Photo Workshop, Boston

A. Cemal Ekin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:17:54 +0000

Digital photography has changed the industry and the practice of photography in very profound ways. The art and hobby of photography have been rejuvenated and more people are photographing today then ever before. It is certainly a liberating technology that democratizes photography in many ways and allows millions to enjoy photography for self expression, art, commercial endavours, and as a great hobby.

Inherent in this great technology is some level of increased complexity, primarily stemming from the amazing capabilities of today’s cameras and photo editing software. People interested in photography today can get information and support from variety of sources like the Internet, magazines, friends, local camera clubs and the like. A great opportunity to learn the techniques of digital photography and practice it with peers and professionals is coming to Boston. Digital Days Photography Workshops, which travels to 18 cities every year will hold a two-day event in April 18-19, 2009. It is a great opportunity for Rhode Island photographers, Boston is only an hour away and you will get a chance to work with and learn from three great instructors at the workshop.

The event is organized in two segments, the first day is about the digital fundamentals, photography basics like composition, and basic digital workflow after the shoot, and digital photography tips. The second day builds on the fundamentals covered on day one and continues with a live shoot session, image critique, setting up your workstation and workflow, and advanced editing.

The event is presented by the well-known photography magazine, Popular Photography, and sponsored in Boston by Hunt’s Photo and Video. Judging by the program and the workshop team, it promises to be a very rewarding experience for anyone wishing to get to the heart of the digital photography and its rich and enabling environment. Definitely worth checking out. If you are a member of the Photographic Society of Rhode Island, you may even get a significant discount, how about 25%! See a PSRI officer for details or check your e-mail for the next PSRI Newscast.

Workshop

A. Cemal Ekin — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:26:59 +0000

I have just finished the workshop “Fine Art of Digital Printing” with John Paul Caponigro and Mac Holbert and I cannot say enough favorable things about the whole experience. Both John and Mac are extremely knowledgeable about photography, digital workflow, Photoshop, and the printing process; I mean extremely high quality fine art printing. On top of that, they are also very eager to share what they know, not only with the workshop participants but anyone who cares about her or his work. I am leaving the workshop with many useful technical and programmatic knowledge, not to mention many fine prints I was able to make there. But the best thing for me was my one-to-one meetings with John Paul and Mac who pointed out not only the technical glitches in my prints but also made me realize that I have to separate somewhere my emotional response from my technical process of producing fine prints. Now, I am not suggesting that either man told me that my prints were not of good quality, to the contrary they both said they were quite good, very good. But, and here is the rub, in my haste to visually articulate my ideas I have overlooked minor details that detract from the final quality.

I also realize now that I should have brought a more cohesive body of work to show rather than selecting images of various types. I made that choice with the assumption that I might need to present different types of photographs that show different technical questions/challenges as well as my varied interests. After John Paul’s presentation on presentation, I realized that my assumption and the resulting selection of images were wrong as they did not tell him enough about what my work is about. He was right. Thank you John, thank you Mac.

As part of the team, Arduina, John’s lovely wife; and Ming, Mac’s right hand (and the left hand as Mac called him) were always there with a smile to help with any problems that we might have had. With a great sense of humor and responsibility they greatly contributed to the total experience. Thank you Arduina, thank you Ming.

The venue for the workshop was the Hallmark Institute of Photography. The institute has impressive facilities, well equipped and extremely well maintained and presented. The people of Hallmark we had a chance to meet and interact, Gabe, Mark, Vance, were fabulously friendly and accommodating. Their hospitality and easy going manner contributed to the quality of my experience immensely. Thank you Gabe, Mark, Vance.

The participants at the workshop were a very good bunch of people with varying styles and talents. I have a feeling that I will communicate with quite a few and exchange ideas. I am looking forward to that. Thank you all for your company and sharing your work with me.

Kept Light » workshop

Photo Workshop, Boston

Workshop