Author Archives: Dan Sisken

March Guest Speaker: Alan Sislen on Landscape Photography

Our March speaker, Alan Sislen, has been an avid photographer for over 45 years. Landscape photography is his passion, and this month he will talk to us about the beauty and challenge of this discipline.

alansislenAlan has photographed in the US, France, Iceland, Italy, Canada, England, Chile, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and New Zealand. Although his equipment might be state-of-theart, Alan’s style and technique are traditional. He has studied with well known British landscape photographer Charlie Waite, former National Geographic photographer Bruce Dale, digital expert Thom Hogan, black and white master John Sexton, photographic artist and Photoshop expert John Paul Caponigro, fine art photographer Charles Cramer, color management/printing expert Bill Atkinson, and Photoshop expert Eliot Cohen.

In 2005, Alan was juried into Multiple Exposures Gallery at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria and was then juried into the Torpedo Factory as a Resident Artist in 2006. He is a long-time member of North Bethesda Camera Club, where he has served on the Board and has been selected as Advanced Color Print Photographer of the Year, Black and White Photographer of the Year, and Advanced Electronic Photographer of the Year.

In Alan’s presentation, he will discuss why, after more than four decades of doing photography, he has gravitated to and specializes in landscape photography. He will discuss the equipment he uses, but more importantly, what he looks for in a particular location to try to capture that elusive “great photograph.” Pre-planning is always a major part of landscape photography, and Alan will talk about all the variables that should be considered and how to deal with the unpredicted events that always occur.

For a landscape photographer, more important than the scene that’s being photographed is the light on the scene that’s being photographed. He will use many examples throughout his presentation to demonstrate this critical element, as well as other important topics such as composition, aspect ratio, mood, and emotion, all of which can help make what might be an ordinary photograph, extraordinary.

Alan’s photography may be seen at his web site:
www.AlanSislenPhotography.com

February 27th Competition: Water with Judge Mary Louise Ravese

This month, Mary Louise Ravese makes an encore visit to SSCC to judge our competition topic, “water in any of its forms.” Founder and owner of Bella Vista Photography in Waterford, VA, Mary Louise specializes in fine art nature and travel photography from locations across the US and in Europe and Japan. Her favorite subject matter includes country landscapes, nature close-ups, architectural details, and wildlife. She draws inspiration from a variety of visual arts to produce photographs often described as “painterly.”

mary-louise-raveseIn fact, Mary Louise’s artistic intention is to incorporate the beauty of painting in the clarity of photography. Her images are recognizable for their intriguing juxtaposition of vibrant colors, distinctive shapes, and unique textures. Specifically, she aims to capture the essence of the natural world in color. With a goal of staying true to nature, Mary Louise emphasizes producing the best “in camera” images possible, rather than depending on digital manipulation.

Mary Louise’s fine art photography is in private, university, and corporate collections in over 30 states and is exhibited nationally through art shows, galleries, and shops. Her images have been used in calendars, magazines, books, and websites, including various projects with National Geographic maps.

Noted as a popular speaker and competition judge for photography clubs in the Mid Atlantic, Mary Louise excels at explaining complex topics in an easy-to-understand way. She also enjoys teaching on a wide range of topics related to nature, travel, and creative photography. She leads classes and field workshops in the Mid Atlantic region and at a variety of locations in the US and abroad.

Mary Louise studied photography through the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz extension programs, the Washington School of Photography, and with such noted photographers as Barbara Brundege, Mark Citret, and Harold “Doc” Edgerton. She is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association, the American Society of Picture Professionals, the Equine Photographer’s Network, and the Loudoun Arts Council.

You can view Mary Louise’s images and learn more about her work and her workshops at www.BellaVistaPhotography.com.

New Guidance on Entering Print Images for Competition

There is a continuing problem with writing the necessary information on the back of prints; it can be rather chaotic. Attached is a label template that can be printed on Avery Label 5164, or just on plain paper & taped to the back of a print. I encourage all of you to start using this template, as it helps make the competition process more efficient. I hope this will bring some order to labeling prints for competitions!

