Taking Time: Developing Photographic Reflexes, Presence

and a Sense of Narrative

Being attuned to the moment and all that occurs in it is the essence of the photographic craft.  That wonderful instant where light, composition and the elements all conspire in perfect alignment is the goal of most serious photographers.....and yet can sometimes feel like an elusive dream.  Experienced photographers know that through immersion in their subjects, a comfort level with their equipment born of understanding, and a certain tenaciousness mixed with a childlike curiousity, the moment can expand and the elusive dream become a reality more and more often.

Here in the country of Iceland where volcanoes and glaciers have been active for millions of years, where a culture with roots in Viking and Norse history, and a strong literary tradition enhance our sense of history's patient hand, we will learn to take time, care and thought in approaching our subjects. While visiting scenes of immense natural beauty and towns where traditions are still evident, we will learn to slowly and patiently work a subject until we are satisfied with our images.

WE WILL ALSO CONSIDER the elements of narrative and ENCOURAGE workshop participants along the natural lines of their creative abilities and interests in developing a story through multiple images. Each morning will begin with some planning and preparatory instruction before heading out into the field, and each day will build upon the results of the previous one. Evenings will conclude with discussion of that day's events, problems and issues encountered as we share work in a group setting with an eye towards supporting one another and expanding our collective skills.

While today's digital cameras offer the allure of instantaneous results, and access to a dizzying array of feature sets, the complexity of controls and common misunderstandings can also be a hinderance to comfortable work in the field. We will therefore ground ourselves in a review of certain basic principles of photography sometimes lost in the technology. Digital workflow and output, essential elements of a complete photographic process, will also be considered and discussed. The end result of the workshop will be the production of a complete printed narrative of the week s experiences highlighting some of the skills we have developed, and drawing on work from each participant.

Students should bring one or more Digital SLR camera bodies and a minimum of 1-3 lenses depending upon how many you own. While anyone will be able to produce work with whatever lenses they have in general we will want to try to cover the wide angle to portrait lens range, and medium telephoto range. Longer telephoto lenses are also OK, but students should be mindful of the weight especially on days we will be walking. A laptop is not required, but encouraged if you own one, and will allow for more easy editing, discussion of the day's take and selection. Students should also bring a card reader, external hard drive(s) or storage devices and sufficient number of cards to cover a long day in the field. An external electronic flash unit if you own one may also be useful, as will be a comfortable and easily accessible camera bag or pack. Tripods, mini-tripods and mono-pods are also OK though likely we will use them selectively. A notepad -- a wonderful non-digital device -- will also likely come in very handy.

Workshop Fee and On-line Registration