About The 617 Club
Founded by Thomas Heaton and Simon Baxter in Spring 2024
The 617 Club was created by two passionate photographers who were disillusioned by the algorithms, adverts, and noise of social media. They imagined a place of friendly engagement, positive support, and a growing resource of rich educational content. No barriers, nothing hidden, everything as it should be.
Inspired by the wonderful people they have met from around world through photography, Simon and Thomas are also passionate about The 617 Club creating real connections. Members can enjoy the fun conversations during livestreams, and also take part in the exclusive meet-ups hosted by Simon and Tom. We can learn, teach, and grow as a global creative team.
"The 617 Club is a place where photographers gather together, not as rivals, but as friends and as family."
Why 617?
Thomas and Simon had been exploring ideas for a new venture for around 2 years, but then one cold and windy day on the Isle of Harris, Thomas was hit with the idea of creating a photography club - a community that is friendly, social, educational and gives people the opportunity to be part of something. Bubbling with excitement, Thomas gave Simon a call, they enthused over what was possible and The 617 Club was born
Being a Fuji 617 user and general lover of panoramics, Tom is a fan of the 6x17 aspect ratio which inspired the club's name. It's not that we're obsessed with the 6x17 aspect ratio, or that you have to use that ratio to be in the club, it just sounds cool!
The 617 logo was designed to give subtle nods to photography by incorporating the aspect ratio, and using RGB as our brand colours. The dots started as a separate clever design concept which you'll see echoed throughout our website and community platform. We're kids of the late 80s and 90s, so we love the retro disco vibe that's reflective of how we see the community - fun, vibrant, and just a cool place to be.
