Darkroom Printing Intensive April 20 – 23, 2023 Santa Fe, New Mexico This workshop is full. Email us to be added to the wait list or consider signing up for the June or November sessions. Overview Alan Ross knows traditional darkroom and master printing techniques perhaps better than any other photographer today. Under his patient…
Santa Fe: A Photographic Exploration of the Landscape Different
Santa Fe: A Photographic Exploration October 23 – 27, 2023 Santa Fe, New Mexico FULL Overview Santa Fe, New Mexico is known by locals and visitors alike as “The City Different.” Why? It’s unique history is one reason. Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States and home to the Palace of…
Darkroom Printing Intensive February 2024
Darkroom Printing Intensive February 8 – 11, 2024 Santa Fe, New Mexico Alan Ross knows traditional darkroom and master printing techniques perhaps better than any other photographer today. Under his patient and expert guidance, you will immerse yourself in the magic and methodology of the traditional darkroom—just as Alan practiced side-by-side with Ansel Adams—learning tricks…
Filters: Why and How to Use Them Working in Black-and-White
Filters: Why and How to Use Them Working in Black-and-White Filters have been an essential part of black-and-white film photography for decades. The right filter can create mood in an otherwise bland sky, intensify contrast in tonally similar subject matter or skew color relationships to great effect. But if you think filters are just for…
Converting a Digital Capture to Black-and-White: A Less is More Approach
Converting a Digital Capture to Black-and-White: A Less is More Approach There are probably as many ways to convert your digital capture to black-and-white as there are ways to cook potatoes. Like cooking, a lot of what we do in photography is down to personal preference. There is no “one size fits all” method, and…
Advanced Black-and-White Film Testing
Advanced Black-and-White Film Testing Did you know that the film speed listed on that box of film you just ordered was created in a laboratory using scientific factors and doesn’t relate much at all to the results you get with your own equipment? If you rely on the number on the box, you’ll more than…
Hands-On Selective Masking
Hands-On Selective Masking Selective Masking is essentially a hands-free darkroom dodging and burning technique Alan developed to help him bring out the most nuanced range of tones in an image. It’s especially useful with difficult-to-print negatives or those requiring simultaneous dodging and burning in multiple areas. At its simplest, Selective Masking uses just pencil and…
Finishing and Presentation
Finishing and Presentation How many of you have images you’ve created on film or on pixels that are just sitting as a file on your computer or in a negative sleeve in a binder? You’re not alone, but for an image to truly become a photograph, it needs to be finished. That means at least…
Intro to Variable Contrast Printing
Intro to Variable Contrast Printing Back in the days when Alan worked as Ansel Adams’ assistant, most photographers didn’t seem to care much about variable contrast papers. Few “serious” photographers used them, and graded papers were the clear choice. Camera shelves were overflowing with boxes of Brovira, Ilfobrom and Seagull in as many as six…