Silver Spring Camera Club

Pete Morton, Insta360 X5
http://www.mdphotoalliance.org

Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!

Tanya Riseman, Maurice Belanger, and Sherm Edwards, Editors, Cable Release, at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.

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.

  • July 12 – Field Trip – Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens (9:00 a.m.)
  • July 17 – Photo Forum
  • September 4 – Speaker Night
  • September 11 – Competition Night: Open
  • September 18 – Photo Forum
  • September 25 Board Meeting

2025-2026 Calendar

The coming club year calendar will be available through the September Cable Release. It will include 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-2023-2024. The 2024-2025 Handbook will be available in September.

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 August 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman at  cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.    

DEADLINE: BY August 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 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. Check the calendar for exact dates, as the schedule sometimes slides due to holidays.

SPEAKER NIGHT

Thursday, September 4, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.

Details will be in the September Cable Release.

COMPETITION COLUMN

The special topics for the 2025-2026 Club year are Leading Lines, Night Photography, and Images from SSCC FIeld trips. For all competitions, all “significant components” of the image must be taken by the photographer and not AI generated. Definitions for these and our reoccurring Open, Nature and Monochrome topics are as follows:

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.
September 11, November 13, January17, March 12

Nature Photography  – be sure you see no hand of man.
(date is slid one week due to Yom Kippur)
Acceptable entries are photographs that portray various aspects of natural plant and animal life; that illustrate the natural features of land, sea, and sky; or that reveal natural phenomena. No image in this competition may show human intervention (no hand of man). Domestic plants (e.g., in a botanical garden) or animals (including zoo animals) may be included as long as they do not show any human intervention (e.g., no collars or ear tags, gates, walls, paths, signage).
October 16, 2025   

Leading Lines
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.
December 11, 2025

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.
February 12, 2026  

Images from SSCC Field Trips
(date is slid a week due to Passover)
This month’s competition is open for any picture that was taken while on a SSCC field trip. There are no time restrictions on when submitted images were taken.
April 16, 2026

Monochrome
The term “Monochrome Photography” encompasses images that use only a single color, including the full array of shades of that color. So, for example, black and white photos, with black as the single color and its multiple shades of gray to white, are monochrome. Other single colors and their shades are equally acceptable. Under this definition, a sepia tone photo is acceptable, but a sepia tone photo containing a red umbrella would not qualify as a monochrome. Any subject matter is acceptable. In addition, a photo is acceptable if it was originally taken as a color image, as long as the image presented for the competition has been rendered into monochrome.
May 14, 2026

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.

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.)

JUDGE TBA – OPEN

Thursday, September 11, 2024, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Details will be in the September Cable Release.

PHOTO FORUM

Thursday, July 17, 2025, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

We start the evening with Photo Sharing. Send 1 or 2 of your images to share if you wish; this month’s theme is “Summer Images.”  Or whatever you want!

Presentations:  “360 Photography” – Gerry Woods. “Workshop Report: The Out of Chicago Conference in Great Smoky Mountain National Park“ – Will Rabinovich

Join us for discussion on topics including: What’s on your mind, photographically?  What are your summer photography plans? What did you especially enjoy in SSCC last year?

More about this Month’s Photo Forum

PHOTO FORUM

Thursday, September 18, 2024, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Details will be in the September Cable Release.

JULY 12 FIELD TRIP – KENILWORTH AQUATIC GARDENS

Leader:             Gerry Woods (202) 494-2131.

When:              Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 9 am.

Meet Up:           Meet in front of the Visitor’s Center.

Photograph:     Lotus flowers, water lilies, dragon flies, birds, frogs, bees and various water plants.

Tickets:            No entrance pass is required and admission is free.

