Fall ‘Roid Week 2009 dates announced – Nov 2-6!

It’s almost that time again! Polaroid Week Fall 2009 will be November 2–6. Participating is easy: make some pictures on any instant film and post them to the ‘Roid Week 2009 group on Flickr (free accounts work).

Don’t be scared off now that Polaroid means horrendously expensive, you can play on the cheap: Fuji still makes really nice peel-apart instant film in both color and black and white that are cheaper than Polaroid was when it was in production. If you need a camera, you can grab a Holga-like, zone focus Polaroid Super Shooter or Super Shooter Plus on eBay for under 10 bucks, or a rangefinder-focused Automatic 100 [pic] or Automatic 250 [pic] for $25–30.

Here are the ‘Roid Week guidelines:

About ‘Roid Week Fall 2009

Hello!

POLAROID WEEK is a bi-annual celebration of all things instant!

Here are the simple rules:

* It’s five days. Monday thru Friday.

* Pool opens at 6:00 am on Monday, Eastern Standard Time.

* Pool closes at 12:00 am on Friday (technically, Saturday), Pacific Standard Time.

* Members can post up to 3 photos a day.

* Though we call it “Polaroid Week,” any instant film is fine.

* No Poladroids! You have your own group to play in. This is a film only group.

* Post photos you haven’t posted on Flickr before. Give us something new. We will unceremoniously delete all photos that do not meet this requirement.

* And give us something good. This is our seasonal eye candy. Make it sweet.

Toy camera photography workshop with Kurt Norlin, Oregon, US

Workshop flyer:

Tired of all the technicalities of high-end cameras? Toy Camera photography is photography at its most basic, freeing up the photographic artist to concentrate on the creative side of image making. Often made with a plastic lens and limited controls, these simple devices produce images that have unique visual qualities. The students in this workshop will gain an overview of toy camera photography, and how to properly set up and load the camera for the best results. Cameras will be available or bring your own. This is very much a hands on class. No prior darkroom experience needed, just a sense of play, and a desire to see the world in a new way.

OCT 10-11, 2009 * VISUAL ARTS CENTER * NEWPORT, OREGON

THE WORKSHOP IS LIMITED TO SEVEN STUDENTS

Sat 10am-noon Historical overview, setting up the toy camera,
1pm-5pm: Shoot: Nye Beach, print contact sheets.

Sun 9am-noon: Shoot: Newport Waterfront
1pm-4:00pm Print contact sheets.

Cost: $100.00 + 40.00 (lab)

A $50.00 non-refundable deposit can be made through PayPal using the email address below as the account name, or by check. Please send checks to:

Kurt Norlin / 422 Railroad St. SE / Albany, OR 97321 / (541) 967-6892

The balance is due at the start of the workshop. Film (five rolls of B+W), processing, and contact sheets are included in the lab fee.

Kurt is a graduate of Central Washington University (BA, MA) and the University of Oregon (MFA). He has been working with toy camera photography since 1993 and taught at Linn-Benton Community college from 1994 to 2009. To contact Kurt: norlink1@hotmail.com. If you would like to see some of his toy camera work go to kurtnorlinphotography.com and check out the Alt Viz gallery.

Visual Arts Center
777 NW Beach Street
Newport, Oregon 97365
(Nye Beach Turnaround)

Free one-day f295 photography seminar, San Francisco, US

August 29, 2009 brings F295’s first west coast event. F295 has partnered with San Francisco State University to bring you a free seminar on 21st Century Photography. This will follow the same format as other F295 events- a day long event which exclusively features photographers talking about their work and the inspiration, ideas, and rationale behind it…

The seminar is on 29 August 2009, 10:00am – 4:30pm, at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, CA, US, and features talks by Jo Babcock, Martha Casanave, Susannah Hays, Kerik Kouklis, Chris McCaw, Tom Persinger, Brian Taylor, and Claudia Wornum.

Full details here on the f295 site.

2009 F295 Symposium registration now open

Organizer Tom Persinger says:

Registration for the 2009 F295 Symposium is now open to the public! The 2009 F295 Symposium Exploring 21st Century Photography takes place in Pittsburgh PA USA on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University (with workshops at Pittsburgh Filmmakers) May 28-31, 2009

Visit the registration page to sign up for the symposium* and all workshops!

Here’s a summary of speakers who will be delivering their talks on Friday May 29 (and the titles of their talks):

Elizabeth Opalenik
Possibilities in Mordançage

Jarosław Klupś
To Freeze a Reflection

Martha Madigan
Solar Printing for a Lifetime

Michelle Bates
Through a Plastic Lens

Dan Estabrook
Some Notes on the Art of Failure

Robb Kendrick
The Tintype and Beyond

Mark Osterman
Artifacts

Photographer Ben Long will be giving a free pre-symposium public address on Wednesday May 27 entitled Technology, Perception, and Photography and we’ll be announcing our special Thursday night speaker soon!

