Cover Photo: Reverie – by Karen Finkelman
Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!
Dennis Freeman, Editor, Cable Release, at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
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ARTICLES, AWARDS, EXHIBITIONS, LINKS, REVIEWS, …
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Contents
KEY EVENTS
- Dec 6 – Winter Social / Speaker Night (6:30 p.m.)
- Dec 8 – Field Trip to Brookside Gardens – Garden of Lights (7:00 p.m.)
- Dec 13 – Competition night: Rural/Country (7:30 p.m.)
- Dec 20 – A Closer Focus meeting (7:30 p.m.)
- Dec 27 – Board Meeting Cancelled
by Fauxto Digit
If Montgomery County Schools close due to inclement weather, Silver Spring Camera Club meetings and outings will be cancelled. See montgomeryschoolsmd.org for closure information.
For general information about the club, contact us at: info@ssccphotography.org
A list of the club officers and committee chairs, and their emails, is located here: Officers and Committee Chairs
More information is available in the Silver Spring Camera Club (SSCC) Member Handbook: 2018-2019 Member Handbook
SSCC member submissions for the Cable Release should be directed to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
© 2018 Silver Spring Camera Club and its contributors. Copyright Notice & Disclaimer Policy
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
Silver Spring United Methodist Church
8900 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD
Click for details
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FRANK VAN RIPER TO SPEAK DECEMBER 6 ON RECOVERED MEMORY: NEW YORK AND PARIS 1960-1980
Our meeting will start an hour early, at 6:30 p.m., with our Winter Social.
Frank Van Riper is an internationally acclaimed documentary and fine art photographer, journalist, and author. His work is in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery, and the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine, among others. (read more)
Van Riper’s latest book, published in the fall of 2018, is Recovered Memory: New York & Paris 1960-1980 (Daylight Books). It is tonight’s subject, and will be available for purchase at the meeting. You can read the book announcement here:Recovered_Memory.pdf
COMPETITION COLUMN
The competition on December 13 will be the Rural/Country theme:
The term “Rural/Country” encompasses images that show aspects of rural and country environs. The subjects may be animate or inanimate and the field of view may be anywhere along the spectrum from wide angle to close-up. What distinguishes “Rural/Country” photographs from nature or landscape photographs is the presence of some indication of human involvement in the environment.
Please be mindful that electronic submissions for projected images must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on December 6, Speaker Night, at the new email address: competition@ssccphotography.org ( read more here ).
(One important detail – In order to participate in the competition, you must have paid the club’s annual dues before the competition.)
To learn the nitty gritty about the competitions, and for the definition of each of the competition topics, please refer to the Member Handbook or the main SSCC website menu (under Competitions).
Here is the schedule for the rest of the season:
- December – Rural/Country
- January – Open
- February – Red
- March – Open
- April – Action/Motion
- May – Monochrome Photography
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
As always, if you have any questions about the competitions, please feel free to contact Larry Gold at competition@ssccphotography.org.
ROZ KLEFFMAN TO JUDGE RURAL/COUNTRY COMPETITION – DECEMBER 13
Roz Kleffman has been a photographer for many years. She joined the Bowie-Crofton Camera Club in 1980 and has held every office in that club except treasurer. Four years as Vice President of Competition for B-CCC led to her role as Competition VP for the Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs. (read more)
A CLOSER FOCUS – DECEMBER 20
by David W. Powell
An opportunity to share ideas, images, questions, and inspirations
Half an hour will be an open forum discussing issues at hand. A half hour is devoted to presentations by members. And a half hour is set aside for member image reviews.
This is always a great evening of sharing and learning. What topics would you like to explore? Topics are very wide ranging, such as photo book reviews, an aspect of your own photography that you’d like to share, reviews or discussion of gallery shows, photo gear, software, etc. Or bring a gadget to share.
