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.
- January 8 – Speaker Night: (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
- January 11 – Field Trip: National Gallery of Art, East Wing (10:00 a.m.)
- January 15 – Competition: Open (7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Presbyterian Church, formerly Northwood Presbyterian Church)
- January 22 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
- January 29 – 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 January 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY January 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. (In January, the schedule shifts back one week, because the first Thursday is New Year’s Day.) 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 – Jenny Nordstrom — Travel Photography
Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
“A deep passion for color is at the very heart of my fine art photography. (My favorite color is all of them!) I am also hugely inspired by travel, and most of my best work happens overseas. However, I genuinely can be inspired by anything….a special door, a beautiful landscape, an abstraction, the curve of a road, or even a small detail. I am always looking for something authentic, and I firmly believe that even “ugly” can be fascinating and beautiful if you look at it the right way. I print most of my work on canvas, and as a result, my work often has a painterly feel. My favorite thing to do is to go to neighborhoods where there are no tourists and people think I’m lost. To me, this is magic! I can’t wait to discover the world with you.”
I am an extrovert, and love talking to people about art and travel! If you are inspired by what you see and live near Washington DC, please come visit me in Studio 338 at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia! Learn more at https://www.jennynordstromphotography.com/
COMPETITION COLUMN
Our January 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 (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.ading lines in photography are lines within an image that visually guide the viewer’s eye through the picture from one part to another. These lines can be curved, straight, diagonal, or converging, act as a path, directing attention and enhancing the overall composition.
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:
- February – Night Photography
- March – Open
- April – SSCC FIeld Trips
- May – Monochrome
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
January Competition Judge: James Corbett — Open
January 15 2026, 7:30 p.m., at Christ the King Presbyterian Church
James Corbett is recognized by the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) as a Master Photographer, Photographic Craftsman and Certified Professional Photographer, as well as an Associate and Photographic Fellow of the Maryland Professional Photographers Association (MDPPA). He has participated in photographic competitions at the local, state, district, and international levels every year since 2014. He is an active trip and workshop leader in the North Bethesda Camera Club (NBCC) and recipient of numerous awards in Maryland Photography Alliance contests. His works are regularly on display in gallery shows in the Washington, DC metro area and he sells his work at select art festivals. James has been published in several magazines including a feature page in the January 2023 issue of Professional Photographer. He serves as vice president of NBCC, president of the MDPPA, represents Maryland on PPA’s governing Council, and is a member of the American Society of Photographers and Photographic Society of America.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, January 22, 2026, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
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.
- Open Discussion: What’s on your mind, photographically?
- Presentation: “Resizing Images in Lightroom & Photoshop“ – Dennis Freeman
- Presentation: “Creating a Home Studio“ – Dennis Freeman
- Presentation: “Still Life Photography” – Pete Morton
- We are soliciting presenters. Contact Dennis ( dennisfreeman4510@msn.com ) if you’d like to present something!
JANUARY FIELD TRIP – National Gallery of Art (East Wing)
Leader: Owen Epstein
When: Sunday, January 11, 2026, 10:00 a.m.
Where: 4th Street and Constitution Ave NW, Washington.
Meet Up: Meet at the main entrance of the East Wing
To Photograph: Architecture.
General Visitor Photography:
- Permitted Equipment: Hand-held photography (with or without flash) is allowed for personal use in most permanent collection galleries.
- Prohibited Items: Tripods, monopods, and selfie sticks are strictly forbidden inside the gallery buildings to ensure visitor safety and protect the artwork.
- Restricted Areas: Photography may be prohibited in certain special exhibitions or for specific works of art where indicated by signage.
More Information: The East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is a masterpiece of modern architecture designed by the renowned architect I.M. Pei. Opened in 1978, it stands as a sharp, geometric contrast to the neoclassical West Building. Key architectural features include:
- The Triangular Motif: Because the building sits on a difficult, trapezoidal plot of land, Pei divided the site into two triangles: a large isosceles triangle for public galleries and a smaller right triangle for offices and research. This triangular theme is repeated everywhere—from the floor tiles to the skylights and the “knife-edge” corners of the exterior.
- Tennessee Pink Marble: To ensure the new building felt like a companion to the original West Building, Pei used the same pink marble from the same quarry in Tennessee.
- The Atrium: The heart of the building is a massive, light-filled central atrium. It is topped by a complex glass-and-steel space frame that floods the interior with natural light.
For more information, see this article.
