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

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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.

• March 5 – Speaker Night (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
• March 12 – Competition: Open (7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Presbyterian Church, formerly Northwood Presbyterian Church)
• March 19 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
• March 26 – Board Meeting
• TBD – Field Trip: Great Falls

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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 March 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at  cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.    

DEADLINE: BY March 24th TO  cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.

 

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MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS

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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.

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SPEAKER NIGHT –Ray Schneider  — Create Compelling Pictures of People: How to compose pictures with people that draw the viewer in, that evoke emotion, that tell a story

Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.

Ray Schneider is a freelance photographer whose images span numerous genres including portrait, street, landscape, animals, and events. An avid traveler, his images come from over 30 countries. He has published a book entitled What the Photographer Sees, available on Amazon and has also recently received a Portfolio Merit Award from Black and White Magazine. Ray teaches photography workshops, exhibits his work, shoots community events, and is a speaker at camera clubs across the country. Prior to becoming a professional photographer, Ray travelled the country as a Chemical Engineer and operations management consultant. 

For Ray, seeing like a photographer is to perceive well.  It’s creating images that are more than pretty pictures — hopefully — and that trigger the viewer’s inner-voice, that suggest a story, that evolve in the consciousness as they’re viewed, that invite a sense of curiosity, that cause one to pause and maybe take a closer look.  

You can view Ray’s images at www.rayschneiderphotography.com

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COMPETITION COLUMN

Our March 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.

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.

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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 (as of September 2025), 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:

• April – SSCC FIeld Trips
• May – Monochrome
• June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply) 

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MARCH COMPETITION JUDGE: Ed Palaszynski  — Topic: Open

March 12, 2026, 7:30 p.m., at Christ the King Presbyterian Church

Ed’s photographic journey has taken him into exploring what Life is and wondering how it all connects. Ed’s images have appeared and placed in national juried shows that include the Circle Gallery in Annapolis, Photoworks at Glen Echo, Washington Art Works, Delaplaine Arts Center and the Allegany Arts Council. He is a Gaithersburg Camera Club Grand Master and his images have been used for online and print publications. 

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PHOTO FORUM

Thursday, March 19, 2026, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. (on Zoom)

March 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: “On the Amazon in Peru” – Sherm Edwards
• Presentation: “Dramatic Improvements to Your Photographs Through Masking” – Pete Morton
• Open Discussion: What’s on your mind, photographically?  

We are soliciting presenters. Contact Dennis ( dennisfreeman4510@msn.com ) if you’d like to present something!

 

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MARCH FIELD TRIP — Great Falls National Park

Leader: Owen Epstein

Date/time/further details: Forthcoming in Meetup and SSCC Google Group.

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.

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CLUB NEWS

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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.

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ARE YOU ONE OF US?

Check out SSCC’s new recruiting poster! You can download it from this page if you want to use it yourself.

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HELP OUR LOGO REDESIGN COMMITTEE

Apple, Google, and Starbucks all did it; now we’re thinking about doing it. Our logo is 75 years old and, some say, looks a bit long of tooth. It’s a black and white pen drawing; maybe some color would be nice. And the acorn: what’s that have to do with cameras or photography? Turns out, nothing. But our forefathers (and foremothers) put in our constitution that it must be used. So that is the challenge before the Logo Committee: to design something around the acorn that captures the spirit of the Club – and the eyes of the world – better than the septuagenarian that graces our products today. 

The Committee — Tanya Riseman, Bruce Schaefer, and Michele Dastin- van Rijn — has produced a few prototypes and would love several more to choose from. 

We are asking for your help: your sketches, designs, ideas, or simply opinions and feedback – what works for you, what doesn’t. Members with any graphic design experience are most welcome, but onlookers with ideas are needed too. 

Contact Tanya directly at  tanya3x1028@gmail.com to let her know your level of interest. We’ll include you in our Zoom meetings, pick your brain, or work one-on-one with you. Our goal is to decide by the end of the Club year whether we want a new logo for the new century – or stick with the old one, just tarted up a bit perhaps.

