F/Stop Newsletter

TopShot ’26, the photography competition to find the best images across NSW and the ACT, is not Open. Closing date for entries is 10 May, 2026. Finalists can win prizes worth thousands of dollars, and be exhibited at the TopShot ’26 Exhibition in June.

Welcome to our second F-Stop for 2026.
The FCC’s new Nature Photography competition for individual photographers is attracting a strong interest. Already we have received over 40 entries. The competition closes on Sunday 29 March.

I hope you all had a terrific rest over the new year break, and are now ready for an exciting 2026 in Club photography and videography.
First, some very exciting news to start the year – over the next few weeks the FCC will provide each Club with unique username and password so a limited number of Committee members can access the resources in the new FCC website on behalf of their Club. Club Secretaries – keep your eyes open for that email.

I am delighted to announce an early Christmas present for all Clubs.
The FCC Committee has kept a very tight rein on our expenses in 2025. As a result, the FCC membership fee for 2026 will stay $5 per member (plus the one-off $10 Administration Fee).
The new FCC website (fccnsw.com.au) is now almost fully operational.

November is the time many of our Clubs hold their AGM and start organising end-of-year events.
This F-Stop focusses on some recent exhibitions Clubs have organised, and exhibitions and resources you can access to strengthen your photography.

Congratulations to all 19 Clubs which entered the 2025 InterClub competition.
This year’s InterClub was tougher than ever. Almost one quarter of all the FCC-affiliated Clubs in NSW and the ACT
competed, up two Clubs on 2024. More than half the Clubs were based outside of Sydney.

One of my priorities is to increase the profile of FCC Clubs in the broader community. This is important for many reasons – not least being to attract new
and younger members to our Clubs.

Entries are pouring in to the 2025 FCC InterClub competition which closes on 5 October. This competition is one of the highlights of the photographic year where Clubs can compare their work with others.

July was a particularly busy month for photographers in NSW and the ACT. There were some important regional events including the Northern NSW Zone Convention at Port Macquarie; the Sydney…

2025 was one of the best TopShot competitions in years. There were more than 1,100 entries. Over 100 people attended the presentation of the Awards and hundreds of members of the public stopped to look at the TopShot Exhibition at the Erina Fair Shopping Centre.

I have two major announcements for Clubs. First, and for the first time ever, all your members are covered by personal injury insurance. This means that if a member is injured at a club meeting or on a club activity, they will be covered by Voluntary Workers Insurance.

First, I am delighted to announce a late Christmas present for all Clubs. The FCC Committee has decided membership fees for 2025 will remain the same as last year. The Committee is being very careful with its finances so we can provide clubs with as many new resources as possible without having to increase fees.

First, I am delighted to announce a late Christmas present for all Clubs. The FCC Committee has decided membership fees for 2025 will remain the same as last year. The Committee is being very careful with its finances so we can provide clubs with as many new resources as possible without having to increase fees.

The FCC is delighted to announce a new prize for the NSW Interclub 2024 – a 2-hour photography workshop on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s South-East Pylon Lookout and Gun Deck where you will have breathtaking, unobstructed views of the Opera House, Circular Quay, the bustling harbour, and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The workshop includes expert and personalised guidance in taking shots of Sydney from this unique location.

In a unanimous decision by the FCC Committee, it was agreed to introduce new subjects such as Action, Portraits, Flora and Astro-photography, and to replace the three print categories with a new Fine Art Print category. The digital Nature category will remain unchanged.

The 2024 NSW TopShot Competition was one of our largest competitions in recent years, and as you will see in this edition of F-Stop, the quality of many winning and runner-up photos was of a very high standard.

At our AGM, FCC President Michelle Kennedy, thanked Clubs for supporting the FCC over the past two years and outlined new plans for 2024-26. More than 60 people attended the FCC’s AGM in person or via Zoom in June 2024