Cover by James Ragucci – “Szimpla Kert Decor”
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.
Contents
KEY EVENTS
- Feb 7 – Speaker Night (7:30 p.m.)
- Feb 9 – Field Trip to Montpelier Mansion, Laurel, MD (11 a.m.)
- ♥ Feb 14 ♥ Competition Night: Red Photography (7:30 p.m.)
- Feb 21 – A Closer Focus meeting (7:30 p.m.)
- Feb 28 – Board Meeting (7:30 p.m.)
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 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’.
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.
© 2019 Silver Spring Camera Club and its contributors. Copyright Notice & Disclaimer Policy
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PLEASE CONSIDER PROVIDING MATERIALS FOR THE MARCH CABLE RELEASE
ARTICLES, AWARDS, EXHIBITIONS, LINKS, REVIEWS, …
DEADLINE: BY FEB 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
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MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
Silver Spring United Methodist Church
8900 Georgia Ave.
Silver Spring, MD
Click for details
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MITCHELL LAYTON TO SPEAK ON MOTION & SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY ON FEBRUARY 7
On February 7, Mitchell Layton will speak on the subject of Motion and Sports Photography. His long standing relationships with George Washington University, American University, Georgetown University, the Verizon Center, and all of the local professional sports teams have established Layton as the area’s leading photographer for sports and entertainment.
His photographs have appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN: The Magazine, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, and National Geographic. His work also appears on sports websites that include Sports Illustrated.com, ESPN.com, Yahoo.com and Fox.com, as well as in many print publications that are read worldwide. (read more)
COMPETITION COLUMN
The competition on February 14 will be the Red Photography topic:
The term “Red Photography” encompasses images where the color red is primarily what draws the attention of viewers to them. While red needn’t be the color of the subject of the image, the color must contribute significantly to what makes the image special.
Please be mindful that electronic submissions for projected images must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on February 7, Speaker Night, at the new email address: competition@ssccphotography.org ( read more here ).
>>> Be sure to follow file naming and file size requirements as outlined and solved for you in this article by David Terao:
CHANGING THE FILE SIZE AND FILE NAME FOR SSCC COMPETITIONS
(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:
- February – Red Photography
- March – Open
- April – Action/Motion Photography
- May – Monochrome Photography
- June 13 – 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.
JERRY TAYLOR TO JUDGE RED PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION – FEBRUARY 14
Jerry Taylor will judge our Red Photography competition on February 14.
Jerry is an photographer who enjoys life and photographs it from the perspective of finding new ways to view the world around him.
What Jerry cherishes most about photographic art is the imagination and out-side-the-box approaches that define eclectic photographic styles. (read more)
A CLOSER FOCUS – FEBRUARY 21
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 February we will make up for January’s cancellation and have multiple breakout sessions tailored to your interests. We will also have discussion topics, photo sharing, and at least one gear review:
- Breakout Sessions: This month we will have 3-5 breakout sessions depending on attendance and the variety of member interests. Each breakout will have its own table, laptop computer, and member expert/facilitator. While most folks will want to work on post-processing, some of you may want to discuss your camera – say, its operation or setup. The sessions are planned to be free-flowing and highly interactive.
- For Lightroom or Photoshop projects: Bring in a thumb-drive with 3-4 images that you would like to work with. Just as examples, we could work on blending layers, sharpening, cloning, transforming the geometry of the image to make edges vertical, and many other things you are interested in.
- For camera operation/setup: Bring in your camera (and tripod, flash, etc if applicable) and instruction manual.
- 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.
- Book/Gear Reviews: What book/gear/software have you experienced that you’d like to review?
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A preview of March’s A Closer Focus meeting:
In March, bring in a sequence of photographs. The photos should “hang together” in some manner so that they represent a set of photos that you would notionally like to present as a portfolio or an exhibit of some sort. On the order of 5 – 10 photos should do it. You can bring them as prints or on a tablet. We will share and discuss how they work as a set, and how you have chosen to sequence them for best effect. See David Powell’s Let’s Get Started article from the January Cable Release for a discussion about this.
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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
FEBRUARY 9 FIELD TRIP TO MONTPELIER MANSION IN LAUREL, MD
On Saturday, February 9 SSCC will go to Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, MD for a guided tour. We will shoot a 1780 historic mansion with great Georgian architecture, plus 70 acres of gardens and grounds. (read more)
CLUB NEWS
NEW MEMBER SNAPSHOTS
Membership Co-chair Lisa Auerbach asked new members Wlodz Batog and Ron Marcus questions about themselves for the Cable Release so that we can get to know them a little better. Read about them in these links:
Please welcome Wlodz and Ron to SSCC!
HELP-PORTRAIT AT SHEPHERD’S TABLE ON JANUARY 26
The Silver Spring Camera Club, in conjunction with The Nora School, conducted a Help-Portrait on January 26 at Shepherd’s Table. We provided free family portraits to 25 clients who would otherwise be unable to afford a professionally produced photograph.