Be a part of history- weigh in on this existential conundrum and you’ll earn a blue ribbon at the Year End Gala!

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FEBRUARY FIELD TRIP: National Building Museum and Capital Jewish Museum

by Gerry Woods

On Saturday, 2/21/26, ten SSCC members went the National Building Museum in Northwest D.C.  We took photos at the National Building Museum, the “Friendship Gate” in Chinatown, and the Capital Jewish Museum.  We also enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Chinatown Garden Restaurant.  

The National Building Museum building was completed in 1887.  It originally served as the Pension Bureau Headquarters Building for veterans, and the families of veterans, of the Civil War.  It is a great location for taking photos of amazing architectural details, repeating patterns, and framing scenes between the massive seventy-five feet tall columns. Images from the trip, below, were submitted by Gerry Woods, Dennis Freeman, Tanya Riseman, Diane Sanders, Lisa Auerbach, and Sherm Edwards.

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MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE

by Lisa Auerbach

The Maryland Photography Alliance will host several exciting events 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 57, Mitch Stringer welcomes Cheriss May.  Her years of experience building rapport with subjects has resulted in compelling images.  Cheriss collaborates with major brands such as Leica and Adobe. She is both a photographer and a teacher.
• Artist Spotlight – The Webinar – The next event, on March 10,  will be The Art of Seeing: Success in Photography is in the Details with Joe Edelman. Joe will demonstrate how personal perspective and attention to detail, instead of rules, will separate the good from the great. He is an author, photographer, and educator.

• Maryland Masters offers web-based educational opportunities by Maryland-based speakers and raises money for many Marylanders.

MPA’s 4th Annual Black & White Photo Contest – Submission Period March 1 – March 31 – Get ready for MPA’s immensely popular contest. This year’s theme is Landscapes:

• Definition – Black and white landscape photography is timeless and classic. It highlights the contrast between light and dark elements; and it can draw attention to textures, forms, and patterns found in the natural world. 
• MPA Members can submit their first two images for FREE by using our club’s Promo Code. Again, Contact membership@ssccphotography.org for the Promo Code.  There are over $500 in prizes.

For more information and to submit, go to https://www.mdphotoalliance.org/2026-bw-photo-contest. Why wait?

Contact MPA with questions – mpa@mdphotoalliance.org

Please take time to visit the MPA website for all the information about what MPA achieves. If you have questions, contact membership@ ssccphotography.org

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BOARD MEETING

The SSCC Board last met on February 26, 2026. The date for the next meeting via Zoom will be March 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.

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FEATURES

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CONFERENCES AND EXPOS

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2026 ODYSSEY OF LIGHT

Tickets are now on sale for Maryland Photographic Association’s premier event of the year. It will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, April 11. This is an in-person event in Bowie, MD. Two great speakers will inspire, motivate, and educate. Annie Griffiths and Michael Yamashita are both icons at National Geographic, and the theme of their talks will be “The Power of Visual Storytelling”. General Admission tickets are $70, however, when using your club’s Promo Code, you will pay only $50. Contact membership@ssccphotography.org for the Promo Code.  Plus, all ticket holders will receive a $20 Nations Photo Gift Card. For more information and to purchase your tickets go to https://www.mdphotoalliance.org/odyssey-of-light-2026. 

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MEMBER ARTICLES

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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 March 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at  cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.    

DEADLINE: BY March 24th TO  cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.

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COMPETITION RESULTS

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NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY – February 12, 2026

February’s competition was “Night Photography” for projected and print images. Mark Nelson was our judge. Night Photography is 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.

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 February competition, in the Projected category, Novice and Intermediate were combined due to insufficient entries, and first, second, and third place were awarded, with two honorable mentions. In the Print category, all categories were combined due to insufficient entries, and only first place was 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: David Terao ~ Miracle on 34th Street

This image was taken at Baltimore’s annual Miracle-on-34^th-Street festival in the Hampden neighborhood where all the houses put elaborate Christmas lights on display.  It’s a great time to shoot street photography because no one pays attention to someone with a camera – everyone is taking pictures.  I took this shot with an ultra-wide-angle lens held high above my head hoping I would get a decent shot.