For December we have a camera assignment that will change your life! We will also have a presentation, discussion topics, photo sharing, and at least one gear review:
- Camera Assignment: For most, you autofocus your camera by depressing your shutter-release button halfway, and proceed to take the picture by further pressure. If you press halfway, then want to re-compose your image, and you release the button in the process, you will have to re-focus, re-compose, etc. Wouldn’t it be better to focus once and forget about it? Most modern cameras allow you to move your focus function to another button. This is called “back button focus”, and allows focusing and shutter release to be independent – a big advantage. Figure out how to do this with your camera, and try it out! (check your camera’s manual and menu). We will discuss its advantages in the meeting. youtube.com – Canon example youtube.com – Nikon Example
- Picture assignment: Bring anything you would like to discuss. These can be photos for feedback, discussion of your post-processing, your compositions, examples of new ideas you have, etc.
- Ted Ringger has a 20 minute presentation of photos from his “State House Odyssey”. He has visited 48 of the 50 state capitol buildings.
- Dave will lead a discussion on developing presentations of your work. This isn’t just about picking your pictures, but involves how to make your points. This will include an assessment of the effectiveness of video (like we saw with September’s speaker).
- Dave will provide a primer on cloning techniques and tools.
- Book/Gear Reviews. Dave will review his new UPstrap. What do you want to review?
Future topics of A Closer Focus include: compositional strength, HDR, or anything else photographic you want to bring to the table. This is an opportunity for you to provide input to the SSCC experience.
If you would like to be on the agenda, please email me at:
davidwesleypowell@gmail.com
DECEMBER 8 EVENING FIELD TRIP TO BROOKSIDE GARDENS – GARDEN OF LIGHTS
In the evening of December 8, SSCC will go to Brookside Gardens for the “Garden of Lights”. We will shoot a Magical Winter Wonderland with over 1 million LED lights, plus a model train display, and free music by the group “Seraphim.” Definitely high on your holiday bucket list!! (read more)
CLUB NEWS
2ND ANNUAL MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE COMPETITION
Congratulations to the SSCC Members who placed in the 2nd Annual Maryland Photography Alliance Competition!
- David Blass: 1st Place in “Open” for Pensive Gorilla
- My Phuong Nguyen: Honorable Mention in “Landscape” for White Gift to Lake Moraine
Check out these and the other winners at mdphotoalliance.org/2018-photo-contest
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2018 NATURE VISIONS PHOTO EXPO AWARD WINNERS
At Nature Visions several SSCC members had images that made the People’s Choice cut after being juried into the show. Beth Koller and Dave Terao (both in the Nature division) were two such SSCC members.
At least 3 SSCC members received special award ribbons given out by speakers and vendors at Nature Visions: Beth Koller and Dave Terao (both in the Fine Arts division) and Kate Woodward (Nature-Water division). In addition, Beth Koller’s Simply Paper (in the Fine Arts division) received a special award from Charles Needle.
BOARD MEETINGS
The SSCC Board met on October 25. The minutes are in the following link:
The November 29 Board Meeting minutes will be published in the January Cable Release.
OCTOBER 20 FIELD TRIP TO THE NATIONAL COLONIAL FARM AT PISCATAWAY PARK
On October 28 SSCC members went on what was obviously a fun field trip to the National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park in Accokeek, MD, a working colonial farm with costumed guides, animals, and 18th Century agriculture.
Lisa Auerbach, Beth Koller, Ilona Linnoila, Andrew Rein, Bruce Schaefer, and David Terao provide a passel of photos:
FEATURES
NEXT MONTH’S PHOTO CHALLENGE: “WORDS AND IMAGES”
In past years, the Cable Release has had a winter photo challenge with the theme “Words and Images”, where club members send in a pairing of words and images. This is not a contest! We again ask you for your “Words and Images” for the January 2019 Cable Release.
The idea is to use the text and the image together to create an artistic composite that is greater than the sum of the parts. The text does not have to be long, and can range from a longer poem or prose, to a Haiku (Write-a-Haiku-Poem), or to a one line phrase. The intent is for you to be creative in using both the text and the image together. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Examples are worth a thousand words. See previous Cable Release submissions:
- Feb 2018 Words and Images
- Page 11 of CR-Jan15.pdf
Please send me your jpeg entry(s) and paired text for each one, and follow a naming convention as follows:
“Words and Images~FirstName LastName~Title.jpg”
Please submit these to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org by December 24 (Christmas Eve).
