atlcruiser
Part Yeti
Hi All,
I wanted to take a minute and review a workshop I participated in last weekend. I went to New Orleans and took the Vision and Technique workshop with Michael A Smith and Paula Chamlee. http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/Vision_and_Technique_Workshop.html
I had spoken with Michael before the new year about the course and got very interested in it but I was a little hesitant to jump in as I have almost no LF experience and I was a bit concerned that the class would be better suited to my needs once I had another year or so under my belt in the darkroom. After talking to Michael and meeting him and Paula in Atlanta I went ahead and signed up…..very happy I did!
There was a bit of confusion about the location of the class and some of the details until about a week before the class but it all turned out well. We met at the New Orleans Photo Alliance, http://neworleansphotoalliance.org/, and also went into the field and into a local darkroom run by members of the alliance.
I could write pages and pages on what we covered but I am still processing much of the information. This was not traditional instruction at all nor was it a lecture. I think it can best be described as a free flowing exchange of ideas and techniques that were built into a very well designed framework of instruction. It felt more like a group of friends talking and working together than a traditional class or workshop.
I doubt that there was any aspect of photography that we did not cover and delve into at one time or another. The workshop used 8 x 10 LF cameras but the information applies to any size format and I truly feel all photographers will benefit from instruction such as this. I got to say that you MUST get a chance to work on the GG of an 8 x 10! It is just palatial J
Now I have jumped in feet first…I have ABC pyro on the way as well as amidol J. While I can never hope to get the results that they get I can get a lot better than my current level of mediocrity!
I found it very rewarding an interesting to see how hard they work on the craft aspect of what they do. Every inch of the process from packing the camera to setting the tripod all the way to how to tape the overmats to the undermats was thought about, refined and practiced until it has become second nature to both of them. Seeing that attention to detail and seeing in my hands the results in their photographs was amazing.
The best thing I believe I took away from the class was to slow down and remember that every time I pick up a camera I can learn something new and that my personal goal as a photographer is to strive to learn not strive to take pictures.
I plan to meet with them at their studio at some point and we also discussed having a workshop in Atlanta next year. If you are interested please contact me or them and we can get the ball rolling.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
I wanted to take a minute and review a workshop I participated in last weekend. I went to New Orleans and took the Vision and Technique workshop with Michael A Smith and Paula Chamlee. http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/Vision_and_Technique_Workshop.html
I had spoken with Michael before the new year about the course and got very interested in it but I was a little hesitant to jump in as I have almost no LF experience and I was a bit concerned that the class would be better suited to my needs once I had another year or so under my belt in the darkroom. After talking to Michael and meeting him and Paula in Atlanta I went ahead and signed up…..very happy I did!
There was a bit of confusion about the location of the class and some of the details until about a week before the class but it all turned out well. We met at the New Orleans Photo Alliance, http://neworleansphotoalliance.org/, and also went into the field and into a local darkroom run by members of the alliance.
I could write pages and pages on what we covered but I am still processing much of the information. This was not traditional instruction at all nor was it a lecture. I think it can best be described as a free flowing exchange of ideas and techniques that were built into a very well designed framework of instruction. It felt more like a group of friends talking and working together than a traditional class or workshop.
I doubt that there was any aspect of photography that we did not cover and delve into at one time or another. The workshop used 8 x 10 LF cameras but the information applies to any size format and I truly feel all photographers will benefit from instruction such as this. I got to say that you MUST get a chance to work on the GG of an 8 x 10! It is just palatial J
Now I have jumped in feet first…I have ABC pyro on the way as well as amidol J. While I can never hope to get the results that they get I can get a lot better than my current level of mediocrity!
I found it very rewarding an interesting to see how hard they work on the craft aspect of what they do. Every inch of the process from packing the camera to setting the tripod all the way to how to tape the overmats to the undermats was thought about, refined and practiced until it has become second nature to both of them. Seeing that attention to detail and seeing in my hands the results in their photographs was amazing.
The best thing I believe I took away from the class was to slow down and remember that every time I pick up a camera I can learn something new and that my personal goal as a photographer is to strive to learn not strive to take pictures.
I plan to meet with them at their studio at some point and we also discussed having a workshop in Atlanta next year. If you are interested please contact me or them and we can get the ball rolling.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
