Member, Photographic Society of America
Winner of the 2008, 2011, and 2012 PSA Henricks Award for best newsletter!
Sherm Edwards and Tanya Riseman, Editors, Cable Release, at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
Contents
KEY EVENTS
The following scheduled events will be conducted online as Zoom teleconferences, except for the Field Trip. Look for announcements and invitations by e-mail, Meetup, and on the club’s Website.
- Nov 3 – Speaker – Open (7:30 p.m.
- Nov 10 – Competition – Open (7:30 p.m.)
- Nov 12 – Field Trip – Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum (10 a.m.)
- Nov 17 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m.)
- Nov 24 – Thanksgiving – No Meeting
- Nov TBD – Board Meeting
2022-2023 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:
More information is available in the Silver Spring Camera Club (SSCC) Member Handbook:
SSCC-Member-Handbook-2022-2023
PLEASE CONSIDER PROVIDING MATERIALS FOR THE DECEMBER 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. This issue is a great opportunity for articles about summer projects and travel! Email items or questions to Tanya Riseman and Sherm Edwards at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY NOVEMBER 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
Up to now this year, we have been meeting virtually and this will continue for Speaker Night, Photo Forum, and Board meetings . As of now, with regard to competitions, we will decide how to meet on a month-by-month basis, guided by Montgomery County and the CDC. Meetings will be held at Northwood Presbyterian Church (https://www.northwoodchurch.com/), and KN95 masks will be required.
DENISE SILVA – SPEAKER – LONG EXPOSURE CREATIVITY
Denise’s interest in photography started when her grandmother would share images from her travels to Egypt and Africa for safari. The evenings watching slideshows set the seed. 35-years later those seeds took root and inspired Denise to embrace photography and more specifically travel photography and Road Runner Photography Tours was born.
Denise has been recognized as one of the Top 200 Women Photographers Who Inspire by Nature Photo Guides and has had multiple articles published in Extraordinary Vision (EV) Magazine, and is a featured artist in Breakthrough Photography’s Guide to Night Sky Photography.
Her passion is to share her knowledge of photography, while introducing people to the amazing landscapes, wildlife, and people all over the world.
She has contributed multiple articles to Fujifilm X/GFX USA website and has been interviewed by Peggy Farren, of Understanding Photography, on Overcoming the Challenges of Street Photography (Check the interview out here).
Recognitions:
- Three images published in Black & White Magazine, 2021, Smartphone issue.
- Featured in the 2021, Lenswork, Our Magnificent Planet 2021 edition.
- Awarded in Alternative Digital Processes category, Black & White Magazine, Looking Forward–Looking Backward 2022.
Denise embraces the idea that everyday above ground is a good one, so get out and enjoy! Join her and her team for your next adventure.
Road Runner Photo Tours by Mountaintop Photo Works
COMPETITION COLUMN
Welcome to the 2022-2023 Silver Spring Camera Club Season. As we try to understand what the upcoming season will look like, the one thing that is certain is that we have a great lineup of speakers and judges. This month, we are proud to have Cynthia L. Keith as our judge.
Our November 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, created using any photographic or post-processing methods or techniques, are acceptable. 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. The judge need not assign any specific weight to any single attribute of the image.
Members may submit up to two images meeting this definition. The images should be emailed to: competition@ssccphotography.org by midnight on Thursday, September 1. (One important detail – In order to participate in the competition, you must pay the club’s annual dues before the start of the competition.)
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- December – Long Exposure
- January – Open
- February – Yellow
- March – Open
- April – On the Job
- May – Monochrome Photography
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
Please refer to the website link for the definition of each topic.
CYNTHIA L. KEITH – JUDGE – NOVEMBER OPEN COMPETITION
Cynthia L. Keith is a native Washingtonian. Her love of photography started in a journalism class at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland and over the years has led her to scenic locations from Alaska to Maine in search of landscape images. Her specialty is garden landscape photography, a marriage of her vision for the grand landscape and intimate flower portraits.
