EIGHTEEN months of planning came to a successful conclusion at the weekend when Ilkley Camera Club held its Golden Jubilee celebrations.

"Expectations were high," said president Stuart Parker. "The success of the event held over the weekend has exceeded those expectations."

The event began on Friday evening with a club preview of an exhibition of members' work at the Manor House. The exhibition was officially opened on Saturday by the president of the Yorkshire Photographic Union, Peter Thomson, with the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Bradford, Coun Richard and Mrs Elizabeth Wightman, in attendance.

It has drawn high praise for the quality and variety of the photography, and many of the prints reflect modern technology, with more than half ink jet printed and some totally digital.

On Saturday afternoon at the Crescent Hotel, there was a workshop given by Barry Colquhoun on digital photography. Mr Colquhoun, one of the foremost lecturers on the subject, has visited both Ilkley Camera Club and the Royal Photographical Society previously and once again made a substantial contribution to members' understanding of computer manipulated imaging.

The highlight of the weekend came with the Golden Jubilee dinner on Saturday evening at the Crescent Hotel.

Anne North, of Addingham, the winner of the Ilkley Gazette Photographic Competition, was presented with her prize, which had been donated by Annings, of Ilkley.

Presentations were made by Mr Parker to Julia May and Geoffrey Vere in recognition of their excellent work in organising the celebrations.

The evening ended with a thought-provoking digital slide show by Dr Mike Dixon, entitled 'Vanishing Ilkley'.

The celebrations continued on Sunday with two lectures organised by the Royal Photographical Society, which is celebrating its own 150th anniversary. In the morning the renowned international child photographer, Fiona Allison, talked about her life in the world of advertising, showing many images which had appeared in advertising copy and product packages.

In contrast, there was a lecture by Mike Maloney. multi-award winning photographer, and former chief photographer of the Daily Mirror. He talked with great humour about his experiences and relationships with those who had made the world's news.

He illustrated his talk with headline pictures and some too sensitive for publication.

"It was an excellent end to a resoundingly successful weekend," said Mr Parker.