Reflections on a Workshop

This last November, I gave myself a birthday present and took a printing workshop from Charlie Cramer, Charles Cramer one of the acknowledged masters in printing, and a student of Ansel Adams. I have wanted to take this workshop for years and it always sells out early, and is only offered once or twice a year. This year I was lucky enough to get before it sold out. I have a 24” wide large format printer that prints from roll paper (see story on HP support). I find printing nice images to be extremely satisfying, and as such am always striving to increase my ability.

Several things go into a finished print,

• a good photo to start with
• “darkroom” work that is now Lightroom & Photoshop
• Mounting and displaying the finished print.

The workshop was primarily around the “darkroom” work, although the other areas were touched upon.

“The negative is comparable to the composer’s score and the print to its performance. Each performance differs in subtle ways”

Ansel Adams

This workshop was around how to perform at a higher level, to take the performance up a step or two. It certainly met those expectations! Other than being able to perform at higher level in my printing, I was not sure what to expect.

The workshop There were 7 students, Charlie, and his ‘assistant’ (really another instructor), Rex. The eighth student couldn’t make it due to emergency surgery the day before. As an instructor myself, I was very impressed with the quality of the classroom exercises that were designed to teach new skills. It started with an 81 page workbook sent to us months before class that we could learn and practice new skills, and then in class roughly 100 images each with one or more skills to be practiced with. Each image was chosen with care to demonstrate a point.  I came to learn though is that this is the nature of Charlie, and how he delivers top tier performances whether they be photographs, or teaching; he pays attention to details, and the details add up.

One of the surprises was that I already know nearly all of the techniques (Lightroom and Phtoshop). I guess, in some ways I still have hidden beliefs that if I have the “right” lens, or technique I will get the magical photo. I even knew a number of techniques that were not covered. The learning came in the attitude and the process of how to use those techniques (duh… surprise…).

Charlie teaches a careful stepwise, incremental approach to creating the desired print. His aesthetics differ slightly from mine, I generally like more dark in my images, and he generally lightens images up. I have been diligently working though using his method since, and on some images, things that I would have done as dark I have lightened up, and the image has improved, on other not.

At the end of the day, the quality of my photos has improved.

Thank you Charlie.