2nd Place: David Terao ~ Spooky Full Moon

I took this image during last December’s full Cold Moon in my backyard.  At first, I was upset that there were so many clouds.  But the clouds created an eerie mood with the moon behind them and a silhouetted sycamore tree encased with vines in the foreground.  It reminded me of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

3rd Place: Larry Gold ~ Chicago Night

This fall we were in Chicago, returning to our hotel from an MSL soccer game at Soldier Field. I took the cell phone pic as we were traversing a bridge over the railroad tracks, which are adjacent to the stadium. From that vantage point, the tracks appeared to lead directly into The Loop and its skyscrapers.

Honorable Mention: Frank Gallagher ~ Double Arch

Arches National Park is an official International Dark Sky Park and an excellent place for stargazing. Add in a wide choice of interesting foregrounds and you’ve got a great location for astrophotography. Light painting is prohibited in the park. Instead, our group used several low-light panels to softly illuminate Double Arch while capturing the multitude of stars.

Honorable Mention: Sherm Edwards ~ Namibia Night Sky Mirrored

NOVICE AND INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED

1st Place: Kent Morris ~ Alley in Urfa

This photo was taking while I was walking through the back streets of Urfa (officially called Şanlıurfa), Turkey one evening.  Although I had taken many photos that evening, the people in this photo provide context and a story.  This photograph was taken handheld and using available light. The city of Urfa has been a crossroads of civilizations, cultures, and religions for thousands of years.  The world’s oldest religious site, Gobekli Tepe, estimated to have been built nearly 12,000 years ago is located outside of Urfa.  I found Urfa to be a photographer’s paradise. Canon EOS 5D mk iv; Canon 24-70mm f/4 zoom at 61mm;  ISO 12800;  f/4.0; shutter 1/60^th of a second.   

2nd Place: Jim Riley ~ Budapest Castle with Birds at Night

I took this picture in September 2025 from a boat on the Danube river. The wind was calm so pictures could be done with less shaking.  This is really the Parliament Building, and the birds or bats gather at night to eat insects, is my assumption.  This side of the Danube is very picturesque because the lighted hillside buildings have great architecture and contrast with the waterfront buildings.

3rd Place: Catherine Honigsberg ~ Old Stumpy Milky Way

This was taken at Assateague Island.  I always passed this stump on my travels and thought it would make a good foreground interest for the milky way.  Old Stumpy is gone now, so I am glad I have this memory. 

Honorable Mention: Thomas Allen ~ Neighbors across the Street

Honorable Mention: Owen Epstein ~ Fireworks and Sunset

Captured at National Harbor in Maryland, this shot features the iconic Capital Wheel set against a vibrant fireworks display. Every Saturday throughout November and December, one of my photography groups gathers here around 5:30 p.m. to catch the show. On this specific evening, we were treated to an especially spectacular sunset that made the backdrop truly unforgettable.

NOVICE, PROJECTED, ADVANCED PRINT COMBINED

1st Place: Beth Koller ~ Discovery in Snow Mist

It was the Friday before the competition. Snow was expected. The weather had been so problematic for the past several months–even when I had traveled out West. I had nothing. So I went out to Silver Spring with a couple of ideas. My idea for car light trails was impeded by a car crash and the arrival of emergency vehicles and the change in the lighting of some buildings. The Discovery building, however, looked as I had never seen it. The snow mist created a different tonality and actually reflected diffuse light upward. I eliminated the distracting building elements on either side. There was a bank of lights on one side so that area was eliminated, but would create another interesting picture if without the distracting illumination. I made sure that the dark top of the building was properly exposed. The angular stairway shaft was a counter to the dark and white curves of the upper building. Sometimes what you cannot do forces one into a different creative direction. I took one other series of images that was basis for another entry. Mission accomplished. Dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant followed before retreating home in the darkness.

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COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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