Lunch:              TBD

RSVP:     Please RSVP to gerrywoodsdc@gmail.com

CLUB NEWS

YEAR-END AWARDS CEREMONY

Thursday, June 12, 2025

We held our Year-End Competition and Celebration on June 12 at Northwood Presbyterian Church. President Catherine Honigsberg gave the opening remarks, thanking members for their contributions throughout the past year. Thanks to Sherm Edwards, Tanya Riseman, and Pete Morton for the photos of the event below. See the list of award winners under Competition Results later in this page.

Tanya Riseman – Bandaid Editing

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More Year end celebration photos from Pete Morton:

A couple of months ago, Dennis and I (Pete Morton) were discussing Photo Forum with Gerry, and he mentioned that he might be interested in giving a presentation on 360 photography. He had recently acquired a new 360-degree camera called the Insta360 X5. Both Dennis and I were intrigued, and soon we each purchased our own X5s. The camera is not terribly expensive, but it has amazing technology built into it. We’ve had a great time experimenting. So far, I’ve only taken 360 photographs, but both Dennis and Gerry have made incredible videos. Delightfully, Lightroom/Camera Raw are already capable of editing these photos.

https://kuula.co/post/hHbVP

https://kuula.co/post/hHbVY

https://kuula.co/post/hHbCV

FIELD TRIP: SMITHSONIAN ZOO

Ilona Linnoila

SSCC had a field trip to the Smithsonian National Zoo on May 25, 2025.  We photographed the two new Giant Pandas “Bao Li” and “Qing Bao!”  We also visited the newly renovated “Bird House” which is near the Panda Exhibit.  After our field trip we went to Lillies Restaurant for a delicious brunch.
 

Gerry Woods

Gerry Woods
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FIELD TRIP: ABANDONED PENNSYLVANIA

Over the weekend of May 31-June1, three members of the club traveled to the Pittsburgh area to visit two abandoned sites — Yellow Dog Village, a town that formerly housed workers at a nearby limestone mine, and the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark, the remains of an iron mill that shuttered in 1984. Read More

Pennsylvania Field Trip

FIELD TRIP: RAWLINGS CONSERVATORY

Lisa Auerbauch

Nine SSCC members attended our field trip to the Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens in Baltimore on Saturday, June 21, 2025.  We had the pleasure of photographing a wide variety of flowers, plants, orchids and cactus plants.  After our visit to the Rawlings Conservatory, we went to Sabatino’s in Little Italy for a tasty lunch.

Gerry Woods took this 360 photo:

https://kuula.co/post/hMH9H

Gerry Woods

Gerry Woods
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Bruce Schaefer

Bruce Schaefer
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Gerry Woods
Bruce Schaefer

CLUB DUES

It’s that time of the year. Dues for the 2025-2026 club year are being accepted now through the end of September for returning members. New members are welcome to join anytime. Sign up online at https://www.ssccphotography.org/online-membership-form/. The dues are $50 for individuals, $80 per family, and students $35.

BOARD MEETING

The SSCC Board last met in May. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.

ELECTION RESULTS

ELECTED SLATE OF SSCC CANDIDATES FOR CLUB YEAR 2025–2026

The club has elected our leadership for the upcoming year running from July 2025 through June 2026. The following slate of candidates will hold the seven elected positions:

THE MPA 9TH ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST

Submissions will begin September 1 and end September 30, so you have time to prepare your entries.  See the Maryland Photography Alliance’s home page for details.

If you have questions, contact Lisa Auerbach at   membership@ssccphotography.org

FREE MPA WEBINARS AND PODCAST

Artist Spotlight – Maryland Masters – Tuesday, July 8 – 7:00 PM ET

Join MPA for a special evening when host Sandy Nichols introduces Joseph M. Giordano as MPA’s 6th Maryland Master. Learn about Joe’s journey to becoming an award-winning photojournalist who has been published in prestigious publications, displayed in numerous galleries, and named as Baltimore’s Best Photographer. You’ll hear the story of how Joe covered the collapse of the steel industry in Baltimore.