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE DECEMBER/JANUARY MEMBER CLUB NEWS
See what other regional camera clubs are up to in news from the Maryland Photography Alliance: ( read more )
THE GREATEST AVIATION PHOTO EVER TAKEN
(Perhaps)
Lewis Whyld’s famous shot of the Concorde on its last-ever flight, over the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, western England. Courtesy SWNS
CNN provides an in-depth article about how Lewis Whyld planned and took his very first aviation photograph, perhaps the greatest such photograph of all time. Concorde-Last-Flight-Photo
CALL FOR ENTRIES: NINTH ANNUAL JOSEPH MILLER ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT
Submit Your Entries Between December 22 – February 23
The Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts is announcing its ninth annual juried abstract exhibit. All interested photographers are invited to submit entries for this much anticipated spring event. Over the years, because of the influence these exhibits have had in encouraging and promoting abstract photography and due to their reputation, recent JM Abstract Exhibits have been attracting entries from international as well as national photographic artists. Whereas submissions to the First Annual JM Abstract Exhibit had been limited to local NVACC-related clubs, many current participants come from photographic groups outside the Greater Washington / Northern Virginia area or are non-affiliated / independent photographic artists.
The exhibition will occur May 4 – May 27, 2019.
SSCC photographers have done well in past Joseph Miller abstract exhibits – see prior year’s galleries here: Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit galleries
The Joseph Miller Center will begin accepting entries for the upcoming Ninth Annual Exhibit on Saturday, December 22, 2018. The deadline for submissions will be Saturday, February 23, 2019.
A detailed prospectus containing all relevant information regarding the exhibit can be found on the Northern Virginia Alliance of Camera Clubs nvacc.org/home/abstract-exhibit/
5TH ANNUAL ALLEGANY NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION AND EXHIBITION – APRIL 2019
Last month’s judge, Martin Heavener, told us about this nearby national competition and it’s fabulous prizes. The April exhibition will be in Cumberland, Maryland. The entry deadline is February 26, 2019. For further details, read this: ANPCE-2019-Arts-Council-Web-Announcement.pdf
A NATIONAL GALLERY SHOW OF GORDON PARKS’S EARLY YEARS
A worker handles machinery at the Penola grease plant in Pittsburgh in 1944. (Gordon Parks/Library of Congress)
“Within just a decade, Gordon Parks (1912–2006) grew from a self-taught portrait photographer and photojournalist in Saint Paul and Chicago to a visionary professional working in New York for Ebony and Glamour, before becoming the first African American photographer at Life magazine in 1949.”
The Washington Post provides a review of the National Gallery’s show of “Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940-1950”. See the review here: a-national-gallery-show-examines-gordon-parks’s-early-years
The National Gallery’s link about the show is here: Gordon Parks: The New Tide, Early Work 1940–1950
On view in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, from November 4, 2018, through February 18, 2019, the traveling exhibition provides a detailed look at Parks’s early evolution through some 150 photographs, as well as rare magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and books.
MEMBER ARTICLES
KERNELS OF KOREN
Girl with Balloon – Banksy
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about art and photography. Mainly because I’m trying to either read a book or view a movie about the subject on a monthly basis. The book or movie doesn’t necessarily have to be directly about the relationship of art and photography, but the theme is involved within the story. It’s up to me to find the relationship and how they work together. For example, … ( read more )
NEAR OUR BACKYARDS – BY LISA AUERBACH
Covered Bridge – by Lisa Auerbach
We are from Texas where it can take 8 hours just to get to the state line so I have come to appreciate that in only 2 hours you can cross several state lines from where we now live in Maryland. ( read more )
LET’S GET STARTED – BY DAVID W. POWELL
Back in the day, when we made prints with enlargers and chemicals, darkening the edges a little was standard practice for fine print makers. Today we have the Post-Crop Vignetting tool in Lr to make the effect simple, very malleable, and NONDESTRUCTIVE. ( read more )
COMPETITION WINNERS
OPEN COMPETITION – NOVEMBER 8
The topic for the November competition was Open. Martin Heavner was our judge that evening.
