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 Competition and Field Trip. Look for announcements and invitations by e-mail, Meetup, and on the club’s Website.
- September 5 – Speaker Night (7:30 on Zoom)
- September 12 – Competition: Open (7:30 p.m. at Northwood Presbyterian Church)
- September 14 – Field Trip: Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge, Kent Island MD (9:30 a.m.)
- September 19 – Photo Forum (7:30 on Zoom)
- September 26 – Board Meeting (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 September 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY September 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Welcome Back!
I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and is ready to participate in our 2024 – 2025 club year. The board and chair positions have been working hard this summer to ensure we have a well-planned and full agenda. Please look in the Cable Release and on our website for updated information. Our updated Handbook, now easier to use than ever, will help guide you through the year as well.
This year we are introducing a new Intermediate competition level, between Novice and Advanced. Details are in the Handbook and Cable Release. The Beginner level has been discontinued.
We will be meeting in person on the second Thursday of each month during the 2024-2025 Club year, at Northwood Presbyterian Church. The in-person meetings will either be competition (if we have an in-person judge) or Photo Forum. Other Thursday meetings – Speaker Night on the first Thursday and either Photo Forum or Competition Night on the third Thursday, will be virtual, on Zoom. Please contact membership if you need assistance in joining us on Zoom.
I would like to introduce our board members. Dennis Freeman is returning as our Vice President, Bruce Schaefer is returning as Treasurer, Miriam Struck is returning as Secretary, and I am returning as President. Our Directors are Michael Koren, Bob Catlett, and Pete Morton.
Our current chair positions are as follows: Phil Boyer is Field Trip Chair, Norm Bernache is our Historian, Tanya Riseman and Sherm Edwards are Newsletter Editors, Will Rabinovich is running our website, Frank Gallagher is the Program Chair who finds our judges and speakers, and Lisa Auerbach, Marc Auerbach, and Andrew Rein are running Membership. We welcome Kay Carkhuff and Diane Sanders as Competition Co-Chairs.
We continue with the successful Photo Forum, planned by Pete Morton and Dennis Freeman. This program has a format with discussions, presentations, breakout rooms and photo critiques.
I want to thank all those who participate and volunteer to make this a successful group. We are looking for more help this year. Please consider volunteering some time to help the chair positions and Executive Council.
We added more new members at the end of last year and look forward to meeting new people with our gatherings posted on Meetup. If you are not a member of Meetup, please reach out and we can get you signed up to help let you know what we are doing each week. We are enjoying good turnouts for our various meetings.
We have a list of field trips ready, speakers and judges lined up, and competition topics available. Get ready for another exciting year. I look forward to seeing everyone again over the next few weeks!
Catherine Honigsberg
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 — Thursday, September 5, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Mark Battista is a painter and fine art photographer specializing in portrait and still life photography. He graduated from Paier College of Art with a B.F.A. and an M.S. in art education from S.C.S.U. He recently retired from teaching art after 35 years. Read more and see examples of Mark’s work here.
COMPETITION COLUMN
By popular vote, the special topics for the 2024-2025 Club year are Abandoned, Found Abstract, and Humorous. Definitions for these topics are as follows:
“Abandoned” photography captures images of man-made structures or other man-made objects (e,g, vehicles, machinery) no longer serving their original purpose, and that show the effects of long neglect. The abandoned structure or object should be the primary focus of the image; for example, an image of a human model in an abandoned building would not be allowed.
A “found abstract” s a photograph of shapes, colors, and textures discovered intact in the environment. The photographer can create a close-up of one portion of a scene or object, to isolate it from the whole and thus eliminate explanatory context, but in this competition, it is okay if the object can be identified. The photographer may use minor post processing techniques to emphasize attributes and create moods, but another person should be able to return to the original site/scene and identify the same image that you “found” and captured in your picture. In-studio constructions or manipulations do not qualify.
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 the month’s 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 previous Thursday. Usually, this is the day of the month’s Speaker Night. Remember:
- Send 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.)
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- October – Nature Photography
- November – Open
- December – Humorous
- January – Open
- February – Found Abstract
- March – Open
- April – Abandoned
- May – Monochrome
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
*New Competition Level*
As you may have heard, the Club is changing the competition levels starting in September 2024. The new levels are Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced, and they are based on the number of points members have won in past competitions. Points are counted separately for the Projected and Print categories, so a member may be in different levels for the two categories. There will no longer be a Beginner level.
The point total ranges are 0-24 points for Novice, 25-69 points for Intermediate, and 70 points or more for Advanced. (The previous cutoff between Novice and Advanced was 35 points.) Points earned for film-based competitions are not included in the calculation.
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.
JUDGE PAUL BIEDERMAN – OPEN
Thursday, September 12, 2024, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Paul Biederman is an awarding-winning photographer who has been named Master of Photography, Master Photographic Artist, and Photographic Craftsman by the PPA (Professional Photographers of America). He loves to share his experiences and knowledge. His main genre is nature photography, and more specifically, birds and macrophotography. Paul is also accomplished in floral and animal photography, digital artistic painting, compositing, and sports photography. He enjoys critiquing and editing photographic images, competing in and judging photographic contests, and teaching.
