A Natural Eye Photography - The Fine Photographic Print

A beautiful print speaks. It speaks of the emotion you want to convey. A well-crafted print can take your breathe away. And there are real skills to be able to see where a print needs to go and how to get there. The skill I originally brought into my photographic journey was fine printing, and this is the one week I get to share it.

There is so much information out there, and it can be overwhelming to sort through what you need to know, and what really does not matter. And there are also many paths to the same result. Fine printing is an art and a craft, and with the skillful use of basic tools, beautiful prints can be made. The Fine Photographic Print is about the process, your eyes, and your vision for a print. This workshop will focus on three big areas: 1. Understanding a fine print (The nuances of developing “print eyes”.), 2. Learning the digital darkroom skills (Every image requires work to get it ready to print, even if you are trying to match the way it looks on film or your monitor, and we will look at the whole process from camera capture, monitor calibration, Raw workflow, to digital darkroom tools.), and 3. Knowing how to finesse the emotional impact you desire.

I teach from an understanding of big global skills (density, contrast, and color), working towards finessing local areas (burning and dodging). All serious software programs have the tools to address these big ideas. I will teach the concepts, then demonstrate them mostly from Photoshop and Camera Raw, and to a lessor extent, Lightroom. If you are proficient with Lightroom or Aperture, you are welcome to attend as the same ideas will apply, but you should have a basic grasp of your program.

Specific topics will include:

Creating a digital darkroom: Environment and equipment
Setting up your desktop
Calibrating your monitor
Understanding color space
Understanding color management
16 bit? 8 bit?
What is a profile and what do I do with them?
First Steps: Working globally with density, contrast, and color
(to include sessions on “Understanding the power of curves”, “Ansel would have loved the digital zone system”, "Less is more", and “Knowing when to stop”)
Second Steps: Finessing locally - burning, dodging, and masking small areas for greater control
Last Steps: Sizing, sharpening, and preparing to send the file to a printer
RIPs: Finally, a perfect way to get what you see
Choosing a printer and paper
Matting and framing options

In addition, I have included two sessions to enrich our week. We will visit Andrew Smith Gallery, one of our country’s finest photographic galleries, bringing our new print eyes into the beauty of some of the finest photographic prints ever made. Secondly, I will present a brief look at outputting digital negatives, the key to making historic, alternative process prints, such as Palladium, Photogravure, and Gelatin Silver.

Prerequisites . . . You must have a working knowledge of Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture. As I mentioned above, I will be demonstrating the concepts and techniques on Photoshop, Raw capture software, and to a lesser extent, Lightroom. You do not have to be an expert, but if you have never used your software, do not know your way through its basic tools, and perhaps fumble or get frustrated using a computer, this is not the right time to take this workshop. If you are not sure, give me a call.

This workshop is open to friends of yours who have not participated in one of my workshops.

Location . . . The Institute for American Indian Arts is an accredited four year college on the south side of Santa Fe. During our week students will be on winter recess, and we will meet in the college’s Macintosh lab.

Travel and Accommodations. . . I will be happy to put people in touch with others that may want to share rental cars and lodging. The closest big airport is Albuquerque - one hour south - with frequent connections from large carriers. Santa Fe’s airport flies smaller jets to hubs like Los Angeles and Dallas. The Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA) is on the south side of Santa Fe, on the other side of town from downtown. (IAIA has a museum downtown which is not where we will be.) The closest hotels are a couple miles away at the Cerrillos Road exit of I-25 and a bit further into town. Quainter, local lodging is available ten to fifteen minutes further towards the center of the city. IAIA does receive a discounted rate at the closest hotel, Inn at Santa Fe.

The Spirit of this Workshop . . . This will be a very full workshop conveying a lot of information, and letting you have a lot of time to practice and learn. Santa Fe is a great place for this, not only because of our facility, but because of the resources in town. Expect to see a lot, take a lot of notes, and leave full. I want to be up-front about a couple things: This workshop is about the ideas, about learning what the steps are to make a fine print. We will not be outputting files onto ink jet papers. Not only is the school not set up with enough printers to handle our output, but printing your files is the least complicated part of the process (though I will be teaching this, too). It is knowing the digital darkroom that is most important. That is the expertise you can take with you to any kind of printer. Wednesday afternoon we will be sending off finished files to a lab I work with in Massachusetts, and on Thursday you will receive up to four 10X14 finished prints. Their system is tight, and the prints are beautiful. The second thing I want to mention is the more time you can spend exploring your chosen software before you arrive, the better. It is the same with making photographs. Warm up before you dive in.