Cynthia has been a member of the North Bethesda Camera Club since 1992 where she has exhibited, participated in numerous presentations and served on multiple committees. She is a Certified Judge by the Maryland Photography Alliance and a frequent judge at camera clubs in the greater Washington area and beyond.
Outside of photography, she has a BA in Music and an MBA from the University of Maryland and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Cynthia has worked for several financial firms in the Washington, DC area during her career as an investment manager.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, Nov 17, 2022, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
“Photo Forum” is our monthly opportunity to share ideas, images, questions, and inspirations on a wide variety of photographic topics.
This is an online event. We will meet using Zoom – look for the meeting link in an email and via Meetup.
Open Forum Discussions:
- What’s on your mind?
- “I” vs “AI”
- “Why are we doing this?” (Photography, that is.)
Presentations:
- “Preparing for Adventure Travel” by David Blass
- “New Adobe Masking for Portraits” by Pete Morton
Image Sharing:
We will have member image sharing. This month’s theme will be Open. Send up to 3 images you would like to share and get feedback on.
Send up to 3 jpg images. Your jpg images can be up to 1 MB size each. (Please use our digital Competition specs: ssccphotography.org/competitions/digital-entry-specifications/ ) . Send your images to Dennis Freeman before 5:00 p.m., WEDNESDAY, Nov 16. (dennisfreeman4510@msn.com).
This is expected to be a great evening of sharing and learning. What topics would you like to explore? Topics can be wide ranging, such as photo book reviews, an aspect of your own photography that you’d like to share, reviews or discussion of shows, photo gear, software, etc.
Please join us for a fun and educational evening!
FIELD TRIP — BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD MUSEUM
Overview: World’s Greatest Railroad Museum that is not in England. Largest collection of 19th century locomotives in the country. The collection is housed in the original, eye-catching roundhouse built in 1884. Can also ride the Mile One Express, a 20-minute round trip train ride along the first commercial mile of railroad track, laid in 1830.
Date & Time: Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 10 a.m.
CLUB NEWS
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board met on October 27. The minutes from Aug 25th can be found here. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives.
FEATURES
WINTER PHOTO CHALLENGE: “WORDS AND IMAGES”
In past years, the Cable Release has had a winter photo challenge with the theme “Words and Images”, where club members send in a pairing of words and images. This is not a contest! We again ask you for your “Words and Images” for the January 2023 Cable Release.
The idea is to use the text and the image together to create an artistic composite that is greater than the sum of the parts. The text does not have to be long and can range from a longer poem or prose, to a Haiku (Write-a-Haiku-Poem), or to a one line phrase. The intent is for you to be creative in using both the text and the image together. You can either place the text on your image or send it separately as a caption that we’ll add for you. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Examples are worth a thousand words. See previous Cable Release submissions:
Please send your jpeg entry(s) and paired text for each one. Your jpg images can be up to 1 MB size each. Please use our digital Competition specifications: ssccphotography.org/competitions/digital-entry-specifications/ . Follow the naming convention as follows:
“Words and Images~FirstName LastName~Title.jpg”
Please submit these to cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org by Thursday, December 15 (earlier than usual).
CALL FOR ENTRIES: THIRTEENTH ANNUAL JOSEPH MILLER ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT
The past twelve Annual Joseph Miller Exhibits have not only played a major role in the current popularity of abstracts locally, but have exerted an unequivocal influence on the inclusion of abstract photography within the photographic community. The outstanding reputation of the Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit over the last dozen years has also attracted entries from international and national photographic artists in addition to the many local participants who come from the Greater Washington / Northern Virginia area or are non-affiliated/independent photographic artists.
The deadline for submission of entries will be on Saturday, February 25, 2023. (Read More).
Check out this month’s Call for Entries for more competitions.
