Dear Friends,

Greetings from China! I am teaching a View Camera & Platinum Printing workshop for Alpa China here in Huangzhou. Working through an interpreter in a language that has such different nuances than my own has been challenging and produced much laughter amongst my students. Who knew photography could be so funny?

Best intentions for getting this newsletter out at the beginning of the month have long since passed any excuses. I’ll keep it short and just let you know that workshops are filling up and 2013 has started well.

The new Alabama Revisited workshop in January was a big success! The Sloss Furnaces were an exciting and challenging property to photograph but the work that students have shown me from that week has been exciting to see. The juxtaposition from industrial to historic buildings in Mooresville and old downtown Decatur provided something of interest for every photographer in the group. It’s definitely worth revisiting next January!

The weekend before I left for China we held the first Portfolio weekend workshop in my home. Eight hardworking photographers brought a representative portfolio of work and we spent time looking at the images both individually as well as sequencing for exhibit or book. What a gift this time was for everyone including my wife Donna, friend Tim Whelan and myself. The conversations were rich and deep and we all left with renewed respect for the vast and wonderful ways that each of us sees the world. In addition, participants left with ideas for continuing the work as well as direction for final form. We all agreed that this is definitely a workshop worth repeating.

The North Dakota workshop is full but we are keeping a waiting list.

The Photographers’ Retreat will be held for the fourth year at Peters Valley Craft Center  April 12 – 14. Contact jen@petersvalley.org to register for housing.

Eastern Remnants of the Erie Canal is running April 14 – 19. There is still space in this workshop.

The Platinum Printing workshops will be held at Peters Valley Craft Center  (June 27 – July 2) and Photographer’s Formulary  (July 21 – 26) this year. Contact the specific location for registration.

I’ll be teaching at the Maine Media Workshops again this summer. Extraordinary Images in Ordinary Places (July 7 – 12) is a great workshop to take if you are looking for a way back into making photographs or simply need a creative jolt. Russ Young and I will be team teaching Working with Soft Focus Lenses (August 4 – 9). Register for both of these workshops at www.mainemedia.edu.

The last workshop for the year is Ghost Towns of Western Montana (September 8 – 13). Spend a week photographing in Bannack, Montana’s first territorial capital and the old mining town of Garnet. Both locations provide interesting and challenging opportunities for photographers of all experience, film-based and digital.

I hope that wherever you are spring is arriving. There’s still snow in Maine but the longer daylight is doing its job and the sap is rising in the sugar maples. It won’t be long now until all the windows are open and summer is here. Get yourself outside and make some spring photographs. I hope to see you at a workshop soon.

All the best,

Tillman

Dear Friends,

I want to thank all of you for your support this past year – whether through your visits to the gallery, participation in workshops or your purchase of books and prints. Your curiosity and enthusiasm for all things photographic inspires me to make new work and find new locations for workshops. It was just 28 years ago when I got my first chance to teach photography at the Maine Photographic Workshops. Over the years both that organization and myself have seen a lot of changes, in ourselves, as well as in the discipline. The dance between the digital and film world continues but instead of the predicted demise of film we have a many good choices and are even experiencing a renewed interest in historic processes. The availability of an incredible variety of cameras, lenses, films and chemistry are making it possible for anyone who is interested to try their hand in the medium. What a great time to be involved in the art of photography!

Whether you are new to photography or have had a camera in your hands your whole life, taking a workshop is a great way to learn something new or renew your enthusiasm. The 2013 schedule  is now online with information about the nine workshops I will be teaching this year. Here are a few of the highlights:

Two completely new workshops include Alabama Revisited (January 20 – 25, FULL)  and Portfolio Weekend (March 8 – 10) . The Erie Canal workshop will feature the eastern end of the canal in the Albany area this year (April 14 – 19). There will be 6 – 8 new locations in the North Dakota (May 12 – 17)  workshop. Platinum Printing in the 21^st Century will be taught at Peters Valley (June 27 – July 2)  and Photographer’s Formulary (July 21 – 26). For the first time, The New Pictorialist: Working with Soft Focus Lenses, will be taught at the Maine Media Workshops (August 4 – 9). Last, but not least, Ghost Towns of Western Montana (September 8 – 13) will take place for its second year.

There are two workshop discounts available. If you register for your workshop through Tillman Crane Photography and pay in full at the time you register, you may take 10% discount. If you are taking a workshop for a second or third time, you make take 25% discount. These discounts  may be combined.

The Fourth Annual Photographers’ Retreat  will take place April 12 – 14 at Peters Valley Craft Center. All photographers are welcome to this informal gathering and there is no registration cost. A room for two nights (including Continental breakfast) is $150.00. Registration for the retreat is requested and rooms may be reserved at info@petersvalley.org or calling 973-948-5200. This year PVCC is inviting anyone who has participated in one of the previous retreats to participate in the exhibition Actuators in Photography: Three Years ofPeters Valley Photo Retreats (April 13 – May 19). Deadline for submissions is February 1, 2013. For further an application and information contact Brienne Rosner.

Between Past and Present: The Homer Studio Photographic Project at the Portland Museum of Art (ME) has had great traffic and press! I was one of five contemporary photographers commissioned by the museum to photograph in Winslow Homer’s studio this past winter/spring. All of us work with historic processes: platinum, salted paper, collodion, and gum bichromate printing as well as use of the camera obscura. If you are in the area before the show closes (February 17, 2013) I hope you will stop in and check it out. Here’s an article from the Boston Globe on the show.

