Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!
Maurice Belanger and Sherm Edwards, 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.
- February 5 – Speaker Night (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
- February 12 – Competition: Night Photography (7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Presbyterian Church, formerly Northwood Presbyterian Church)
- February 19 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
- February 21 – Field Trip: National Building Museum and Capital Jewish Museum
- February 26 – Board Meeting
2025-2026 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:
Officers and Committee Chairs
More information is available in the Silver Spring Camera Club (SSCC) Member Handbook: SSCC-Member-Handbook.
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 February 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY February 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
For the 2025-2026 club year, the second Thursday meeting of each month will be in person, at Christ the King Presbyterian Church, formerly Northwood Presbyterian Church. The address is 1200 University Blvd. West, Silver Spring. Other meetings will be on Zoom, except for Feedback sessions on the fifth Thursdays of October and April. The second Thursday 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.
FIELD TRIPS
The Silver Spring Camera Club offers free field trips for our members and their guests. Field trips are typically scheduled on a Saturday, Sunday or a Monday holiday during the club season, and sometimes during the summer as well. Most trips are to locations in and around the DMV. For further details about specific field trips, consult the current Cable Release newsletter, the SSCC website at https://www.ssccphotography.org, or the SSCC Facebook Group Page.
SPEAKER NIGHT –Mike Wardynski — Composition
Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
With a profound connection to the natural world, Mike Wardynski creates imagery that draws the viewer closer to their roots. His immersive wildlife and equine photographs have placed him at the forefront of contemporary nature photography, captivating collectors with their striking intimacy and refined minimalism.
Wardynski’s work has been featured in leading publications such as Design Milk and Focus on the Story. Beyond his artistry, he is a dedicated photography instructor, known for his laid back approachability and capacity to guide photographers with technical mastery.
With more than two decades of experience, Wardynski has honed his craft in both photography and printmaking. Today, his large-scale fine art prints are collected worldwide and showcased at many of the nation’s most prestigious art shows and exhibitions.
Driven by patience and precision, Wardynski often goes to extraordinary lengths to capture a single moment. This dedication is evident in his large-format works, where every detail invites the viewer into a profound encounter with the natural world, bringing its beauty, stillness, and revitalizing energy into the spaces in which they are hung.
COMPETITION COLUMN
Our February topic is Night Photography:
Any photography taken during the night – after dusk and before dawn. The photo needs to show evidence of having been taken at night. Any lighting can be used or shown.
Projected Portion of Competition
Members may submit up to two images meeting this 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 day of the month’s Speaker Night.
Remember:
- Send projected image 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 Competition Rules and Awards for information on the three levels); capitalization not required.
- Maker’s Name: spaces allowed. Please use the same name throughout the year to aid record keeping.
Print Portion of Competition
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.
The Club changed the competition levels starting in September 2024. The new levels are Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. 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.
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- March – Open
- April – SSCC FIeld Trips
- May – Monochrome
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
FEBRUARY COMPETITION JUDGE: Mark Nelson — Night Photography
February 12, 2026, 7:30 p.m., at Christ the King Presbyterian Church
Avid amateur since high school. Photography was a great outlet during the stress of graduate school, and a regular companion on my travels for work and pleasure over the last 40 years. Actively supporting our passion as officer of Tidewater Camera Club the last 5 years.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, February 19, 2026, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. (on Zoom)
January’s planned discussions and presentations:
- Critiques and Image Sharing – Members may send up to 2 images to share and receive critiques, if they want. This month’s theme is Open.
- Presentation: “The Gear You Want and Need – Tripod Heads and Travel Tripods” – Dennis Freeman
- Presentation: “Dramatic Improvements to Your Photographs Through Masking” – Pete Morton
- Open Discussion: What’s on your mind, photographically? Also, thoughts about the SSCC Acorn logo.
We are soliciting presenters. Contact Dennis ( dennisfreeman4510@msn.com ) if you’d like to present something!
FEBRUARY FIELD TRIP
This month we get a twofer — two locations with lunch in between.
Leader: Gerry Woods
Location One: National Building Museum
When: Saturday, February 21, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Where: 401 F Street NW, Washington.
