Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!
Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman, Editors, Cable Release, at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
Contents
KEY EVENTS
The following scheduled events will be conducted online as Zoom teleconferences, except for the Contest and Field Trip. Look for announcements and invitations by e-mail, Meetup, and on the club’s Website.
- April 4 – Speaker (7:30 p.m.)
- April 8 – Solar Eclipse Day! See Dennis Freeman’s guide to photographing it here.
- April 11 – Competition Night: Intentional Camera Movement (7:30 p.m. at Northwood Presbyterian Church)
- April 18 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m.)
- April 20 – Field Trip: Cromwell Valley Park
- April 25 – Board Meeting
- May 9 – Competition Night: Monochrome; and drop off Print entries for End of Year Competition
- May 10 – Deadline for submissions for Projected entries for End of Year Competition.
- June 13 – SAVE THE DATE – End of Year Celebration!
2023-2024 Calendar
See here for this season’s calendar, which will be updated as information becomes available. It includes Speaker Night, Competition Night, Photo Forum, Board Meetings, and Field Trips.
If Montgomery County Schools close due to inclement weather, Silver Spring Camera Club meetings and outings will be canceled. See montgomeryschoolsmd.org for closure information during the work week. For Mon-Fri AFTER 5:00 pm & on the weekends, call 240-777-2710 or 311 from within Montgomery County. Sign up for text alerts: AlertMontgomery and choose both a local MCPS school and ‘Community Use of Public Facilities Alerts’. Note that this policy does not apply to online meetings!
For general information about the club, contact us at: info@ssccphotography.or
A list of the club officers and committee chairs, and their emails, is located here:
More information is available in the Silver Spring Camera Club (SSCC) Member Handbook: SSCC-Member-Handbook-2023-2024.
PLEASE CONSIDER PROVIDING MATERIALS FOR THE NEXT CABLE RELEASE:
If you’d like to share an article, announcement, or Letter to the Editor about anything photographic please email them by April 24. Email items or questions to Tanya Riseman and Sherm Edwards at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: by April 24th to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
For the 2023-2024 club year, the second Thursday meeting of each month will be in person, at Northwood Presbyterian Church (https://www.northwoodchurch.com/). The address is 1200 University Blvd., West, Silver Spring, Other meetings will be on Zoom. The in-person meeting will be Competition Night if the judge agrees, otherwise it will be Photo Forum and Competition Night will move to the third Thursday on Zoom.
SPEAKER NIGHT WITH CHRIS MURRAY — THE SUBJECTIVE LANDSCAPE
Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Are you making objective or subjective photographs? In brief, objective is impersonal and documentary, while subjective is a creative, artistic process, a personal interpretation. Using landscape photos as examples (though the concepts apply to any type of photo), our April Speaker Chris Murray will discuss the defining qualities of each and how they differ. Then he’ll explore the ways that we can express and develop our own personal voice in order to make more subjective, personally expressive images that go beyond mere representation.
Chris Murray is a professional photographic artist, instructor, and writer living in the Thousand Islands region of Upstate NY. He photographs primarily in the landscape of his home, the woods, lakes, mountains, and streams of New York State. His work has appeared in several magazines including On Landscape, Popular Photography, Adirondack Life, Life in the Finger Lakes, and New York State Conservationist, among others. He leads photography workshops independently and through the Adirondack Photography Institute.
For Chris, the appeal of photography lies in the opportunity to create art in an environment that ceaselessly inspires and invigorates. His goal is not to document literal appearances, but rather make photos that are a creative expression of my emotional response inspired by the subject. His photography tends toward the quiet and intimate, scenes within a scene with a creative focus on simplicity and detail.
COMPETITION COLUMN
Our April topic is Intentional Camera Movement:
The term “Intentional Camera Movement Photography,” or ICM, encompasses images in which the photographer has intentionally moved the camera while depressing the shutter, such that some aspect of the image indicates that movement.
Members may submit up to two images meeting this definition for the Projected competition. Look here for details on Projected submissions. Projected images should be emailed to: competition@ssccphotography.org by midnight (11:59 p.m.) on the previous Thursday. Usually, this is the day of the month’s Speaker Night.
Members may also submit up to two images meeting this definition for the Print competition. Look here (Section IV) for details on submissions. A label template for Print submissions may be found here.
(One important detail – In order to participate in either competition, you must pay the club’s annual dues before the start of the competition.)
BIDYOTTAM MITTRA – JUDGE – INTENTIONAL CAMERA MOVEMENT
Thursday, April 11, 2024, at 7:30 p.m., at Northwood Presbyterian Church
Bidyottam Mittra is an infectious diseases scientist by profession, currently working at the NIH, and a photographer by passion. His photographic journey started with a Fuji point-and-shoot camera he received from his dad as a high-school graduation gift. The limitations of a point-and-shoot camera forced him to explore compositional ideas from his formative days, seeking unique light and point of views to make his photographs stand out; qualities that he found extremely helpful when he graduated to SLR, and finally to DSLR in 2005.
