There is a continuing problem with writing the necessary information on the back of prints; it can be rather chaotic. Attached is a label template that can be printed on Avery Label 5164, or just on plain paper & taped to the back of a print. I encourage all of you to start using this template, as it helps make the competition process more efficient. I hope this will bring some order to labeling prints for competitions!

Also, please have all your prints logged in by 7:25. If you are unavoidably late, make sure you see me so your prints can be properly logged in.

–Doug Wolters
(Competition Chair)

As this issue of the Cable Release is being prepared, our speaker, Cameron Davidson, is on assignment in Brazil. He suggested that the bio on his web site (www.camerondavidson.com) would be the best way to introduce him to SSCC, so we have reproduced it in this column. Cameron will speak principally about his adventurous life as an aerial photographer. Meanwhile, you may want to examine one of his books: Chesapeake, available through Amazon and featured on his own site. He describes it as a “two-decade labor-of-love shooting aerial photographs of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed from the headwaters in Cooperstown, New York to the mouth of the Chesapeake at Virginia Beach.”

THE BIO
First Light: Miami
Ancestry: Father (Scottish); Mother (French, Alsace-Lorraine)
First photograph published 1973: Jim Lasowski clearing the hurdles at a Grass Lake High School track meet for the Grass Lake News.
Education: Corcoran School of Art + Nova
Best view in the world is from the rear cabin of a turbine helicopter.
October 2012: United States Postal Services issues an all aerial series of stamps titled, Earthscapes. My aerial of Blackwater Refuge is one of 15.
Seventeen NGO shoots in Haiti since 1999.
Ten day circumnavigation of the world for Heinz.
All aerials.
So far: 49 states, 6 Canadian provinces, 2
Mexican states plus 23 other countries.
Hawaii is still on my hit list.
Six books published.
First Camera purchased with money earned while working at a campground in the Florida Keys. It was a Kowaflex SE. I should have gone for the Rollei TLR.
Love working with a team dedicated to a vision.

Greg Holden will be leading a field trip to the abandoned silk mill in Lonaconing, Md (outside of Cumberland). The mill is privately owned and protected and still contains all the machinery, tools, and personal effects from when it was shut down in 1957. There is lots to explore in this 3 story factory–check out Greg’s photos from his past visits. Our club will have exclusive access from 1-5pm. We will carpool from our usual location at the Giant Food parking lot off Flower Ave and Arliss Street in Takoma Park at 8 am and stop in Cumberland for lunch before heading to the mill. Cost is $25/hour per person but I recommend you stay the complete 4 hours. To avoid running into each other, we will limit this trip to 12 people. Email Greg to register or if you have questions: gholden[ at] imagesunderfoot.com

Category: Open

If you’ve attended the Nature Visions Expo in the last couple of years, you’ve seen Sandi Croan and her award-winning photographs. In Northern Virginia circles, Sandi’s well known for landscape, nature, and travel photography, with an eye for capturing the unique and for creating fine art for homes and offices.

As an independent photographer, Sandi has won numerous competitions and awards, including Photographer of the Year and Print of the Year by the Northern Virginia Photographic Society. She’s also won Best In Show and Second Place at the juried Meadowlark Photo Expo in Vienna. Her images have been selected to be put on permanent display at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens and the Joseph Miller Center for the Photographic Arts. Sandi has been juried into numerous art shows including the VisArts exhibitions in Rockville, the Fairfax County Council of the Arts Show, and The Fraser Gallery International Photography Exhibition.

Sandi was a featured artist in Elan magazine, and her photograph “Blue Lagoon” appeared on the cover. She has also had other photographs published in local and national magazines. Sandi has sold many of her photographs to private, corporate, and government clients, and she does exhibits for businesses and special local events. She also displays her work at public and private venues such as civic centers and restaurants.

Since 2004, Sandi has been an active member of the Northern Virginia Photographic Society, serving on numerous board positions. She held the title of president of NVPS for two terms, from 2009-2011. Sandi speaks and judges frequently for metro area camera clubs and other exhibitions.

Sandi’s website

Our speaker this month is familiar to all SSCC members: Dave Powell, who now runs the Members’ Open Forum on 4th Thursdays. And what a resource he is for SSCC! Dave joined SSCC a couple of years ago as one way to give back to the profession that’s been sustaining him for 50 years. Few of us, however, are familiar with Dave’s background, so we’ve asked him to kick off the new year by talking about his experiences, emphasizing his primary area of interest – lighting and light.
In his decades as a professional photographer, Dave has used a wide range of photo gear, lighting equipment, and film and video equipment. He has shot on assignment in all 48 contiguous states and has photographed in many locations overseas. While now somewhat retired, Dave continues to do limited assignment work for clients.

Dave has used various media to tell stories that illustrate and bring to life the high impact, high visibility, high pressure, and fast moving worlds of business, schools, museums, and government. He helps his clients refine, clarify, and heighten their messages so they can increase sales, boost fund-raising, or educate. Surprising to us, perhaps, is the fact that Dave is far more than a very successful commercial photographer. He’s an award-winning film and documentary maker and the creator and producer of video and multi-screen slide shows. He’s written and edited scripts. He’s served as advisor on AV equipment and graphic software packages. He’s also a web designer and a one-on-one executive coach for public speaking and presentations.

Here an example of a typical assignment for Dave: He created and produced two complex, multiimage, multi-screen slide shows for National Gallery exhibitions, which were used to give historical and thematic perspectives. In another example, Dave created an anti-smoking film commissioned by the government aimed at students – for which he won an Emmy Award. Since 1990, Dave has been the owner of David W. Powell Communications. Earlier, he held the responsibilities of partner in several communications media firms after serving as a producer/director at WETA and Voice of America. Dave’s client list fills pages; outstanding assignments have come from the World Bank, the CIA, University of Maryland, AT&T, British Airways, GEICO, Exxon Corporation, Hillwood Museum, Georgetown University, and the Egyptian government.

In his own education, Dave received his BA in Radio, Television, and Film Production at the University of Maryland, with an emphasis on public speaking and music. He also plays a mean saxophone.