Meet Up: Inside the main F Street museum entrance near the Great Hall. The entrance is directly across the street from the F Street exit of the Judiciary Square Metro stop.
To Photograph: Architecture & Historic Building.
The rules:
- Tickets: Not required for the Great Hall and Gift Shop. (Optional) tickets for all exhibitions are $10 for adults, $7 for 60+.
- Bring: An appropriate camera and lens for vast interior shots. This venue is well suited for cell phone photography.
- Prohibited Items: The National Building Museum follows the Smithsonian guidelines, which forbid tripods, monopods, and selfie sticks.
For more information about the National Building Museum and its history, go to the website.
Lunch: Clydes of Gallery Place, 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. The address is 707 7th Street NW.
Location Two: Capital Jewish Museum
When: Saturday, February 21, starting at 1:00 p.m.
Where: 575 3rd Street, N.W. Washington. Meet up inside the main entrance at the visitor check-in desk.
To Photograph: Historic building, museum exhibits and architecture.
Click here for more information on the Capital Jewish Museum.
Share your images from the trip: With the SSCC Facebook Group, on Meetup, and/or send to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org for inclusion in the next month’s Cable Release.
CLUB NEWS
TREASURER NEWS
Our esteemed treasurer, Bruce Schaefer, is relocating later this year, so we need one or more volunteers to help manage Club finances. If you are interested, contact Club President Catherine Honigsberg, president@ssccphotography.org.
Also, a heads up that we plan to give up our post office box as a cost-cutting measure. Starting next year, we will generally not accept dues payments through the mail.
HELP US DEVELOP A NEW LOGO
JANUARY FIELD TRIP: National Gallery of Art
Owen Epstein led the club’s January field trip to the National Gallery of Art. There were nine club members who attended this field trip. Below are some of the images that were submitted by attendees.
Tanya Riseman’s submission was a gif, and she explains how to make one:
One can make a gif like this using PowerPoint or Keynote. Just select GIF when exporting. I made mine in Keynote, where I first set the background slide color to no-fill. Then the GIF automatically comes out with the aspect ratio of the images, not the slide presentation’s. No cropping needed.
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE
by Lisa Auerbach
I have recently been asked, so want to assure you that as a member of SSCC, you are automatically a member of MPA.
Several exciting events hosted by MPA are presented in the upcoming months. We hope that you take advantage of them. You will find more in-depth information on the MPA Website.
- Artist Spotlight – The Podcast – In Episode 55, Mitch Stringer welcomes Hanoi, Vietnam-based editorial and commercial photographer, educator, and YouTube host Justin Mott to the podcast. Justin’s storytelling images and videos have long been seen on the pages of The New York Times and other leading editorial entities. His commercial work spans various brands including Leica, Restoration Hardware, Nike, IHG Resorts to name a few. You can check out Justin’s work online at JustinMott.com, on Instagram @askMott and his commercial work online at mottvisuals.com.
- Artist Spotlight – The Webinar – The next event will be on February 16, “Pixels to Paint, Elevating Your Photos with the Mixer Brush with Julie Powell.” Discover how to breathe new life into your photos by blending the worlds of photography and digital painting. This presentation explores the Mixer Brush in Photoshop — what it is, how it works, and how to use it to create painterly images. Learn how to transform your photography into expressive digital art.
- Maryland Masters offers web-based educational opportunities by Maryland based speakers and raises money for many Marylanders.
Please take time to visit the website for more information about MPA. If you have questions, contact membership@ssccphotography.org.
UPDATED INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESIZING AND RENAMING IMAGES ON A MAC WITHOUT USING LIGHTROOM
Tanya Riseman has updated the instructions originally written by David Terao for Mac users who want to prepare images for Club (projected) competitions without using Lightroom. You will find these instructions here.
HOW TO RESIZE AND RENAME IMAGES WITHOUT USING YOUR COMPUTER
When you submit a digital image for Camera Club competition, there are rules governing size of the image. A landscape image can be a maximum 1920 pixels wide. A portrait can be a maximum of 1440 pixels in height. The file size maximum is 1000 KB. Club members using their cameras will import images on to their computer from their camera’s SD card, and use Lightroom, Photoshop, or their Mac’s native app, Preview to change the dimensions and file size.