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE
Maryland Photography Alliance, MPA, is dedicated to providing education, information, and opportunities for Maryland photographers with an emphasis on Maryland photography clubs. Recently the yearly photo contest was held. Many of our members were among the 1000 photographers who entered the contest. Judges are now busily viewing photographs, and the winners will be announced on November 20 at 7 pm. We hope you will join us for this virtual awards ceremony.
Artist Spotlight brings speakers to inspire and educate us. Proceeds from donations for these free events are channeled to the Maryland Food Band as well as Flashes of Hope. Look for email from MPA for future guest speakers.
The “NEW” MPA Critique Program: If you are interested in improving your photography and want to get feedback on your images from a skilled photographer, who is also a certified MPA judge, then the MPA Critique Program is for you. Each session is limited to four people who will have a conversation with an unbiased reviewer who will discuss the technical details and execution of your images. A convenient date for a Zoom meeting will be scheduled when the four photographers are chosen. This program is FREE, and is exclusively for MPA Members. Each session will have representation from four different MPA clubs. Registration is on a first-come basis. If you are interested contact MPA at mpacritique@mdphotoalliance.org.
Nations Photo Lab (NPL) MPA Discount: MPA Members can now receive a 20% discount off all prints, at any time, through August 5, 2024. We realize that NPL offers larger discounts from time to time, and you should use the larger discount code when you see it. MPA is pleased for you to be able to save 20% when you need it. SSCC club members can request the discount code from membership@ssccphotography.org .
And finally, MPA provides grants for photo workshops. Hoopers Island is being planned by Robert Sullivan and Kim Kelly for November 5. This nighttime workshop will teach you the techniques of nighttime photography. Members receive a $25 dollar grant. And if you ever have wanted to visit Cuba, Essdras Suarez will be leading trips there. Members will receive a grant of $100 for this trip. Many of us have heard or have attended workshops with Robert, Kim, or Essdrass and know them to be fine speakers and workshop leaders.
I encourage you to keep abreast of events sponsored by the MPA website and on MPA Facebook. Artist’s Spotlight is free and open to member clubs and guests, and MPA events provide a wealth of opportunities for growth.
Lisa Auerbach, MPA representaive
SCROLL DOWN FOR NASA’S WEBB PORTRAIT OF PILLARS OF CREATION
See a gorgeous satellite image of the Pillars of Creation, down below in the Exhibits and Events section! Plus, there is a direct link to NASA for more Webb telescope and Hubble telescope images and articles.
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
CLOSE UP PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
I know we all get too much email. Still, I’d recommend that you check out the group “Close up Photographer of the Year”. https://www.cupoty.com/
The organization runs competitions. You can view previous winning entries and subscribe to their terrific newsletter.
The newsletter is written by Tracy and always has fascinating discussions. She might suggest photographers, mention exhibits, and discuss books about photography or other subjects which spark her interest. In other words, a wide variety of ideas.
For example, a recent article entitled “Who cares about Zoom Etiquette?” led to a British photographer named Levon Biss. She discusses his images, his work methods, and his philosophy.
You can check out his website – https://levonbiss.com/projects
Another interesting article from an older newsletter was “Six ways a contact sheet can make you a better photographer”. She explores the idea (from a book she was reading) of using a contact sheet as a learning tool, not just to choose your “best” photo, but as a way of exploring the sequence of ideas that led to that image.
I hope these examples spark your curiosity enough to check out this site!
Diane Sanders
COMPETITION RESULTS
Joyce Bayley Award for Best in Show, Nature:
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 Bayley Award for October 2022 is:
Steve Harvey for “Nit Picking”.
NATURE COMPETITION – OCTOBER 13
Octobers competition was Nature for projected images only. Kathy Lichtendahl was our judge that evening. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was held remotely using Zoom.