We did lighting setup, photography, and re-touching in Photoshop. Dave Mullen did the printing and delivery to the clients. Volunteers were club members Michael Koren, Mark Paster, David Terao, Dave Powell, recent member Nick Williams, and local professional photographer Bill Brouillette. Four volunteers were from Nora. Special thanks goes to Mark Paster for helping Dave set this up.
JANUARY 20 FIELD TRIP TO UNION STATION
On January 20, 2019, seven members from the Silver Spring Camera Club ventured out on a cold, blustery morning to photograph the Union Station. The interior and exterior architecture presented a wealth of photographic challenges to capture. And, there were plenty of interesting people walking through the station rushing to catch their train. We even met a fellow photographer from the North Bethesda Camera Club who was there shooting with B&W film. After the shoot, we went across the street to the Dubliner Pub for some wonderful Irish food and beer.
David Terao
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board did not meet in December. Look for minutes of the January 24 Board Meeting in next month’s Cable Release.
FEATURES
A COLD WEATHER PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT
James Ragucci shares the recipe for frozen bubbles in this link: instagram.com/
This seems like a cool winter project for when the temps get really cold!
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE FEBRUARY/MARCH MEMBER CLUB NEWS
See what other regional camera clubs are up to in news from the Maryland Photography Alliance: ( read more )
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE GALLERY SHOW IS OFFICIALLY OPEN
Following in the footsteps of the successful 2nd Annual Maryland Photography Alliance (MPA) Photo Competition, MPA’s newest gallery show is now open to the public. The entire show of 62 images is located in the lounge area of the State of Maryland House of Delegates building. ( read more )
MARCH 10TH IS NORTH BETHESDA CAMERA CLUB’S PHOTO ESSAY SHOW
Joanne and Larry Mars
Are you interested in great photography? Beautiful music? Entertaining and educational stories? Travel to exotic places? Then you will enjoy North Bethesda Camera Club’s annual Photo Essay Show on March 10. ( read more )
FREE PRINTING eBOOK NOW AVAILABLE
Les Picker, local professional and sometime Speaker at SSCC, is excited to announce that his comprehensive guide to digital fine art printing is now available. Best of all, you can download a copy of it FREE, thanks to the generous support of two of his studio’s sponsors, Moab Fine Art papers and X-Rite calibration solutions.
Get your copy of “The Art Of Fine Art Digital Printing” here: fineartprintebook.com/ .
“The Art of Fine Art Digital Printing” is a fully illustrated, 164-page guide to everything you need to know to create printed masterpieces of your photography. Whether a beginner or an experienced printmaker, you will find lots if information to improve your craft. With the input of my assistant, Master Printer Robert Boyer, this eBook will guide you through the theory and mechanics of printing, and includes dozens of tips and suggestions for effective printmaking. New case studies will be periodically added.
The book sells for $19.95 on the iBooks platform, but for a limited time you will be able to download it for free.
Hands-on Print Workshop!
While the eBook is a fantastic and practical guide for both experienced and first time printers, there’s nothing like doing it yourself, especially if you are looking to either invest in a professional digital printer or upgrade. His next hands-on printing workshop is June 1, 2019. Sign up now as it’s strictly limited to six participants.
This is a one day workshop that covers everything you need to know to get started and better yet allows you to print as many prints on four professional Canon large format printers as there is time for. The print workshop also includes expert advice to maximize how your images look in print.
ODYSSEY OF LIGHT SEMINAR
The 2nd Annual “Odyssey of Light” Seminar is coming to Baltimore on Saturday April 27, and tickets are now on sale!
Ken Sklute, a 45-year award winning professional, and Essdras Suarez, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, are the presenters.
The topics are Landscape/Night Photography and Street Photography.
Nations Photo Lab (NPL), Service Photo, PSA, and Road Runner Photography Tours are sponsors.
The public will pay $99, however, because the Silver Spring Camera Club is a member of the Maryland Photography Alliance, your price is only $79 by using the discount code SSCC during checkout.
In addition to great presentations, you will receive a $50 NPL Gift Card and Free Lunch. For more information and to register go to: MDPhotoAlliance.org/odyssey.
This seminar is currently 37% sold out and there is limited seating, so register today!
