Dear Friends,

Are you looking for a gift that keeps on giving – for yourself or the photographer in your life? How about a workshop that focuses on skill building, creativity or the discovery of a new favorite location? I’ve organized my 2011 workshops (below) by their predominant focus although all of them contain these components to some degree in different ratios. Complete descriptions and details can be found in the workshop section. Download workshop application . As an enticement for early enrollment, if you sign up and pay for your workshops in full by January 30^th, 2011, you will receive a 10% discount off the cost of the workshops (excluding Maine Media Workshops and Peters Valley Craft Center locations).

Skill building:

View Camera: Sometimes Bigger IS Better is designed for the beginner to advanced photographer. Whether you are working with one of these cameras for the first time, investigating a new format or looking to minimize the guesswork with your own equipment, this workshop offers something for everyone interested in large format photography. My own cameras (5 x 7, 5 x 12, 8 x 10) are available with a variety of lenses for you to try. This workshop is guaranteed to build your expertise.

Soft Focus & the New Pictorialism is for those of you interested in soft focus photography. I teach this with Russ Young, an expert on both the history and the use of soft focus lenses.

Platinum Printing in the 21^st Century is for when you’re ready to take the expression of your negatives to the next level. Come experience the hand-crafted process of platinum.  Whether you are completely new to this beautiful print form, coming to learn new developers and/or solve problems, this workshop is adaptable to all needs.

Creative kick-start:

Extraordinary Images in Ordinary Places is just the place to rekindle and spark your creativity. Remember how excited you were when you made your first photograph? Have you lost some of this passion as time shrinks before the demands of your day? A multitude of fun shooting assignments are paired with daily critiques to shake up the way you look at the world around you. Nobody walks away from this workshop unchanged – and your photographs will show it! This workshop will be held at both the Maine Media Workshops and Peters Valley Craft Center this coming year.

Location, location, location:

Sometimes you just need to be in a new environment to begin to see with fresh eyes. The Spirit of Structure workshops provide entry to hard-to-access places; places I have personally spent my own time photographing. I have learned the value of repeated visits to a location. I believe it takes this “coming back” to see beyond the physical attributes of a space and begin to recognize your own emotional response to the location. Each of these workshops provides time to return again and again to locations that speak to you. I challenge myself to produce a body of work in each location before I offer it as a workshop so I am well familiar with the area. Geography for this year includes four locations: Mainland Orkney, Scotland; Rugby, North Dakota; Mid-coast Maine and the Olson House, Cushing, Maine

Whether you take one workshop from me this year or more, I know you will learn something valuable. The opportunities to strengthen your craft, spark your creativity or spike some enthusiasm for a new vista are all available in the offerings this year. If you don’t see a workshop that meets your needs (perhaps you need help editing a book project or preparing for an exhibition or even if the schedule doesn’t fit), contact me to arrange a private tutorial that does.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!
Tillman

tillman@tillmancrane.com
www.tillmancrane.com

October 1, 2010

Dear Friends,

I’ve just returned from two great workshops, a week in Orkney and weekend in Hexam England. Returning to the balmy fall weather of New England after the unsettled weather of the Orkneys and beautiful skies in Hexam it’s good to be home and I’m looking forward to processing this new stack of film in the coming weeks.

On the homepage you will see the listing of 2011 workshops. Full descriptions and registration materials will be available on the website in November. I’ve been asked what I’m trying to accomplish by calling a group of workshops “Spirit of Structure” and would like to address that. My goals in teaching these location workshops are threefold: I want you to experience photographing in locations that I find inspirational; I want you to have the opportunity to take your time in exploring this area, returning multiple times to deepen your awareness of the surroundings; and I would like the photographs that you make after this workshop to reflect what you gained from this workshop experience. Perhaps these goals sound lofty but the truth is if you aren’t learning and growing from your workshop experience with me, then I’m not doing a very good job of teaching.

I can only teach from my knowledge of the craft of photography and knowing how I work best. It has always worked better for me to return to a location at least a few times before I begin to make the photographs I went looking for. My earliest efforts begin on the surface and it is only with time, by slowing myself down, letting go of distractions, asking questions of the location, as well as myself, that I begin to see the nuances of light, quiet corners, and sometimes, begin to understand the spirit of a place. This is why you won’t do five cities in five days in one of my workshops – because I don’t work that way. What I can give you is the opportunity to be inspired, the time to explore in depth a new location and the experience of learning to bring more of your own voice to your photographs. With this knowledge, I hope you will consider taking a workshop with me in the coming year.

