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.
Contents
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.
- September 4 – Speaker Night (7:30 on Zoom)
- September 11 – Competition: Open (7:30 p.m. at Northwood Presbyterian Church)
- September 14 – Field Trip: Glen Echo Park (5:30 p.m.)
- September 18 – Photo Forum (7:30 on Zoom)
- September 25 – Board Meeting (7:30 on Zoom)
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.
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-2025-2026.
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 September 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY September 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Welcome Back!
I hope everyone enjoyed their summer and is ready to participate in our 2025-2026 Club year. This year the Club celebrates 75 years since our founding in 1950. The board and chair positions have been working hard this summer to ensure we have a well-planned and full agenda. Please look in the Cable Release and on our website for updated information. Our updated Handbook, now easier to use than ever, will help guide you through the year as well.
This year we continue with the new Intermediate competition level introduced last year, between Novice and Advanced. Details are in the Handbook and Cable Release.
Current plans are that we will again be meeting in person on the second Thursday of each month during the 2025-2026 Club year, at Northwood Presbyterian Church. The in-person meetings will either be competition (if we have an in-person judge) or Photo Forum. Other Thursday meetings – Speaker Night on the first Thursday and either Photo Forum or Competition Night on the third Thursday, will be virtual, on Zoom. Please contact membership if you need assistance in joining us on Zoom.
I would like to introduce our board members. Dennis Freeman is returning as our Vice President; Bruce Schaefer is returning as Treasurer; the Secretary position is open (volunteers?); and I am returning as President. Our Directors are Bob Catlett, Pete Morton, and Sherm Edwards.
Our current chair positions are as follows: Gerry Woods is Field Trip Chair; Norm Bernache is our Historian; Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger are Newsletter Editors; Will Rabinovich is running our website; Frank Gallagher is the Program Chair, who finds our judges and speakers; and Lisa Auerbach, Marc Auerbach, and Maurice Belanger are running Membership. Kay Carkhuff and Diane Sanders return as Competition Co-Chairs.
We continue with the successful Photo Forum, planned by Pete Morton and Dennis Freeman. This program has a format with discussions, presentations, breakout rooms and photo critiques.
I want to thank all those who participate and volunteer to make this a successful group. We are looking for more help this year. Please consider volunteering some time to help the chair positions and Executive Council.
We added more new members at the end of last year and look forward to meeting new people with our gatherings posted on Meetup. If you are not a member of Meetup, please reach out and we can get you signed up to help let you know what we are doing each week. We are enjoying good turnouts for our various meetings.
We have a list of field trips ready, speakers and judges lined up, and competition topics available. Get ready for another exciting year. I look forward to seeing everyone again over the next few weeks!
Catherine Honigsberg
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.
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 — Thursday, September 4, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
Have you ever been stuck in a creative rut where you feel uninspired and lack motivation to shoot? All creative individuals will occasionally experience a period of stagnation from time to time. In this presentation we will look at what causes creative ruts and explore ways to get back behind the lens.
Learn approaches and new ways of seeing the world that will ignite your passion for photography and see a creative rut as a time to regroup and reflect on what you would like to say with your work. In the presentation we will share 30 challenging assignments that will motivate you to create images that have meaning and substance.
Mark Battista is a painter and fine art photographer specializing in portrait and still life photography. He graduated from Paier College of Art with a B.F.A. and an M.S. in art education from S.C.S.U. He recently retired from teaching art after 35 years. Read more and see examples of Mark’s work here.
COMPETITION COLUMN
By popular vote, the special topics for the 2025-2026 Club year are Nature Photography, Leading Lines, Night Photography, and Images from SSCC Field Trips. Definitions for these topics are as follows:
Nature Photography – be sure you see no “hand of man.”
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).
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.
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.
Images from SSCC FIeld Trips
This category is open for any picture that was taken while on an SSCC field trip, no matter when it was taken.
In addition to these special topics, there is a standing annual topic, Monochrome. For more detail on the definition of these topics, and for the Club’s policy on the use of Artificial Intelligence, go here.
Competition Levels
Club competitions are in three levels: Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced. They are based on the number of points members have won in past competitions. Points are counted separately for the Projected and Print categories, so a member may be in different levels for the two categories.
