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• View Camera: Sometimes Bigger IS Better! With Richard T. Ritter

View Camera: Sometimes Bigger IS Better! With Richard T. Ritter

June 17 – 22, 2012 Camden, Maine Tuition: $1500 Workshop Application (PDF)

Join Richard Ritter and myself in seeing the world upside down and backwards! The focus of this five-day large format workshop is three-fold: to develop proficiency at camera operation, to understand the proportional relationships of composition between the different formats and to give you grounding in processing your negatives. Each student will have a camera to use for the week, as well as the opportunity to try out other formats, including the 5 x 7, 5 x 12 and 8 x 10. Intermediate and advanced photographers are invited to bring their own equipment to become more consistent and effective in its use as well as trying out other formats. This workshop offers a “no sales pitch” opportunity to contrast and compare view camera formats before you buy.

Using a view camera is what I call “base ten digital photography” - it takes both hands and all your fingers. It is the ultimate opportunity to get out from behind the computer screen and look on a real ground glass. Planning your camera position, choosing the lens for the perspective you want, thinking about how exposure relates to the tonal values you want to later appear in the print – each step becomes part of the ritual of making an image. The rewards of working with a larger negative when printing aren’t to be under rated either!

Each day will be a mix of lecture, shooting and darkroom time and we will plan to work well into the evenings. There is a lab fee of $150, which will be prorated if you supply your own film. You will be able to process and make contact prints of some of your negatives. However, this workshop is not about making quality prints but about becoming proficient in the use of your tools so we will only make contact prints from our negatives for review.

There is a combined experience of over 50 years with view cameras between Richard and myself. Richard worked at Zone VI Studios with Fred Picker for over 15 years and has gone on to become a master craftsman of design, custom building and repair of large format and ultra large format view cameras as well as conducting workshops and exhibiting his own work. I invite you to join the two of us in this opportunity to explore new ways of working and begin your journey in the world of large format photography.