If you’re a subscribing member of F295 remember to select the special, discounted members only registration rate. This price is just for members and only available for a short time! If you’re not a member and wish to join to take advantage of the discounted rate visit our membership page.

The current registration rates are for early registration only. Soon they’ll increase to the regular rate. Sign up early to get a great rate and reserve your seat!

Sign up today! Don’t miss your chance to take some of the other great workshops and your opportunity to attend the most exciting photographic event of 2009!

If you have interest in one of the workshops I suggest registering ASAP. F295 members were able to register over the weekend and as a result Jerry Spagnoli’s & Jill Enfield’s workshops are already sold out! (we may add a 2nd Daguerreotype workshop, and if so F295 members will find out first!) Here’s what we have remaining:

Workshops Saturday May 30
The Fugitive Shadow w/ France Scully and Mark Osterman
Lens-Building and Optical Effects (2 days) w/ Alan Greene
Working in the Cultural Landscape w/ Craig Barber
Printing with Gum Bichromate (2 days) w/ Scott McMahon
Toying with Plastic Cameras w/Michelle Bates

Workshops Sunday May 31
Non-Destructive Image Editing with Photoshop w/ Ben Long
Lens-Building and Optical Effects (2 days) w/ Alan Greene
Photography Walk-About w/ Tom Persinger and others!
Printing with Gum Bichromate (2 days) w/ Scott McMahon

Complete information on the website: www.f295.org/symposium2009

*Symposium registration does not include workshops. You must register and pay for each workshop individually. They may all be purchased together using our online shopping cart.

See you in Pittsburgh!
Tom

Pinhole photography workshop with Even Reece, Manukau, NZ

Don’t miss this great opportunity to take a pinhole workshop with Dr. Evan Reece at Te Tuhi in Manukau City, Aotearoa/NZ. I’ve followed Reece’s work for some time on f295, and it’s excellent.

The nature of pinhole photography, with its hand made cameras, lies more in serendipity than automated control. In this workshop we will explore the traditional and contemporary pinhole artists. Students will make a 35mm panorama camera as well as others constructed from everyday objects.

Weekend workshop: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November [2008] 10am – 4pm | $150
For further information and to enroll contact 577 0138 or email enquires@tetuhi.org.nz.

Platinum printing & digital negative workshop, OR, US

Platinum/palladium prints are valued by photographers, collectors, galleries, and museums for their inherent beauty and archival stability. Although there is much lore and mystique associated with the platinum printing process, when properly handled, it can be accomplished by anyone willing to put in a little time and effort to make it work. Platinum printing is often thought to be a very difficult and expensive process. In this workshop we will de-mystify the process and learn the basic skills necessary to produce very fine platinum/palladium prints at a reasonable cost.

This year Ray Bidegain and Patrick Kolb will be teaming up with Jeanette Altman for an additional 2 days of instruction in the making of digital negatives for platinum printing. In the first 2 days of this workshop, we will be making enlarged negatives for platinum printing. We will then be making platinum prints on Saturday and Sunday. For most of the history of platinum printing photographers needed large-camera negatives for printing; Now photographers are able to use negatives from smaller cameras as well as digital files for making platinum prints. Come learn with us during this 4 days workshop.

July 10–13, 2008

Portland, Oregon [US]
$395.00

More information and registration at Ray Bidegain’s site.

Today is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day!

Make some pinhole photos, pick your best one, and upload it to the WPPD gallery (free)!

Don’t have a pinhole camera? No problem! There are workshops and exhibits of pinhole photography all over the world today where you can build or use one, check the events listings for your area.

If there’s nothing near you, grab the free plans for one of these paper cut-out do-it-yourself 35mm pinhole cameras:

The Dirkon

Nick Dvoracek‘s Populist (PDF link).

I’m going to shoot and check out the show [see previous post] at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco, CA, US.

Happy shooting!

PS Please note that despite what they tell you, WPPD is not presented by the Lomographic Society International!

Pinhole Day show and workshops at RayKo Photo Center, CA, US

All kinds of good things are happening for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day at RayKo Photo Center in San Francisco, CA, US:

Work by Katharine Kreisher and Rebecca Rome in the main gallery; meet the artists from 3–5pm.

A group show of pinhole photography (including work by Katie Cooke and myself).

Free rides around San Francisco in Simon Lee‘s “bus obscura”, a van that’s been converted into a pinhole camera!

Sweet!

France Scully Osterman added to f295 Symposium roster

Tom Persinger of f295 writes:

We’re excited to announce the addition of France Scully Osterman to the featured speakers/worskhop presenters at this years f295 Symposium in Pittsburgh, PA [US] May 29 – June 1, 2008!