I have work in three exhibits this month. Tillman Crane & Friends at the Catskill Arts Center in Livingston Manor, NY, is up for viewing until October 10^th. For more information visit www.catskillartsociety.org. Photographing Maine: Ten Years Later 2000 – 2009 is at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art October 2^nd – December 5^th (www.cmcanow.org).  This is an invitational celebration featuring 150 Maine photographers. Going Forward, Looking Back, will be at the Maine Media Gallery in Rockport October 15^th – November 19^th. This is the fourth venue for this show and if you are interested in looking at the work of contemporary photographers who are working in historic processes, be sure to see this exhibit before it comes down (www.mainemedia.edu).

In addition, although we do not have regular gallery hours now that the summer “season” is over, we are open by appointment. Should you be coming to the area give me a call (207-230-0199) or email (tillman@tillmancrane.com) and Donna and I will be happy to open the doors to the gallery for you. If I’m in the darkroom I’ll show you how I make a platinum print too.

Next month the fourth in this year’s Collectors’ Print Specials will be available. The names of winners for books in last month’s drawing are on the homepage (www.tillmancrane.com). October drawing winners will be posted in Gallery News & Notes next month and another round of names will be drawn in November.

I hope you are enjoying beautiful fall weather and getting outside to make photographs.

All the best,

Tillman

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the new Tillman Crane Photography website! I hope you’ll take some time to look around and enjoy the easier navigation and more readily accessible information. Please let me know of any problems you encounter – no system is perfect and we will continue to make changes as necessary.

We are encouraging everyone to sign up for email news as we cut back further on snail mailings. This month we will draw names from our email registry for free books and prints. Each month between now and December three lucky people will be chosen. If you have not yet signed up to receive our monthly email, this is a great time to do so! If you are already receiving this newsletter, then you are already entered to win and there is no need to re-sign up. As always, I thank you for your continued support.

The new Collectors Print Special for August is Close, Victoria Street, Stromness, Orkney. This horizontal 5 x 7 platinum print is available for the month of August for the special price of $225 (includes shipping). Learn more about the Collectors Print Special series.

View Camera: Sometimes Bigger is Better! (August 27 – 29, Camden, ME) is a “Go” and there is room for more in this four day workshop focused on camera operation and understanding the proportional relationships of composition between the different formats. Whether you are new to these cameras, need a refresher course after setting yours aside for a time or you’ve just bought a newer or bigger camera – this workshop is a great place to begin your new journey in large format photography. Contact tillman@tillmancrane.com for further details.

A Sense of Place: Santa Fe (October 13 – 16, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops) is a new workshop venue this year. Exploring a variety of locations in Santa Fe, the goal for the week is to look beyond the obvious to make images that go deeper than the postcard shot, revealing the sense of place of this spectacular location. This is a shooting workshop and all camera formats are welcome. For further information contact info@santafeworkshops.com.

The North Dakota Workshop was great fun and if you missed it this year I hope you’ll consider joining me next spring! There were 7 participants and over 20 different locations, with never more than 2 people at a location at a time. We had large format to digital photographers, creating still life to grand landscape images. Many of these photographs have already been accepted into juried shows around the country and are creating quite the stir. If you like making photographs of buildings in various states of decline you won’t want to miss out on this great location next year!

Russ Young and I had great fun with the group attending the Soft Focus Workshop in May. We enjoyed the wealth of information and experience the group brought to the table, as well as some great lenses! The next Soft Focus Workshop will be held September 2011 in Virginia. Details will be posted on the website as they become posted finalized.

We’re a little slow opening the doors to our new Tillman Crane Gallery here in our home but should be hanging out the “Welcome” flag any day now. If you are in the area I suggest calling ahead (207-230-0199) as we are open by chance or appointment for this first season. Donna and I look forward to showing you around.

Last, but not least, the Catskill Art Society (Livingston, NY) will be exhibiting my work with a collection of other photographers this September. The show is open September 4^th through October 10^th. For more information visit www.catskillartsociety.org.

I hope you are enjoying the summer pace and finding time to photograph. I look forward to hearing from you.

Tillman

It’s officially Spring here in Maine and with the longer days and warmer temperatures it feels great to be out photographing in fewer layers! I hope that wherever you are that you are able to celebrate this new season in ways meaningful for you.

