Street Photography for the Faint of Heart 

Eve Belson Fudge has been photographing people since winning a Kodak Instamatic camera in a coloring contest at age nine.

Married to photographer Al Belson, she accompanied him and his students on countless photography workshops. While they were photographing rocks and trees, Eve was photographing them photographing rocks and trees—a passion that led her to street photography.

In September, a selection of her work will be exhibited at the Lisbon Street Photo Fest in Portugal.

In her presentation, Street Photography for the Faint of Heart, Eve will share 10 practical ways to overcome the hesitation many photographers feel when photographing people as they go about their lives in wonderful and colorful ways.

Street photography doesn’t require a bold personality—just curiosity, enthusiasm, and a willingness to see the world through a different lens. Join us and learn to how to capture the colorful, candid moments of everyday life and stop letting unforgettable scenes slip away.

Faro Mojahedi is an Iranian-American photographer and multidisciplinary visual artist whose career spans more than three decades across advertising, architecture, portraiture, landscapes, food, still life, and fine art photography. Renowned for blending technical mastery with a distinctive creative vision, he captures not only what is seen, but the deeper essence of his subjects.

His work transforms ordinary scenes into thought-provoking visual narratives that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination. Through the use of symbolism, metaphor, and intentional ambiguity, Faro creates images that invite viewers to look beyond the obvious and discover their own personal interpretations. His photography challenges perceptions, sparks curiosity, and reveals the extraordinary hidden within the everyday. 

Join us for an engaging presentation as Farro shares the creative process, inspiration, and vision behind his remarkable body of work.

It's Fair Competition Season!  Check out the galleries of submissions to the Orange County Fair and San Diego Fair competitions. 

These are among the most prestigious and competitive juried photography exhibitions in the country, and our members have historically earned many ribbons and awards. Our galleries showcase all member entries, both submitted and accepted images. Once judging is complete, we will feature the ribbon-winning images.

We are planning a club outing to the OC Fair and will share details as they become available. 

See all Exhibition galleries here.

June 2026 Challenge - "Written in Stone"

This month, we are focusing on the permanent, the weathered, and the enduring. From the grand scale of ancient geology to the fine details of human craftsmanship, we want to see how you interpret the world "Written in Stone."

To spark your creativity, check out Ted Koelsch's presentation from our June 3rd meeting.  And don't just look at the rock itself—look for the contrast where the unyielding stone meets the fleeting elements of life and travel.

Where to Find Your Shot:

• The Contrast of Growth: Look for the resilient side of nature. A bright flower or a delicate green seedling pushing its way through cracked pavement or clinging to a stone wall.

• The Path of Travel: With summer here, focus on the stones beneath our feet. Look for the patterns of historic cobblestone streets, old flagstone paths, or weathered steps that imply a journey.

• The Hand of Man: Focus on carved history—high-contrast shots of grand stone arches, weathered statues, chiseled cornerstones, or the textures of an old stone cottage.

• The Raw Earth: Look to the grand scale of nature. Rugged canyon walls, layered rock formations, sea stacks, or field stones showing the passage of time.

Quick Creative Tips:

• Texture and Tone: Stone is the perfect subject for high-contrast images or rich black-and-white processing.

•Use early morning or late afternoon side-lighting to really bring out the roughness of the material.

• Story of Wear: Look for stone that has been smoothed out by time, water, or human footsteps—like the center of an old staircase worn down by generations.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be announced at the July 1st meeting, and will be displayed on the SCPC website. Upload only one image, your best! Please summit a full resolution image (5,000 on the long side) with NO watermarks or description. And don’t forget to include your name in the metadata. 

If shot with a SmartPhone, please email your name and description of the photo to scpc-membership@googlegroups.com before the submission deadline.

Take and upload your photo between Saturday, May 30  and Friday, June 26, midnight. Click here to review the challenge rules.

Entry links are in the newsletter and will be sent again mid-month.

