Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!
Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman, Editors, Cable Release, at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
Contents
KEY EVENTS
The following scheduled events will be conducted online as Zoom teleconferences, except for the Field Trip. Look for announcements and invitations by e-mail, Meetup, and on the club’s Website.
- March 2 – Speaker (7:30 p.m.)
- March 9 – Competition – Open (7:30 p.m.)
- March 16 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m.)
- March 23 – Board Meeting
- March 25 – Field Trip – U.S. Botanic Garden
2022-2023 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.org
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-2022-2023
PLEASE CONSIDER PROVIDING MATERIALS FOR THE APRIL CABLE RELEASE:
If you’d like to share an article, announcement, or Letter to the Editor about anything photographic please email them by March 24. Email items or questions to Tanya Riseman and Sherm Edwards at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY MARCH 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
Up to now this year, we have been meeting virtually and this will continue for Speaker Night, Photo Forum, and Board meetings. As of now, with regard to competitions, we will decide how to meet on a month-by-month basis, guided by Montgomery County and the CDC. Any in-person meetings will be held at Northwood Presbyterian Church (https://www.northwoodchurch.com/), and KN95 masks will be required.
SPEAKER NIGHT WITH GEFFRARD BOURKE – MONOCHROME/BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY
Thursday, March 2, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Photography has been a passion of Geffrard Bourke’s for over 40 years. His interests include nature photography, such as landscapes, wildlife, birds, and flowers; travel photography with the goal of capturing the culture of his destinations; and urban landscapes… street, people, and decay.
Since starting with film, Bourke has been compelled to learn every aspect of development and at one point had built his own darkroom so that he could process his images. He has, like many, converted to the digital format and is now using Sony equipment. Digital photography allows Bourke a limitless freedom of expression. Each image can be manipulated in multiple ways to express a desired mood or state of mind. He still often shoots film which he still processes at home and then transfers to a digital image.
In college, he studied and obtained a degree in graphic arts. These studies aided him in developing perspective and have definitely affected how he composes his images.
Check out the galleries on his website, geffrardbourkephotography.com, as his photos are the true expression of how he sees the world.
COMPETITION COLUMN
Our March topic is Open:
In open competitions, free rein is given to the choices the photographer makes in the creation of the submitted image. Images of any and all subjects or themes, created using any photographic or post- processing methods or techniques, are acceptable. The images are evaluated based upon the judge’s general assessment of their creativity, emotional and/or intellectual impact, aesthetic beauty, uniqueness of subject, and technical skill. The judge need not assign any specific weight to any single attribute of the image.
Members may submit up to two images meeting this definition. The images should be emailed to: competition@ssccphotography.org by midnight (11:59 p.m.) on the day of the month’s Speaker Night. (One important detail – In order to participate in the competition, you must pay the club’s annual dues before the start of the competition.)
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- April – On the Job
- May – Monochrome Photography
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
Please refer to the website link for the definition of each topic.
JEANINE CUMMINGS – JUDGE – MARCH OPEN COMPETITION
Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.
Jeanine Cummings was born in New York City. She did not receive formal training in photography, but photographs were a major part of her growing up. Jeanine grew up during what she thinks was one of the best times to be living, even with its turbulence. Jeanine’s family like many during that time always took pictures. Her parents always had photographs of family, and she was always intrigued. Jeanine loved looking at old pictures of her family because they showed her a time and history before hers. Jeanine’s great-uncle bought one of the first Polaroid Land cameras and she was hooked. She enjoyed looking at Ebony and Jet magazines, as well as Life, National Geographic and LOOK. These magazines showed her the world. Gordon Parks and Moneta Sleet, Jr., told stories of the nation and cities; James Van der Zee showed her Harlem life and culture.
She started out wanting to take portraits because she felt she could make people feel comfortable in front of the lens, but as Jeanine studied and read, she wanted her photos to tell a story like the ones saw in the magazines. Jeanine has photographed for the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR), Bowie State University, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Mid Atlantic Region, Flashes of Hope, DCTV, Howard University Law Alumni and Prince George’s County Public Schools.
She is a member of the Professional Photographer Association (PPA), the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), and the Exposure Group, African American Photographer Association. She is currently the President of the Bowie-Crofton Camera Club in Maryland.