The point total ranges are 0-24 points for Novice, 25-69 points for Intermediate, and 70 points or more for Advanced. Points earned for film-based competitions are not included in the calculation.
To see a list of all Club members with their competition level assignments as of September 2025 (separately for Projected and Print), click here.
For more details on competition levels, click here.
Minimum Requirememnts
To participate in competition, you must be up-to-date with your club dues before the start of the competition. To have a competition in each level, Novice needs a minimum of four photo entries from at least three entrants; Intermediate needs six photo entries; and Advanced needs six photo entries. If there are not enough entries in a given level, entries will be combined to the nearest level above for novice and intermediate, but for advanced, if there are not six entries, they will be moved down to compete in the lower level of Intermediate. If any member participates in a competition where their photo is combined in a different level, points will be designated to the member’s current level of their standing. These minimums apply both to the projected and print categories.
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. Remember:
- Send 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 below); capitalization not required.
- Maker’s Name: spaces allowed. Please use the same name throughout the year to aid record keeping.
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.
Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the year:
- September – Open
- October – Nature Photography
- November – Open
- December – Leading Lines
- January – Open
- February – Night Photography
- March – Open
- April – SSCC FIeld Trips
- May – Monochrome
- June – End of Year Competition (special rules apply)
JUDGE Cynthia L. Keith – OPEN
Thursday, September 11, 2025, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
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, September 18, 2025, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
“Photo Forum” is our monthly opportunity to share ideas, images, questions, and inspirations.
Critiques and Image Sharing: You can send in up to 2 images that you would like to share and get feedback on. This month’s theme is “Summer,” but you don’t have to stick to that. Send your images to Dennis Freeman (dennisfreeman4510@msn.com) before 5:00 p.m. WEDNESDAY, September 17.
Presentations: Two are planned for this month:
- Introduction to 360 Photography, by Gerry Woods
- Review of August Critique Meeting, by Lisa Auerbach
If you’d like to present something, contact Dennis Freeman ( dennisfreeman4510@msn.com )
Open Forum Discussions: This month’s topics include “What’s on your mind, photographically?” Photography and artificial intelligence, and “What is your favorite camera?”
Photo Forum is an online event. We will meet using Zoom – look for the meeting link in an email and via Meetup (if you register for meeting).
SEPTEMBER FIELD TRIP – GLEN ECHO PARK
As you know, the Silver Spring Camera Club offers free field trips for our members and their guests. Phil Boyer, our long-time field trip coordinator, had to step down this year. Owen Epstein and Gerry Woods will attempt to fill the void left by Phil. Field trips are a great opportunity to learn new photo techniques, socialize with fellow club members and perhaps try out a new photography genre.
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. Some field trips end with a group meal.
This month’s field trip is to Glen Echo Park.
When: Sunday September 14, 2024, 5:30 p.m.
Leader: Owen Epstein
Where: 5801 Oxford Road, Glen Echo, MD. 20812 (address of the parking lot)
Meet Up: Meet at the far side of the parking lot
To Photograph: Art Deco Architecture, Nature. Glen Echo Park is a highly sought-after location for photography, offering a rich variety of backdrops from its historic Art Deco amusement park structures to its serene natural setting.
Directions: Follow GPS to 7300 Macarthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD. 20812.
Bring: A tripod or monopod will come in handy.
More information:
https://glenechopark.org/about
It is highly suggested that you RSVP for our field trips so we know that you’re coming. You can RSVP to our field trips on the Meetup website, the Meetup app on your smart phone, by sending an email to ssccfieldtrip@gmail.com, or by contacting the leader.
CLUB NEWS
JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY
HANDBOOK 2025-2026
The Club Handbook is now an online publication with all the useful links that you need. Click on the button below to get to the handbook.
MEMBERSHIP
A new year of photography is coming soon, and membership wants to help you prepare for all that awaits us.
