WORKSHOP: The High Sierra Wilderness Photography Workshop

Photographers now have an opportunity to spend a week in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of central California, August 9-17, 2008, while learning from award-winning landscape photography expert Phil Hawkins. For 28 years, Hawkins has backpacked and photographed in the High Sierra, and will offer his expertise in photographing waterfalls and other natural wonders, as well as sunrises, sunsets, star tracks and moonlight. Participants will spend five full days of the week-long workshop at 9,500 to 11,500 foot elevation, with a full moon on the last night.

What's more, the Perseid Meteor Shower will take place August 11-12, 2008, offering a unique chance for photographers to capture a spectacular natural light show. The workshop is aimed at photographers of all skill levels and techniques. Just remember you'll be "roughing it" in the beautiful wilderness of the High Sierra for most of the week.

The cost per person is $3,370. Treks will be made regularly on horseback, and all comforts such as food, lodging, and showers will be provided. Only eleven spots are available for this workshop. Go here to make reservations!

CALL FOR ENTRIES: Ian Parry Scholarship

Began in remembrance of the photojournalist who died in Romania while on assignment for the Sunday Times, the Ian Parry Scholarship offers opportunity for photographers enrolled in a full-time photography course or are under the age of 24, Parry's age at the time of his death. Entrants to the competition must submit their entries via ftp to the Scholarship's website, comprising a portfolio of work and a synopsis of the project they would bring to life if chosen for the award. In addition, scholarship partners World Press Photo and the Getty Images Gallery in London will be participating.

This year, the prize amounts to £2,500, along with vouchers worth £500 to the winner, and £250 in vouchers to honorable mentions.The competition enjoys the ongoing support of the Sunday Times, and the winner will have work published in its pages. The winner will be automatically accepted into the final list of nominees for the Joop Stewart Masterclass in Amsterdam. The juried print exhibition for the Ian Parry Scholarship will begin August 3, 2008 at the Getty Images Gallery in London, and will continue for two weeks.

The competition deadline is June 15, 2008. Click here to submit via the Ian Parry Scholarship website.

WORKSHOP: Iron Based Techniques at f295

By popular request, the f295 Symposium 2008 has announced a one-day intensive workshop on cyanotype and van dyke brown techniques. Titled "Iron Based Techniques, or Poor Man's Alt-Process," the workshop will be led by photographer, educator and author Jo Babcock, who will teach the fundamentals of chemistry in photography, paper selection, and proper use of specific tools. Babcock describes "toning recipes" the photographer can use to achieve surprising variations in the color of the final image. The workshop is open to beginners in these money-saving processing techniques, and professionals as well.

The f295 Symposium 2008, running May 29 to June 1, 2008, is the only event of its kind, exploring the alternative methods in which photographs are created, and the impact of such methods on contemporary photography. Gallery receptions, lectures, and seminars set to take place during the event are made possible through collaboration with the Center for Arts in Society at Carnegie Mellon University. Workshops are presented with the cooperation of Pittsburgh Filmmakers. A full list events is available at the f295 website.

The workshop takes place May 31, 2008, and costs $200 for participation. Click here for more information.

AUCTION: Tamarind Auction to open for bidding

Starting May 2, 2008, the Tamarind Auction will be open for online bidding. Lots include lithographs and contemporary art, not to mention a 4-night shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue, Chicago. Additonally, of particular interest to all photographers (who else but fashion photographers could have a use for all of those shoes?) is a workshop on Digital Meanderings in Albuquerque's East Mountains, hosted by Tamarind curator Becky Schnelker. The workshop will take two participants through beautiful and historic places near Schnelker's own backyard, and all will walk away with useful digitial photography techniques for work in nature. This lot has an estimated value of $400, and is limited to one slot for the lucky bidder and a lucky companion. Many other art expeditions are available.

The Tamarind Auction closes bidding on May 18, 2008, so be sure to take advantage of this offer! You must be registered to bid online. Go to their website to sign up.

REMINDER: Only a few spots left for Dreamscapes!

There are a few spots left for the DreamScapes May 25-27 workshop!

Click here for new model images. Our own Tim Anderson is hosting along with Pat Berrett (www.OneModelPlace.com, #97260 and www.modelmayhem.com, #484). The workshop will begin on Friday night with a meet and greet dinner at a great local hotel, and on Saturday the hacienda will again be the location for the first shoot, with afternoon shooting at a variety of local wilderness areas.

For more information, go to Rio Grande Workshops' website here.

