Powershot: https://www.facebook.com/groups/377898396059854/
Canon mirrorless: https://www.facebook.com/groups/699828760615207/
Fuji: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1641022939353708/
Lumix: https://www.facebook.com/groups/141534026536967
Nikon B700: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2085369891707679/
Nikon D3000 series: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1875992869365480/
Nikon D40, D60, D90: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2179569585597729/
Nikon D5000-D7000: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1709954992402750
Nikon D500: https://www.facebook.com/groups/384999772352181/
Nikon D750: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1813281955639570/
Nikon & Olympus mirrorless: https://www.facebook.com/groups/820976931576274/
Olympus: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2019280595058662/
Pentax: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1627254690725241/
Sony: https://www.facebook.com/groups/622171188131407/
AYWMC UK meetup groups
Map from the OS, with permission
Northern Ireland: https://www.facebook.com/groups/978067212700117
Devon & Cornwall: https://www.facebook.com/groups/426136361115051/
Dorset: https://www.facebook.com/groups/594727858046962/
East Midlands & Cambs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1463291787084252/
East of Scotland (PH, DD, FK, KY, EH, TD): https://www.facebook.com/groups/212525035960772/
Essex: https://www.facebook.com/groups/130018260963505/
Herts & Beds: https://facebook.com/groups/142941242892747
Kent, Medway & East Sussex (see below for West Sussex group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/280045565856575/
Highlands & Islands: https://www.facebook.com/groups/480920915778788
London: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1865588753452708
Midlands: Leics, Notts, Coventry, Warwickshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/377442299374970/
Norfolk & Suffolk: https://www.facebook.com/groups/299601407240138
North East England: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1021096734659910
North East Scotland: Aberdeenshire & to Inverness: https://www.facebook.com/groups/369318903533648/
North Lincolnshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1424288441019416/
North West England incl. North Wales: https://www.facebook.com/groups/163653860855033/
Oxford, Bucks & Northants: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1949271998686059/
Shropshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/757179674650661/
Somerset, Wiltshire & Bristol: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1752075751785734/
South Wales: https://www.facebook.com/groups/290803111404730
Staffordshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1452385231559264/
Surrey & Hants: https://www.facebook.com/groups/273474813164578/
West Midlands, Birmingham, Worcs, Gloucs, Herefordshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1014331398669904/
West Sussex: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1755415864752403
West of Scotland: Ayreshire, Lanarkshire, Strathclyde, Dunbartonshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/360828231067927/
West Wales: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1947007068656934/
Yorkshire: https://www.facebook.com/groups/119416455361150
AYWMC USA Meetup groups
Atlanta: https://www.facebook.com/groups/155610128471825/
California: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CaliforniaAYWMC/
DC, MD, VA: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2056198777955056/
Midwest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/219181388987092/
Nashville: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3010802972305514
North East states (ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, NY, NJ, PA): https://www.facebook.com/groups/456709758170198/
Portland, Oregon: https://www.facebook.com/groups/436116400128736/
Seattle Washington area: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049194945223667/
Southeast States: https://www.facebook.com/groups/406000039822035/
Texas: https://www.facebook.com/groups/aywmctx/
Wisconsin: https://www.facebook.com/groups/325658081491830/
AYWMC worldwide meetup groups
Australia: https://www.facebook.com/groups/182896195677114/
Canada: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1643517842388863
Mexico: https://www.facebook.com/groups/388229545453751/
The Netherlands: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1643836475785736
Norway: https://www.facebook.com/groups/477579222746863/
AYWMC special interest groups
Support for AYWMCers with a disability (set up at the request of a diverse group of members who want a smaller group to chat about challenges not faced by the majority of members, and to share progress and ask questions in a smaller less crowded forum. Disability may be hidden, and no one needs to say anything personal, private or indeed anything they don't want to.): https://www.facebook.com/groups/347776902720813/
Lightroom users: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2726809174228981/
Affinity users: https://www.facebook.com/groups/559924307931195/
Paint Shop Pro users: https://www.facebook.com/groups/234119477625452/