Costs . . . The workshop fee is $795.00 which will include four days of workshop time (from 9am to 5pm), morning snacks, and up to four 10X14 LightJet prints. Lodging, transportation, and other meals are not included.

Because I am offering this workshop myself (as compared to being contracted through The Santa Fe Workshops), and because it will take place in my home state of New Mexico, I must collect sales tax, which at this time is 6.625%.

Confirmation Date . . . I would like to give a "Go" to the workshop by December 8th so you can make your travel plans. You may check in at any time to see you registrations are progressing.

Preparations . . . After receiving your registration form and deposit I will send you a list of things to bring (files, scans, clothing, etc.), a map to the campus, and a final payment form.

Finally, I always recommend taking out travel insurance in the event that any unforeseen circumstances come up that prevent you from attending after you have registered and begun to make payments.

To hold a place in the workshop, 1.) Send me an e-mail or call and request that I hold a space for you in the workshop and that I send you a registration form. 2.) I will send the registration form via e-mail, and will hold your space for one week while waiting for your registration form to arrive in the mail or by e-mail.

I hope you can join us on the journey into making beautiful prints!

Eddie

eddie@eddiesoloway.com
(847)452-7400

Answers to some recent questions:

1. How will it work if you are used to working with a PC? IAIA has a Mac lab. In the past, PC people have successfully worked with the Macs. In one case a person brought their PC laptop and a cable to plug into their class monitor. In another case, the PC user studied the basic Mac commands before arriving and had an easy time of it.

2. Can you bring your own laptop? You can, but there is no need to since each person will have a computer and a monitor. The exception would be if you are working on Lightroom or Aperture from your own laptop. (IAIA has Photoshop CS5 on its computers.) In that case I will be in touch with you and the college so we can connect your laptop to a larger monitor. In the list of things to bring, you will be asked to bring many images to work on. You can bring them on a laptop, a jump drive, or a cd. Laptops have come in handy for transferring finished files to take home.