CALL FOR ENTRIES: NINTH ANNUAL JOSEPH MILLER ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT
The Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts is conducting its ninth annual juried abstract exhibit. All interested photographers are invited to submit entries for this much anticipated spring event. 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 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
November’s SSCC 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 8, 2019. For further details, read the updated announcement: ANPCE-2019-Arts-Council-Web-Announcement.pdf
LAST CHANCE: A NATIONAL GALLERY SHOW OF GORDON PARKS’S EARLY YEARS
Gordon Parks – Off on My Own – 1948
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 again, after the outrageous Government Shutdown, in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, 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
PHOTOGRAPHING A TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE – BY DAVID TERAO
The total lunar eclipse of January 20, 2019, was also called the Super Blood Wolf Moon. Although the name might sound scary, it only refers to the when the full moon:
- is closest to the Earth (“Super”),
- turns a reddish color during a total lunar eclipse (“Blood”), and
- occurs in the month of January (a “Wolf Moon”)…
Fortunately, total lunar eclipses are not too difficult to photograph, and you don’t need specialized equipment. (read more)
KERNELS OF KOREN
Did you know that an advertisement in the first issue of Life magazine, from November 1936, suggested smoking FIVE Camel cigarettes during the Thanksgiving meal! One after soup, one after salad, one during the second helping of the turkey meal, one during dessert and one more after dinner with coffee … ( read more )
LET’S GET STARTED – BY DAVID W. POWELL
Just like we have been doing since the 1850’s, we see something (or set something up) and push a button or touch a screen. It no longer takes a wagon load of equipment and two assistants to capture images. Millions of snaps are made daily with devices we hang around our neck or carry in our pockets… we’ve come a long way, baby. Or have we? … ( read more )
COMPETITION WINNERS
OPEN COMPETITION – JANUARY 10
The topic for the January competition was Open. Robb Hill 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 – Mineral Matrix
- 2nd Place: Larry Gold – A Dog’s World
- 3rd Place: Jim Turner – Syrphid Fly
- Honorable Mention: Pete Morton – Human Statue
- Honorable Mention: Karen Carkhuff – Rainy Colors
Advanced Print ~ Beth Koller ~ Mineral Matrix
When I hiked with my Olympus 35RC (range-finder) or Nikon Action Touch (waterproof point-and-shoot), I did not think too much about flopping down on the ground using flowers or rocks as a foreground interest point for a Western vista captured by a fixed ~35 mm lens. When I started taking more pictures locally and using a SLR camera, I gravitated to telephoto and macro lenses. While out West a few weeks ago, I wanted to become more effective using wide angle lenses to capture landscapes. In addition to visualizing images with strong foreground and more distant elements, I wanted to work on having the image be sharp from front to back—preferably by the use of the hyperfocal point (and not focus-stacking). This particular location provided strong three-dimensional lines leading to a very colorful distant target closed in by even more distant neutral vegetation. I am very excited that this geyser image reflects some of skills on which I was working.
NOVICE PRINTS
- 1st Place: Kay Carkhuff – Baby Grand
- 2nd Place: Jacob Abernathy – Golden Berry
Novice Print ~ Kay Carkhuff ~ Baby Grand
Our church recently purchased a beautiful Steinway grand piano. I took over 40 pictures of different perspectives. The shadows, the lines, the reflections, were fun to capture and it was hard to narrow it down to my entry. I called it "Baby Grand" because I liked the sound of the title, but it is really a grand piano.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
- 1st Place: Larry Gold – Talk Over the Wall
- 2nd Place: Bob Catlett – Silver Fern
- 3rd Place: David Blass – Changing of the Guard, Athens
- Honorable Mention: David Blass – Desert Hunter
- Honorable Mention: David Terao – After the Storm
Advanced Projected ~ Larry Gold ~ Talk Over the Wall
This is from a recent trip to Charleston, SC. We were on a morning walking tour of the historic district, when I came upon these two people chatting across a masonry wall in a back alley. Given the painful local legacy of American history that the tour guide was presenting, there was something about the woman's clothing and the man's gentle expression that evoked for me a poignancy that transcended time and place.
NOVICE PROJECTED
- 1st Place: James Ragucci – Szimpla Kert Decor
- 2nd Place: Andrew Rein – Eye Shine
- 3rd Place: Ilona Linnoila – Sunset on Coronado Street in December
- Honorable Mention: Karen Carkhuff – Hannah
- Honorable Mention: Tim Newell – Shadows
- Honorable Mention: Karen Finkelman – Belward Oak
Novice Projected ~ Ilona Linnoila ~ Sunset on Coronado Street in December
Sunsets in Los Angeles are frequently colorful. Coronado Street in the Silver Lake neighborhood used to be fairly quiet until recently. Nowadays cars appear to be quite numerous. Parked cars provide evidence for the up-and-coming change in the popularity of the area while the line of passing ones results from an on-line post suggesting a time saving short cut thru Coronado for busy Los Angeles commuters. Fortunately, one can always admire the cast of palm trees against sunset. iPhone 6 plus, aperture value 2.275, exposure time 1/399, focal length 4.15 mm, ISO 32, f/2.2.
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.
This month’s course list includes several courses that support April’s competition topic Action/Motion Photography. Also, the list includes a one-day workshop on street photography, offered through Capital Photography, that is taught by Essdras M. Suarez, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who spoke to our club last year and will be speaking to us again this year. (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
Superheros – National Museum of American History
The following column 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!
There are several online photo “exhibit” links provided at the bottom of the column for the armchair adventurer.
See the full column here: ( read more )
JOKE OF THE MONTH (SUBMITTED BY KAREN FINKELMAN)
A photographer went to a socialite party in New York.
As he entered the front door, the host said, “I love your pictures – they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.”
He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: “That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.”
– Sam Haskins
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‘HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHS’ SHORT VIDEO OF THE MONTH
With sincere apologies … youtube.com/watch?v=Eqb_rONmTg8
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