WORKSHOP: Precision Digital Negatives

A workshop aimed at advanced photographers, taught by Platinum/Palladium specialist and CameraArts contributor Mark Nelson (December 04/January 05; November/December 2006), will run for four days at Ed Carey Photography in San Francisco, CA, May 5-8, 2008. Mark Nelson will not only guide students in advanced printing techniques, but also will teach techniques of fabricating digital negatives from platinum originals. Precision Digital Negatives is the title of Mark Nelson's e-book and guide to maximizing tonality and smoothness in the final print. Students will learn Nelson's workflow system intimately, and apply it to creating more beautiful prints.

The workshop fee is $750 plus the cost of a student kit.

From Mark Nelson:
All the methods you will learn are part of my basic workflow—each is designed to maximize the tonality in the final print—in some cases these methods will have richer tonality or tonal values than you would get with an inkjet print.

For more details click here. Spaces are going fast!

WORKSHOP: Focus on Nature, Iceland

Some of the world's most acclaimed and experienced masters in photography will be part of a new workshop series, "Focus on Nature," to be held at a former US military base in Iceland. Nature photography, of course, will be the focus, and Iceland's grand vistas the subject during its 2008 Summer semesters. Classes will be taught by regular CameraArts contributor John Paul Caponigro, Peter Gasser, Rick Sammon, Vincent Versace, and Markus Zuber. Campus facilities including a printing center and a computer lab will be readily available to participants.

Registration is now open for the Summer semester. Price ranges from $2,450 to $4,800. Participants can expect to be trained in a fully renovated, state-of-the-art facility, and learn in instructor-designed workshops. Field trips will be made regularly to capture the majesty of Iceland's countryside.

Click here to visit the "Focus on Nature" website.

Image ©Paolo Ardiani.

CameraArts Publisher and Managing Editor Tim Anderson brings us an important message

There are a few spots left for the Dreamscapes May 25-27 workshop being offered by our own Tim Anderson and Pat Berrett (www.OneModelPlace.com, and www.modelmayhem.com, #484). The workshop will begin on Friday night with a meet and greet dinner at a great local hotel, and on Saturday there will be a shoot at a local Hacienda, with afternoon shooting at a variety of local wilderness areas.

On Sunday we will continue shooting at the Hacienda. There will be small group, as well as one-on-one instruction, and we have great nightly rates at another local
hotel. This workshop is for all levels of skill, and promises to be a rewarding experience for those involved. Attendees will be able to work with professional models and hone their skills as fine art nude photographers.

WORKSHOP: Advanced Photography in San Francisco

From May 5 to May 8, 2008, Photographer and Digital Expert Mark Nelson will present advanced workshops on platinum/palladium printing and conversion to precision digital negatives. Taking place at Ed Carey Photography in San Francisco, this workshop will give photographers a chance to go hands-on using Nelson's own workflow techniques. Quality takes precedence over quantity, however, and Nelson will teach participants how to get the most out of their digital negatives. Workshop activities encompass the down-and-dirty process of printmaking, with lectures and demonstrations mixed with, hopefully, time for everyone to wash their hands before they sit down in front of their workstations.

Curve Calculator II will be used for all curve calculation and calibration, and Nelson will teach participants the ins and outs of this and other workflow applications for either Windows users or Mac addicts. A gallery visit will also take place. Gallery 291, in the San Francisco Shopping District, was recently started by workshop hosts Ed and Holly Carey, and is currently exhibiting works by CameraArts cover photographer Beth Moon (CameraArts March/April 2008).

Mark Nelson is also the founder of Precision Digital Negatives (not to be confused with the other PDN) and is currently hosting March workshops in Texas for both beginners and advanced photographers.

Workshop fee is $750. Click here to learn more about this workshop.

WORKSHOPS: Fotofest 2008

Two public workshops, "Career Builders and Art Makers," and "Publishing Photo Books Today," will be running in March 2008 during Fotofest 2008 in Houston, TX. Taking place March 11 and March 16, respectively, both are coordinated by Mary Virginia Swanson, photography marketing consultant and prolific blogger. HP is collaborating on hosting "Career Builders," a comprehensive course on marketing one's art and building a business by promoting oneself in editorial, curatorial, and online markets; and Darius Himes, Editor and Publisher of Radius Books in New Mexico, is co-hosting "Publishing Photo Books." Both workshops have a $150 registration fee.