	The Fine Photographic Print January 9 - 12, 2012 with Eddie Soloway Institute for American Indian Arts Santa Fe, New Mexico About the experience . . . A beautiful print speaks. It speaks of the emotion you want to convey. A well-crafted print can take your breathe away. And there are real skills to be able to see where a print needs to go and how to get there. The skill I originally brought into my photographic journey was fine printing, and this is the one week I get to share it. There is so much information out there, and it can be overwhelming to sort through what you need to know, and what really does not matter. And there are also many paths to the same result. Fine printing is an art and a craft, and with the skillful use of basic tools, beautiful prints can be made. The Fine Photographic Print is about the process, your eyes, and your vision for a print. This workshop will focus on three big areas: 1. Understanding a fine print (The nuances of developing “print eyes”.), 2. Learning the digital darkroom skills (Every image requires work to get it ready to print, even if you are trying to match the way it looks on film or your monitor, and we will look at the whole process from camera capture, monitor calibration, Raw workflow, to digital darkroom tools.), and 3. Knowing how to finesse the emotional impact you desire. I teach from an understanding of big global skills (density, contrast, and color), working towards finessing local areas (burning and dodging). All serious software programs have the tools to address these big ideas. I will teach the concepts, then demonstrate them mostly from Photoshop and Camera Raw, and to a lessor extent, Lightroom. If you are proficient with Lightroom or Aperture, you are welcome to attend as the same ideas will apply, but you should have a basic grasp of your program. Specific topics will include: Creating a digital darkroom: Environment and equipment Setting up your desktop Calibrating your monitor Understanding color space Understanding color management 16 bit? 8 bit? What is a profile and what do I do with them? First Steps: Working globally with density, contrast, and color (to include sessions on “Understanding the power of curves”, “Ansel would have loved the digital zone system”, "Less is more", and “Knowing when to stop”) Second Steps: Finessing locally - burning, dodging, and masking small areas for greater control Last Steps: Sizing, sharpening, and preparing to send the file to a printer RIPs: Finally, a perfect way to get what you see Choosing a printer and paper Matting and framing options In addition, I have included two sessions to enrich our week. We will visit Andrew Smith Gallery, one of our country’s finest photographic galleries, bringing our new print eyes into the beauty of some of the finest photographic prints ever made. Secondly, I will present a brief look at outputting digital negatives, the key to making historic, alternative process prints, such as Palladium, Photogravure, and Gelatin Silver. Prerequisites . . . You must have a working knowledge of Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture. As I mentioned above, I will be demonstrating the concepts and techniques on Photoshop, Raw capture software, and to a lesser extent, Lightroom. You do not have to be an expert, but if you have never used your software, do not know your way through its basic tools, and perhaps fumble or get frustrated using a computer, this is not the right time to take this workshop. If you are not sure, give me a call. This workshop is open to friends of yours who have not participated in one of my workshops. Location . . . The Institute for American Indian Arts is an accredited four year college on the south side of Santa Fe. During our week students will be on winter recess, and we will meet in the college’s Macintosh lab. Travel and Accommodations. . . I will be happy to put people in touch with others that may want to share rental cars and lodging. The closest big airport is Albuquerque - one hour south - with frequent connections from large carriers. Santa Fe’s airport flies smaller jets to hubs like Los Angeles and Dallas. The Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA) is on the south side of Santa Fe, on the other side of town from downtown. (IAIA has a museum downtown which is not where we will be.) The closest hotels are a couple miles away at the Cerrillos Road exit of I-25 and a bit further into town. Quainter, local lodging is available ten to fifteen minutes further towards the center of the city. IAIA does receive a discounted rate at the closest hotel, Inn at Santa Fe. The Spirit of this Workshop . . . This will be a very full workshop conveying a lot of information, and letting you have a lot of time to practice and learn. Santa Fe is a great place for this, not only because of our facility, but because of the resources in town. Expect to see a lot, take a lot of notes, and leave full. I want to be up-front about a couple things: This workshop is about the ideas, about learning what the steps are to make a fine print. We will not be outputting files onto ink jet papers. Not only is the school not set up with enough printers to handle our output, but printing your files is the least complicated part of the process (though I will be teaching this, too). It is knowing the digital darkroom that is most important. That is the expertise you can take with you to any kind of printer. Wednesday afternoon we will be sending off finished files to a lab I work with in Massachusetts, and on Thursday you will receive up to four 10X14 finished prints. Their system is tight, and the prints are beautiful. The second thing I want to mention is the more time you can spend exploring your chosen software before you arrive, the better. It is the same with making photographs. Warm up before you dive in. Costs . . . The workshop fee is $795.00 which will include four days of workshop time (from 9am to 5pm), morning snacks, and up to four 10X14 LightJet prints. Lodging, transportation, and other meals are not included. Because I am offering this workshop myself (as compared to being contracted through The Santa Fe Workshops), and because it will take place in my home state of New Mexico, I must collect sales tax, which at this time is 6.625%. Confirmation Date . . . I would like to give a "Go" to the workshop by December 8th so you can make your travel plans. You may check in at any time to see you registrations are progressing. Preparations . . . After receiving your registration form and deposit I will send you a list of things to bring (files, scans, clothing, etc.), a map to the campus, and a final payment form. Finally, I always recommend taking out travel insurance in the event that any unforeseen circumstances come up that prevent you from attending after you have registered and begun to make payments. To hold a place in the workshop, 1.) Send me an e-mail or call and request that I hold a space for you in the workshop and that I send you a registration form. 2.) I will send the registration form via e-mail, and will hold your space for one week while waiting for your registration form to arrive in the mail or by e-mail. I hope you can join us on the journey into making beautiful prints! Eddie eddie@eddiesoloway.com (847)452-7400 Answers to some recent questions: 1. How will it work if you are used to working with a PC? IAIA has a Mac lab. In the past, PC people have successfully worked with the Macs. In one case a person brought their PC laptop and a cable to plug into their class monitor. In another case, the PC user studied the basic Mac commands before arriving and had an easy time of it. 2. Can you bring your own laptop? You can, but there is no need to since each person will have a computer and a monitor. The exception would be if you are working on Lightroom or Aperture from your own laptop. (IAIA has Photoshop CS5 on its computers.) In that case I will be in touch with you and the college so we can connect your laptop to a larger monitor. In the list of things to bring, you will be asked to bring many images to work on. You can bring them on a laptop, a jump drive, or a cd. Laptops have come in handy for transferring finished files to take home.