France Scully Osterman is an artist, and a guest scholar at George Eastman House. She teaches private tutorials and workshops in the Scully & Osterman 19th century skylight studio, specializing in wet-plate collodion, salted paper and albumen printing.

France will be offering a 2 day collodion workshop called It’s All Positive! The Wet-Plate Collodion Process and delivering a artists’ talk at the Thursday night opening reception entitled Serendipity and Exquisite Manipulation which will discuss the artistic artifacts of the collodion process as well as the factors which influence and guide her work: process, lens, light, exposure and intent.

Workshop information is here
(this is a rare chance as neither she nor Mark teach very many intro collodion workshops!)

You can read more about France here

And more about her talk here

———————————-
SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOPS
Many of the workshops are filling fast/nearing capacity, the home page of the site has been updated to reflect the number of spots remaining in each. If you’re thinking about taking a workshop register soon so as to not miss your chance! Workshops are only available for those registered for the symposium.

———————————-
EXHIBITOR LIST GROWING!
We’re also excited to announce the addition of several more exhibitors to the growing group! B&H Photo, Fujifilm USA, Inkpress Paper, Lensbabies, Pinhole Blender and Without Lenses will all be on hand to discuss their products with you! More TBA soon!

———————————-
MIX AND MINGLE!
Not only will you be able to interact with other like minded practitioners and see a LOT of the exciting alt-photo work that is being done by this niche photographic group but you’ll be able to mixc and mingle with all of the 2008 featured speakers and many of the speakers from the 2007 symposium. What a group! You’ll be hard pressed to find this many alt-dignitaries, authors and practitioners in any other place!

Those speakers planning to be on hand for these events include:
* Martha Casanave
* Alan Greene
* Jo Babcock
* Laura Blacklow
* Jill Enfield
* Jesseca Ferguson
* Robert Hirsch
* France Scully Osterman
* Mike Robinson
* Terry King
* Jerry Spagnoli
* Keith Taylor
* Ilan Wolff

Stay tuned for more exciting announcements in the coming days. Registration has been brisk and we have limited space available for the event –register today!

Complete symposium information: www.f295.org/symposium2008

Go directly to the registration page!

See you in Pittsburgh!
Tom

f295 Symposium workshops now available

Tom Persinger of f295 writes:

I’m pleased to announce that registration for ALL of the the symposium workshops is now available! We have a number of exciting offerings this year -some are being presented in the United States for the first time! The quality of instruction available is amazing. You will not be disappointed!

Here are the workshops, instructors and cost of what we’re offering this year:

An Artistic Approach to Digital Negatives, w/ Jill Enfield, $125.00

Bookmaking for Artists & Photographers, w/ Laura Blacklow, $125.00

Calotype Paper Negatives (Dry Process), w/ Alan Greene, $200.00 (+ $35 materials fee)

Developed-Out Salt-Printing, w/ Alan Greene, $200.00 (+ $35 materials fee)

Combined Calotype and Developed Out Salt Printing Weekend $350 (+ $50 materials fee)

Chrysotype and Cyanotype Rex Workshop, w/ Terry King, $270.00

Collodion and Albumen Platinum Prints, w/ Terry King, $260.00

Daguerreotype Workshop -SATURDAY, w/ Mike Robinson, $500.00 (+ $50 material fee)

Daguerreotype Workshop -SUNDAY, w/ Mike Robinson, $500.00(+ $50 material fee)

Gum Bichromate Printing, w/ Scott McMahon, $200.00 (+ $35 materials fee)

Planning, Organizing, and Staging a Successful Exhibition, w/ Jesseca Ferguson, $25.00

The Magic of the Photogram & Camera Obscura Techniques, w/ Ilan Wolff, $275.00

Wet Plate Collodion: An Introduction, w/ Patricia Katchur, $350.00

Wet Plate Collodion Field Trip, w/ Patricia Katchur, $350.00

Wet Plate Weekend (combines Intro and Field Trip at a discount) $600

You may register for the workshops and the symposium here: www.f295.org/symposium2008/?page_id=111.

Space is limited and we’ve already had a few sign-ups for some of these workshops. If you have interest in taking one consider signing up right away.

REMINDER: workshops are currently only available to those registered for the symposium (workshops are not included in symposium registration). Symposium registration is now available at an ‘early registration discount’ for $135 – only $75 for students! These prices last until March 1 when the rate increases to $150.

**Cancellation Policy: Symposium and/or Workshop reservations may be canceled for a full refund up to midnight April 17, 2008. Reservations canceled between April 18 and midnight May 15 will receive a 50% refund and cancellations after May 15 will receive no refund.

Complete Symposium Information:
http://www.f295.org/symposium2008

PS: We’ve just received word that in addition to B&H Photo and Pinhole Blender, Lensbabies and Fujifilm will be joining us in Pittsburgh! We’re poised to make several more exciting exhibitor announcements over the next few days. Stay tuned!