Each workshop will have nine speakers each. Brian Paul Clamp, Director of ClampArt Gallery; Katherine Ware, of the Philadelphia Museum of Arts; Manfred Zollner, Photo Editor of FOTOMagazin; artists Sean Perry and Lisa M. Robinson; Denise Wolff of Phaidon Publishing; and Thomas Hoepker of Magnum Photos are but a few of the excellent speakers who will be joining the hosts for these one-day workshops.

Fotofest, the Twelfth International Biennial of Photography and Photo-Related Art, runs March 7 to April 8, 2008. Click here for more information, and to register.

WORKSHOP: New Orleans Photo Alliance and New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts

A Wet Plate Collodion Workshop will be hosted over the weekend of March 22-23, 2008 by Ellen Susan, photography instructor and wet plate collodion specialist. Her most recent series, "Soldier Portraits," uses this traditional process to deptict soldiers of the Iraq War in the same sharp detail as in the Civil War photographs taken using the same process more than a century ago. The fruits of this labor-intensive, messy process should be greatly appreciated by fine art photographers and enthusiasts of archival photography preserving American History. Equipment or prior experience with this medium is not required, only an old set of clothes since this medium is a messy one.

Workshop fee is $325 plus a lab fee of $95. Deadline for registration is March 1, 2008. Enrollment is limited to 9 students.

From the New Orleans Photo Alliance website:

"In this workshop, you will learn how to create wet plate collodion positives, making both tintypes and ambrotypes (glass plate positives). Through a combination of discussions, and hands-on group shooting and processing sessions, each participant will have the chance to create several unique plates and will leave the class with sufficient knowledge to start their own wet plate collodion practice if desired."

Ellen Susan's Soldier Portraits exhibition ends February 5, 2008, but you can view a superb gallery of this medium in action here. Read more about the workshop here.

Palm Springs Photo Festival kicks off March 30

Tim Anderson will be present to review portfolios at the Connect 08 Palm Springs Photo Festival on March 30-31, 2008. Acclaimed photographers, curators, art directors, educators and leaders in the imaging industry will be in attendance in Palm Springs, California. This is a great opportunity for photographers to share their portfolios with industry experts, study in seminars and workshops with seasoned photographers, and enjoy parties and evening slide presentations by the finest in the field.

Festival runs from March 30 to April 4, 2008.

Register now! Click here for payment details.

Now Online: CameraArts Holiday Gift Guide

Running out of ideas for the photographers on your Holiday gift list? Here's a list of our own, what we hope will be a helpful series of recommendations. Click here to visit the CameraArts website and see some Yule-time hints for books, videos, subscriptions, and workshops. Merry Christmas from all of us at CameraArts!

WORKSHOP: David Wells' gateway to India

From February 17 to 27, 2007, veteran photographer and instructor David Wells will take a group of photographers on a tour of Southern India. Offered through the Strabo International Tour Company, the class, "A Photo & Cultural Tour to Southern India" will take students to some of India's most visually exotic and amazing places, the Palace of Mysore among them. Expect to see many places hidden away from the flow of mainstream tourism, while riding via coach, rail, and train. The schedule is intended to maximize photographic contact with the everyday people and sights of India.

The tour starts in Mammalapuram, then proceeds to Coimbatore, from which the group will travel to Southern India. Outings to temples, palaces, gardens, and small villages, will fill out the itinerary. Wells will help students realize the best light times for their photography. Wells has had photo-essays published in numerous international publications such as Newsweek, covering locales as varied as India, Bangladesh, California, Israel and Gaza. Wells has taught semester length classes and short week-long workshops at the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University, the International Center for Photography in New York City, the Maine Photographic Workshops, and many more.

David encourages participants to bring a small number of images for critique. He will answer individual questions during the workshop, as well as provide group instruction on photography basics such as exposure, composition, fill-flash, and methods to approach people on location. See his work here at davidhwells.com.

To learn more about this workshop, and to view a complete schedule, click here.

Angkor Photography Festival offers educational opportunities to Asian photographers

This event often passes under the radar, due to the remoteness of the location that lies a world away. The temple pillars of Angkor Wat, with their legendary Bayon faces, recall to Western eyes the exotic otherness of the Far East. The Angkor Photography Festival will return for its third year in Siem Reap, Cambodia from November 17 to 28, 2007. The focus of the event is not only the appreciation and advancement of journalistic and commercial photography, but the education of key techniques to students of the region.

There is an open call for volunteers on their site, to help with the educational programs dedicated to enriching life for the local disadvantaged. These include beggar children who, after a sudden introduction to photography through free festival workshops, have gone through transformations both outward and inward. The kids look healthy, happy, and lively, not like a piece of scenery in the hard places of the developing world. You can learn more about the festival here.

