The Silver Spring Camera Club (SSCC) is a diverse group of individuals passionately dedicated to the pursuit of photographic excellence. We believe the best method of understanding the art of photography is through education and the sharing of ideas. For over 70 years SSCC has maintained a high standard of integrity and quality. Our reputation as the friendliest club in the metropolitan area is the basis of our success. We welcome new members of all ages and skill levels who share our interest in photography.
Meetings
The club meets on the first three Thursday nights of each month from September through May of each year and conducts a board meeting (open to all members) on the fourth Thursday. Exceptions are made for key holidays. An annual awards ceremony is held in mid-June.
For the 2023-2024 Club year, meetings on the second Thursday will be held in person at the Northwood Presbyterian Church. These meetings will generally be for Competition Night. If an in-person judge is not available, the second Thursday will be Photo Forum and Competition Night will move to the third Thursday. All other regular monthly meetings will be online, using Zoom.
Speaker Meetings
Guest Speaker meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month from 7:30-9:30 p.m. A speaker, usually either a professional photographer or renowned amateur, will deliver an illustrated talk on some aspect of photography. Having these meetings online has allowed us to welcome speakers from around the country; we plan to continue online Speaker meetings even after we resume other meetings in person.
Competitions
Competitions are held on the second Thursday of each month from 7:30-9:30 p.m., unless there is not an in-person judge available. Depending on the number of images to be judged, competitions may end later. Independent experienced judges are arranged, and the entries are judged blindly. Images may be entered in Advanced, Novice, and Beginner classes, in categories of Print or Projected (digital) images. The Print category would be suspended for any Zoom meetings. Competition themes vary from month to month.
Photo Forum Meetings
The interactive meetings, named “Photo Forum,” are held on the third Thursday of each month from 7:30-9:30 p.m., with the exception noted earlier. Photo Forum includes open group discussions, presentations on photography-related topics by any members, and sharing of images submitted by SSCC members with feedback and suggestions by advanced members.
The Photo Forum is an informal and relaxed opportunity to enjoy discussions with other photographers. Each meeting provides useful information for every level of photographic expertise, from beginner to advanced. The atmosphere is accepting and supportive of all attendees. What topics would you like to explore? Topics can be wide-ranging, and include, for example, photo book reviews, an aspect of your own photography that you’d like to share, discussion of shows, workshops, trips, photo gear, software, and your questions.
Board Meetings
The fourth Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. is reserved for Board Meetings. The agenda is circulated before the meeting, and all members are welcome to attend and contribute.
Field Trips
At least one field trip is held every month on a Saturday, Sunday, or Monday holiday during the club year, and sometimes during the summer as well. Most trips are to sites in and around the Washington DC area, although we occasionally visit locations in Baltimore, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Please check the Cable Release,the SSCC website (http://www.ssccphotography.org/), or sign up for Meetup announcements. You may contact the Field Trip chairperson (Phil Boyer) for more information.
History
The Silver Spring Camera Club began in the fall of 1950 when about 50 people attended an open meeting for anyone interested in forming a Camera Club. The stated purpose of the Club was “to provide an opportunity for people with a mutual interest in photography to share their experiences and common knowledge.” The charter membership was about 60. Twenty-one years later in 1971 the membership stood at 150, and new applicants were placed on a waiting list.
Over the years the Club had held its regular meetings in a camera store, various community center clubrooms, a recreation center, a high school, and several libraries. It usually had two meetings a month. Up until 1975, there were only two categories for the competitions: color slides and monochrome prints. In 1976, four print meetings included a color print competition. By 1983, every print competition included color prints for both novice and advanced classes. The slide competitions have remained basically the same, except that the number of allowed slide entries was reduced from three to two in 1982 due to the large number of entries. In 2008 the slide category was changed to digital projected. The Club recently reviewed its competition rules, and beginning in 2014-15, there are two categories for each competition: Projected (digital images) and Prints. Members can enter up to two images (monochrome or color, unless otherwise specified in the month’s competition topic) in each category.
The original “workshops” consisted of short 15-minute presentations given by members at the beginning of each main meeting “to provide an exchange of information and first-hand experience on photographic techniques and materials.” (The name was changed to “shortshorts” in 1970; and then to “mini-workshops.”) In the mid-1960s “study groups” met monthly, first for color slides and later for monochrome prints. These were joined by the New Directions Workshop in 1981, and a few years later by the Composition and Presentation Workshop. Also in the 1980s, there was a View Camera Group, a Creative Workshop, and two one-year workshops on the Fine Print and Retouching. In the 1990s, we added a workshop on Computer Imaging. We currently conduct workshops, along with education and photo sharing, under our “Photo Forum” meetings.
From the very beginning, SSCC was a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA). This provided an opportunity for members to exhibit their work in the Print and Slide Circuits in the U.S. and around the world. Through the years, SSCC has arranged exhibits of members’ work in a variety of locations throughout the Washington, DC area. Club members have also participated in the competitions sponsored by Greater Washington Council of Camera Clubs and the Council of Maryland Camera Clubs.
The Club’s newsletter, the Cable Release, began publication in October 1961 as a mimeographed newsletter with hand-drawn illustrations, which was mailed to members for 4¢. Later issues contained black-and-white photographs, and two 1979 issues feature front-page color Xerox reproductions from slides. The Cable Release has earned several awards from the Photographic Society of America for its quality and service to members. The first mention of the use of a computer was by editor Art Drucker, who used his trusty Commodore from 1984 to 1987. Over the years, the Cable Release has provided club news, photo-related articles, and members’ opinions on a variety of topics. The archive of past newsletters, managed by our club historian, chronicles the history of a dynamic organization that, with the active input of its members, has been constantly evolving for more than half a century. In the 2016/17 program year the Cable Release became a web-based newsletter with links to articles and other web pages. There is an index of articles from the past several years in this edition.
PSA
The Photographic Society of America (PSA) is a worldwide organization for anyone interested in photography. The society includes casual shutterbugs, serious amateurs, and professional photographers.
Founded in 1934, PSA has members in over 70 countries. Individual, Club, and Council memberships offer a wide variety of services and activities: a monthly magazine; online photo galleries, image evaluation, study groups, and courses; competitions; an annual conference; recognition; and discounts on photography related products and services.
The Silver Spring Camera Club has been a member Club of the PSA since the club was founded in 1950. For information regarding the benefits of a PSA individual membership and for PSA sponsored activities, please contact our Club PSA Representative, or visit www.psa-photo.org.