PHOTO FORUM MARCH 2023
Thursday, March 16, 2023, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Join us for discussion on topics including Do you use the SSCC website? If so, how? If not, why not? What functionality would you like added to the website? What do you like about the website’s look and organization, and what do you dislike? Dennis Freeman will give a presentation on “Macro Photography,” featuring member images. We wrap up as usual with Photo Sharing. Send 1 or 2 of your images to share if you wish; this month’s theme is Open. (Read More)
FIELD TRIP – U.S. BOTANIC GARDEN
Saturday, March 25, at 10:00 a.m. Rain date Sunday, March 26.
100 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington DC 20001.
The gated outdoor gardens are open at 7:30 am; however, we will gather at the conservatory at 10:00 am.
Overview: The Conservatory features plants from across the United States and around the world ranging from desert plants to tropical forests to orchids. Tickets are not required. Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens are open from dawn to dusk daily. They are located across Independence Avenue from the Conservatory, with access from any of the three bordering streets: Independence Avenue, Washington Avenue, or First Street SW. The gated outdoor gardens (“National Garden”) are open 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
We asked about tripods and received this answer: We allow tripods to be used with a permit; each tripod in active use must have a permit. For groups during the orchid display, we allow up to 2 tripod permits, which can be shared among the group members. Note that a tripod can always be used as a monopod, including without a permit. Once you know which day of the weekend you plan to come and your approximate arrival time, please email me so that I can reserve the 2 permits for you. When you arrive onsite, you should ask at the information desk for your permits. Please share the current Photography and Art Policy with your group in advance of your visit (https://usbg.gov/photography-and-art-policy).
Lunch: We will have lunch just across the street at the National Museum of the American Indian.
Leaders: Lisa Auerbach 713-818-7426; Marc Auerbach 713-248-0478.
CLUB NEWS
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board met in January and February. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
MPA NEWS
Thurgood Marshall Airport, BWI, has invited member clubs of MPA to each display 2 framed images in a gallery for public view. Precedent has been to use winners of our year end competition. The show dates are March 20-June, 2023. On display will be the images of Beth Koller and Wendy Kates. Congratulations! As we get more information, we will share it with you.
MPA’s March Artist Spotlight is “Obstacles to the Creative Life” with Brooks Jensen on March 7, 2023 at 7 p.m; see here for more details. The Black & White spring contest accepts entries until March 31.
MPA’s yearly conference “Odyssey of Light” takes place on the weekend of April 15 and 16, 2023. Tickets are now on sale! The Early Bird public price for the webinar is $25 through March 15, after which it will be $35. However, since our club is a member of MPA, you will receive a $20 discount (from the $35 price) to bring your ticket price down to $15. Plus, Nations Photo Lab will be giving all ticket holders a $15 Gift Card. Your net cost is $0. Details are here.
REMEBERING ROY SEWELL
Maryland Photography Alliance lost a great friend this month when Roy Sewell passed away. Roy’s friends and photography family are raising funds to install a memorial bench along the C&O Canal as a tribute to him. Roy was instrumental in the creation of the Canal Trust and was its first Board Chairman. He loved spending time on the canal and capturing the beauty of this treasured park.
Silver Spring Camera Club is joining other MPA clubs in contributing to this cause. If you like, you can personally donate directly to the Canal Trust. The donation is tax deductible. Send a check payable to Canal Trust, 142 W. Potomac St., Williamsport MD 21795, or make a donation online at this link. Please add in the memo/comments field that the donation is for Roy Sewall’s Memorial Bench.
Roy was dedicated to high-quality photography competition judging in Maryland. He was not only a passionate photographer, but also adamant about the importance of judging. His MPA judging classes were intense, thorough, and professional. When he started teaching, he had already judged over 70 competitions for Maryland camera clubs. He explained how he prepared for each judging event, and shared that he had even written a letter of apology to a camera club when he once did not think his “performance” met his judging standards. During Roy’s judge training, his commitment to his students was illustrated by “make-up” classes in his home for students unable to attend scheduled sessions.
