Has anyone attended this workshop in the last year or so? I'd be interested in some opinions, thanks.
Has anyone attended this workshop in the last year or so? I'd be interested in some opinions, thanks.
+1 for me. I think this is something I really need to work on.
It's been several years ago for me, so maybe this info is dated.
Bruce tends to attract groupies, much like I'm sure AA did. His personality and focus are such that if all you got was Bruce, you'd have no other options but to become a little Bruce. And that's not bad, obviously, his work is lovely.
Bruce is (was - as I say, I haven't been lately) wise enough though to include other strong instructors with strong viewpoints to counterbalance his. The time that I had the privilege to attend it was Jay Dusard and Yousef Khanfar.
So, if you want to be a little Bruce, you're good to go, but if not, you should shop your workshop dependent on who else is going to be there as counterpoint.
I did have some fun with Bruce though. I had a Verito image I liked, and his rule is to bring print and negative. He kept arguing that image could not have been made from that negative as the negative wasn't sharp ;~')) *links take you to pages with images made on the workshop*
I really like the shots from that workshop, Jim. There's some great work there.
I happened to be in a gallery a couple of weeks ago and they had one of Bruce's signature images on display, the one where there's a rail fence in the foreground in front of a dramatic mountainscape with clouds. I've always liked the image when I've seen it in prints, but on this occasion I was kind of amazed to see the fence in the foreground was a little soft. It was notable enough that I went back after looking at some other work to confirm my first impression. Not a big deal accept that I guess I had a certain level of expectation based on the reputation perhaps. Maybe its my own obsession that's developed for avoiding smudgy foregrounds in landscapes.
John Youngblood
www.jyoungblood.com
If you want a top notch workshop on seeing photographically get in one with Paula Chamblee. Just talking with her for a few minutes greatly increased my ability in this area. She is Michael Smith's partner so only does workshops with him.
I think all this "photographic seeing" nonsense is snake oil. Anyone alive in the 21st century sees photographically, and "teaching" someone to do it is a bit like teaching them to see three dimensionally, or in color -- one can draw some attention to the mechanisms at work, but beyond an explanation of the human visual perception system, what is there to add? If you want to learn to emulate another photographer, a workshop with them could help, but anyone wishing to evolve their own visual signature has to do it the hard way. That's my take on the subject, but I don't mean to suggest one of these workshops would not be enjoyable for others.
I can't prove my view of " photographic seeing" is correct any more than you can prove it's not, but your analogy is false, all the same. By your reasoning, photographers who never attended workshops on "seeing photographically", would be doomed to mediocrity, and those who do attend would be ensured success, but we know that's not the case. The best photographers neither hawk nor attend such workshops, they just work and evolve a visual signature the old fashioned way, by dedication and persistence.Originally Posted by Dakotah Jackson
David--
Just keep telling yourself your "banality" is something other than boring mediocrity.
This is the kind of overstated generality that makes the internet so worthwhile:
Q: Has anyone experience with X?
A: No, I never use X, why would you ask such a silly question?
or A: you're stupid to use X
or A: No, but my Y is better
---
Reading his books, Barnbaum has a very strong take on things.
Looking at his images, he knows his stuff. I believe Jim Galli
knows whereof he speaks.
One can learn from workshops, and plenty of people
[even some of the 'best photographers'] took workshops from Ansel.
The main thing, in my opinion, is to have a rapport with the work of
the person giving it, and have some very specific goals for yourself.
-Tim
I never implied one cannot learn from workshops -- I learned from the one I attended with Vaughn Hutchins -- but I learned techniques specific to carbon printing, not "photographic seeing", which I believe is not something that can, or that needs to be taught in this era of ubiquitous camera images. An understanding of the way cameras render images is so ingrained into every modern person it's practically innate, whether or not it can be articulated by any given person. I've read essays by Michael A Smith, Bruce Barnbaum and many others on the subject of "photographic seeing", and they all read similarly -- like sales pitches meant to make the author seem authoritative or especially gifted, with the promise they can impart that gift to others, for a fee, of course. I think it's all nonsense and wouldn't waste my time, let alone my money on one of these workshops, but anyone who feels differently has just as much right to their opinions as I have to mine, and maybe they will benefit by a workshop with someone they admire.
There's no need to get defensive, or take my opinions personally, since nothing I've written has been directed to you, and since you don't offer "photographic seeing" workshops. Or, do you always take opinions contrary to your own very personally?
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