Artist Spotlight – The Podcast

Episode 42 – Join podcast host Mitch Stringer as he welcomes back wildlife photographer Marlon Du Toit. In this episode recorded while travelling together in Vietnam, Marlon and Mitch discuss the beauty of this incredible country. Marlon and Mitch also talk about how to prepare for travel and a photography focused trip. Starting July 1, stream or download this audio podcast at https://www.mdphotoalliance.org/artistspotlightpodcast. 

Artist Spotlight – The Webinar – Wednesday, July 23 – 7:00 PM ET

Photography is all about storytelling and professional photographer Wayde Carroll will use photography to explore the faces and lives of Native Alaskans, highlighting powerful portraits, subsistence traditions, and stories of resilience amid rapid modernization. Through intimate imagery and firsthand experiences, the talk offers a visual narrative of cultural strength, adaptation, and identity in Alaska’s remote communities.

FEATURES

CONFERENCES AND EXPOS

MEMBER ARTICLES

COMPETITION RESULTS

MONOCHROME COMPETITION – May 8

May’s competition was Monochrome for projected and print images. Bob Webber was our judge. 

Three categories were judged: Advanced Projected (i.e., digital images), Novice Projected, and Advanced Print. Due to insufficient submissions, there was no Novice Print category. There were no Beginner entries. 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 and Novice categories.     

ADVANCED PROJECTED

1st Place: Maude Svensson ~ Leaving the Underworld
2nd Place: Maude Svensson ~ Earth Man
3rd Place: Karen Finkleman ~ Waiting in the Shadows
HM: Sherm Edwards ~Immigrant Ghosts 2

1st Place ~ Maude Svensson ~ Leaving the Underworld

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Entering the subway in Stockholm is like an invitation to a surreal experience. The station in the photo is one of my favorites as it reminds me of the mystical and scary underworld I fantasized and dreamed about as a child. Nowadays I enjoy it also because of the sharp contrast of its raw rock walls and its shining metal of modern escalators. The rock walls are painted in saturated hues which make color photos very dramatic. But I chose to convert my image into high contrast Black and White to focus more on the aspect of surrealism. To strengthen that further, I played with lights and shadows in Photoshop to enhance the mystic and smoke-like texture of the rough rock walls, to increase the contrast between steel/stone, and to direct the eye of the viewer to the lone shopper (my husband) on his way up from the underworld.

INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED

1st Place: Ilona Linnoila ~ Water Faucet and a Wheel
2nd Place: Ilona Linnoila ~ Stopped by Snow Storm
3rd Place: Tanya Riseman ~ So Few Tourists at the Capital

1st Place ~ Ilona Linnoila ~ Water Faucet and a Wheel

1st Place ~ Ilona Linnoila ~ Water Faucet and a Wheel
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I took this picture while touring the old Verla factory, a World Heritage Site in Jaala, Finland. Verla was the first paper mill that started to make cardboard out of wood pulp instead of rags in the early 1900s. Among many big, old machines without any safety precautions I found this tranquil seen of a water faucet used in cooling down the wheel. Sony a7RIV with FE 70-200mm 4G OSS Sony lens at 70 mm; 1/10 sec; f 5.6; ISO 400.

NOVICE PROJECTED

1st Place: Maurice Belanger ~ Angry lake
2nd Place: Michele DvR ~ Wall Mosaic-1
3rd Place: Kent Morris ~ Sufi in Omdurman, Sudan

1st Place ~ Maurice Belanger ~ Angry Lake

1st Place ~ Maurice Belanger ~ Angry Lake
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I was vacationing with my wife and her family at a Lake Erie beach house. It was a windy day, and a band of dark clouds formed a couple of miles off shore. A number of funnel clouds — waterspouts — formed and dissipated along the front. This was the scariest-looking one. When the waterspout show was over (about a half-hour), the front moved ashore. “Fair weather” waterspouts such as this are not as destructive as tornados, but I was glad not to be sailing a boat through the middle of that funnel! I used a telephoto to isolate this funnel, and cropped in further to show off the structure. It was nearly a monochrome scene, so I converted it to black and white, and bumped up the contrast. I masked the center of the funnel and lightened it a bit, to show off the condensation in the center. The Lightroom de-noise tool took care of noise in the background that was apparent after the crop.

