Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!
Tanya Riseman and Sherm Edwards, Editors, Cable Release, at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
Contents
KEY EVENTS
The following scheduled events will be conducted online as Zoom teleconferences, except for the Competition and Field Trip. Look for announcements and invitations by e-mail, Meetup, and on the club’s Website.
- December 5 – Speaker Night: Phil Atiyeh (7:30 on Zoom)
- December 12 – Competition: Humorous (7:30 p.m. at Northwood Presbyterian Church)
- December 14 – Field Trip: Annapolis City Lights (7:00 p.m.)
- December 19 – Photo Forum (7:30 on Zoom)
2024-2025 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-2024-2025.
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 December 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY December 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
For the 2024-2025 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 — Phil Atiyeh — Creating Colorful, Abstract Works of Art from a Single Photograph.
Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
ABSTRACT: Explore your artistic side by creating dozens of colorful, abstract images from a single photograph. The presentation will take you step-by-step through the process where a select array of Photoshop tools are used to create a large, colorful master file – or tapestry – where images are ultimately extracted. A number of other examples are presented showing variations of the process and the boundless image styles that can be created.
BIO: Phil’s past life in helping companies develop and launch new products has offered a natural path into photography where similar technical and aesthetic elements must work together. While he’s always had an interest in photography, it wasn’t until he left the workforce in 2019 (and joined the ‘playforce’), that he accelerated and expanded his photography with greater passion.
Phil has received over 100 awards in his five years with the New Haven Camera Club as well as merit awards from various photography associations. He has conducted numerous presentations for camera clubs and conferences. His work has been displayed at the Small Stones Festival of the Arts in Grafton, MA, the Milford Arts Council in CT and Spectrum Art Gallery in Centerbrook, CT. His Judges Choice image of five inquisitive alpacas was awarded the cover photo of the Alpaca Owners Guide (yes, believe it or not, there’s a magazine for this!).
Whether he’s designing and crafting wood products, playing the drums with other musicians or capturing and processing images from his camera – it’s simply about the drive to create. And photography for Phil has become an incredibly powerful medium for exploiting this passion.
COMPETITION COLUMN
Our Decmeber topic is Humorous:
Humor, like beauty, is in the eye (or funny bone) of the beholder. Any image submitted that the photographer thinks is humorous is acceptable. It will be up to the judge to weigh the technical and artistic aspects of the image along with its humor.
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 day of the month’s Speaker Night.
Remember:
- Send projected image submissions to competition@ssccphotography.org
- Format: JPEG, 1000 KB (max)
- File Name: Level~Maker’s Name~Image Title.jpg Example: Advanced~Tom Jones~Washington Landscape.jpg . The tilde “~” character separates the 3 subfields of the file name
- Level: Novice, Intermediate, or Advanced (see below); capitalization not required.
- Maker’s Name: spaces allowed. Please use the same name throughout the year to aid record keeping.
Members may also submit up to two images meeting the 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.
As you may have heard, the Club has changed the competition levels starting in September 2024. The new levels are Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. To see a list of all 2023-2024 Club members with their tentative competition level assignments, separately for Projected and Print, click here. For details on what this change means for you, click here.
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- December – Humorous
- January – Open
- February – Found Abstract
- March – Open
- April – Abandoned
- May – Monochrome
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
JUDGE RON PEIFFER – HUMOROUS
Thursday, December 12, 2024, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Ron Peiffer is a Maryland photographer based in Severna Park. He retired from the Maryland State Department of Education as a Deputy State Superintendent in 2011 and has been involved in several Maryland photography organizations since then. He is the Vice President for Contests for Arundel Camera Club, the Vice President of the Creative Photography Society of Baltimore, and Member-at-Large for the Maryland Photography Alliance.
His work has appeared in Maryland Photography Alliance gallery shows over the past several years, and he has received the Frederick R. Kelly Photographer of the Year award 4 of the last 5 years from the Arundel Camera Club. Ron achieved a Master’s Certificate in Black and White Photography with the Arundel club in 2020. He is an MPA-certified certified as a judge and serves on several MPA committees, including the contest, judging, and finance committees.
He currently uses a digital mirrorless camera but shot film for many years before moving to digital. Favorite subjects include travel photography, nature, youth sports, and family. While he is active on social media with digital images, he most loves black and white print.
Over the past decade or so he has traveled often to southeast Utah and northern New Mexico to document ancient puebloan sites as well as desert landscape. However, a lot of additional travel has been up and down the East Coast, where cities, small towns, and landscapes provide an array of color, form, and history. “While my subjects vary, I want images to produce emotion, to evoke a memory, or to associate an image with something in the viewer’s life.”
