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.
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.
- October 1 – Speaker Night: Lawrence Jackson – Photojournalism, From Rural Virginia to the White House (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
- October 4 – Field Trip: Brookside Gardens (8:00 a.m. at the Visitor Center)
- October 8 – Competition Night: Nature Photography – Rollin Fraser, Judge (7:30 p.m. at Christ the King Presbyterian Church)
- October 15 – Photo Forum (7:30 p.m. on Zoom)
- October 22 – Board Meeting
- October 29 – Feedback Session
2026-2027 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 October 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY October 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS
MEETING LOCATION
For the 2026-2027 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. 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 – Lawrence Jackson: Photojournalism, From Rural Virginia to the White House
Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 7:30 p.m.
Lawrence Jackson’s career began as a photojournalist, working for newspapers and wire services including The Virginian-Pilot and the Associated Press, where he built a reputation for documentary-style, imagery that captured news, sports, politics and feature stories.
In 2009 Lawrence became a White House Photographer, for the Obama Administration. In that position, he documented the day-to-day work of the presidency — from historic public moments to the quiet, unscripted instants that help show a leader’s character. His images from this era have become part of the visual record of modern American history, published widely and held in government archives.
During his second stint at the White House in 2021, Lawrence served as the chief photographer for Vice-President Kamala Harris, chronicling her career at the highest levels of American government offering a defining visual account of the first female Vice President of the United States.
Today, Lawrence continues his career in public service as a photographer at the U.S. Senate Photo Office in Washington, D.C., where he documents the work of the United States Senate. In this role he has continued to grow as a photographer, expanding from his documentary roots into flash and studio lighting techniques.
Lawrence is also the author of “Yes We Did,” a book from his years photographing the Obama Administration.
COMPETITION COLUMN
Every month from September through May the Club holds topical competitions for Projected (digital) and Print images, for each of three skill/experience levels: Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. Entries are encouraged from any kind of camera, including smart phone, mirrorless, digital SLR, drone, and film.
Our October topic is Nature Photography
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).
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.
Here is the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- November – Open
- December – Backlighting
- January – Open
- February – Still Life
- March – Open
- April – Minimalism
- May – Monochrome
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
OCTOBER COMPETITION JUDGE: Rollin Fraser, Judge — Topic: Nature Photography
October 8, 2026, 7:30 p.m., at Christ the King Presbyterian Church
Rollin S. Fraser is an adjunct professor of photography at Montgomery College (Rockville), and has been teaching various courses in photography for the past 24 years.
Rollin has, for the past eight years, taught courses in the history of photography for Osher Life Long Learning at Johns Hopkins University.
Mr. Fraser has a BA in History from the University of Maryland and studied photography at Montgomery College (Rockville), earning a Master Certificate in Photography, Maine Photographic Workshops, and the Palm Beach Photographic Center and has participated in many continuing education programs. He has an extensive background in traditional (film) and digital photography.
He has exhibited his work in many venues, including the Washington Gallery of Photography, Metropolitan Center For The Visual Arts, Strathmore Hall Arts Center, Brookside Nature Center, Brookside Gardens Visitors Center, Glenview Mansion, Black Rock Center for the Arts, and the Montpelier Arts Center. His professional affiliations include Maryland Professional Photographers Association, Professional Photographers of America, and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.
Mr. Fraser has won numerous awards for his photography. Under a grant from Montgomery College, he was a participating photographer on the Farm Project, which documented the disappearing farms of Montgomery County. His most important project to date was photographing Holocaust survivors of Montgomery County as part of the “Portraits of Life” project, under the auspices of the Paul Peck Humanities Institute and the Department of Photography at Montgomery College (Rockville).
His favorite cookies are oatmeal raisin.
PHOTO FORUM
Thursday, October 15, 2026, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m. (on Zoom)
September 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. Send your images to Dennis Freeman before 5:00 p.m., WEDNESDAY, October 14. (Dennisfreeman4510@msn.com).
- Presentation: “Maryland Photography Alliance” – Lisa Auerbach
- Presentation: “Unexpected Wonders of Las Vegas” – Beth Koller
- Presentation: “Autumn in the Adirondacks: NANPA Photo Tour” – Dennis Freeman & Sherm Edwards
- Open Discussion: What’s on your mind, photographically?
We are soliciting presenters. Contact Dennis (dennisfreeman4510@msn.com) if you’d like to present something!
OCTOBER FIELD TRIP — Brookside Gardens
Sunday, October 4, at 8:00 a.m.
Leader: Owen Epstein owenpepstein@gmail.com
Meet: Visitor Center, 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD
Bring: Your camera gear or Phone , a tripod, and a variety of lenses if you have them, Otherwise your phone is Perfect!
Tickets: Tickets are not required.
Photography Subjects: Nature & Landscape; Wildlife — Birds, Geese, Rabbits & More; Seasonal Flora; Park Vistas.
Tripods: Tripods are allowed so feel free to bring your tripod or mono-pod.
Breakfast: TBD
More Info: https://montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/brookside-gardens/
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.
Join us for a relaxed morning of photographs, great coffee and pastries, and fellowship. Share one or more of your photos with your seat mates or the whole table. Chat about photography. Bring them on your phone, tablet, or small drug store prints. Don’t have any in your photos catalog with the theme? Snap some on the way.
- Theme: Smithsonian Museums, inside or outside.
- Date: 10 AM – 11:30 AM, Saturday, October 24, 2026
- Leader: Tanya Riseman
- Transportation: L’Enfant Plaza and Federal Center SW metro station
- Location: The National Museum of the American Indian cafeteria, 4th St SW, Washington, DC 20560
CLUB NEWS
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE
by Lisa Auerbach
The Maryland Photography Alliance (MPA) is an association of Maryland-based photography clubs dedicated to:
- Enhancing photography as a hobby.