From the 2006 Angkor Photo Festival Flickr gallery:

"Concurrently, choreographer Sangeeta Isvaran and art therapist Paula Holme focused on the relationship between photography, memory and dance. Associating sound and movement with their self-portraits and photos, the children developed stories that evolved into a vibrant performance of photo-projection, dance and poetry."

Access the 2006 gallery at Flickr here.

December is A Month of Photography in New Orleans

In December 2007, New Orleans Photo Alliance will present, in collaboration with city museums, galleries, and local photographers, the Second Annual PhotoNOLA: A Month of Photography in New Orleans. For thirty days, the City will be host to fine art photography exhibitions, gallery lectures, portfolio reviews, panel discussions and workshops, and a street fair. The festivities begin November 30, 2007, with a Gala and Print Auction at the Annex of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. The works of Maggie Taylor, Hiroshi Watanabe, Keith Carter, and others will be up for sale. Carter, along with Chris Jordan, will be hosting workshops and public slide presentations on the first and second weekends of the month.

Coordinated gallery openings on the first and second Saturdays will showcase some great contemporary photography, including work by Debbie Fleming Caffery, Robert Polidori, Josephine Sacabo and Louviere+Vanessa. Another anticipated event is PhotoNOMA on December 5 at the New Orleans Museum of Art, where 100 photographers will display their portfolios as part of a community art walk. The Photo Alliance Street Fair will take place December 15.

If anyone without experience of these kinds of events imagines a staid, dull, and confusing affair for non-photographers, rest assured this cannot be further from the truth. When enough photographers are gathered together, with the incentives of portfolio reviews and meetings among industry professionals encouraging a turnout of their best work, the images and artwork on display rivals that of any national or international art festival. Participants bring not only their work, but their curiosity and passion as well.

For a full list of lectures, exhibitions, and events, click here.

WORKSHOP: Spots still open for final three in the D65 series

"Digital Workflow, Not Workslow" is the succint, but corny-sounding subtitle for the 2007 season of D65 workshops. It is a workflow-intensive workshop, so analog photographers looking for nature expeditions will likely be disappointed. However, whether one works in traditional or digital nowadays, nearly all photographers have to put their images on disk at some point. The program, consisting of lectures and hands-on training by instructors Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer, will center around Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

From D65's website:

"Do you want to process your files quickly and have them look awesome? Do you want to be able to find an image you shot in the past decade in a blink? Do you want to preserve your files for a lifetime? Are your files properly keyworded? Are using metadata the right way? Do your prints look the way you want them to? Can you convert to CMYK? Wondering how to set up a real archive? Are you working in 16-bit and using ProPhoto? Can you extend the dynamic range of an image? Is your computer optimized for workflow, or is it running slow? Would you like to blow your clients away with quality they have never seen? Are your digital files better than your film files?"

Workshops for 2007 that remain open are October 16 to 19 in Boston, November 30 to December 3 in Chicago, and December 14 to 17 in New York. For $999, one can enroll for any of these, or a 2008 course before December 31, 2007 (standard fees for 2008 are $1099).

Despite one's perceived prowess (or lack thereof) with a PC or Mac, we all have those moments of exaperation: "I thought computers were supposed to make things easier!" The D65 workshops promise a universal working comprehension of all the software and technology a photographer might come across.

For a complete list of D65 workshops, and their locations, go here.

WORKSHOP: Sundance Photographic Workshop students aiming for great shots at famous fair in Heber City, Utah

From November 8 to 12, 2007, students at Sundance Photographic Workshop will get a chance to photograph performers backstage at the 2007 Cowboy Poetry Gathering and Buckaroo Fair in Heber City, Utah. Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Martha Rial will lead a session titled “Storytelling with Images.” It will be her only workshop appearance of the year. Photographers will enjoy a better-than-front-row view at the Heber City Event, which draws performers and musicians from all over the country to celebrate Old West culture and Cowboy folklore among incredible natural backdrops.

From the Sundance Workshops' website:

"Participating photographers will learn how to go beyond the snapshot and look for moments that combine information with visual impact while documenting daily life in rural America. Other topics will include discussions on idea development, research techniques and cultivating sources. I will also emphasize the importance of the relationship between photojournalist and subject for more effective storytelling. Students will also be encouraged to ask questions about the role of ethics in photojournalism."