Our 2025-2026 season starts September 4th with speaker night. Frank Gallagher is busy contacting speakers and judges for our meetings. The Photo Forum team will educate and entertain us with a variety of topics on the third Thursday of each month. Members attended the first Feedback meeting in August, and reviews were quite positive. SSCC plans more in the future. Gerry Woods is planning field trips that present photographic opportunities. Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger will produce the very informative Cable Release, which can be found on the Silver Spring Camera Club website https://www.ssccphotography.org/ (see NEWSLETTERS at top of the page).
We welcome you to grow your photography skills and friendships by joining our meetings and committees. If interested in helping, we are happy to connect you with the committee chairs who will explain more about their responsibilities. This is an excellent way to become part of the inner workings of our club.
We continue to meet virtually for most meetings, with one in-person meeting a month on the second Tuesday. Meetings will be held at Northwood Presbyterian Church (https://www.northwoodchurch.com/).
Current yearly membership dues are $50 for individuals, $35 for students, and $80 for families. Dues must be paid no later than the 2nd Thursday in September before entering any SSCC competition. The online application https://www.ssccphotography.org/online-membership-form/ can be used to help you renew.
We look forward to seeing the world through your lens.
Lisa Auerbach, Marc Auerbach, Maurice Belanger
Membership Chairs
MARYLAND PHOTOGRAPHY ALLIANCE
Anyone who is a member of SSCC is automatically a member of Maryland Photography Alliance. I hope you will take a moment to read about them at Maryland Photography Alliance (mdphotoalliance.org).
MPA’s 9th Annual Photo Contest
You can submit up to four images in this year’s photo contest. The submission period starts September 1 and ends September 30. This year’s themes are: Long Exposure, Musical Story, 4-Legged Animals, and Seasons. For more information, see the MPA website. Contest rules and submission guidelines can be found here.
Additionally, MPA sponsors the “Artist Spotlight” podcasts and webinars, as well as “Maryland Masters” — webinars by outstanding Maryland-based speakers. Information for all these things can be found on the MPA web site.
Lisa Auerbach, MPA Representative
PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
The Photographic Society of America (PSA), founded in 1934, is a worldwide organization providing abundant resources for photographers, from the novice to the professional. PSA offers online learning, webinars, study groups, competitions, mentors, and consultants. Membership is in over 80 countries, 5,000 members, 460 Camera Clubs, and 11 Chapters across the United States. The Silver Spring Camera Club has been a member of the PSA since our club was founded in 1950. Our club also has many individual PSA members.
A tremendous number of resources are available to individual PSA members. These include:
- Online courses (i.e., Street Photography, History of Photography, Introduction to Photoshop, Portrait Photography, Image Evaluation, Still Life Photography),
- Evaluation of your images by expert photographers,
- Personal mentors for a wide variety of photography topics (e.g., Black & White, Macro, Portrait, Cell Phone, Visual Storytelling),
- Over 100 study groups on different aspects of photography,
- Competitions (PSA and International competitions),
- Photographic travel opportunities and guidance,
- Monthly PSA Journal,
- Annual Festivals in picturesque locations with tours available (this year the festival is in Portland, Oregon),
- And much, much more!
People who want to advance their photographic skills are encouraged to investigate the PSA. Whether you’re just starting out or refining your craft, there’s something for every skill level. With fresh content added regularly, you’ll always find new inspiration and learning opportunities. The PSA members are friendly, welcoming, and eager to discuss all aspects of photography. The PSA website is https://psa-photo.org/.
All of the resources mentioned above are included in the cost of membership. Annual cost is $45/year for digital membership or $65/year for a membership that includes a printed copy of the monthly PSA Journal.
Pete Morton, PSA Representative
BOARD MEETING
The SSCC Board last met in August. The next meeting will be September 25th. Minutes from all meetings can be found in the board meeting minutes archives when they have been finalized.
CONFERENCES AND EXPOS
Online registration is closed. Onsite registration opens September 21. Get more information here.
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 September 24. Email items or questions to Sherm Edwards and Maurice Belanger at cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
DEADLINE: BY September 24th TO cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org.
COMPETITION RESULTS
To see results from the May Monochrome competition and the End of Year competition, see the July Cable Release here.
COURSES, CALLS FOR ENTRY, AND EXHIBITS
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.
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.
The “Calls for Entry” article can be accessed using the button below.
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.
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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