The gallery is officially closed now until April, when we will have new work installed. However, if you’re in the area this winter, do give a call. I’ll be making prints between workshops and be happy to show you around.

I wish you all a happy holiday season and healthy new year!

Tillman

www.tillmancrane.com

Dear Friends,

The kids are packing for school and I’m leaving for the Ghost Towns of Western Montana workshop. The summer has been great, but flown by!

This weekend, September 1 & 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is our final Open Studio/Gallery for this summer. I will be doing platinum printing demonstrations throughout the weekend. If you are in the area, I hope you will come (22 Pearl Street, Camden) to see my new work and say “hello.”

We just received the YouTube links for the two-part segment that the local TV station, KXNET (Channel 6, Minot ND), did on the North Dakota workshop. Check out the these links: Part 1 and Part 2. The next North Dakota workshop will be taking place May 12 – 17, 2013. E-mail me to add your name to the already filling list.

We plan to have the 2013 Workshop Schedule on the website by the November 1^st so check back for further details in a couple of months.

We will be continuing our new policy on workshop discounts: If you sign up for a workshop through Tillman Crane Photography (i.e. a workshop that you register through me) and pay-in-full when you register, you can take 10% off the price of the workshop. This offer is good any time of the year. If you are taking a specific workshop for a second or third time you may take 25% off the cost of the workshop. And the best news – you can combine these specials if you pay-in-full at the time your register!

We’re running a Book Special from September through December. All books – Structure, Odin Stone and A Walk Along the Jordan – are each priced at $60.00. If you buy two books you get a third book free! You can get three different books or three of the same book or any combination you choose. This offer is not available through the website so contact me  to place your order while supplies last. (Shipping costs by Media mail or FedEx ground will be determined at time of order).

I have images in two exhibits, both opening October 5^th. Circa: Between Past and Present: Historic Photographic Processes and the Winslow Homer Studio at the Portland Museum of Art (ME)  runs until February 17, 2013. Four other photographers and myself were invited to photograph in Winslow Homer’s studio while it was undergoing renovations this past winter and spring. Each of us works in a different historic photographic process – platinum, gum bichromate, salted paper print, wet-plate collodion tintypes and Camera Obscura. It should be a really interesting show and I hope you’ll stop in if you are in the area.

The second exhibit, Photography: Here and There, at the Jonathan Frost Gallery  (Rockland ME) includes work from nine photographers. It runs until November 28, 2013.

I hope you get to photograph in the coming fall light.

All the best,

Tillman

June 1, 2013

Dear Friends,

Hard to believe April and May have come and gone!

The Photographers’ Retreat weekend was well attended and enjoyed by all. The tentative date for the next retreat is April 12 –14, 2013.

The Erie Canal workshop kept us moving for a week from Lockport to Clyde, NY. I’ve just developed some of my own film and looking forward to printing some new images from this wonderfully diverse location. This workshop is TENTATIVELY scheduled for April 14 – 19, 2013.

JUNE

June 9 – 10, 10 am to 4 pm is OPEN STUDIO & GALLERY at 22 Pearl Street, Camden ME. I will be doing platinum printing demonstrations throughout the two days. Hope you can join us. Dates for our other GALLERY weekends are: July 14 – 15, August 4 – 5 and September 1 – 2. The GALLERY is open by appointment the rest of the time. Contact us for further information.

The View Camera workshop  will be held June 17 – 20. This is a great opportunity to explore a larger format or hone your skills with your own equipment. There is still time to register for this workshop.

JULY

Extraordinary Images in Ordinary Places at the Maine Media Workshops, July 15 – 20

Platinum Printing at Peters Valley Craft Center, (Layton NJ) July 27 – 31

AUGUST

Spirit of Structure: Exploring Midcoast Maine (at the Maine Media Workshops August 5 – 10

NEW! Platinum Printing at Photographers’ Formulary August 12 – 17

SEPTEMBER

NEW! Ghost Towns of Western Montana September 9 – 14

NEW LOCATION: Soft Focus: The New Pictorialism in Aurora, OH, September 23 – 28

OCTOBER

Platinum Printing in Camden Maine October 19 – 21, Camden Maine

NEW for 2013

Spirit of Structure: Alabama Revisited January 20 – 25, 2013: Exploring the industrial Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham to the oldest town in Alabama, and redefining Main Street to the swamps along the Tennessee River. Come take a look at the Alabama you haven’t yet discovered.

Portfolio Weekend March 8 – 10, 2013, Camden Maine: A weekend of portfolio reviews with a dynamic and dedicated small group of serious photographers. Use this opportunity to refine your portfolio or chart the direction of a current project or your continuing growth as a photographer. Limited to 8 participants.

More information for both of these offerings will be on the website soon.

Remember our new policy on workshop discounts: If you sign up for a workshop through Tillman Crane Photography (i.e. a workshop that you register through me and pay-in-full when you register, you can take 10% off the price of the workshop. This offer is good any time of the year. If you are taking a specific workshop for a second or third time you may take 25% off the cost of the workshop. And the best news – you can combine these specials at the time your register!

Have a great month – and I hope to see some of you at an OPEN STUDIO weekend or a workshop in the months to come!

All the best,

Tillman