Ron’s work can be viewed at his website, www.ronpeiffer.com.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, December 19, 2024, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Join us for discussion on topics including: What’s on your mind, photographically? Opinions, Observations, Questions, Exhibits, Reviews, etc.
December’s planned presentations:
- “Inside the Stone” – Kent Mason
- “Circumstantial Awareness by Mobile Photography” – Ilona Linnoila
- We are soliciting additional presenters. Contact Dennis ( dennisfreeman4510@msn.com ) if you’d like to present something!
- Look for updates to be announced.
You may send up to 2 images you would like get feedback on or just share.
DECEMBER FIELD TRIP — ANNAPOLIS CITY LIGHTS
Leader: Phil Boyer 301-204-5549
What: Christmas lights in downtown Annapolis.
When: Saturday, December 14, 2024, 7:00 p.m. Allow time to find parking.
Where: Downtown Annapolis. We’ll meet at O’Brien’s Oyster Bar and Seafood House, 113 Main Street, and then explore. O’Brien’s is just up from the City Dock. (Dock may be mobbed; this is nearby.)To Photograph: Graffiti, street scenes, city life, possibly artists at work.
Questions? Call Trip Leader at 301-204-5549, or email at philboyer60@gmail.com.
Dinner: There is a restaurant every 6 feet, but I recommend O’Brien’s and will make reservations for 9 p.m. (They have other items than fish on the menu, but unless you’re allergic, you should get the fish.)
To Bring: Tripod/Mono Pod and whatever you need for urban night photography.
Share your images from the trip: With the SSCC Facebook Group (see below), on Meetup, and/or send to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org for inclusion in the next month’s Cable Release.
CLUB NEWS
FACEBOOK PRIVACY SETTINGS
By Gerry Woods
During November’s Photo Forum I gave a presentation on the SSCC Facebook Group page https://www.facebook.com/groups/Silver-Spring-Camera-Club and the new SSCC Facebook business page:
https://www.facebook.com/people/Silver-Spring-Camera-Club/61568161025792/
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to dive deeply into Facebook Privacy Settings. Therefore, I have typed up my notes on how to update your Facebook Privacy Settings so you can protect yourself from FB scammers, and hopefully prevent you from having your Facebook account “hacked.”
If you use Facebook, it might be a good idea to review your FB Privacy Settings whether you’re a member of the SSCC Facebook Group or not. If you have questions about FB Privacy Settings, please send an email to gerrywoodsdc@gmail.com.
NOVEMBER 16 FIELD TRIP — GRAFFITI WAREHOUSE
On Saturday, November 18, ten SSCC members gathered at Baltimore’s iconic Graffiti Warehouse for an urban field trip. The weather was great, if a bit windy. Lunch at Sabatino’s in Little Italy afterward was delicious.
MPA ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST RESULTS
Congratulations to Sherm Edwards for his Honorable Mention with Apocalypse #2, in the Minimalist category.
SHOW AND SHARE YOUR PHOTOS
There many ways to share your photos with the club, with different levels of public-ness and kinds of feedback. Try out what you are comfortable with.
1) Photo Forum sharing: Submit one or two photos to Dennis Freeman dennisfreeman4510@msn.com by 5PM Wednesday, the night before the third Thursday of the month. Submit favorites you just want to present or ones you want feedback on. Indicate whether you want feedback or not in your email containing competition-sized photos (1920 X 1440 pixels, less than 1MB). The photos are only show on Zoom.
2) Cable Release Phone Shot Feature: Share with us your favorite, personally meaningful, or compelling phone photo with us. Submit your photo (competition-sized), with as much text as you need to tell why the photo is meaningful to you, to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org. The Cable release is our online newsletter which anyone can read.
3) Cable Release newsletter article on any aspect of photography: Write an article about photography or perhaps a gallery of your 8-12 images comprising a “body of work” photos with an artist’s statement. Submit your photos (competition-sized) with your text, to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org. The Cable release is our online newsletter which anyone can read.
4) Prepare a 10-25 minute educational presentation for Photo Forum. The presentation should not just be a series of your photos. Propose it and schedule it with Dennis Freeman dennisfreeman4510@msn.com. Presentations are only shown on Zoom, but you can optionally submit your slide show (if used) to the web page.
5) Join a private feedback-session (critique) with small number of club members. It might be on Zoom or in person. Only members of the group will see your photos. Details coming soon.