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
DECEMBER FIELD TRIP: ZooLights
by Maurice Belanger
Four club members turned out for the field trip in December, at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, to capture the annual ZooLights festival. Now in its 17th year, ZooLights features a million LED lights on trees and other structures throughout the zoo, according to a Smithsonian press release about the event. There are more than 100 lanterns “depicting ocean, desert, grassland, rainforest and polar habitats and the animals that call them home.” The festival ran from November 21, and ends on January 3. Below are a few images from the group:
Tanya Riseman came to ZooLights with a flower-shaped bokeh filter attached to the front of the lens of her camera. Here is an image of the camera, with her explanation, and a couple of images shot at ZooLights.
Tanya later sent us the results of her experimentation with a holiday-themed filter, shot on the Beltway:
Here’s a short video I shot using a tree-shaped bokeh filter on my Sony RX10 camera. While a passenger in a car. On the beltway. It is fun to see how many colors different headlights have.
The Sony Rx10 camera was shot in manual mode using an equivalent focal length of 600mm; f 4.0; ISO 800; and exposure times 1/100 s (too bright), 1/250 s, and 1/320 s. Focusing was also in manual mode, where I defocus the headlights the amount needed to make the size of bokeh I wanted.
Here is the video:
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE
by Lisa Auerbach
The Silver Spring Camera Club is a member of the Maryland Photography Alliance (MPA). Members of the club are eligible to participate in MPA events at a discount (if there is a charge). We hope you take advantage of them. Several events hosted by MPA will be presented in the upcoming months. You will find more in-depth information on the MPA Website. Here are some recent and upcoming programs from MPA.
- Artist Spotlight – The Podcast: In the latest episode, Episode 53 published on December 15, Joe Subolefsky, Wildlife Photographer, and Mitch Stringer discuss how to choose your photographic destination, trip expectations, packing/gear tips and how to make the most of the experience. This episode is full of stories and insightful, useful information for those who enjoy getting outside and photographing wildlife and those curious about it. You can check out Joe’s work online at wildshutteradventures.com and on Instagram@joe_subolefsky
- Artist Spotlight – The Webinar: The next event on January 21 — “Intimate Flowers: Exploring Macro Photography” with Harold Davis — will delight your heart and mind with his intimate portraits of flowers. Along the way, he will share his tools and techniques for creating effective macro compositions. Harold is an artist, photographer, educator, and bestselling author. Seven of Harold’s floral images have been reproduced as USPS postage stamps.
- Workshops: MPA members receive a discount on workshops offered by MPA partners. Coming up on February 14-15 is a workshop offered by Liz Guertin, Winter Wings and Coastal Things, where you will photograph at the Jersey Shore and visit the New Jersey Pine Barrens for photography of birds and landscapes, among other things.
- 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.
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last met on October 28, 2025. The date for the next meeting via Zoom is to be announced. Normally the Board meets on the 4th Thursday of the month. The 4th Thursday in December was Christmas Day, so there was no meeting. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
FEATURES
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
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 January 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY January 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
COMPETITION RESULTS
LEADING LINES – December 11, 2025
December’s competition was “Leading Lines” for projected and print images. Roz Kleffman was our judge. Leading lines in photography are lines within an image that visually guide the viewer’s eye through the picture from one part to another. These lines can be curved, straight, diagonal, or converging, act as a path, directing attention and enhancing the overall composition.
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 December competition, there were insufficient entries in the Novice Print category, so Novice and Intermediate were combined.
Editor’s Note: The image display plug-in that we normally use to create galleries for the competition winners was upgraded 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 in this issue. We hope problems with the plug-in will be resolved for future issues.
ADVANCED PROJECTED
1st Place: Karen Finkelman ~ Ladder to Nowhere.
I captured this image while visiting the Art Gallery of Toronto. The ladder wasn’t an artwork on display, but I was drawn to it as I looked through a side window and noticed how it was framed by the museum’s walls. I chose to convert the photo to black and white, deepening the dark areas and brightening the light ones, bringing out the contrast and lines to give it a more graphic feel.
2nd Place: Kate Woodward ~ Museum Staircase
In this photograph I tried to capture the way the lighting interacted with the curves and the straight lines of the staircase to produce movement and to me a pleasing semi-abstract design of mystery. The staircase is part of a Gallo-Roman museum in Lyon, France.
3rd Place: Maude Svensson ~Outpost
I captured this on a gray, rainy afternoon last May in Chincoteague. The weather gave me everything I had hoped for – moody skies, dramatic contrasts and an eerie feeling. This boardwalk drew my eye immediately, its wet planks creating a long, slippery and unsafe walk toward that cheerful little cottage standing in solitude. I loved the juxtaposition: dark, threatening storm clouds overhead, weathered dark wooden rails gleaming with rain, and then that unexpected pop of sunny yellow and green at the end. The house seemed to be patiently waiting there, inviting any brave soul to make the walk out. I couldn’t help but wonder about whoever calls this remote outpost home.