Bidyottam’s first and foremost passion has been nature photography, inspired by the masters like Ansel Adams and Sebastiao Selgado. He has extensively traveled and photographed the American West. He has also traveled and photographed across the globe with the sole intention of the capturing stories of the places and people in his images.
After settling in the DC area, he joined the Gaithersburg Camera Club in 2014, which opened a completely new world of photographic possibilities for him to explore and helped him mature as a photographer. He enjoyed planning and shooting photographs for themed competitions, particularly to experimenting with light and monochrome.
Currently, Bidyottam is one of the most successful members of the club, becoming a “Grandmaster” in 2018 and winning six “Photographer of the Year” awards between 2017 and 2019. He has won multiple awards in other competitions including a first-place award in the 2019 Maryland Photography Alliance (MPA) Photo Contest. His photographs have been published in magazines and images have also been exhibited in multiple juried exhibits including all of MPA’s exhibits from 2017-19.
Bidyottam considers his association with the camera club to be a major influence in his personal development as a photographer, and believes in giving back to the club in various capabilities – in mentoring new comers as well as a member of the board. Recently he discovered a new avenue to share his photographic experience and passion with fellow enthusiasts in the role of a MPA certified photo competition judge.
Web gallery: https://bidyottammittra.smugmug.com/
YEAR END COMPETITION ENTRY DATES AND RULES
The Year End Competition is not about selecting the best entries for a single month, but rather selecting the best entries from the monthly competitions for the entire club year (September 2023 through May 2024). The results will be announced at the Year End Celebration on June 13.
Send an email to SSCC Historian, Norm Bernache, at normbernache@comcast.net if you would like a list of all of your print and projected images submitted from September 2023 to April 2024.
As in other competitions, the judge will select first, second, and third place winners, and as many honorable mentions as the number of entries requires. There are no ribbons or points awarded; however, a Best in Show award will be presented, known as the Len Tuchin Award.
Be aware of the submission deadlines in May:
End of Year Competition Entry Schedule
- Print Deadline: Thursday, May 9 – drop off at meeting; late entry option TBA
- Projected Deadline: Friday, May 10 (midnight) – via email
Each member may submit up to 5 projected and 5 print images from those that s/he entered in monthly club competitions this 2023-2024 season. Eligible submissions need not have won an award in the monthly competition(s) in which they were submitted. But please remember — images submitted for the year-end competition must be identical to those submitted in the regular season competitions and entries must be submitted in the same categories (print or projected) in which they were originally submitted.
Complete Details on the Rules and the Submission Forms are Found Here.
If you have any questions about the Year End Competition, please feel free to contact competition@ssccphotography.org.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Open Forum Discussions:
- What’s on your mind, photographically? Opinions, Observations, Questions, Exhibits, Reviews, etc.
- Do you have ideas for next year’s Competition Themes? (We need three. This year’s were “Macro/Closeup,” “Industrial,” and “Intentional Camera Movement.”)
- Do you have recommended travel destinations (e.g., other countries)? What about recommended photo workshops?
Presentations:
- “Drone & GoPro Photography & Video” – Dennis Freeman
- “Experiences in Planning and Organizing the SSCC Gallery Show” – Wendy Kates
We wrap the evening up with Photo Sharing. Send 1 or 2 of your images to share if you wish; this month’s theme is Open. You have a choice of Critique, Editing Suggestions, or just Sharing.
FIELD TRIP – CROMWELL VALLEY PARK
Saturday, April 20, 8:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m.
Leader: Phil Boyer, 301-204-5549
Where: 2175 Cromwell Bridge Road, Parkville Md. 21234. Come in at the Willow Grove Farm entrance; meet in the gravel parking lot at the Park Office at 10:00 a.m..
Alternate Meetup: For an early morning bird walk, meet at 8.00 at Bird Walk. Must call Trip Leader in advance [NLT April 16] so I can make reservation.
To Photograph: Nature and birds. Check out the website here and/or here.
DIRECTIONS: Take Rte 29 or I 95 North to 695 (Baltimore Beltway]; go west;
Continue on I-695 E (Baltimore Beltway Inner Loop) toward Towson/New York. Go for 4.2 mi. from Rte 29; farther from 95;
Take exit 29A toward Cromwell Bridge Road. Go for 0.2 mi.
Turn left onto Cromwell Bridge Rd (MD-567). Go for 1.2 miles to the entrance.
Lunch: Conrad’s Crabs and Seafood Market, 1720 East Joppa Rd., Parkville.
Bring: Good walking shoes, tripod/monopod, binoculars.