- Making photographers aware of meetings and group-shooting opportunities.
- Providing mutual assistance to member clubs through pooling resources.
MPA conducts one competition, one gallery show, and one all-day seminar with a nationally known photographer every year. MPA clubs promote education, provide information, create inspiration, and afford an opportunity for individual growth to those interested in photography.
All members of Silver Spring Camera Club are automatically members of MPA and gain the advantages that MPA offers. Investigate MPA to discover how it can help you with your photography journey.
Strathmore Mansion Show
Winners of MPA’s 4th Annual Black & White Photo Contest will be on display at the Strathmore Mansion through November 7, 2026. Additional venue information is available at Strathmore Mansion.
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA SHOWCASES IMAGES FROM CHAPTERS
Each year, Photographic Society of America (PSA) features winning images from the various PSA chapters in their annual chapter competition. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter — which includes the Silver Spring Camera Club — was second runner-up in this year’s competition. There are several images from SSCC members — including Beth Koller, Myphong Nguyen, David Terao, Jim Turner, and Doug Wolters. Myphong also won an individual award, a Best of Chapter Gold Medal for her image of a hummingbird on a flower. You can view the Chapter Showcase gallery on the PSA website.
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last met on September 24, 2026. The date for the next meeting via Zoom will be October 22. Normally the Board meets on the 4th Thursday of the month. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
FEATURES
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
MEMBER ARTICLES
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 October 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY October 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
COMPETITION RESULTS
SEPTEMBER COMPETITION: OPEN – September 10, 2026
September’s competition topic was “Open” for projected and print images. Michael Brown was our judge. Here is the definition for the field trip image competition, from our website:
In open competitions, free rein is given to the choices the photographer makes in the creation of the submitted image. Images of any and all subjects or themes (excluding nudes), created using any photographic or post-processing methods or techniques, are acceptable. However, all “significant components” of the image must be taken by the photographer and not AI generated. The images are evaluated based upon the judge’s general assessment of their creativity, emotional and/or intellectual impact, aesthetic beauty, uniqueness of subject, and technical skill.
Awards are generally given for first, second, and third place, with the number of honorable mentions (HM) dependent on the total number of entries in the respective Advanced, Intermediate, and Novice levels. For the September competition, in the Projected category, there were only two awards at the Novice level — first and second — due to the limited number of entries. In the Print category, all levels were combined due to insufficient entries, and first, second, and third place were awarded (with one honorable mention).
ADVANCED PROJECTED
First Place: Golden Oyster Mushrooms, David Terao
Second Place: Club Car, David Terao
Third Place: Keyslugs and Typebars, Beth Koller
Honorable Mention: Money Laundering, Beth Koller
David Terao ~ Golden Oyster Mushrooms
While browsing through a local farmer’s market, I saw a tent selling wild mushrooms. After asking if I could take pictures of some mushrooms on display, the seller said he had some more in the back. When he opened a large black duffel bag, there was a large clump of golden oyster mushrooms laying inside. I shot the mushrooms handheld under the tent.
INTERMEDIATE PROJECTED
First Place: Roaring Forks, Will Rabinovich
Second Place: Breaking Through, Will Rabinovich
Third Place: Getting Ready to Load, Marc Auerbach
Honorable Mention: Beijing Summer, Thomas Allen
Honorable Mention: Rock Kestral, Kent Morris
Will Rabinovich ~ Roaring Forks
This image was taken in the Smokies at Roaring Forks. This is a small section of the stream that I liked because of the configuration of the rocks and the flow of the water over them. There wasn’t much color in the scene so I thought monochrome would work best, though I decided that afterwards in post processing. While there I took exposures at many different shutter speeds. I wanted to capture the feeling of motion without losing all the details in the water. Later, I looked through the images, all of which had the same composition, and picked the one in which I thought the shutter speed best matched the subject. The image was taken with a tripod-mounted Sony A7riv with a Tamron 50-400 lens at 70mm and f/11. The shutter speed was 2 seconds. I converted to monochrome in Lightroom and did some dodging and burning
NOVICE PROJECTED
First Place: Moon Scape, Owen Epstein
Second Place: Nijo Castle Gate, Tom McLaughlin
Owen Epstein ~ Moon Scape
I took this image from the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia. I’ve been trying to get a shot of the moon directly behind the monuments for a long time but this is the best I could do given the existing conditions. The moon rose a bit to the right of where I would have liked but I still managed to come out with a good looking image. The most important thing to remember is that you must use a tripod for this type of night photography and use a narrow aperture. I used F11. If you have not been to the Netherlands Carillon before please be sure to go. It’s a real treat even on a cloudy night.
COMBINED PRINT
First Place: Fed-Ex Building in Silver Spring, Thomas Allen
Second Place: Spuds and Peppers, Thomas Allen
Third Place: Waihee Trail, Charlie Farmer
Honorable Mention: Carnegie Museum Staircase, Sherm Edwards
Thomas Allen ~ Fed-Ex Building in Silver Spring
There are many ways of photographing and creating interesting images of architecture. The secret sauce in this image includes: a wide-angle lens, a perspective looking up from the ground, and, in post-production, liberal use of the exposure slider, radial gradient. The building site was formerly a Texaco gasoline station. Canon R6, 20mm Sigma 1.8 lens, f9, 1/1600, ISO 400.
COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS
PHOTOGRAPHY COURSES AND WORKSHOPS
By Karen Finkelman
The courses and workshops column will return in November.
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.
CALLS FOR ENTRY
by Dennis Freeman
The link below 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. One notable local call is below the link.
Exhibits and Events
by Karen Finkelman
The Exhibits and Events column will return in November.
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