ADVANCED PRINT

1st Place: Sherm Edwards – Venice Shop Window
2nd Place: Beth Koller ~ White Dove of the Desert
3rd Place: Renee Shaefer ~ Contrails

2nd Place ~ Beth Koller ~ Dove of Desert

2nd Place ~ Beth Koller ~ Dove of Desert
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This image of the Dove of the Desert was taken during the Photographic Society of America Festival in September 2024. The mission, San Xavier del Bac is part of the Tohono O’odham Reserve. There are several groups of O’odham and groups in southern Arizona share ties with O’odham across the U.S.-Mexican border. I knew from the start that a near-infrared image was in order. The sky would be dark with the absence of any haze. The side-lighting on the clouds would provide definition and the directionality of the clouds provided movement and balance. The reflective nature of this very white Spanish Colonial building would open up shadows, but still permit the texture of church’s bricks, stone, and lime mortar to be visible. I am glad that I was able to take this image because the mission is undergoing a major restoration. Restoration done in the 1950s with cement impedes the ability of the lime-plaster to breathe. Trapped moisture contributes to the degradation of the plaster. The plaster will be strengthened with calcium hydroxide and then sealed. The work is expected to take three winter seasons.

INTERMEDIATE PRINT

1st Place: Kay Carkhuff – Maximus the Maine Coon Cat
2nd Place: Will Rabinovich ~ Narada Falls

1st Place ~ Kay Carkhuff ~ Maximus the Maine Coon Cat

1st Place ~ Kay Carkhuff ~ Maximus the Maine Coon Cat
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Maximus is one of 3 Maine Coon cats that my niece owns. They stood still nicely for many photos. They like to sit and look out the window, so too much back light was constantly a problem.

NOVICE PRINT

1st Place: Ilona Linnoila – Photographing Ski Slope

1st Place ~ Ilona Linnolla ~ Photographing Ski Slope

1st Place ~ Ilona Linnolla ~ Photographing Ski Slope
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This photo was taken early on a winter morning when trees cast long shadows on freshly groomed ski slopes. I always try to pause for a moment to note that there still is some snow and I am upright to appreciate it. The location was Blue Knob, Pennsylvania’s highest skiable mountain. iPhone XR.

YEAR END COMPETITION – June 12

Many thanks to our Judge Rollin Fraser. Club members were invited to submit up to 5 images that they had entered in a Projected competition and 5 from a Print competition during the 2023-2024 season. Winners are listed below.

ADVANCED PROJECTED

Karen Finkelman ~ Faded Prairie Dreams

Karen Finkelman ~ Faded Prairie Dreams
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This image was taken in the Palouse region of Washington state. Inspired by photographer Jack Spenser and his images from his book, This Land, I attempted to create a distressed, dreamlike quality that evoked a feeling of isolation and abandonment. The photo was taken with my camera, downloaded to my tablet, and processed using the Snapseed app.

INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED

Diane Sanders ~ Frost

Diane Sanders ~ Frost
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A gray wintry morning, best spent indoors. I set up my camera looking through a window to capture the frost. Very little editing was done – just cropping, curves, and some sharpening.

NOVICE PROJECTED

Thomas Allen ~ Rehearsal Room

Thomas Allen ~ Rehearsal Room
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Prague, Czech Republic, 2000 This shot was among the last taken with my Canon EOS 630 35mm film camera before moving to Digital (Canon 10D) in 2003. This rehearsal room was housed in one of the towers at each end of the Charles Bridge (completed in 1402) spanning the Vltava River that runs through the center of Prague. Prague is such a wonderful city to photograph with its landscapes and architecture that dates back to a time before Columbus set sail. As well, there is a rich musical heritage in Prague, leading me to wonder, did Vivaldi compose an opera in this room? (Canon 630/no metadata available).

