Thank you for your interest in the Science Museum Camera Club (SMCC)

Thank you for your interest in the Science Museum Camera Club (SMCC)

We are a group of photographers of all levels, from beginner to advanced, who unite to share experiences, know-how, and knowledge. The Club has many activities that provide a range of venues for improving your photography. The best opportunities are to join in group discussions or participate in group outings, as you will find that fellow members are always ready to help.

More specifics about club activities are listed in the club newsletter, the “Format,” which is published several times during the season. For more detailed information about our club activities, we encourage you to read the “Format.” This newsletter is published several times during the season and provides a comprehensive overview of our activities. You can also find information in our meeting handouts or email announcements.

Overview of activities

Meetings: SMCC season starts in September and ends in May. Meetings are semi-monthly on the first and third Wednesday of the month, starting at 6:30 PM to give us time to snack, socialize, and talk shop. At 7:00 PM, we enter the Auditorium for our program, critique session, or competition. We may also hold special educational meetings during the summer or club season.

The 1st Wednesday of the month is either a competition or critique night. This is a chance for a judge or club member to give feedback on your Images. For most of us, this is the hardest thing to do because we hate to hear anything but good comments. Once you get past that, feedback from competitions and critiques is the best way to learn.

The difference between competitions and critiques is that critiques are not scored, while in competitions, judges assign scores to our images, which are collected over the year. There are four levels for "Competitions”: Bronze is where we all start; Silver and Gold are the intermediate levels, and Diamond is the top level. Three of the evenings are critics while four are competitions

The top point earners in the competitions for each level are recognized at our annual year-end banquet.

Our Competitions consist of:

Projected Image General Competition: 2 projected images (digital photo files)

Projected Image Creative Competition: 1 Projected Image (digital photo files)

Color Print Competition: 2 Color Prints

Monochrome Print Competition: 2 Monochrome Prints

Color prints and Monochrome Prints can be either be small prints at 8” x 10” or 8”x12”, while large prints are up to 16” x 20”

It is your choice to enter competitions. We have competition rules specific to each competition. You will get a copy of the rules when you join.

Depending on the number of competitions held during the year, we will have a pre-determined number of entries that must be submitted to be counted toward the year-end standings. Because images submitted in the projected image competitions are online, we do not allow makeup images to be submitted into a competition. Since prints are physical copies, we allow members to submit make-up prints if they are not able to put images into one of the monthly competitions. In this case, members can submit one color and one mono print into the Prints competition. The makeup prints can be small prints or large prints.

Program Night is the 3rd Wednesday of the month. This program can be educational, an outside speaker, or a club activity. This night includes time to socialize as the talk will end early enough to allow for a bit of camaraderie and talk “shop.”

The SMCC website is a source for information about the club, photographic topics, and a place where members can have their own gallery. Paid-up members get a password for the website and instructions for login. Please log into the site and explore it. Look at pictures in other member's galleries. Telling someone you liked an Image they posted is a great way to introduce yourself and start a dialog at the meeting. You can download help files for how to do things, but some members will assist if you have difficulty. We have a “Critique Forum” where members can upload images and have feedback from some of our experienced members.

SMCC special competitions: The E. Thomas Smith is an annual nature competition. The Dorothy Ralph Photo Essays are shown at the annual banquet. There is a year-end "Projected Image of the Year" and "Print of the Year" at the last meeting before the banquet.

Group Outings are excellent to get out and shoot with fellow photographers.

The Buffalo FORMAT is published several times each year. It includes the meeting schedule, general articles, and information from club members. This is a great way to share ideas and techniques with the club.

The Annual Banquet is our annual get-together where members bring family and guests to share in a recap of the year's competitions with awards and Ralph Dorothy essays and to enjoy the camaraderie. This is always held on the 3rd Wednesday of May.

SMCC is an all-volunteer organization operated at the Science Museum since 1939. We need volunteers for many tasks to keep our club going. Please ask if you are interested in doing something.

Note that specific information explaining the requirements for all competitions is available. Club Outings and special events are announced as they occur.

SMCC Announcements are also emailed from the SMCC website before every meeting and as things come up throughout the month.

Please ask anyone for assistance. If they do not know the answer, they can point you to someone who can help.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with Carmon at:

Carmon Koenigsknecht, President SMCC
carmonmk@gmail.com

To Join our club, please fill out the membership form and mail it to the address on the form or bring it to one of our meetings

SMCC Membership Form

SMCC Member Handbook