There were three categories judged: Advanced Projected (i.e. digital images), Novice Projected, and Beginner Projected. The Print categories are suspended until we start in-person meetings again. Awards are 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: Karen Finkelman ~ Wild Mustangs
2nd Place: My Phuong Nguyen ~ Catching Bee
3rd Place: Maude Svensson ~ Maroon Bells
HM: Beth Koller ~ Bryce Tree - on the Edge
HM: David Blass ~ Skorsby Sund Greenland
HM: Wendy Kates ~ Dahlia Details Advanced - Karen Finkelman - Wild Mustangs
This image was taken last April while visiting family in Arizona. I first learned of the wild mustangs through a camera lens group I follow on Facebook. Known as the Salt River Wild Horses, they roam freely within the boundaries of the Tonto National Forest. There are about 7 areas within the park where the horses are known to frequent. After driving from one spot to another without any luck, we finally hit the jackpot at the 7th stop. It was necessary to hike about a mile along the riverbed where we were rewarded with an unforgettable encounter (from a respectful distance) with a band of 20 or so horses. The front horse in the photo was annoyed by the other who was following her a little too closely and I was fortunate to capture the "kiss off" moment.
NOVICE PROJECTED
1st Place: Steve Harvey ~ Nit Picking (and also best in show)
2nd Place: Marc Auerbach ~ A Walk in the Snow
3rd Place: Ilona Linnoila ~ Mother Osprey Takes off
HM: Charlie Farmer ~ ICU2
HM: Will Rabinowich ~ Shenandoah Stream Novice - Steven Harvey -Nit Picking
This photograph comes from Ngorogoro Crater, a Tanzanian national park situated inside the caldera of a long-extinct volcano. The morning was overcast but bright leaving the yellow-billed oxpecker and the cape buffalo's face in shadow. After masking-assisted adjustment in LR, I sharpened the image with Topaz DeNoise AI. As the judge said during the competition, you see oxpeckers everywhere, but this image of one feeding right below the buffalo's eye is unique and I was fortunate to get it. July 25, 2018, 8:26 a.m., Sony A7ii, Sony FE 100-400 mm GM OSS at 400 mm, 1/200 sec, f/13, ISO 500.
BEGINNER PROJECTED
Beginner ~ Phil Mandel - Sharing
COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS
PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
Needed: Someone to author the Classes and Workshop List for the 2022-2023 Cable Release club year. Please let Catherine [ president@ssccphotography.org ] know if you might be interested. This is an opportunity to inspire the learning of club members. In the meantime, we will show some online sources.
One vendor typically included in the Photography Courses/Class List has announced a few online classes: See Capital Photography Center: https://online.capitalphotographycenter.com/collections?category=courses . The rest either have suspended courses or are communicating to registrants by email.
The online course providers typically listed in The Cable Release are obviously still operating—
- Coursera
- KelbyOne
- LinkedIn Learning free through Montgomery County Libraries (formally Lynda.com)
- Photographic Society of America (PSA)
Also offering free webinars—on photography printing—is Moab Paper. See: https://www.moabpaper.com/moab-tv?rq=tv I have never taken one of Moab’s webinars, but Moab is a main producer of artistic photo papers. Other vendors are offering free webinars, but they tend not to give advance notice, so the ones I have located are offered only in April.
Please let us know of other online opportunities you discover by emailing us at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
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. (Read More)
EXHIBITS AND EVENTS
NASA’s Webb Takes Star-Filled Portrait of Pillars of Creation
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape – the iconic Pillars of Creation – where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear – at times – semi-transparent in near-infrared light. See more here.
WASHINGTON POST
Here is a link to the online Washington Post’s lists of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia photography-related exhibits and museums. The various photography-related exhibits appear in different parts of the online paper, making a simple search or link unreliable. You can search within:
Photography section: Photography
Going Out Guide: Going Out Guide
Art Section: Art
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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Thank you Diane, for telling us about Close Up Photographer….
I like suggestions from other photographers. It helps filter the quality.