Many SSCC members have visited the Eastern State Penitentiary or the Lonaconing Silk Mill. And lots of us have a fascination with the architecture of decay. Our speaker this month, Don Rosenberger, takes us on a virtual tour of structures well past their prime.

Don has a long and unusual photographic background. In 1983, he sold all his camera gear and walked away from photography. (Maybe he’ll tell us why!) Then, in 2005, he found another camera and has spent most of his weekends and vacation time since then trying to make up for those years away.

Since his return to photography, Don has worked with and been mentored by a great group of well known – and some not so well known – photographers. Today, he is driven by the passion and urge always to create something better and to take his work up to the next level. Don is drawn to a variety of subjects but considers landscape photography to be the core of his work. Spending a great deal of time outside – often in remote locations – gives him an appreciation for our natural world. It’s Don’s hope that his images bring others that same feeling.

What about equipment? Don shoots with everything from the iPhone to high-end DSLRs and infrared. However, he emphasizes, it’s not the camera that’s important; that’s just a tool of the photographer’s vision.

Don is the former presentation manager for the Nature Visions Photography Expo. He’s also a partner in Road Runner Photography Tours, leading national and international photography travel adventures.

APRIL 2014 – CHRIST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Silver Spring

ELIGIBILITY

All SSCC members in good standing, including novices and advanced members.

EXHIBIT PARAMETERS

• Thirty-two images will be in the exhibit.
• An outside judge will select the images.
• Selection of winners will be announced at the end of February.
• Requirements for preparing images for exhibition will be provided.
• Framing will be at the expense of each member juried in to the exhibit.
• Christ Congregational Church hosts the exhibit and will hold an artists’ reception.
• Publicity will be sent to local media.
• Christ Congregational Church does not take a percentage on images sold; however, gifts to the church are welcome.

NUMBER OF ENTRIES

Members may submit up to three (3) images to be considered for the exhibit.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• Entries must originate as photographs (See Competition Rules for more comprehensive definition).
• All photographic techniques are permissible with the exception of photo collages or mixed media.
• Work from any year may be entered.
• Images must be the original work of the member.
• Images may be manipulated either in camera or in post-processing.

HOW TO ENTER

• Entries follow the same sizing conventions used for SSCC competitions: jpgs of a maximum of 1024 pixels on the longest side (See the Cable Release or the Members’ Handbook for details on sizing.)
• No border, watermark, copyright, or other embedded information.
• Naming conventions as follows: Abstracts ~ Your Name ~ Image Title
• Submit images by email to: SSCCcompetitions@aol.com

DEADLINE

All images for consideration must be emailed no later than Thursday, February 5, 2015.

ENTRY FEE

To cover the costs of the exhibit, entrants are required to pay a fee of $10 to submit up to three (3) images. The fee must be paid by check, made out to Silver Spring Camera Club. The fee may be paid in person at an SSCC meeting or mailed to:
SSCC Abstracts Competition
c/o Doug Wolters
9218 Manchester Road
Silver Spring, MD 20901

The $10 fee must be received no later than the deadline for submitting entries: February 5, 2015. Payment in advance of this deadline is strongly encouraged!

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Please contact the SSCC curator of the exhibit, Coco Simon, by email: SSCCcompetitions@aol.com

This coming February, our competition theme will be “architectural elements.” To help us orient our minds and our cameras toward this topic, our speaker this month comes to us from the faculty of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation of the University of Maryland. Our speaker, Professor Robert Lindley Vann, will talk about photography as a way to learn to analyze a structure and its components.

Professor Vann, whose background is in both architecture and archaeology, teaches two survey classes in architectural history as well as advanced lecture courses in Greek, Roman, and Pre-Columbian architecture. Recently, he’s also begun offering seminars that focus on the city in the classical world, the town of Pompeii, and architecture for entertainment in the Roman world.

But teaching in the classroom is only part of Lindley’s activity. He also participates in archaeological field work – for example, at Sardis in Turkey, Carthage in Tunisia, and other sites in Jordan and Sri Lanka. He has even co-directed underwater excavations in the harbor of Herod the Great in Israel and directed a survey of ancient harbors in Turkey. One especially interesting project in Pompeii investigated the role of food and drink in that ancient city. These days, Lindley also involves his students in this field work and research.

Lindley lectures widely, presenting research papers here and abroad. He also publishes in numerous scholarly journals. His own education prepared him perfectly for his professional life: As an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, Lindley studied architecture and archaeology and then received his PhD at Cornell.

We will visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery on November 22. We will meet at the National Shrine (400 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20017) at 10:00 a.m. Here are a few rules to consider at the National Shrine: The Crypt Church area is off limits Nov 22 because of an event. Tripods are permitted. We cannot photograph people. Stay in all public areas. Photos may NOT be displayed, posted online, exhibited in galleries, published, or sold unless approved by the National Shrine which, we have been assured, is not likely. Photographers will need to give way to guided tours if he/she is set up in the path of the tour. Parking is free.

We have an appointment at the Franciscan Monastery (1400 Quincy St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20017) at 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. to photograph inside. They only ask that we send some of the photos for their use – which they will credit to the photographer. They also request that we not use the images for commercial use. The gardens are also supposed to be very nice but they may not be very lovely they at the end of November. Parking is free.

We are on the calendar at both places. Contact Beth Echols (beth.echols@gmail.com) if you need additional details.

This November Education Night will be our
annual Gadgets and Gifts program. There’s
always something new and interesting
introduced by the manufactures or seen at
Photo Plus Expo that is touted as the must have
item to make your photography better, easier
or more profitable. Additionally, if you have
something that you feel is the perfect gadget or
gift for a photographer; bring it to the meeting
to share with us as to why you like it.
Bring notepads to the meeting to fill out your
wish list to leave around the house or office as
Holiday gift ideas. You don’t want to be the one
that receives a Yankee Candle gift card because
your family or friends had no idea what to get
you!

As always, the open competitions give you free rein to explore your individual approach to photography. All subjects and all techniques are admissible, including manipulation in-camera or with post-processing software.