Seattle Photographic Society

Calls for Entry

PCNW's Chase the Light
Not exactly an open call, but a great opportunity to get your work seen! Chase The Light is Photographic Center Northwest's (PCNW) annual summer fundraising and friend-raising event celebrating photography and community. The event kicks off with a48-hour photo weekend on June 13th and 14th, where people around the globe make photographs on the same weekend. Every participant who submits will have their work reviewed by industry professionals and is guaranteed to have one photograph selected for a pop-up exhibition and print sale on Saturday, June 20th.

Start Thinking About the Washington State Fair
The Cascadia Photographers Exhibition will open for registration on July 18th. If you are interested in getting a jump start, you can find out more via this PDF.

Club News

Changes in Judging
In case you missed it, the Board has been refining the projected image judging process to reduce duplicate awards and make results clearer. You’ll have seen the first changes reflected in the February results. In the past, some smaller categories occasionally resulted in multiple sets of 1st/2nd/3rd awards. Going forward, we’ll reserve 1st/2nd/3rd for the top placements, and use Honorable Mentions to recognize additional strong images—especially in larger categories.

Behind the scenes, we’ve also made scoring more precise. Judges’ internal scoring has moved from a 15-point scale to a more granular 45-point scale, aligned with the 45-point results scale members already see. You may notice scores displayed with decimals displayed in your Image History. Those reflect the finer scoring increments rather than a change in how images are judged overall.

Judges will receive guidance and details as their turn to judge comes up.

Volunteer Opportunity
We are looking for a volunteer to help with membership. If you like helping people get connected and want to be more involved with the club, this is a great opportunity. You would help new members enroll, support renewals, and keep attendance for meetings.Much of the workflow is automated, and our current Membership lead will train you and help with onboarding. Interested? Contact Holly Hauser or email sps-news-box@seattlephotographic.com.

SPS Book Club
Book Club is winding down our second book,The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker. The next book is The Soul of the Camera by David du Chemin and our first meeting for that book is Monday May 11th. If you are interested in personal voice and vision, creativity, and how to make more meaningful image, this book is for you. The first meeting will be will be Monday May 11th. If you want to participate, contact Jenny Stuart.

Print and Projected Nights

Projected night is the first Tuesday of every month. Print night is the second Tuesday. The next dates are:

• Projected Image Night. Tuesday, June 2, 7pm.The theme is Thresholds. Please submit your images by 2 pm Monday the day before the meeting. To keep to our two hour timeframe, we kindly ask that all participants keep their commentary and responses short.
• Print Night. Tuesday, June 9, 7pm. Print Night is held in person at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, 13047 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 9813.

Themes in the upcoming months at Projected Images Night:

• June—Thresholds. Capture the feeling of crossing from one place or state into another—doorways, gates, bridges, stairwells, and more. Look for edgesand transitions that hint at change and suggest a moment between “before” and “after.”
• July—Frame within a Frame. Compose using natural or built frames: arches, branches, windows, doorways, fences, shadows, or negative space that “holds” the subject. Use framing to guide attention, add depth, and create a sense of discovery.
• August—Barns, Sheds, etc. Lean into rural character and everyday structures—barns, sheds, outbuildings, fences, silos, old doors, and weathered textures. Think graphic shape, patina, and stories told through materials and wear.
• September — Shadows. Make shadow the subject. Look for long late-day angles, silhouettes, hard-edged geometry, layered shade, or subtle tonal gradients. Street scenes, forests, and interiors can all become studies in shape and rhythm.

For details on image Category rules, check the SPS website under Competitions - Competition Categories. Reminder that Theme images follow the guidelines of Open Category.

Member and Educational Activities

Photo Walk, May 16th, 10:00 am
Join Jana for Blue Poppy Day 2026!The mysticalHimalayan blue poppy, Meconopsis, will grace us withits ethereal beauty once again at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. Walk through a meadow glowing with blooming blue poppies or stroll along the ADA accessible path through the blue poppy glade.