This year’s workshop season begins withAbandoned Farms of North Dakota (May 3 – 7). There’s room for one more participant so contact tillman@tillmancrane.com a.s.a.p. if you’d like to join us in photographing this stellar variety of farmsteads, churches and silos in various states of disrepair. Soft Focus with Russ Young (May 20 – 23) will give you an entirely different view on the world. Come play with a variety of historic lenses that were designed to bring an impressionistic feel to your subject. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to bring a new look to your photographs! Register for both workshops.

The Olson House Workshop (June 20 – 26) offers an outstanding week for deepening your photography experience in this location made famous through Andrew Wyeth’s paintings. People taking this workshop have had tremendous success with acceptance into juried exhibits on the strength of negatives made during their week in Cushing. Learning to work in this space is a great jumping off point for every other location you go out to photograph!Extraordinary Images in Ordinary Places(July 25 – 31) is a shooting class designed to challenge how you “see” and as a result, how you “photograph”. This workshop offers a great opportunity to rekindle your enthusiasm for photographing. Register for both workshops at www.theworkshops.com.

I’m offering two workshops at Peters Valley Craft Center (Layton NJ) this summer. Spirit of Structure: PVCC (July 2 – 6) will be a similar format to the North Dakota workshop, using the barns, artists’ studios and houses in the old town of Bevin in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation area. Centrally located, PVCC has a wide variety of sites to suit any photographer’s interests. Platinum Printing in the 21st Century will take place at PVCC July 9 – 13 and in Camden ME October 22 – 24. Registration for both workshops can be found at www.petersvalley.org.

Whether you are new to large format photography or want to gain more mastery with your “old friend” consider the View Camera: Sometimes BIGGER is Better! Offered August 26 – 29 here in Camden ME it’s a chance to become proficient at camera operation as well as understanding the proportional relationships between the different sized formats. In another vein, if you have the itch to travel then consider coming to the Scotland: The Lewis & Harris Workshop (September 15 – 20). This is a small group workshop photographing two magical islands of the Outer Hebrides. Contacttillman@tillmancrane.com for more information.

I’ve added a new workshop to the 2010 schedule: A Sense of Place (October 13 –16) at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. This is a shooting workshop in which we will explore a variety of locations in the Santa Fe area, seeking to make images that reveal the unique relationship between the photographer and the location, rather than just making the “postcard” shot. If interested go towww.santafeworkshops.com for more information.

I am pleased to announce that I was one of forty-one artists selected for the Center for Maine Contemporary Art Biennial exhibit! It’s been a tough year for CMCA, who temporarily closed their doors this winter, and yet over 654 artists believed enough in this art museum of long standing to apply for consideration. The show will be open May 29 – July 17, 2010. For more information visit www.cmcanow.org.

Capture: 50 Photographic Artists opens April 2 – May 9 in Falmouth Maine. Co-sponsored byElizabeth Moss Gallery and Maine Home & Design magazine this is the fundraising exhibition to launch the new Maine Museum of Photographic Arts (MMPA). Contact Denise Froehlich (dfroehlichxx@hotmail.com) or Elizabeth Moss (emoss@maine.rr.com) for further information.

The Going Forward, Looking Back exhibit of historic photographic processes has moved to Simmons College, Trustman Art Gallery in Boston. It will be available for viewing April 20 – May 28, 2010. This is a good selection of contemporary alternative process work. There are nine of my platinum prints in this show, some older, familiar images as well as newer pieces. The exhibit moves to UMass/Dartmouth in June.

In May I look forward to launching the new website. In coordination with this we are going to give away books to three lucky people each month in June, July and August. In December all names are back in the hat for the grand prize of an 8 x 10 platinum print matted 14 x 17. Our push to switch over to electronic communication is in direct response to the high costs of snail mail. To that end we are encouraging those on our mailing list to sign up to receive our Newsletters, Musings and Collectors Print Specials by email. If you are already receiving this Newsletter, YOU are ALREADY ENTERED into the drawing. If you came to this Newsletter through the website then I encourage you to add your sign up with a current email address with me so that you don’t miss out on any of our future mailings! We recognize the value of being able to do business with you through email notification and want to reassure all of you that at no time will your contact information be shared with others.

Looking ahead, next month will bring a new Collectors Print Special. We had a great response to the February print and hope the new print brings as much excitement! In June you can look forward to anew Musing. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing some of you this year in workshops or when you visit my gallery in Camden (opening in May). If you have any questions I can (almost) always be reached at tillman@tillmancrane.com.

Wishing you all the best this spring!
Tillman