Also, please have all your prints logged in by 7:25. If you are unavoidably late, make sure you see me so your prints can be properly logged in.

–Doug Wolters
(Competition Chair)

February 6: Guest Speaker Cameron Davidson

cameron-davidsonAs this issue of the Cable Release is being prepared, our speaker, Cameron Davidson, is on assignment in Brazil. He suggested that the bio on his web site (www.camerondavidson.com) would be the best way to introduce him to SSCC, so we have reproduced it in this column. Cameron will speak principally about his adventurous life as an aerial photographer. Meanwhile, you may want to examine one of his books: Chesapeake, available through Amazon and featured on his own site. He describes it as a “two-decade labor-of-love shooting aerial photographs of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed from the headwaters in Cooperstown, New York to the mouth of the Chesapeake at Virginia Beach.”

THE BIO
First Light: Miami
Ancestry: Father (Scottish); Mother (French, Alsace-Lorraine)
First photograph published 1973: Jim Lasowski clearing the hurdles at a Grass Lake High School track meet for the Grass Lake News.
Education: Corcoran School of Art + Nova
Best view in the world is from the rear cabin of a turbine helicopter.
October 2012: United States Postal Services issues an all aerial series of stamps titled, Earthscapes. My aerial of Blackwater Refuge is one of 15.
Seventeen NGO shoots in Haiti since 1999.
Ten day circumnavigation of the world for Heinz.
All aerials.
So far: 49 states, 6 Canadian provinces, 2
Mexican states plus 23 other countries.
Hawaii is still on my hit list.
Six books published.
First Camera purchased with money earned while working at a campground in the Florida Keys. It was a Kowaflex SE. I should have gone for the Rollei TLR.
Love working with a team dedicated to a vision.

March 8th: Lonaconing Silk Mill Field Trip

Greg Holden will be leading a field trip to the abandoned silk mill in Lonaconing, Md (outside of Cumberland). The mill is privately owned and protected and still contains all the machinery, tools, and personal effects from when it was shut down in 1957. There is lots to explore in this 3 story factory–check out Greg’s photos from his past visits. Our club will have exclusive access from 1-5pm. We will carpool from our usual location at the Giant Food parking lot off Flower Ave and Arliss Street in Takoma Park at 8 am and stop in Cumberland for lunch before heading to the mill. Cost is $25/hour per person but I recommend you stay the complete 4 hours. To avoid running into each other, we will limit this trip to 12 people. Email Greg to register or if you have questions: gholden[ at] imagesunderfoot.com

January Competition Judge: Sandi Croan

Category: Open

sandi_croanIf you’ve attended the Nature Visions Expo in the last couple of years, you’ve seen Sandi Croan and her award-winning photographs. In Northern Virginia circles, Sandi’s well known for landscape, nature, and travel photography, with an eye for capturing the unique and for creating fine art for homes and offices.

As an independent photographer, Sandi has won numerous competitions and awards, including Photographer of the Year and Print of the Year by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society. She’s also won Best In Show and Second Place at the juried Meadowlark Photo Expo in Vienna. Her images have been selected to be put on permanent display at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and the Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts. Sandi has been juried into numerous art shows including the VisArts exhibitions in Rockville, the Fairfax County Council of the Arts Show, and The Fraser Gallery International Photography Exhibition.

Sandi was a featured artist in Elan magazine, and her photograph “Blue Lagoon” appeared on the cover. She has also had other photographs published in local and national magazines. Sandi has sold many of her photographs to private, corporate, and government clients, and she does exhibits for businesses and special local events. She also displays her work at public and private venues such as civic centers and restaurants.

Since 2004, Sandi has been an active member of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society, serving on numerous board positions. She held the title of president of NVPS for two terms, from 2009-2011. Sandi speaks and judges frequently for metro area camera clubs and other exhibitions.

Sandi’s website