CLUB NEWS
CLUB SURVEY IS COMING
You should soon be getting (or may have already received) an invitation to participate in a survey to help the Board and committees plan programming that best meets members needs. Please take five minutes or so to tell us what’s on your mind regarding competitions and other events.
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last met in March. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized. April’s board meeting will be on the 25th.
END OF YEAR CELEBRATION
COMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT FUND
MARCH FIELD TRIP TO PEABODY LIBRARY IN BALTIMORE
Sunday, March 3, 2024.
FEATURES
THE ECLIPSE IS COMING! THE ECLIPSE IS COMING!
April 8, 2024
See the path of the eclipse here, and see Dennis Freeman’s guide to photographing it here.
Tanya Riseman and others have been practicing photographing the sun. Tanya uses the free app SpaceWeatherLive to find out when sunspots are worth photographing. The more notifications it sends on a given day, the better the spots or auroras tend to be.
CLUB MEMBERS PHOTOGRAPH THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS
Among the (no doubt) many Club members who were able to see flowering cherry trees at their peak in the DC metro area were Ilona Linnoila, Tanya Riseman, Sherm Edwards, and Melinda Salzman. They share their experiences and some of their photos here.
Ilona Linnoila
Privileges of living in the Washington DC metropolitan area include cherry blossoms. I visit the Tidal Basin yearly in the spring. Stepping into the first morning bus again took me to the Metro and the National Mall in time for sunrise. This year the Tidal Basin area was crowded and I didn’t get a front row position. That was fine, as it was bitterly cold and windy, and I was happy to walk briskly ahead. I was wearing a polar parka, but my fingers were frozen. When sun came up it brought a magnificent golden glow to the blossoms, filling my heart with joy. Unfortunately, there were also rising waters on the walkway, reminding us of climate change. Further along I met the 2024 celebrity tree Stumpy, had my visual, and was ready to return home.
Tanya Riseman
I photographed cherry blossom and some unusual travelers in the Kenwood neighborhood. The travelers included the EUC Collective; EUC stands for electric unicycle, which is a self-balancing single wheel personal electric vehicle that can get 50+ miles on a charge and reach a top speed of 40 mph. The EUC collective goes on group rides every Wednesday evening and also on the weekends when they find time and nice weather. On this Sunday, they were joined by other groups riding electric bikes, electric scooters, and electric skateboards. Seeing me taking pictures, their leader Matt came up to me and asked for copies to post on his group’s social media sites. Matt said that they were on a 40 mile trip. I cannot imagine riding a unicycle for 40 miles!
Processing notes: I made the reds and yellows more orange and the sky teal using the color mixer in Lightroom. Then I used the color grading panel to make the blacks a bit blue and the very pale cherry blossoms a deeper pink. I like the colors of the cherry blossoms against the sky. For the group shot, I turned off lens correction and then used (fish-eye) distortion to make the people a bit bigger. I used a 16-32mm equivalent wide-angle lens on an old Canon T5i DSLR.
Sherm Edwards and Melinda Salzman
Like Ilona, Melinda and I set out early in the morning to shoot the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. Unlike Ilona, we made the unfortunate decision to drive. Melinda kindly dropped me off and went in search of a parking space. Sunrise was unspectacular, but the blossoms were beautiful. I chose spots where photographers were not elbow to elbow, or where I could shoot above them. As Ilona said, it was cold. Melinda finally found a parking place on Virginia Avenue, and we began a text-and-phone conversation to meet up that would have made Abbott and Costello proud. Nonetheless, we each came home with a few good shots, I from my Canon R7 and Melinda from her iPhone.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS
Edited by Marc Auerbach
In our club SSCC, the membership runs from beginner to professional. Every member has a story to tell. Each month the Cable Release will shine the spotlight on some of our members. Read their spotlight biographies here.
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
COMPETITION RESULTS
OPEN COMPETITION – March 7
March’s competition was Open for projected and print images. Michael Brown was our judge.
Four categories were judged: Advanced Projected (i.e., digital images), Novice Projected, Advanced Print, and Novice Print. There were four Beginner entries that were reviewed but not judged. Awards are generally given for first, second, and third place, with the number of honorable mentions (HM) dependent on the total number of entries in the respective Advanced and Novice categories.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
1st Place: Maude Svensson ~ Sunset at the Cotton Storage
2nd Place: Kent Mason ~ Old Ways
3rd Place: Beth Koller~ Iguana on the March
HM: Frank Gallagher ~Memento Mori
HM: Kate Woodward ~ Puerto Rico Geometry
HM: Wendy Kates ~ Layers, Lines, and Curves
Maude Svensson ~ Sunset at the Cotton Storage
This picture is a multiple exposure made from two different photos. One photo is of an old cotton storage at an abandoned ginnery in Mississippi. I tried hard to get it in perfect symmetry. The other photo is from a sunset at the Assateague Bayside beach. Although I like the sunset, my main aim with the photo was to show the reflections of the sun in those waves that touch the sand and produce golden bubbles. I used Photoshop, different blending modes and opacity to mix the two photos together.
