MyPhotoClub is a network – a platform for photography clubs and competitions. Each member of the network has its own website and address. MyPhotoClub services can be:
Complete website for your Photography Club
Competition entry portal alongside your existing website
Photography exhibition – International and Nationally accredited competitions are hosted (PSA, FIAP APS, etc.)
InterClub competitions between regional or sister clubs. Can be club or individual entries. Not all participants need to be using MyPhotoClub.
Email colin@myphotoclub.com.au or phone +61 419 624 347 if you have an inquiry regarding establishing your own site within MyPhotoClub.
MyPhotoClub suffered a significant system failure and is undergoing recovery.
A new version of the system is being implemented as part of the restoration process.
Because of this many features previously enjoyed on the site are not currently available
Rest assured, all previous features will be restored over time. Possibly even better!
Posts on this site will provide updates on recovery progress
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
I want to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by the crash of MyPhotoClub.
After the site crashed I found that restoring the system files from backups failed as there was a corruption in the complete backup files that I was not aware of. It should have been a matter or restoring to a snapshot 24 hours ago and going from there. The site database and program files were OK, but not accessible due to system and third party components would not restore.
This of course is a complete systems management failure on my part. The site is large and complex and I don’t have the resources to have the level of redundancy large commercial operators have. If I did the fees to use the system would be beyond reach. I will do my best within my budget to reduce the risk of this occurring again.
MyPhotoClub has been operating for eight years and over this time it accumulated many third party components and was overburdened with complexity. At the same time it has grown so that there are 60+ clubs with 2500+ members using the system, with 8000+ account holders entering 30+ interclub, state, national and international competitions annually. For the last nine months I have been investigating and planning out a pathway to cleaner, more efficient version that can continue to grow. I had implemented some of the more complex pages that are used by large scale competitions to prove the efficiency gains the system needed. This was all quite successful.
My first step in recovery was to establish an updated framework of the system with all of the ‘overburden’ removed. This brought the site back online so that every club had information available to members to view. This occurred 3 days after the crash
The decision then was to either:
Work through the existing versions’ 100+ pages of code that make up the site and remove calls to the removed components. The interaction throughout the site meant the site would have to be completely down for several weeks while this was done.
Fast track the new version and gradually restore functionality.
I chose option 2 to allow the least amount of inconvenience. An International and a national closing ten days after crash, and a myriad of clubs had final competitions for the year mid stream. I have done my best to do what affects most in order to see clubs and comps finish their year out.
So this is the timeline so far:
Oct 23 – the crash
Oct 26 – site back up with all pages of information available
Oct 28 – club competitions could be entered and a download of a zip file containing the entered files was available.
Oct 29 – international and national comps could be entered – registration of new accounts turned on
Oct 31 – Judging of competitions available. Club pointscore tables available
Nov 6 – Online scoring of images available
Nov 13 – Most membership features available. Edinburgh International started successfully judging 3000 odd images using Live Scoring. Publishing of results available
Nov 16 – Posting to sites and members enabled
During the period above I was in Tasmania with my wife in our little van. She had teaching commitments around the island so we had to move constantly during this period. I purchased Starlink to enable reliable data access. On Nov 18 I flew back to be with my father as he had entered his final days. My siblings and I honoured his wish to die at home, providing palliative care for him. He passed away Nov 25 at the age of 98.
Nov 19 – zip file with presentations available.
Nov 21 – CSV files, print layouts and comments sheets made available
Duplicating collections for 2025 is in final testing and should be out by the weekend.
I have not posted an update since Nov 21 for obvious reasons. I have continued to respond to emails, restore functionality and somehow push on…
Generally the level of support and understanding that I have received has been greatly appreciated. I am a single person providing a big product to a niche group. I do this as an interest and treat this work as semi-retirement. I don’t expect great rewards – but it is reasonable to expect some revenue from my efforts. I hope to continue doing this for many years to come.
Of course there have been quite appropriate terse messages of disappointment in the failure of the system. I hope that this message has detailed what occurred and the methodology I have used to recover.
If there is an issue with any feature that is presented on the site please let me know – of course there will be issues that will need to be addressed. I can’t fix what I don’t know.
To answer some specific points:
When will full functionality be restored? – I just don’t know – all I can do is work through restoring the most needed first – if there is a feature you need then contact me. It may be something needed by many that I’ve missed. I am back living at home and my productivity is improving.
Will there be compensation? – No – Clubs and comps pay for system usage retrospectively. Last invoice was for the six months ending October 2024. I expect these to be paid – the vast majority have – and thank you. If you choose to not continue using MyPhotoClub just let me know.
A final point is to highlight that each club has their own responsibility to have a disaster recovery plan for their club to continue to function. Over last year I have had two groups come to MyPhotoClub where their solution provider simply walked away. My recommendations are:
Always download and store the finalised/publish zip and csv files. This gives you a complete archive of each activity.
Have generic email addresses for your position holders so that when one person leaves a role, the next person can use the same account.
Maintain a cloud storage area like DropBox for the club for the zips and a copy of all page content like constitutions, guides etc.
Regularly download membership data
These items would allow you to communicate with members, provide an upload location for members and have the images assessed, while you go shopping for a new or better solution. If you find one let me know.
All of the reports and downloads that a club typically use are now available. Presentation files are now embedded in zip files. To access select Downloads, Reports & Lists from the collection dropdown menu you are working with.
Each option follows the same approach. A download button is visible if a file is available. Use the Request button to generate a file or to refresh/replace the existing file. Larger downloads send an email message when ready. You don’t need to stay on the page after requesting the option.
Just a reminder that if you have a particular need or request please do not hesitate to contact colin@myphotoclub.com.au. If you have made a request and it is still unanswered please contact again. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
A complete zip file, include the presentation file is now available. This file contains all image files and can be downloaded in two formats, based on the status of the collection.
If the collection is closed the presentation shows the entries in the randomised order that they were judged in. The title of the entry is shown in the slideshow. The image files are named with the display order , comp id , user id then the title of the entry.
If the collection is finalised or published, the presentation shows the entries in the ascending order based on the points awarded, so the highest award is shown last in each competition section. The title, author and award of the entry is shown in the slideshow. The image files are named with the award—author—title of the entry.
After downloading the zip file ensure that it is extracted and all the files are visible in a normal folder.
To run the presentation use your browsers menu to file > open and locate the presentation.html. This presentation will run without an internet connection.
To download go to Manage Collections and identify the collection you wish to use. Select Downloads and Data from the dropdown menu. If a file is ready for download use the download button, otherwise use the request button.
For small collections the zip file download button should appear in a few minutes. An email will be sent with a link to the download.
The ability to create a post and send to members is now available. Under the Management button there is an option called ‘Create a Post – send to members’
If you wish to send a post that is already on the site use the ‘List and Manage All Posts’ and edit the Post. Save or Update the post and it will be sent.
