by Norm Bernache

Although most of the club will not remember Stan, he was an active member of the club from 1981 through 2013.    He served twice as president, in 1988 and again in 2006 and 2007. He also served more than one tour of duty as the Cable Release editor,  Program Chair, and Director, and he ran numerous workshops.  

Within his first 10 years with the club, Stan was awarded SSCC’s Photographer of the Year in Advanced Slides three times. And, in 1991 he achieved the honor of SSCC Master of Photography, with the distinction of being the only member to achieve Master with only Slide entries. 

Stan started out by sandwiching slide images, and was very successful. Later with digital photography and Photoshop, he was instrumental in introducing many club members to digital photography technology. In the mid-1990’s, Stan and fellow club member Jim Malaria launched a digital image manipulation workshop.  Three years later Stan started a separate digital workshop primarily for novices,   He also introduced the club to the concept of mini-portfolios – a 10-minute, two-dozen image presentation and tribute to a senior club member’s work. Its purpose was to provide the membership a fuller understanding and appreciation of how their fellow photographers viewed their craft, and the techniques they used to capture this visual world.

In club competitions Stan’s forte was primarily color slides and digital image capture. His subject matter was predominantly portraiture, as well as  close-ups, nature, and experimental themes.  

 In the 80’s and early 90’s Stan specialized in weddings and portraits in his spare time.  And in the mid-90’s he joined the Great Exposure Photo Gallery in Savage Mills, Md. as one of its founding members. He was a respected judge at local camera clubs.   

For most of his 40 year professional career Stan worked as a publications editor and manager with the U.S. Department of State in Washington DC. He retired in January 2008 Unfortunately, this was the same year he was diagnosed with dementia, He persevered until 2013. He experienced the end of Slides in club competitions and the beginning of Projected Images. His last winning entries were a Second Place in September 2009 and an Honorable Mention in March 2010.

Stan died on May 20, 2024, from a serious infection.   Stan Klem  was truly a great member of the Silver Spring Camera Club.