Before his involvement with MPA, Roy was well known as a judge at many MPA clubs. After MPA was formed in 2017, one of its initiatives was to create a Judge Certification Program (JCP). MPA interviewed a number of people outside of MPA to help create the program. Two people did a presentation to the MPA Directors, and the Directors voted for Roy. Roy modified his training material for MPA, and over a period of 3 years did the training for two classes. Each class had 3 – 3-hour sessions. The feedback MPA has received from the Certified Judges who went through the training has been great. JCP is considered one of MPA’s most successful programs, due in no small part to Roy’s contributions.
PERSONAL REMEMBRANCE OF ROY SEWALL (1945-2023) by Beth Koller
Roy Sewall was known to many of us. He passed away at home in Bethesda MD on January 17. He was born in Boston, but started his travel adventures early—being the son of parents in the U.S. State Department. He was technically trained in physics and engineering and worked as an engineer until 2000. He then took those technical skills to photography and went on to add artistic finesse. He spent many hours on the Potomac and the C&O Canal. Two books resulted from these efforts.
He was generous with his time. He served in varying capacities at North Bethesda Camera Club. He judged for various photography clubs. He also gave presentations to paddling groups.. I knew him in these latter two capacities. When I was a novice shooting film, I submitted a slide taken in the channel connecting the Feeder Canal with it is slalom training gates to the main Potomac. He wanted to know where I had taken the photo – since he thought that he had explored every inch of the area. We laughed when I said that I had taken the image of my paddling partner running a narrow chute while I was sitting in my kayak in an eddy with a waterproof camera. I noted that it was not really accessible by foot. When speaking to the Blue Ridge Voyageurs Whitewater Paddling Club (of which I am a member), we were shown the many moods of the Potomac River, the various activities on the River including the annual downriver race, and the various lock houses along the canal. Such presentations made us as paddlers look around and appreciate the beauty and history of the area as well as the thrills and spills of paddling.
He became very invested in preserving the canal and lock houses via the C&O Canal Trust and improving the quality of the water as part of the Potomac RiverKeeper Network. The family has requested that any donations be made to the C&O Canal Trust (142 W Potomac Street, Williamsport, MD 21795; 240-20-CANAL [22625]), or the American Red Cross. There will be a Celebration of Life in April.
JOSEPH ADOLPH MILLER (1932-2023) AND THE JOSEPH MILLER CENTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS by Beth Koller
Sadly, a photographic icon of the Mid-Atlantic region, Joe Miller, passed away January 3, 2023, at age 90. His health had been declining, but he had improved some just prior to his death.
Joe was all about the advancement of photography. More specifically, he wanted to introduce rigor/standards into judging, and he wanted abstracts to take their rightful place in photography and photo competitions: no Rodney Dangerfield status.
Joe taught many judging classes. Others can speak more fully on this contribution to the area’s judging pool.
I can speak best about the child-like joy he expressed when looking at the various images submitted to his annual abstract competition. He loved being surprised and loved seeing different perspectives for “found abstracts” and seeing different techniques for “created abstracts.” He loved sitting in a chair with his cane near the gallery entrance so that he could chat with guests, and especially the artists.
FEATURES
SERVING COMMUNITY WITH YOUR CAMERA by Bruce Schaefer
Please use this link instead: Community Service Fund.
LOOKING FOR/LOOKING AT by Bruce Schaefer
RECYCLE YOUR COMPUTER by Mark Paster
If you’ve recently upgraded your computer, or have other computers that are not being used, you can recycle that hardware, help level the digital playing field for someone in need, lessen the flood of digital junk in our landfills, and get a tax deduction as well. Yes, you can de-clutter, help someone and the community and maybe get some money for doing it.
How?
Donate your unneeded laptop to Kindworks’s Digital Empowerment Team (https://dokindworks.org/get-involved/digital-empowerment/) who will wipe the hard drive, install an up-to-date operating system, add any needed hardware and then distribute the computer equipment, free of charge, to students, families, and individuals in need (as identified by local agencies and nonprofits), as well as deserving community groups. By providing these ready-to-use computers to those in need, we aim to increase community members’ access to services and improve digital literacy—plus, help our planet by reducing electronics sent to the landfill!
We currently ONLY accept laptop computers, iPads, and other tablets that power on. Windows computers should be newer than 2008 and we accept all types of MacBooks. Please only donate computers that can power on. We do not accept printers, scanners, cell phones, etc.
If you have computer(s) to donate, please contact Mark Paster (mark@sunnydoor.net).