Honorable Mention: Ilona Linnoila ~ Leading Lines in a Ballpark
I had just read the descriptions for future competition topics when I attended a very spirited home game of the Pittsburgh Pirates last June. This picture was taken at the time of a crew making fresh lines in the sand. Apple iPhone16 Pro Max Telephoto Camera -120 mm, f 2.8
Honorable Mention: Frank Gallagher ~ Off the Rails
During an Autumn trip to Colorado, the sun had been playing hide and seek all day. In between bouts of rain, snow and hail, we occasionally saw some patches of light hitting the trees and mountains. The Durango – Silverton Railroad train had just passed by when I turned around and saw this scene, demanding to be photographed.
INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED
1st Place: Will Rabinovich ~ Gorgeous View
This image was taken from under the New River Gorge Bridge. My wife and I booked a tour walking under the bridge from one end to the other. It had been raining heavily just before the tour, but the rain ended just as we began. Fog, from the rain, rose from the side of the gorge, and occasionally right onto us. Taken with a Sony A7r iv and a Tamron 20-40 lens. Processed in Lightroom.
2nd Place: Kay Carkhuff ~ Bridge Lines
3rd Place: Jim Riley ~ Museum Staircase
This staircase is in a music museum in Budapest. The entrance atrium is very modern and offers several interesting aspects for photography. I walked to the top of this staircase and took many shots while trying to capture the complete railing without getting my toes in the image. Distractions such as a vertical plastic guard and lights were always in the image and I needed to mitigate those as best as possible. The museum itself is a nice place to visit.
HM: Diane Sanders ~ Beached Crab
Every summer at the beach, when I walk the shoreline, I try to capture the patterns created by the receding tide. On this day, in addition to the usual shell fragments and jelly fish, I found a small stranded crab. Taken with an iPhone, and minimally edited in Lightroom.
NOVICE PROJECTED
1st Place: Kent Morris ~ Cavern Walkway
This photo was taken in a cavern near Safronbolu, Turkey. The cavern, itself, was unremarkable, but as I was departing, this section of the metal walkway presented this interesting scene. I took this photo with my Android phone. I thought it would have been nice to have a tripod and my big camera; however, my phone is what I had and it sufficed.
2nd Place: Kent Morris ~ Sunrise over Saceda
This image is a combination of five bracketed images taken just as the sun emerged over the mountains in the Italian Dolomites. I didn’t arrive at this location on my own, I was on a photography workshop and the organizers made sure we were at picturesque locations long before the sun rose and throughout the day.
ADVANCED PRINT
1st Place: Wendy Kates ~ In the Maze
This image was captured at the entryway of the Madison Building of the Library of Congress. I applied the “Twirl” filter in Photoshop to produce a spiral effect, in order to emphasize the center lines of the floor and ceiling of the entryway.
2nd Place: Beth Koller ~ Walk to the Light
This was taken at the National Gallery. Taking the image from the side enhanced the ray-like effect and making the crop tighter on the left resulted in an asymmetry that emphasized the light and the small size of the people. This image benefited from the passage of time. Topaz sharpening helped with the depth of field. Highlight and shadows in Photoshop helped with dynamic range. Photoshop content aware fill helped with some erratic lighting spots.
NOVICE AND INTERMEDIATE PRINTS (COMBINED)
1st Place: Will Rabinovich ~ Into the Woods
This image was taken on the Rohrbaugh Cliffs trail in the Dolly Sods area of West Virginia. My wife and I were hiking to the viewpoint along the (very slippery) trail. I was struck by the vibrant colors of the backlit Fall foliage and the very bright green moss on the rocks. Dolly Sods gets its name for a reason: it’s very wet. The photo was taken with a Sony A7riv and a Tamron 20-40 lens at 28mm and f/9. I processed it in Lightroom using basic global adjustments, and then masks to control the highlights and emphasize the path. It was printed with an Epson P800 printer on Red River Ultrapro Satin paper.
2nd Place: Thomas Allen ~ Day Destroys the Night
We love the beach because it merges our awe at the power of nature with a feeling of hope. In this shot, the clouds form the leading lines that draw us to the horizon and to the light. The title of the photo comes from the James Morrison song, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”. Here, the sun breaks on through, and we are drawn to the horizon with a sense of optimism on “the other side”. (iPhone 16 Pro, 2.2 mm lens, f2.2, 1/100 sec, ISO 64)
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
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