There are four main categories: Advanced Prints, Novice Prints, Advanced Projected (i.e. digital images), and Novice Projected. Awards are given for first, second, and third place, and multiple honorable mentions – the number of awards depends on the total number of entries in the category.
ADVANCED PRINTS
- 1st Place: Beth Koller – Hawk Talk
- 2nd Place: Oliver (Pete) Morton – Flying High
- 3rd Place: Kate Woodward – Through the Window (Oldenburg, Germany)
- Honorable Mention: Sherm Edwards – Ruby Beach in Fog
- Honorable Mention: Larry Gold – Two Mountains
Advanced Print ~ Beth Koller ~ Hawk Talk
This bird was a very regal looking bird with beautiful eyes, but the image was a bit static. I needed more attitude or more action. After most of the other photographers had packed up, the bird started chirping, happy, lyrical, high pitched chirps. I just started clicking. Before I packed up, I knew that this one was a keeper.
NOVICE PRINTS
- 1st Place: Dennis Freeman – On the Rocks
- 2nd Place Anne Golfer – Waiting for the Train
- 3rd Place: Ilona Linnoila – Rustic
- Honorable Mention: Catherine Honigsberg – Steps
- Honorable Mention: Lisa Auerbach – Autumn @ Brookside Gardens
Novice Print ~ Dennis Freeman ~ On the Rocks
I took this photo during a Macro Workshop at the PSA Annual Conference in Pittsburgh in 2017. These were acrylic ice cubes over red, purple, and green gels on a light table. Canon 5D Mk IV, 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens at f/20, Tripod, 1/50 sec, ISO 6400. Increased the color temperature and saturation in Lightroom to get the yellows and brighter color.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
- 1st Place: David Terao – Ballet Symmetry
- 2nd Place: Wendy Kates – Autumn Leaves
- 3rd Place: Beth Koller – Launched
- Honorable Mention: Michael Tran – Winter Rest
- Honorable Mention: David Blass – Family Portrait
Advanced Projected ~ David Terao ~ Ballet Symmetry
NOVICE PROJECTED
- 1st Place: Karen Finkelman – Reverie
- 2nd Place: Karen Finkelman – Handle with Care
- 3rd Place: Tim Newell – Misty Morning
- Honorable Mention: James Ragucci – Wall of Bone at the Paris Catacombs
- Honorable Mention: Renee Schaefer – Mystical Petra
Novice Projected ~ Karen Finkelman ~ Reverie
A bit of a funny back story. I was originally signed up for the bus trip to NYC that day with the Central Maryland Photographers Guild. However, I missed the bus as it left Ellicott City because I had the wrong departure time in my brain. Feeling down on myself for making such a silly mistake, I decided not to waste the day and headed to the Claude Moore 1771 Farm's Fall Market Festival. It turned out to be a good decision as there were lots of good food, merriment and photo ops...and I was lucky to have captured this young girl's lovely portrait in period costume. Taken @400mm, f/8.0, 1/60s, ISO 800. I darkened some areas of the background in Snapseed to keep the image uniform.
CLASSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
The Classes/Workshops list includes sample photography courses and workshops from a variety of providers in three categories:
- Classes and workshops in the D.C. area
- Online courses
- Multi-day photography trips to places within and beyond the United States.
Some of these begin or require registration early in the month. Please provide reviews of courses that you have taken! (read more)
CALLS FOR ENTRY
The following offers a number of competitions for your consideration this month. Some of these sources having 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. (read more)
EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
Siena International Photo Awards
The following link is a column that lists a number of photography-related exhibits and events occurring now, or soon, in the extended Washington D.C. area. These include gallery exhibits, museum exhibits, college exhibits, special events, and sometimes exhibits or events to photograph yourself!
PLUS, there are now some online photo site “exhibits” provided at the bottom of the column. Don’t miss these!
See the full column here: ( read more )
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good.” – Anonymous
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