But if you are taking images with your phone, you can skip the computer import step and resize and rename your image on the phone, using the mobile version of Adobe Lightroom. In an article recently published on the club’s website, Tanya Riseman used a series of screenshot showing how to do this. Lightroom Mobile is available for iPhones and Android phones. Go to our website for “Phone Tip: Resize and Rename Images Using Lightroom Mobile”
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last met on January 29, 2025. The date for the next meeting via Zoom will be February 26. Normally the Board meets on the 4th Thursday of the month. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
FEATURES
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
Tripod Hack
By Tanya Riseman
I get really frustrated when my tripod plate keeps loosening up and letting the camera rotate when I try adjusting angles. My hack to fix this is placing a paper hole reinforcement sticker on the flat part of the plate screw. (It’s already dirty in the photo. ) The sticker is like a cross between a very thin washer and having increased the friction by roughing up the surface. You could cut out an annulus from another sticker if you don’t have hole reinforcers. The result is that the screw has a very solid hold on the plate and the camera.
Virtual Conference for Photoshop Beginners
By Tanya Riseman and Maurice Belanger
Since 2020, Dave Cross has been organizing online conferences for Lightroom and Photoshop education that he calls “Virtual Summits.” These summits are like conferences in that they are multi-day events with sessions throughout the day. Except all of the sessions are pre-recorded. One class is released each hour during the course of the week-long event. For each summit, there are classes for all skill levels. You may take the classes for free, but non-paying attendees must watch a class within 48 hours of its release. If you purchase a “VIP” pass, you have unlimited access to all of the classes with no time limit.
By popular demand, Dave has organized a summit on photoshop geared to beginners — “Photoshop Virtual Summit: Foundations.” There are a lot of sessions offered; you can pick and choose. As with all of the Virtual Summits, you do not have to watch a class right away when it becomes live at its scheduled time. You can get a free pass (giving you 48 hours to view the class) and then upgrade if you want. Here are the details, from the organizer:
The Photoshop Virtual Summit: Foundations, February 23 – 27, 2026. For five days, you’ll learn from 16 of the world’s top Photoshop educators—a dream team of best-selling authors, Adobe MAX Masters, Adobe Certified Instructors, and Photoshop Hall of Famers. Each carefully planned introductory-level class brings you expert-led sessions designed to simplify Photoshop, demystify tools, and help you build the confidence to create with ease.
This isn’t theory or fluff—our instructors will be delivering practical, real-world techniques you can start using immediately in your own projects.
And the best part? There are two ways to join in:
- Free Pass – Try before you buy with limited time access.
- VIP Pass – Get lifetime access, plus exclusive bonuses for just $99 during our Early Bird Sale.
Website: https://www.pvsfoundations.com/home
Schedule: https://www.pvsfoundations.com/theschedule
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 February 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY February 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
COMPETITION RESULTS
OPEN – January 15, 2025
January’s competition was “Open” for projected and print images. James Corbett was our judge. 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 (excluding nudes), created using any photographic or post-processing methods or techniques, are acceptable. However, all “significant components” of the image must be taken by the photographer and not AI generated. 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.
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, Intermediate, and Novice levels. For the January competition, in the Projected category, Novice and Intermediate were combined due to insufficient entries, and first, second, and third place were awarded, with no honorable mentions. In the Print category, all categories were combined due to insufficient entries, and only first and second place were awarded.
Editor’s Note: The image display plug-in that we normally use to create galleries for the competition winners received an update in December, and bugs in the new version made it unusable. You’ll notice the images and write-ups for the competition winners are displayed differently than in past issues. We hope problems with the plug-in will be resolved for future issues.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
1st Place: Karen Finkelman ~ Docent and His Shadow
While visiting the Peggy Guggenheim museum in Venice, Italy, I noticed this docent in one of the museum’s galleries. His position by the window, the backlight and the way his shadow extended into the space immediately drew me in. I felt like it was the perfect combination of shadow, light, geometry and stillness.