May all your hardware behave as you wish and last exactly as long as you wish…
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
GET THE SHOT (OF THE SHOOTER) by Bruce Schaefer
Sometimes there is more action behind the camera than in front, with people doing amazing things to get that shot. Here are a few instances caught on some of our field trips. If you have captured some also, we would love to see them! Check it out here.
COMPETITION RESULTS
YELLOW – FEBRUARY 9
February’s competition topic was Yellow, for projected images only. Ed Palaszynski was our judge. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was held remotely using Zoom.
There were three categories judged: Advanced Projected (i.e., digital images), Novice Projected, and Beginner Projected. The Print categories are suspended until we start in-person meetings again. 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 and Novice categories.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
1st Place: Karen Finkelman ~ The Yellow Boat
2nd Place: Beth Koller ~ Follow Me
3rd Place: David Terao ~ Yellow Anthers
HM: David Terao ~ Chrysanthemum
HM: Bob Catlett ~ Caboose
HM: Sheryl Adams ~ Heart, Spirit and Soul BBrady
Beth Koller ~ Follow Me
This is a composite of a series of images (taken on low-burst). The paddler had bold cohesive colors that would make him stand out. He was sitting forward and upright in the boat so that there would be some facial imaging. The route he took provided a J-shaped line and was anchored by a rock on the rapid's entry point on the right. To do the image it is important to shoot wide enough and to have enough depth of field to include all of the images without moving the camera (well, at least not too much). It is them important to select those images with minimal overlap. The paddler/boat pushing through the water and the paddle stroking through the waves will introduce changes to the wave structure. Auto-combination that might work for a left to right progression of bike/car on a road--even with hills or with a boarder doing aerial moves will not always work here. A cut-out of the paddler might be needed. Adjustment of the waves around the boat with cloning or content-aware-fill might be needed.
NOVICE PROJECTED
1st Place: Diane Sanders ~ Withered Yellow Iris
2nd Place: Larry Bauer ~ Send in the Clowns
3rd Place: Bruce Schaefer ~ Yellow Zoomer
HM: Anne Golfer ~ 8 Nights
HM: Will Rabinovich ~ Yellow Echo
Diane Sanders ~ Withered Yellow Iris
This wild yellow flag iris came from my friend's WV farm pond. I learned after transplanting it, that it's considered invasive here. It's fabulous, but I have to keep a careful watch, to prevent it from overtaking our garden. I often bring in cut flowers to enjoy, observe, and photograph. I generally find them far more interesting as they lose their fresh perfection. Variations in colors and texture are brought out by careful lighting and precision editing in Lightroom, Photoshop and Nik software, Nikon D300 with Nikkor 55mm Micro lens.
BEGINNER PROJECTED
HM: Thomas Allen ~ Wayne Avenue Parking Ramp
Thomas Allen ~ Wayne Avenue Parking Ramp
When I retired two years ago, we were in the midst of the COVID crisis. I have been enjoying shooting closer to home, and I have a particular fondness for Silver Spring, MD. I also have a love of inside spaces, and how humans arrange items in those spaces in ways that are sometimes surprising, even when they are purely functional. The lighting in the Wayne Avenue ramp was enchanting, as was the presence of the yellow bumpers, barricades, and lane markers. Canon 5DM2, f4.5, 1/50sec
COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS
PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
Needed: Someone to author the Classes and Workshop List for the 2022-2023 Cable Release club year. Please let Catherine [ president@ssccphotography.org ] know if you might be interested. This is an opportunity to inspire the learning of club members. In the meantime, we will show some online sources.
Many local vendors and country-wide experts have resumed classes and workshops, both in person and virtually. The following online course providers are just the tip of the iceberg:
- Coursera
- KelbyOne
- LinkedIn Learning free through Montgomery County Libraries (formally Lynda.com)
- Photographic Society of America (PSA)
Please let us know of other online and in-person opportunities you discover by emailing us at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
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
WASHINGTON POST
Here is a link to the online Washington Post’s lists of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia photography-related exhibits and museums. The various photography-related exhibits appear in different parts of the online paper, making a simple search or link unreliable. You can search within:
Photography section: Photography
Going Out Guide: Going Out Guide
Art Section: Art
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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