In 1998, Rial won the Pulitzer Prize for her photographic series on refugees in Burundi and Rwanda. She has also won a National Headliners Award, the Scripps Howard Foundation Award for Photojournalism and has been named Pennsylvania Newspaper Photographer of the Year. At the fair, Rial will offer instruction on developing ideas through images, as well as guidance on researching journalistic projects. An opportunity to work with such a wealth of material, with this kind of guidance, will surely make for an irreplaceable experience.

For more information, click here.

Kids With Cameras at Soho Photo

Soho Photo Gallery, known for its annual Krappy Kamera competition and varied offerings of fine art photography exhibitions, will present "Kids With Cameras: The Calcutta and Haiti Projects" as the special exhibit for October. Kids With Cameras (KWC) is the non-profit organization devoted to expanding the creative horizons of underprivileged children around the world. KWC has established workshops first in Calcutta, then in Haiti, Jerusalem's Old City, and Cairo. This exhibition runs October 2 to November 3, 2007, at Soho Photo's exhibition space in New York. The 20 color photographs from Calcutta, and their young creators, were the subject of the extraordinary film "Born Into Brothels."

From Soho Photo's press announcement:

"Zana Briski, (the founder of KWC) became involved in these children’s lives in 1998 when she began photographing Calcutta’s prostitutes. After developing a relationship with many of their kids, Briski had the idea of teaching photography to them in order to see the world through their eyes. The kids’ images include self-portraits, family pictures, and stunning tableaus of Bengali life."

It's wonderful to see this project expanding its reach. KWC project director Gigi Cohen worked with 12 young domestic-workers-in-training in Carrefour, Haiti. These kids' situations mirror the tragedy that is so often associated with their country: domestic workers enjoy conditions no better than that of indentured servants, and the system is not in any way designed to educate children in a way that prepares them for coexisting in adult society.

In a country with a staggering illiteracy rate (50 percent of adults), and great civil unrest and poverty, the glimmers of culture revealed in these black-and-white photographs of parade dancers and street scenes serve to remind the viewer, and the young photographers tentativley grasping their cameras, that there is hope.

The goals of all KWC workshops are encouraging artistic excellence, positive transformation and ongoing support for the participants. The children are not merely given cameras and taught the basics of composition, though these first steps toward artistic self-expression are rare and important gifts to give.

Children are also empowered by being encouraged to educate their peers. Additionally, instructors aid the children in finding better conditions in their lives, whether by transfer to better schools and living conditions or through community outreach expedited by the organization's voice on the international stage. To this end, proceeds from the sale of any artwork in KWC exhibitions always goes back to the children.

Kids With Cameras sponsors one workshop a year. To learn more about current projects, click here.

The International Weekend of Fine Art Photography

From October 31 to November 4, 2007, The Center for Fine Art Photography will present a weekend of celebrating photography. The historic Armstrong Hotel in Old Town, Fort Collins has generously offered discounted lodging rates to participants. The price of registration is $695.00, but a ten percent discount is being offered for applications made before October 1. The deadline for registration is October 8. A workshop will run through much of the weekend, and opportunities to interact with fellow photographers abound at concurrent events.

Zen and the Art of Photography, a workshop hosted by Doug Beasley, will run throughout. A seasoned photographer and educator, Beasley's work represents incredible light work, as seen in his nudes and portraiture, and an amazing eye for telling moments that suggest unseen truths, and make them felt to the viewer. Beasley's "Earth Meets Spirit" images are fine examples of this kind of evocation, and can be found on his superb website. Workshop participants will learn to deepen their visual awareness through field trips and visual exercises, while contemplating internal and external elements as they relate to the individual photographer.

A new documentary, "The Eloquent Nude," is to be screened at O'Dells Brewery. The film will examine the lives and legacies of Edward Weston and Charis Wilson, who together formed a fruitful (not to mention renowned) creative marriage. Wilson, who has supplied much of the material for this film, was more than Weston's model and love: she supported and inspired her husband for the 11 years they were together, even helped Weston to apply and be selected for for the Guggenheim Grant. Weston would be the first photographer to receive this honor.

The weekend will culminate in the 2007 International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography, with VIP and public receptions taking place November 2. The exhibition will feature 48 artists from six countries, selected by Roger Reynolds, immediate past president of The Royal Photographic Society, and Raymond Spence of the Warwickshire College School of Art. The next morning will offer the opportunity to have breakfast with the artists, followed by an evening talk by Beasley. An online version of the exhibition will be available on October 12. Click here for details about the selected photographers.

The Center for Fine Art Photography is always accepting entries for their current competition. Click here to find out more about their newest offering, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...