Where: Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
Date and Time: May 16th @ 10am
Address: 2525 S 336th St Federal Way, WA 98003
Location Map:Here

Admission: $12– General admission, $9– Seniors and students, FREE– RSBG members, children (age 12 and under), andmilitary with ID

Member Showcase, May 26th, 7:00 pm
Step into the spotlight at our Members Showcase! Share a 10-minute presentation on anything that excites you, whether it is a photo series in progress, a fresh technique, or images that spark your imagination. Interested? Reach out by sending an email to the News and Events Mangers (Our Club->Send Email to Members).

Share your ideas at sps-news-box@seattlephotographic.com

Vote for the Traveling Salon
In May we will be voting for the Bainbridge Island Photo Club. Starting on the first of the month, you can view the images and then vote for your top five. SPS and the NW Council of Camera Clubs thanks you.

Local Events and More

Exhibition: Rebels and Icons: The Photography of Janette Beckman at MOPOP
From the raw pulse of 1970s British punk and the rise of Hip-Hop in 1980s New York to modern-day movements and beyond, Rebels + Icons explore music, street culture, fashion, and activism through more than 700 photographs.  Open May 15th, and on view through September 8, 2027.  

PCNW Summer Classes - Registration Open
PCNW's summer offerings are now open for registration, including ten-week long classes and shorter workshops. I took Crafting Your Ongoing Project last summer and found it quite useful for moving a body of work forward. A Large Format Film class is being offered. Melinda Hurst Frye, a local photographer and instructor, will be doing a multi-day workshop that considers the natural cycles and/or human influence in the changing landscape and discusses a variety of creative strategies to such change. Gina White will be doing a one day workshop on cyanotypes.  

Northwest Perennial Alliance Open Gardens at Dunn Gardens, May 30th
Dunn Gardens (13533 Northshire Rd NW, Seattle) will be open to the public for the Northwest Perennial Alliance Open Gardens event on May 30th. If you go between 10 am and 1 pm, be sure to check out Leia Smith's work from her recent trips to Asia. Northwest Perennial Alliance has Open Gardens on weekends from May - September. 

Glazers Photofest, May 29 - 31
Join us for Glazer's for its 17th annual PhotoFest, Seattle's largest photo and video event of the year. Featuring workshops, demos, photowalks and our largest sale of the year. You can RVSP here to receive more information. 

Lightroom Virtual Summit, June 1-5
Save the date. The Lightroom Virtual Summit 2026 is coming on June 1–5, 2026. More information to come. 

Reception: 2026 UW MFA and Design Thesis Graduates, June 5, 6:00 - 8:00 pm 
Join the Henry and University of Washington's School of Art + Art History + Design in celebration of the 2026 University of Washington MFA + MDes Thesis Exhibition. See the diverse work of this year's graduate students and enjoy a no-host bar.

Nature Photography Day, June 15th
Each year, June 15 is designated by the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) to promote the enjoyment of nature photography, and to explain how images are used to advance the cause of conservation and protect plants, wildlife, and landscapes both locally and globally.

Annual Fremont Parade, June 20th 
The annual car free Fremont Parade occurs staring at 1:00pm. There will be a fair with lots of booths, crafts, arts, food, and more over that weekend. 

Community Wildlife & Birding Day with Kenmore Camera & Sony, July 11
Start the day with the Juanita Bay Photo Walk from 7:30 am - 9:00 am. Later, meet John Prucich aka The Falconer, and a few of his ambassador birds to talk about raptors and falconry. Click here for details and to register. 

Interested in More on Titling Your Work?
Daniel Gregory just did a webinar about titling your work. Can you watch a recording of it here. 

Bill Ray's Classes
Bill is extending free access to his Planning Tools class until April 5th so you can employ these powerful tools. Stop hoping for the bestand start being at the right place at the right time.
Click here to watch for free:
https://www.billrayimages.com/free-quicktakes-slideshows

Also, Development Your Eye for Remarkable B&W will be 1/2 off through April 16th. Think of it as a post-tax day reward for your creative skills. Get more details and order your ticket to watch the class video here:
https://tinyurl.com/BnWClass