NOVICE PROJECTED
1st Place: Tom McLaughlin ~ Peruvian Wool
2nd Place: Jim Riley ~ Vintage Car Interior
3rd Place: Tom McLaughlin ~ Quechua Shaman
HM: Michele Dastin van Rijn ~ Motherly Love
HM: Michele Dastin van Rijn ~ Untangling Family
Tom McLaughlin ~ Peruvian Wool
The image was taken at a Textile Center in Chinchero, Peru, not far from Cusco. Several women were spinning and dyeing alpaca wool and weaving blankets and sweaters. I was struck by the colors and texture of the wool. The sides were cropped to remove distractions, no other processing. I kind of wish I hadn't cut off the pot at the top, but I suspect there was something up there to avoid. Either that or I wasn't paying attention. Nikon D7000, 18-140 mm DX lens, f/3.8, 1/30 sec, ISO 1000.
ADVANCED PRINT
1st Place: Lisa Auerbach – Stairway MLK Library
2nd Place: David Blass ~ Black Mission Figs
3rd Place: Sherm Edwards~ Georgetown Glow
HM: Beth Koller ~ Mr. Cool
Lisa Auerbach ~ MLK Library
I shot this image from a staircase at the MLK DC Library. The windows in the stairwell gave me windows in a building across the street. With layers I processed each major part independently. I had recently watched the MPA Artist Spotlight Webinar with Jennifer King. She gave excellent ideas and suggestions for processing Black and White, some of which I used in my layers. I used a Canon R7 with an RF 18-180 lens, hand held. Settings: 18mm; 1/320; f/3.5; ISO 800
NOVICE PRINT
1st Place: Will Rabinovich: Waiman Canyon
2nd Place: Marc Auerbach: Assateague Morning Surf
Will Rabinovich ~ Waiman Canyon
This photo was taken on a trip Kauai. It is Waimea Canyon, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the west. Kauai is a very rainy island, and this canyon is carved by that rain. The image was taken from a vantage point along the highway, but earlier in the day, my wife and I hiked to the top of the waterfall you see in the picture. From this vantage point you can't tell, but it is actually a double waterfall. The conditions in Kauai change from one moment to the next, so I waited for the lighting conditions to illuminate the waterfall. The image was taken with a Sony A6500 and a 16-70 mm lens. I've done various attempts at post-processing this image over the years. For this one I used Lightroom. I did cropping, and some local adjustments to control the relative brightness of the sky and the land. I also did some very local adjustments to the cliff face to bring out the contrast in the various layers.
COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS
PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
by Karen Finkelman
The following list describes various photography classes and workshops in the Maryland, Northern Virginia, Washington DC area. Specific workshop offerings may be held in the classroom, in-field, online or via Zoom. Please see individual classes for the instruction format.
The list is organized into three categories:
- Classes and Workshops in the Washington DC area
- Online Courses
- Multi-Day Photography Workshops Within & Beyond the DMV
Please feel free to recommend any classes or workshops you have taken. Email the Cable Release Editors at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org and we will forward the recommendations.
Note: Inclusion in this list is not an endorsement of the provider or a particular course/workshop.
CALLS FOR ENTRY
by Dennis Freeman
The following offers a number of competitions for your consideration this month. Some of these sources have standing calls for entry, and others are one-time calls. Some offer cash and prizes, and others don’t.
See the full Calls for Entry article here.
A Sample Contest: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
- Birds,
- Insects,
- Flora,
- Recreation,
- Landscapes,
- Weather and Wonder, and
- Wildlife.
Deadline Aug 19: dnr.maryland.gov/Pages/photocontest
EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
An occasional column by Karen Finkelman
The following is a list of current exhibits and events in the Washington DC metro area, many taking place over several months.
A Sample Event:
The Torpedo Factory Art Center, Studio 312
105 Union St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
www.multipleexposuresgallery.com
Mon-Sun 11 am – 5 pm
Seen Better Times, March 12 – April 7
Juried images from fourteen photographers go beyond the obvious decay to depict a more subtle story that is sketched out, but left unfinished.
Threesomes – solo exhibit featuring Maureen Minehan, April 9 – May 17
See the full Exhibits and Events article here.
Take a look at what our sister camera club, the NIH Camera Club, has going on. Here is a link to their site. There you can find their newsletter, the Cameraderie: nihcameraclub.com
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Two more great member profiles. Very interesting stories, both of them. Good selections, keep them coming, Mark! 🙂