6) Submit your photos to a club competition. Themes alternate Open with Nature and Monochrome plus three special themes each year. This year we have Humorous, Found Abstract, and Abandoned. Each entry receives short comments by an experienced judge, who awards First, Second, Third, and Honorable Mention(s) to ones they deem best. The meeting is in person and only the winning entries are featured in the newsletter and on the club home page. Look under the menu item COMPETITIONS on our home page https://www.ssccphotography.org for know-how information.
ADDITIONAL NEWSLETTER EDITOR WANTED
Consider being a Cable Release editor. Contact Tanya or Sherm at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
* Collecting projected and print images and captions and putting them in photo galleries. These galleries appear in both the newsletter and on the club’s web homepage.
* Lightly editing items provided by others, like club event announcements and articles.
* Summarizing some items.
* Some writing for items that editors add themselves.
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last meet on October 30. November’s meeting is canceled due to Thanksgiving. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
FEATURES
WINTER 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 2024 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. You can either place the text on your image or send it separately as a caption that we’ll add for you. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Examples are worth a thousand words. See previous submissions in these Cable Release issues:
Please send your jpeg entry(s) and paired text for each one. Your jpg images can be up to 1 MB size each. Please use our digital Competition
specifications: ssccphotography.org/competitions/digital-entry-specifications/. Follow the naming convention as follows:
“Words and Images~FirstName LastName~Title.jpg”
Please submit these to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org by Friday, December 24. ???date???
Member Spotlight
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 one or more of our members. Read their spotlight biographies here.
Edited by Marc Auerbach.
New Occasional Feature: Phone Shot
Why and when do you take a photo with your phone instead of a big black camera? When another camera is not at hand? Do you capture certain stories in the moment easier? Do you accept the focal length limitations as an opportunity for compositional discipline? Revel in phone “magic” that is baked in?
Share with us your favorite, personally meaningful, or compelling phone photo with us, regardless of whether is it a good fit for a club competition. Submit your photo, with as much text as you need to tell why the photo is meaningful to you, to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
This feature has been inspired by The Guardian newspaper’s “Smart Shot” feature, where professional photographers reveal the best images taken on their phone. An eerie monchrome one is https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/nov/09/theres-beauty-in-contrast-tom-bakers-best-phone-picture.
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
COMPETITION RESULTS
OPEN COMPETITION – November 14, 2024
November’s competition was Open for projected and print images. John Hoover was our judge.
November was the third month with our new Intermediate level. 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, Intermediate, and Novice levels. In November, the Intermediate and Advanced Print competitions were combined, due to small numbers of entries.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
1st Place: Karen Finkleman ~ Young at Heart
2nd Place: Larry Gold ~ Rock Creek Fall
3rd Place: Larry Gold ~ Tuscon Hike
HM: Bob Catlett ~ I’m Watching You
HM: Place: Lisa Auerbach ~ Happy Vision
Karen Finkelman ~ Young at Heart
This portrait was taken at the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn, New York. The parade coincides with the summer solstice in June and marks the beginning of the beach season. The parade also pays tribute to individual creativity, inclusiveness, and community spirit. I loved this woman's radiant and rebellious light, her vibrant style, and zest for life.
INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED
1st Place: Tanya Riseman ~ Cupping
2nd Place: Dennis Freeman ~ Beltway Magic
3rd Place: Diane Sanders ~ Lemon Lily
HM: Catherine Honigsberg ~ See Through the Past
Tanya Riseman ~ Cupping
NOVICE PROJECTED
1st Place: Thomas Allen ~ Rehersal Room – Prague
2nd Place: Gerry Woods ~ Fall Leaves
3rd Place: Gerry Woods ~ Old Fashion
HM: Charlie Farmer ~ Wave Toss
INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED PRINTS (COMBINED)
1st Place: Beth Koller ~ Mighty Me
2nd Place: Tanya Riseman ~ Great Falls in Fall
3rd Place: Beth Koller ~ Fancy Fins
Beth Koller ~ Mighty Me
This picture was taken at the Wakodahatchee wetlands in Florida midway between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and not far from Green Cay (an early morning trip). The iguanas (invasive) and many of the birds including wood storks are in mating season the first months of the year. The male green iguana's dorsal crest becomes very orange and there are some unique head bobbing movements and the neck dewlap is extended. The use of black and white in this image helped to emphasize the scaley nature of the reptile and minimize background distraction.
NOVICE PRINTS
1st Place: Valerie Brissett – Maasai Ladies Dance
2nd Place: Ilona Linnoila: Moose Eye
Valerie Brissett ~ Maasai Ladies
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.
EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
By Karen Finkelman.
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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