The Baltimore Camera Club: 130 Years of Photographic Education and Excellence 

Baltimore Camera Club trophy

Want to learn more about past activities of The Baltimore Camera Club? Have a look at the issues of the Baltimore Camera Club’s publication, Focal Point, dating from the late 1970s into the 1990s.  Or maybe you want to see the types of works that members produced -- well we have that too! The collection contains a number of member-created photographs, including prints by some of the their most famous members, like Edward Bafford and A. Aubrey Bodine, who was also a photographer at the Baltimore Sun for fifty years.

A. Aubrey Bodine self portrait

Feel free to grab a seat by the display of antique cameras in our reading room and spend some time exploring the long and interesting history of The Baltimore Camera Club.  Whether you want to bone up on your history before attending a meeting or just want to learn about the oldest photographic society in the nation, UMBC’s Special Collections department has something for you. 

RPM, Laverne L. Bodaire

More information about the Baltimore Camera Club’s meetings and current activities can be found on their website, www.baltimorecameraclub.org.

Written by former Special Collections Student Assistant Kathleen Foster

What do I do with last semester’s books I don’t need anymore? Sell them online? Deal with shipping and fees? Nah, I’ll Backpack ‘Em!

You may remember Textbook Swapper from the Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition. Andrew Mavronicolas, Tyler Jaeger, Man Lee, and Jones Moses were one of the runners up at the competition, but had a great idea that will immensely help the students at UMBC, and well beyond.

Textbook Swapper’s initial product was to provide a marketplace for students to buy and sell textbooks amongst each other. There was no need to pay the marked up prices of many of the online web services and to deal with the mishaps of shipping mistakes or returns.

Well, they have been working in stealth mode for a few months, developing, testing, and tweaking…now, they are ready to launch their pilot version to the public.

One of the biggest changes is that the company doesn’t just do textbooks anymore. It’s truly a marketplace for students and will allow you to sell anything within your campus community, provided it’s school appropriate. Therefore, Textbook Swapper is now called Backpack ‘Em, LLC.

It’s easy to use, and is only accessible through your UMBC account. You login and easily search through the university's course listing. If you’re selling, you simply fill out a quick form, come up with a price, and you’re off.

Buying is quick as well. Look up books by course or department. No need for an ISBN number. Then simply message the person selling it to setup a time and place to meet on campus. It’s that easy and painless.

Did I mention that it’s being offered FREE OF CHARGE to students?

Their test users have suggested using the service for furniture, housing, lab equipment, and concert tickets…but the possibilities are endless.

UMBC is the launching site and testing ground for Backpack ‘Em, but the company expects to be at other universities within the school year.

To learn more about Backpack 'Em, visit their website...but to get started using the service, visit their site just for UMBC students: umbc.backpackem.com and start listing your stuff. You can also connect with the company on Facebook.

We’ll also be featuring Andrew Mavronicolas, the CEO of Backpack ‘Em in an upcoming Spotlight next week.

Between You and Me is a solo show in three parts by multidisciplinary artist Christine Ferrera. Counter-posing live and recorded performance, this piece contemplates art, humor and feminism. 

 An artist befriends a global coffee conglomerate, confronts her anxieties by attempting a stand-up comedy routine and battles a belligerent version of herself in a series of strange phone calls. Counter-posing live and recorded performance, Between You and Me is a solo show that contemplates art, humor and feminism.

Maurice Berger is a Research Professor at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture at UMBC and a well-known cultural historian, curator and author who writes the Race stories series for the Lens Blog at the New York Times. 

 “At first glance, the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008 seemed little more than the stuff of adventure-book fantasy: a reawakened empire going to battle against an old viceroyalty over a mountainous principality of negligible strategic value to either side. But it has had momentous consequences.”

Chanan Delivuk is a longtime city resident, a community gardener and artist who uses new media to explore dialogue and everyday stories in her art practice. American Studies Associate Professor Nicole King writes on Delivuk's ties to Curtis Bay and connections that she is forging with new generations of kids coming up in Baltimore at the Filbert Street Gardens.

I am a huge coffee addict, and a bit of a coffee snob. Caffeine addiction is a pretty common occurrence among entrepreneurs, especially in the start up phase of a business concept.

I know its summer and not everyone is on campus, but I've been here a lot. The Starbucks is closed, and the other coffee shops close at 3 pm. It would be great if I could brew a fresh cup of coffee anywhere.

I’m not the only one. In fact, a number of UMBC students identified and tackled this problem; Mojoe lets you brew your own coffee on the go.

Mojoe is a travel mug-sized portable coffee maker that heats any temperature water from any source to brew up the perfect cup of joe.

Here’s how it works. You load in your favorite coffee (Zeke’s is pretty good, but Green Mountain may be one of my favorites that easy to find), to the filter, cream and sugar if you’re into that, and hit the road. Add water whenever and wherever you can.

Watch the Mojoe Information Video

The system powers up, using a rechargeable battery, a 12V car adapter, or a wall adapter, and heats up the water; your coffee is heated to about 200 degrees and mixes in your cream and sugar. After its done brewing, you can comfortably enjoy the coffee directly from your Mojoe.

The founders of Mojoe, Joseph Hyman and Ezekiel Kolajo, have launched their crowdfunding campaign and need your help. I know that times are tough and as a college student money can be tight. In a crowdfunding campaign, I can tell you that every little bit helps. Even if you don’t have cash to invest in Mojoe, the secret to a successful crowdfunding campaign is sharing. We all know people who love coffee…let them know about Mojoe.

Learn more by visiting their website

Help fund Mojoe