Digital BW, The Print

"mdabrosca" <mdabrosca@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Paul:
> 
> Can you please elaborate a bit more on what the 7-day 
> workshop will cover in regards to  photography and 
> photo printing? ...

The agenda is rather loose.  We -- Roy Harrington and I -- try to 
respond to what the group wants.  So, once we have most of the spots 
filled I'll circulate e-mails to the group asking what their interests 
are.

The workshop is located in a very scenic wilderness area.  So on most 
days most people want to get out to do some shooting.  So, not only is 
it a 3 mile hike to get to the facility (there is a separate pack 
station that some hire to haul in their gear), but hikes of different 
lengths are taken on most days to get to the best shooting venues. 

Increasingly, of course, digital capture dominates.  Roy has been 
primarily a 4x5 shooter for his serious work, and I've been a medium 
format film (Tech Pan) shooter.  This year I'll have a Canon 5d2, and 
it's possible Roy will also switch to digital.  So, we may be moving 
more into the various issues that relate to digital capture.

While the camp is in the wilderness, we have a solar electric system, 
and we pack in a printer.  What printer and inksets will be 
demonstrated is still open.  One way or the other, however, QTR rip and 
Create ICC will be covered.  I also pack in  a spectro, and we and 
several others bring laptops.  So, we'll be able to demo most aspects 
of profiling, a few different inksets, and a variety of different 
papers.

Most of the printing and profiling demos are in the evening (the solar 
system has plenty of battery power), and usually at least one full day 
is spent staying at camp and concentrating on printing and profiling.

To be frank, I think some of the highest value of this type of workshop 
results from the rather continuous discussions that occur among the 
like minded photographers.  While Roy and I are the designated workshop 
leaders, there are a number of participants who are themselves workshop 
leaders and photo teachers, and virtually everyone brings some type of 
expertise to the party.  I sometimes think I learn more from these 
other experts than they learn from me.  So, the structure is not 
oriented toward Roy and I lecturing the group.  Many of the 
participants bring and share their expertise with the others in the 
group.  It becomes a rather horizontal interchange of ideas and 
knowledge that, hopefully, benefits everyone.  There are enough experts 
in various fields that almost any photo question that comes up will 
have someone in the group who can respond.

Additionally, we have a naturalist there who can respond to questions 
that relate to the environment and history of the camp.  It's one of 
the only structures that was allowed to exist in the Wilderness areas.  
The 100 year old log cabins are themselves great photo subjects.  So 
it's a unique venue that is itself a major draw, and the wilderness 
setting is a major part of the experience.  Roy and I have both been 
High Sierra wilderness backpackers for many years, so the venue is a 
major part of the draw for us. I was involved with the Golden Trout 
workshop group long before the photo session was added.  As the non-
profit's name indicates, its roots are in natural history.

I hope this gives you a little better idea of what the workshop is 
about.  A week in the High Sierra wilderness with a group of like-
minded photographers for $495 is about as good an investment as I can 
think of.

The official Golden Trout workshop web page is at 
http://www.goldentroutworkshops.org/

I have a bit more information and some photos at 
http://www.paulroark.com/GTthumbnails.html

Let me know if you have any questions.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com