2nd Place: Sherm Edwards ~ In Flight
Merlin says these are Northern Shovelers, although I’m not convinced. Image taken at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge this past fall, in early morning sun. What was most striking about this image for me when reviewing the day’s shoot was that none of the birds overlap, a rare occurrence in my experience. I also liked the blues, browns, and shadows in the water.
3rd Place: Larry Gold ~View from Roosevelt Island
Honorable Mention: Beth Koller ~ Focused
Being a kayaker, I know what routes and moves are likely to end up in a good run or a carnage run. Also each paddler has particular expressions that might make an image interesting or movements that make subsequent movements more predictable. This paddler has enough hip thrush so that he will go over the deepest part of the hydraulic at the base of the drop and not be recirculated and has enough angle so that his face is visible and so that he will not be shoved into the river left rock wall undercut just downstream. The color of his paddling gear also was pleasing.
Honorable Mention: Wendy Kates ~ DC Rowhouses in Motion
These colorful row houses were photographed in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington. I used intentional camera movement and multiple exposure to create the final image: one image consisted of a horizontal movement and one image consisted of a vertical movement, both at 1/5 of a second. My Canon R6 II combined them in Dark Mode, emphasizing the darker pixels in the images. I enhanced the colors in Photoshop.
NOVICE AND INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED
1st Place: Owen Epstein ~ Heron on Ice
Captured in mid-December 2025 at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia, this image celebrates the quiet stoicism of local wildlife. Known for its vibrant marshlands and diverse inhabitants, Huntley Meadows is a frequent haunt of mine. This particular shot required minimal editing or cropping; I wanted to preserve the natural framing of the woodland as it appeared in the field, keeping the bird perfectly centered in its environment.
2nd Place: Diane Sanders~ Glowing Lotus
This lotus was blooming in one of the ponds at Kenilworth Gardens during our camera club visit. The reflections on the leaves and water, and the contrast between light and shade, made editing difficult. I had to extensively crop and mask to isolate the single bloom. Editing was done in Lightroom, Photoshop and Nik Silver efex pro.
3rd Place: Kent Morris ~ Bukhara Madrassa
The photo Bukhara Madrassa is an entryway to the inner courtyard of a historic Islamic madrassa (school) in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Bukhara is one of the ancient cities on the Silk Road. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan has restored many of the ancient buildings in Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva, and other cities. Canon EOS 5D mk iv, 38mm, f/ 19, 1/90 sec, ISO 200.
NOVICE, PROJECTED, ADVANCED PRINT COMBINED
1st Place: Beth Koller ~ Every Which Way
Although I have used wide angle lenses for landscapes, I have not used them for architecture. When visiting a D.C. library, I started with a full frame 28-300 lens looking up and down single floors of a stairwell and looking up multiple floors in the stairwell. I worked on maximizing depth of field. I shot free hand bracing myself and with a tripod. Eventually I switched to an even wider lens, 10-24 mm (APS DX sensor) and moved to higher floors. These two things helped me capture the depth of the stairwell in a rather abstract way. Because of the height of the railing, if you are height challenged, consider using a foldable stepstool and/or a camera’s articulated screen.
2nd Place: Beth Koller ~ Painterly Paint Brushes
Plaza Art (and Michael’s) are sources of background papers and little things to photograph. The brush handles were already brightly colored—something different that could be exploited. I tried several arrangements before settling on this one. The reflections of the adjacent brush handle onto the metal ferrule added some depth and intrigue. I used a black paper background with even bilateral side lighting (desk lamps with goosenecks will do if you can adjust color balance and any flicker), but paper is not flat. It has little nubbles that create light and dark areas. Because of the subject matter and the background, I employed the oil painting filter under Stylize in Photoshop. One application was good, two were better, and three were just right.
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
by Karen Finkelman
For a list of current museum and gallery exhibits, and a list of photogenic events taking place in the area in the coming weeks, click on the button below.
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
© 2026 Silver Spring Camera Club and its contributors.
Copyright Notice, Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and External Link Disclaimer