I tried to contact mentoring orgs but they didn't get back

[DanK]

In one photography club where I was a participant, it was all about an 'each man for himself' type attitude. I, on the other hand, know that I have so much to learn, and if I were to share information that made another person better than I am, I would feel quite happy

Horatio,

You haven't yet put your location in your signature, so no one can make any local suggestions even if they have some, but I would look for a different club. I belong to a local photo club that is exactly the opposite of what you describe. Members share knowledge and even formally teach now and again. (I have taught two sessions on focus stacking in macro work.) We have evenings where some of us load our images on a computer with editing software, suggest edits for each other, and try them out in real time. We have electronic competitions that are judged by experts, many of whom give very useful suggestions. The club has "meetup" groups that arrange photoshoots, and while these are more each person for her or himself, often people ask for or offer advice.

A friend who is more of a novice sometimes goes to meetings of another local club, and they also focus on learning skills.

I don't know whether you live in an area with many options, but perhaps you can find another club in your area that is better.

I've paid for two workshops with photographers elsewhere. One was useful; the other one wasn't.

[Manfred M]

Horatio - my experience with photo clubs was much like yours when I first got into photography. The first club I belonged to taught me a lot. When I moved off to university, I joined another club in that city. The club I had joined had a clique of like minded photographers who were running the show. They considered themselves to be artists and were so busy propping up each others egos. It was sickening to watch. When I walked out, I did not look at another photo club for over 40 years; that's how bad my experience was.

I had some time on my hands last year and did some research and joined another club that is run very much along the way that Dan describes his club. Lots of very engaged and experienced photographers who are more than willing to share and mentor other photographers. I have learned a lot as well as being a contributor to the club activities.

Find a good, well run club and you will be able to get exactly what you want.

I am also fortunate to live in a city that has two photographic schools. One is the local community college that essentially trains on the fundamentals of good photography with an eye to people wishing to pursue a traditional photographic career. The other is essentially a school that looks at photography from a fine arts lens. Neither fit the bill precisely, but from a learning standpoint, these are both excellent albeit pricey ways of learning.

Like Dan, I've been to three international workshops. I learned a lot, but not so much from the workshop (I ended up being co-opted to teach at one of them because I had some knowledge and skills that the instructor did not).

Finally, the forums here at CiC are a way of getting some mentoring. The critiques are usually helpful and get beginning to intermediate level photographers moving in the right direction.

[JBW]

Horatio, no need to travel further than your keyboard. I joined CiC about five years ago as a absolute beginner. All you have to do is start posting and interacting. That and take a loot of shots. As you can see I've posted over 11,000. Each and every one was commented and critiqued on. Mostly I took the offered advice. I'm certainly not world class but I have gotten quite a bit better.

[Manfred M]

Horatio, no need to travel further than your keyboard. I joined CiC about five years ago as a absolute beginner. All you have to do is start posting and interacting. That and take a loot of shots. As you can see I've posted over 11,000. Each and every one was commented and critiqued on. Mostly I took the offered advice. I'm certainly not world class but I have gotten quite a bit better.

I can't disagree, but CiC only provides a limited subset of what one can get in a photo club setting. Not everyone learns well from the way that images are reviewed on this site, while others get a lot out of it. The two approaches complement each other.