As far as I'm concerned, all the clubs in my region are boring (except one).
Yes, all the pictures shown are the ultra tack sharp type. Mood is not considered.
I never became a member of any one of them. Instead, I make them believe I might be interested in joining so I can attend one of their meetings for free. I like to choose a date where I know they have a judging night. Since most of them have a website with the calendar posted, it's easy to choose. If I can, I also try to attend prior to this one of their expositions (usually in the Spring). That tells me the level of photography in the group. By attending, I can see the dynamics of the group... probably the most important thing.
Just to give you an idea, in a neighboring city, I went to their club's meeting to observe. They use a points based system. They have voting sheets with criteria listed on them. They grade every picture shown based on this very strict list. One of their members, which happens to be their top scoring member for the last 5 years was talking about his picture: "I was on vacation at the sea with my Airstream when I saw there was dew. I rushed to get my Hasselblad with its digital back and shot a picture of this spider repairing its web in the raising sunlight." I should say that he also happens to be a Doctor! On the other hand, one of the members when talking about his picture said something like :"I was camping at the mountain. When I heard the storm coming, I rushed out of my tent and snapped a picture of the incoming rain." he had shot the photo on slide film. You could see the lightning and a bird flying through the bad weather. The comment he got: "Well, there's a big speck of dust on the slide (pointing at the bird) and you rewound your film too fast, there's a static discharge near the top (pointing at the lightning)... That's how they worked.
Another club in another town tends to give honorable mentions to the members who are p****d off and say they will leave...
In my own town, the guy who does Ciba prints is the best...
The only club I know of that is different (though I never attended) is the one from one of the big universities. They have no contest, no judging, no nothing. People get together to talk about their projects, ask for tips and drink coffee together. They put together an exhibit once a year but there's no competition involved and no theme. They show whatever they want. This is probably the best formula out there.
Clubs should be a social network first. We have enough angry people who criticize our work every day at the office, we shouldn't be looking for the same thing at night!
I should say that most of the clubs I know of are in financial difficulty! (no wonder)
