SILVER SPRING CAMERA CLUB
KEY INFORMATION
The Silver Spring Camera Club (SSCC) comprises a diverse group of individuals passionately dedicated to the pursuit of photographic excellence. We believe the best method of understanding the art of photography is through education and the sharing of ideas. For over 60 years SSCC has maintained a high standard of integrity and quality. Our reputation as the friendliest club in the metropolitan area is the basis of our success. We welcome new members of all ages and skill levels who share our interest in photography.
Meetings
The club meets on the first three Thursday nights of each month from September through May of each year, and conducts a board meeting (open to all members) on the fourth Thursday. Exceptions are made for key holidays, weather-related closures, and conflicts precluding our use of the meeting location. All regular meetings are held at Silver Spring United Methodist Church, 8900 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. We meet in the Fellowship Hall. An annual banquet is held at a local venue in mid-June.
Speaker Meetings
Guest speaker meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month from 7:30-9:30 p.m. A speaker, usually either a professional photographer or renowned amateur, will deliver an illustrated talk on some aspect of photography.
Competitions
Competitions are held on the second Thursday of each month from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Depending on the number of images to be judged, competitions may end later. Independent experienced judges are arranged, and the entries are judged blindly. Images may be entered in Advanced or Novice classes, in categories of Print or Projected (digital) images. Competition themes vary from month to month.
A Closer Focus Meetings
The third Thursday meetings, named “A Closer Focus”, are interactive, and pursue photographic topics at a greater depth than the other meetings do. These meetings include “hands on” workshops in photographic techniques conducted by advanced SSCC members. The meetings include informal “salon” type forums for members to bring and discuss their work. The meetings also include educational topics, and can include “how to” presentations, book reviews, and more. Meetings are held from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Board Meetings
The fourth Thursdays of each month are Board Meetings. The agenda is circulated before the meeting, and all members are welcome to come and contribute. As with the other meetings, we begin at 7:30 p.m.
Field Trips
At least one field trip is held every month, usually on a Saturday (or sometimes on a Sunday or a Monday holiday), during the club year. Most trips are to sites in and around the Washington, DC, area, although we occasionally visit locations in Baltimore, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Please check the Cable Release newsletter or the SSCC website (www.ssccphotography.org), or contact the Field Trip chairperson (Phil Boyer) for more information.
History
The Silver Spring Camera Club began in the fall of 1950 when about 50 people attended an open meeting for anyone interested in forming a camera club. The stated purpose of the Club was “to provide an opportunity for people with a mutual interest in photography to share their experiences and common knowledge.” The charter membership was about 60. Twenty-one years later in 1971 the membership stood at 150, and new applicants were placed on a waiting list.
Over the years the Club had held its regular meetings in a camera store, various community center clubrooms, a recreation center, a high school, and several libraries. It usually had two meetings a month. Up until 1975, there were only two categories for the competitions: color slides and monochrome prints. In 1976, four print meetings included a color print competition. By 1983, every print competition included color prints for both novice and advanced classes. The slide competitions have remained basically the same, except that the number of allowed slide entries was reduced from three to two in 1982 due to the large number of entries. In 2008 the slide category was changed to digital projected. The Club recently reviewed its competition rules, and beginning in 2014-15, there are two categories for each competition: Projected (digital images) and Prints. Members can enter up to two images (monochrome or color, unless otherwise specified in the month’s competition topic) in each category.
The original “workshops” consisted of short 15-minute presentations given by members at the beginning of each main meeting “to provide an exchange of information and first-hand experience on photographic techniques and materials.” (The name was changed to “short-shorts” in 1970; and then to “mini-workshops.”) In the mid-1960s “study groups” met monthly, first for color slides and later for monochrome prints. These were joined by the New Directions Workshop in 1981, and a few years later by the Composition and Presentation Workshop. Also in the 1980s, there was a View Camera Group, a Creative Workshop, and two one-year workshops on the Fine Print and Retouching. In the 1990s, we added a workshop on Computer Imaging. We currently conduct workshops, along with education and photo sharing, under our “A Closer Focus” meetings.
From the very beginning, SSCC was a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA). This provided an opportunity for members to exhibit their work in the Print and Slide Circuits in the U.S. and around the world. Through the years, SSCC has arranged exhibits of members’ work in a variety of locations throughout the Washington, DC area. Club members have also participated in the competitions sponsored by Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs and the Council of Maryland Camera Clubs.
The Club’s newsletter, the Cable Release, began publication in October 1961 as a mimeographed newsletter with hand-drawn illustrations, which was mailed to members for 4¢. Later issues contained black-and-white photographs, and two 1979 issues feature front-page color Xerox reproductions from slides. The Cable Release has earned several awards from the Photographic Society of America for its quality and service to members. The first mention of the use of a computer was by editor Art Drucker, who used his trusty Commodore from 1984 to 1987. Over the years, the Cable Release has provided club news, photo-related articles, and members’ opinions on a variety of topics. The archive of past newsletters, which is in the care of our club historian, chronicles the history of a dynamic organization that, with the active input of its members, has been constantly evolving for more than half a century. In the 2016/17 program year the Cable Release became a web-based newsletter with links to articles and other web pages. There is an index of articles from the past several years in this edition.
PSA
The Photographic Society of America (PSA) is a worldwide organization for anyone interested in photography. The society includes casual shutterbugs, serious amateurs, and professional photographers.
Founded in 1934, PSA has members in over 70 countries. Individual, Club, and Council memberships offer a wide variety of services and activities: a monthly magazine; online photo galleries, image evaluation, study groups, and courses; competitions; an annual conference; recognition; and discounts on photography related products and services.
The Silver Spring Camera Club has been a member club of the PSA since the club was founded in 1950. For information regarding the benefits of a PSA individual membership and for PSA sponsored activities, please contact our club PSA Representative or visit www.psa-photo.org.