Bruce Barnbaum Photograph Above: Cedars and Hemlocks, Lake 22 Trail (3 miles from Bruce's home/studio)

First, a few comments by former students:

The workshop was one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences - challenging, invigorating, stimulating, exhausting, and chock full of ideas, tips, and the like. --David Rheubottom, Cambridge, UK, 2004

When I signed up for your workshop, I really thought it was a lot of money that could probably be better spent on new equipment or supplies.   Now I look at the progress and accomplishments I've made since that time and I realize that a single workshop changed virtually every aspect of my approach to photography, with the end result being that I actually SAVED MORE THAN THE WORKSHOP COST, not only by being more selective and discriminating in the shots I take, but also by producing more photographs with real artistic merit. Naturally, this makes me a happier person, and what kind of price do you put on happiness?
-- Hugh Williams, Athens, GA, 2007

The most important part of photography is seeing, and the second most important thing is carrying that seeing through to a final image that conveys your thoughts to others. Whether your route is traditional film-based photography or digital photography, this workshop will dramatically enhance your seeing, and your ability to carry it through to the final print. You'll learn a great deal about light, about composing a strong b&w image, about creating a mood and interpreting a scene to turn it into your own vision. You'll learn how to express yourself better about the world that is important to you, and how to create whole new worlds, yourself. Even if you do digital work, alone, you'll learn a great deal of value from this workshop. Why? Because Photoshop techniques are derived directly from traditional methods. (For those who want a more complete discussion of traditional and digital approaches, see “Thoughts on Digital Photography” on this website.)

Today’s b&w darkroom is radically different—and far more versatile—from what it was in the recent past. High quality variable contrast papers, dichroic or variable contrast enlarger heads (making full use of these papers), the reemergence of masking and seldom-used toning techniques, combine to make the standard darkroom an exciting, creative place. Yet, it is also a contemplative place conducive to creating fine art. Taking full advantage of such remarkable advances, these popular and informative hands-on workshops explore all aspects of the modern b&w process, from negative exposure and development to fine printing of the negative. Our emphasis remains focused on one central goal: photography as an artistic, expressive form of non-verbal communication.

The traditional black and white silver-gelatin print is unmatched for luminosity and radiance. From the classical work of Paul Strand, Edward and Brett Weston, André Kertesz, and Ansel Adams, to the contemporary work of Paul Caponigro, Jerry Uelsmann, and many others, the traditional silver-gelatin print remains the the standard by which all photographs are measured. This workshop, led by two modern masters of the fine art, takes you through the process that ends with a fine silver-gelatin print. In this workshop you'll see fine prints, you'll see how they're produced, and you'll produce them yourself because it's hands-on...in other words, you get to print your own work in Bruce's fully equipped, state-of-the-art darkroom with feedback from the two outstanding photographers, printers, and instructors. We do not know of another workshop that offers this opportunity.

But this workshop offers more, because it goes through the complete process, from beginning to end...from the placement of the camera to the best choice of a lens, the most appropriate filter, the proper exposure and development of a negative to the printing, toning, and mounting of a fine print for display.

You’ll learn how to expose and develop your negatives to obtain the densities and separations that make your prints glow. You’ll learn about the astounding range that film encompasses—far gerater than most people understand, and far more than is normally taught—and how to fully use that range to get the most out of your negatives. You’ll see demonstrations of printing by a master printer using the highest quality variable contrast papers, including unique methods of burning and dodging, sharp and unsharp masking, and potassium ferricyanide reducing—usally referred to as bleaching—for refined control and additional print brilliance. Rounding out the demonstrations will be selenium toning of prints (and perhaps also of negatives to increase their contrast level), full archival processing of prints, plus mounting and spotting of prints for display. And of course, you’ll have the opportunity to print your own work, with review and advice from Bruce...right there on the spot.

The days are long, but they're so filled with both information and fun that you'll hardly notice. You'll also get wonderful refreshments throughout the day, every day, prepared and offered by Bruce's lovely wife, Sonia Karen, and fabulous breakfasts that she prepares throughout the week to start each day on the right note. A few hugs, barks, and licks from Bruce's and Karen's dogs (and even their cats), plus a few pats and pets on your part makes the week even more pleasurable.

Please note that each of these workshops begin on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. They both will run through Friday afternoon, closing at about 3:00 p.m. Please plan your travel to allow full participation in this workshop.

Accommodations:
Participants can stay at the Mountain View Inn, a small 6-room motel less than a half mile from Bruce's studio or at the
Country Cedar Inn, a beautiful B&B near Granite Falls, with additional rooms available in Bruce and Karen's home, plus camping on their property, at a wonderful bed-and-breakfast near Granite Falls, or at U.S. Forest Service campgrounds nearby. Once you sign up for the workshop, we will send you complete information about all accommodations. Just fill in the form and return it to us, and we'll make all reservations on your behalf, beginning the Sunday the workshop begins, and ending Thursday night prior to the close of the workshop.

More About the Workshop:
The workshop couldn’t be in a more beautiful setting. An hour’s drive north of Seattle, Bruce’s exceptional darkroom/classroom/gallery facilities are in his home surrounded by over a hundred acres of forests, meadows and marshes. There is immediate access to forest and mountain hiking trails nearby on U.S. Forest Service land of the rugged North Cascade Mountains of Washington. Outdoor sessions in these lovely surroundings concentrate on light, composition, and effective use of the Ansel Adams Zone System for exposure. You’ll learn how to use light as a tool for your interpretation of the existing world or worlds you may wish to create.

The triumph of this workshop is the total integration of the photographic process. You’ll learn how to envision your final print from the start, and to create a strategy of negative exposure and development, and darkroom printing to fulfill that vision.

Bruce's darkroom contains seven LPL dichroic enlargers, accepting negatives from 35mm to 4x5, allowing the finest possible prints from your negatives. You'll print your own negatives—either those you bring to the workshop or expose and develop during the workshop—with ample time for you to try new printing techniques soon after seeing them demonstrated. Bruce then suggests ways of applying these techniques in the most effective manner. Along the way, you will understand why traditional b&w photographic methods produce prints that are tonally richer than those produced by any other means, and why this will always be the case.

Indoor sessions also include presentation of Bruce's work, with insights into his thinking and his means of transforming the initial ideas into the final images. Finally, and perhaps most important, are the probing discussions and constructive evaluations of each student’s negatives and prints, with suggestions of how improvements can be made for your exposures, development and printing, and how your ideas can be better communicated. Because you get feedback from your fellow students during these sessions, as well as from Bruce, you'll have new ammunition for evaluating your own work in the future. No workshop program does this better.

We'll delve deeply into our reasons for photographing, and attempt to define the goals each of us want to achieve. To help us in this effort, we'll look inward into our own deepest thoughts, feelings and interests, and outward toward other art forms—literature, music, and other visual arts—to gain greater insight and inspiration into our chosen art form: photography.

Application