ADVANCED PRINT

Sherm Edwards ~ White Chair

Sherm Edwards ~ White Chair
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Of all the pictures I took at Ellis Island, this one conveyed most clearly the sense of abandonment of a building. In processing I worked to make the chair stand out a bit from the white wall behind.

INTERMEDIATE PRINT

Will Rabinovich ~ The Real Golden Dome

Will Rabinovich ~ The Real Golden Dome
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This image was taken at the Library of Congress. It is the dome of the main reading room. I liked the symmetry of the dome and tried to frame the shot to emphasize that. The cupola was very bright because it was illuminated by outside light. So I took a bracketed exposure of 3 shots and combined them with Lightroom’s merge to HDR. Taken with a Sony A7riv and a Tamron 20-40 mm lens at 40 mm.

NOVICE PRINT

Valerie Brissett ~ Antelope Canyon

Valerie Brissett ~ Antelope Canyon
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ANNUAL AWARDS

Len Tuchin Award for Best in Show

The Len Tuchin Best in Show Award is selected by our judge for the best image from the winners of the Novice and Advanced projected category. Len Tuchin joined the SSCC in 1966 and was active in the club for 19 years. He served in several club positions, including Monochrome Program Chairman, Vice President, President and Board Director. Len also served the club as its auctioneer extraordinaire for what used to be the club’s annual equipment auction. He became SSCC Master of Photography in 1978 and ended his career with 705 points – the highest on record for any SSCC member.

The 2025 Len Tuchin Best in Show Award was presented to:

Thomas Allen for “Rehearsal Room – Prague“

Joyce Bailey Award (Best in Show, October Nature Competition)

The Joyce Bayley Award is presented for the “Best of Show” during the October Nature competition as determined by the Judge. This award was named to honor Joyce Bayley after her death in 1997. She joined SSCC in 1981 and was known for her beautiful nature photographs and the prize peonies she developed. She was an active contributor to the club and served as President.

The winner of the Joyce Bailey Award for October 2024 is:

Dennis Freeman for “Fall Morning in the Adirondacks“

Milestone Awards for years of membership

5 years 

10 years

20 years

40 years

STAR Awards                         

The Photographic Excellence, or STAR, awards are based on the total number of points a member accumulates in competition.  A STAR is awarded for each 35 points earned.

1 STAR (35+)

2 STARS (70+)  

3 STARS (105+)  

4 STARS (140+)

5 STARS (175+)

Service Award

The service Award is nominated and voted on by the Executive Council for the member who we feel contributed the most during the club year.

This nominee has put together our field trips for years with great variety and plans and announces them with enthusiasm. His trips are planned meticulously including meeting places, carpools, parking at both ends, hotels for overnight trips, Plan B’s for bad weather, closures or missed signals. He researches the dining spots as closely as his trip. Every field trip ends on a happy stomach.

And the Winner of the 2024-2025 Service Award is awarded to Phil Boyer

Photographers of the Year 

Photographer of the Year is awarded for Projected and Prints for both Novice and Advanced levels. The awards are given for the most points earned for that level and category during the club year.

    Photographer of the Year for Novice Projected

             Gerry Woods (38 points)

Photographer of the Year for Intermediate Projected

             Ilona Linnoila (38 points)

    Photographer of the Year for Advanced Projected

               Larry Gold (26 points)

    Photographer of the Year for Novice Prints

             Ilona Linnoila (26 points)

    Photographer of the Year for Intermediate Prints

             Tanya Riseman (16 points)

    Photographer of the Year for Advanced Prints

             Beth Koller (31 points)

COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS

PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

by Karen Finkelman

These resources will be back in the Fall.

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.

Calls for Entry – Summer 2025

EXHIBITS AND EVENTS

An occasional column by Karen Finkelman.

Exhibits and Events — July 2025

Events and Exhibits

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

NIH Camera Club

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