Our annual competition on the theme of “nature” deserves a special kind of judge with special sensitivities to images depicting this theme. Sasha Vasiljev is one rare pro who meets such a criterion. Sasha is no stranger to SSCC. In 2011, he judged an abstracts competition for us, and last year, as speaker, he shared his exhilarating photos of Nepal and the Himalyas.

His portraits – which were on exhibit at the Watergate Gallery in DC – were as striking as his landscapes. What was so surprising about his presentation last year is that we know Sasha primarily as a photographer of the rain forests of Costa Rica and South America. The full range of Sasha’s work covers conceptual photography, fine art, portraiture, wildlife, and commercial photography.

Sasha is not only an award-winning photographer but is also co-director of Nature & Photography Tours, LLC (www.NaturePhotographyTours.com), which is a boutique tour company specializing in nature, culture, and photography eco-travel. As an educator, he is on the faculty of The Washington School of Photography and Washington Studio School. He also independently teaches classes and workshops one-on-one or with groups and maintains a studio in Dupont Circle.

At the beginning of Sasha’s education, he concentrated on fine art, but ultimately received his degree in biology with a major in botany. He went on to curate major tropical orchid collections in his native Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. While living in Moscow, he had the opportunity to study photography under the mentorship of distinguished Russian landscape photographer Boris Mashkov.

Since immigrating to the US over a decade ago, Sasha’s work has been exhibited in galleries and has been acquired by many private collections worldwide. He is honored by having several of his images in the permanent collection at the Embassy of the Republic of Costa Rica in Washington, DC. His work has also been exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and has been published in the following magazines: Home & Décor, Nature’s Best Photography Magazine, Fine Gardening, Washingtonian, Orchids Magazine, and Ecuador Infinito Magazine.

This season, Sasha is offering a number of local workshops, including such topics as headshots and portraits, editing with Lightroom, and external flash photography. For complete workshop descriptions and registration information, go to: http://alexandervasiljev.com. In the spring of 2014, Sasha will be leading rainforest photo tours to Cost Rica and Ecuador in February, to Nepal in March, and to East Ecuador, from the Andes to the Amazon rainforest, in April. See http://naturephotographytours.com/ for all the details.

The stunning images by Irene Owsley of our own Potomac landscape, as well as her dramatic views of the far north, inspired us to select Irene Owsley as the October “nature” speaker.

A freelance photographer, Irene specializes in the outdoors and travel, particularly in northern regions. Her work has appeared in such magazines as Canoe & Kayak, Sierra, National Parks, Earthwatch, and Natural History, as well as in the publications of several conservation organizations. For the last three summers, she has been accepted as an “artist in residence” with a program called “Voices of the Wilderness,” working with wilderness rangers while camping and kayaking in remote glacial fjords. Selected images from these residencies will be shown in a traveling exhibition in 2014 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

Irene is active in the professional photography community. She serves as Treasurer on the national board of ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) and is a founding board member of FotoWeek DC, which will celebrate its sixth festival this November. Currently, Irene is shooting the wild areas of metropolitan Washington, DC, particularly along the Potomac River, and producing large panoramic prints for corporate and residential interiors. She has exhibited her work throughout metro Washington, DC and has been profiled in Rangefinder, Photographer’s Forum, and Nikon World magazine.

It has been rescheduled back to its original date: Sept. 28th. We will be meeting – at 6:00 AM- in the front part of the parking lot which is located just past the entrance booth and to the right.

DIRECTIONS:
The entrance to the park is where Falls Road [189] curves into McCarther Blvd.

FROM FALLS ROAD:
Approaching from Falls Road cross River Road [190] and continue app. 2 more miles until Falls Road can go no further as it bends to the left into McCarther. Don’t take the bend, but bear very slightly right and you’ll immediately see the park’s entrance gate which will be open. In the dark it is easy to miss the entrance and continue onto McCarther without realizing it. Drive into the park on very curvy road until you reach the park’s entrance booth.

APPROACHING FROM McCarther Blvd:
Don’t take the bend to the right where McCarther ends and becomes Falls Road. Instead, look further to your left and you’ll see the park’s open gate. Continue on to the entrance booth, as above.

It will be dark when we first meet so you might want to bring a flashlight.
If you have questions, please contact me: mlux@verizon.net 301-929-1350. Let’s hope we get mist rising from the river and a glorious sunrise! I apologize for the confusion arising from the reschedulings.
Mike Lux

This is the revised form, which corrects an error on the previously-posted form. Download here.

To start our 2013-2014 season, our first speaker will reveal an aspect of
photography that many of us know very little about. That is, photography
as an important tool for social change.

Our speaker is Adam Levner, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Critical Exposure. This interesting organization is a D.C.-based nonprofit that teaches low-income youth how to become effective advocates for school reform and social change using photography and leadership skills. Since the organization’s founding in 2004, Critical Exposure has worked with more than 1,600 students in D.C. and around the country, helping to
generate more than $500 million in new funding for public schools and youth programs.

Before leading Critical Exposure, Adam worked as a fifth grade teacher
and then as a community organizer with Stand for Children in Prince
George’s County, MD. He has also worked as an education consultant for
the Center for Community Change and as a freelance photographer. Adam
attended Tufts University and received a Nonprofit Management
Executive Certificate from the Georgetown University Center for Public &
Nonprofit Leadership. Named one of the Youth Empowerment Coalition’s
“Leading Young Change-Makers,” Adam has been profiled in the National
Journal, Baltimore Sun, Roll Call, and Tufts University Magazine.

Everything you need to know about the Silver Spring Camera Club.