Paul developed a passion for photography as a Cub Scout. He then learned and studied forensic photography during his dental residency and pediatric dental practice. Using the same camera equipment, he advanced to nature and macrophotography and taking pictures of his growing family. Paul created a darkroom in 1970. He learned to load his own film, develop and print. His mentors were certified professional hospital photographers. There was no Internet. He learned through trial and error, at the University of Hard Knocks, reading literature, asking questions of photographers at the photo store, and two all day programs with Nikon. He continues to learn and apply the science and art of photography daily. Paul has no secrets and is both objective and subjective when critiquing his own work and that of others.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, September 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.,
September’s planned presentations:
- “Using PhotoPills and/or Photographers’ Ephemeris for Planning” – Frank Gallagher
- “New Changes to Competition Levels” – Sherm Edwards
- “Sports Photography – Maryland Senior Olympics” – Pete Morton & Dennis Freeman
- “Intro to New Critique Meetings with Demo of your Images” – Pete Morton
Image Critiques (for “Intro to Critique Meetings,” above):
Send up to 2 images you would like to have critiqued. Please answer some questions about what you want to gain from the critique – see link button below. (We return to image sharing in October.)
SEPTEMBER FIELD TRIP – EASTERN NECK WILDLIFE REFUGE
Saturday September 14, 2024, 9.30 a.m. (it’s a 2-hour drive from Silver Spring.)
Leader: Phil Boyer 301-204-5549
Where: Kent Island off Rte 50; meet at Visitor Contact Station https://www.fws.gov/refuge/eastern-neck
To Photograph: 250 species of birds, slower animals, and nature scenes
Carpool? Call Trip Leader at 301 204-55449, or email at philboyer60@gmail.com.
DIRECTIONS: Take beltway to Rte 50 West, cross bridge and follow your GPS. It’s complicated.
Lunch: Waterman’s Crab House, 21055 W Sharp St, Rock Hall, MD
Bring: Good walking shoes (preferably waterproof), tripod/monopod, binoculars. Recommend hat and bug spray; this is mostly marshes. Look for details in an e-mail blast or Meetup announcement.
CLUB NEWS
JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY
HANDBOOK 2024-2025
The club handbook is now an online publication with all the useful links that you need.
MEMBERSHIP
A new year of photography is coming soon, and membership wants to help you prepare for all that awaits us.
Our 2024-2025 season starts September 5th with speaker night. Frank Gallagher is busy contacting speakers and judges for our meetings. The Photo Forum team will educate and entertain us with a variety of topics on the third Thursday of each month. The club is planning a new and exciting Feedback Session (critique) as part of our Photo Forum. Phil Boyer is planning field trips that present photographic opportunities. Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman continue to produce the very informative Cable Release, which can be found on the Silver Spring Camera Club website https://www.ssccphotography.org/ (see NEWSLETTERS at top of the page).
We welcome you to grow your photography skills and friendships by joining our meetings and committees. If interested in helping, we are happy to connect you with the committee chairs who will explain a bit more about their responsibilities. This is an excellent way to become part of the inner workings of our club.
We continue to meet virtually for most meetings, with one in-person meeting a month on the second Tuesday. Meetings will be held at Northwood Presbyterian Church (https://www.northwoodchurch.com/).
Current yearly membership dues are $50 for individuals, $35 for students, and $80 for families. Dues must be paid no later than the 2nd Thursday in September before entering any SSCC competition. The online application https://www.ssccphotography.org/online-membership-form/ can be used to help you renew.
We look forward to seeing the world through your lens.
Lisa Auerbach, Marc Auerbach, Membership Chairs
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE
Anyone who is a member of SSCC is automatically a member of Maryland Photography Alliance. There are several new opportunities approaching for MPA members. I hope you will take a moment to read about them at Maryland Photography Alliance (mdphotoalliance.org).
MPA’s 8th Annual Photo Contest
Get ready to submit up to four images in this year’s exciting contest starting September 15. Themes include Abandoned, Minimalism, Birds, and Shadows or Silhouettes. https://contest.mdphotoalliance.org/contest/details/rid/6/
Additionally, MPA sponsors the Artist Spotlight, podcasts, webinars, and Maryland Masters. MPA also sponsors a grant program to help members attend workshops. Information for all these things can be found on the MPA web site.
Lisa Auerbach, MPA Representative
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Photographic Society of America (PSA), founded in 1934, is a worldwide organization providing abundant resources for photographers, from the novice to the professional. PSA offers online learning, webinars, study groups, competitions, mentors, and consultants. Membership is in over 80 countries, 5,000 members, 460 Camera Clubs, and 11 Chapters across the United States. The Silver Spring Camera Club has been a member of the PSA since our club was founded in 1950. Our club also has many individual PSA members.
A tremendous number of resources are available to individual PSA members. These include:
- Online courses (i.e., Street Photography, History of Photography, Introduction to Photoshop, Portrait Photography, Image Evaluation, Still Life Photography),
- Evaluation of your images by expert photographers,
- Personal mentors for a wide variety of photography topics (e.g., Black & White, Macro, Portrait, Cell Phone, Visual Storytelling),
- Over 100 study groups on different aspects of photography,
- Competitions (PSA and International competitions),
- Photographic travel opportunities and guidance,
- Monthly PSA Journal,
- Annual Festivals in picturesque locations with tours available (this year the festival is in Tucson, Arizona),
- And much, much more!
People who want to advance their photographic skills are encouraged to investigate the PSA. You will find that the members are friendly, welcoming, and eager to discuss all aspects of photography. The PSA website is https://psa-photo.org/. All of the resources mentioned above are included in the cost of membership. Annual cost is $45/year for digital membership or $65/year for a membership that includes a printed copy of the monthly PSA Journal.
Pete Morton, PSA Representative
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last met in August. The next meeting will be September 26th. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
FEATURES
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.
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
Registration opens April 1, 2024. Get more information here.
MEMBER ARTICLES
COMPETITION RESULTS
To see results from the May Monochrome competition and the End of Year competition, see the July Cable Release here.
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
An occasional column 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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