Challenge and Best Shot Guidelines
Before posting, read the guidelines for detailed Challenge and Best Shots images. Do not put watermarks on the Challenge entries, however,  watermarks are encouraged on the Best Shots. 

Outings

Antique Tractor Show
Saturday, June 27 10:00am Led by Deana Denlinger

Join your leader Deana Denlinger on a trip to see the antique tractors and other antique machinery at the AGSEM (antique gas and steam equipment museum)

Antique machinery running, wagon rides, grain being made into flour, sawmill in action, spinners cottage and weaver’s barn showing demonstrations, blacksmithing, short track railroad running, clock and watch museum, music, food, and drink. Many displays of antique tractors and equipment to photograph.

Strawberry Moon on the Balboa Pier
Monday June 29th and Tuesday June 30th 6pm to 11:30pm led By Scott Stetzer

Named for the traditional strawberry harvest in parts of North America in June, this full moon is notable for the first full moon of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it will hang lower in the sky than any other full moon of 2026. The Strawberry Moon will look enormous at moonrise because of the moon illusion.  See outing details here.

The Milky Way over Anza Borrego
Saturday and Sunday July 11th and 12th, Led by Scott Stetzer

The milky way comes every month so let’s take advantage of July’s opportunity Shooting in the Borrego Springs allows shots at the various sculptures Another venue would be the dry lake bed outside of Borrego springs.  For more information, click here.

You can find outings information on our events calendar.

Workshops

Planned Workshops

Wednesday, July 29, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Photobook Workshop at the Duck Club

Join Mary Madden for a hands‑on workshop exploring how to design and produce beautiful hard‑bound photobooks. Mary will walk you through the complete process—from organizing and preparing images in Lightroom, to refining layouts and graphics in Photoshop, to selecting and ordering finished books through popular commercial photo labs.

Whether you want to create a personal keepsake, a professional portfolio piece, or a gift‑worthy album, this session will give you practical techniques, workflow tips, and creative ideas to bring your photobook projects to life.

August 18, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Library Module of LightRoom at the Duck Club

Manny Olmedo will present a detailed review of the Library Module in Lightroom Classic, with particular emphasis on effective Catalog Management and the use of Publishing Services.

This workshop will cover best practices for organizing image collections, maintaining a healthy and efficient catalog, and implementing reliable backup and workflow strategies. In addition, Manny will demonstrate how Publishing Services can streamline the process of exporting and updating images across various platforms. 

Click here for details on what is in the works.  You can also find them in our events calendar.

Monthly Casual Shooting Workshop (CSW) Series

CSWs are scheduled on the third week of the month to work on a specific shooting method.  The leader will select the location and will post links that illustrate the shooting method. Afterward, we'll get together at a local coffee shop or another place to share images and experiences. 

Click here to learn more.

One of our club’s most valued community activities is providing photographic support for local non‑profit organizations during their fundraising events and celebrations. Members volunteering their time and skills help these groups document their milestones, promote their missions, and elevate the impact of their events.

This work not only strengthens our club’s outreach efforts, but also offers members a fun and meaningful way to practice event photography in real‑world settings. The organizations we assist are consistently grateful for the images we create, and our contributions make a genuine difference in their ability to share their stories.

See all Outreach images here.

Upcoming Events:

Our Events Calendar lists additional upcoming events.

June 2026 Best Shots

Submit your best shot—any subject, any style! (but only one shot!) This is your opportunity to showcase your current work and share what you’re exploring as a photographer. Take and upload your best shot between Saturday, May 30th and Friday, June 26th, midnight.

This is not a contest. Your only reward will be the fun of posting your best shot of the month and seeing others' best shots. Please limit your submissions to one shot.

Watermarks are encouraged for Best Shots. It makes it easy to see who the photographer is and to give them proper credit.

You'll find the upload links in the June  newsletter, and they will be sent again mid-month before the challenge ends.

The photos will be shown here on this website in July.