I am interested in hearing about your workshop experiences. What workshops have you participated in and what did you like best about them. I am particularly interested in your darkroom workshop experience.

R.

-- ricardo (ricardospanks1@yahoo.com), May 29, 2001

Answers

I have attended quite a few workshops on many different aspects of photography. I have attended Sextons workshop on printing and it was excellent though it is demonstration only. I have many friends who have taken Bruce Barnbaums printing workshops and they all rave about it. It is a hands on type environment. Many colleges have excellent printing courses. And there are many printers who give one on one printing instruction. How advanced, if at all, are you in your printing? Most of the basics can be procurred from books thereby saving you money you could spend on an advanced workshop in the future. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), May 29, 2001.

20 years ago I went from a bad B&W printer to a near master printer after taking a one week workshop from George Tice at the Maine Workshop. Last year I attended Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee's Visions and Technique workshop at their home/darkroom in Eastern Pennsylvania. I work in 35mm and they in LF, but it was the most informative and inspiring three days I've spent in years. Both highly recommended. I also greatly enjoyed a one week workshop in Santa Fe, but got a lot more out of the ambience, comraderie, and location than out of the course. They've all gotten incredibly expensive.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), May 30, 2001.

I've found Howard Bond's printing workshops to be excellent, both in content and value. Howard is a master printer, a great teacher, and a very nice person.

My experience in the darkroom at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre was a disappointment. A whole morning was wasted waiting for equipment repairs, some students' film was ruined due to mislabeled chemistry, and the film loading booths were poorly ventilated and leaked light.

-- Chris Ellinger (chris@ellingerphoto.com), June 01, 2001.