In addition to my usual "Digital Printing" workshops, I will be teaching two workshops with John Sexton, which are described further down the page.
Special One-Day Workshop!
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Digital Printing for the Fine Art Photographer
Six sessions
of this workshop are currently scheduled for 2010, at the following locations:
(click on name to go to workshop details).
Picture Element Santa Clara, California
The Ansel Adams Gallery Yosemite National Park
These workshops will cover what you need to know to make the finest digital prints from your film or digital camera files. From exposure, to adjustment/optimization, to choosing the right printer, I will share the results of extensive testing in my pursuit to make the best possible prints. And beyond the technical details, you will learn ways to make your images stronger and more compelling.
The “Fine Art” in the title just means that you are willing to devote the time and effort to explore and optimize your images to their fullest potential. This class will give you the tools to go beyond your film or digital camera file, and spur your imagination to create stronger interpretations of your images. Much discussion will center on critiquing prints (produced both before and during the class) and exploring what makes an exceptional print. This workshop will engage both the right and left sides of your brain!
There will be a healthy discussion of color management and how to diagnose if a problem is due to your monitor calibration—or your printer profiles—or both! You will receive an invaluable "reference print" that can be used to test your printer, printer profile, and printer dialog settings. The pros and cons of many printer choices will be discussed and demonstrated with actual comparison prints.
This workshop requires homework! About a month before the class, I will mail out my 70 page booklet, Photoshop Techniques: Effective and Efficient Techniques to Optimize Images. This tutorial includes exercise files, so you can practice these techniques at home. You will discover the power of the most versatile adjustment layer of them all—curves. This handout covers what I consider the essential techniques to optimize and fine tune your images. Learning these techniques will not only increase your productivity, but result in stronger interpretations of your own images. I also ask everyone to bring some of their current prints to the workshop for critiques.
I have presented this workshop over sixty times at various locations around the country. As they say, “practice makes perfect”, and I am constantly refining what and how I present the material in this workshop. I strive to eliminate the superfluous, and present just the information that you need to effectively and efficiently process, refine, and print your own images.
Subjects covered will include
WORKFLOW FOR FINE ART PRINTING
The Master file concept
DIGITAL CAMERA FILES
Using Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom
Getting the most of our your digital capture
What to do in Lightroom—and what to save for Photoshop
SCANNING (optional)
Purchase vs. service bureau—do I need my own scanner?
What is a good scan and how to tell
COLOR MANAGEMENT
Using color management to insure consistent results from monitor to final print
How do I get good profiles for my monitor, scanner, and printer?
Using the supplied "reference print" to diagnose your own setup and profiles
IMAGE PROCESSING
Recommended techniques for working on files
Photoshop selection tools—tips and techniques
Setting density and color balance
Retouching, burning and dodging
Preparation of files for output to various printers
Using the “Smart-sharpening” action script (included)
PRINT CRITIQUES
Can my print be stronger? And what to do to improve it
What makes an effective print
PRESENTATION
Archival methods of mounting and matting digital prints
Students will get to fine-tune and print using their own images. I will spend time working with each person individually to discuss and refine the adjustments to your image in RAW development and/or Photoshop. You must be familiar with Photoshop, which would include performing basic tonal adjustments with layers or curves, painting on layer masks, resizing, cropping, etc.
Which workshop to take? All the 3-5 day classes cover essentially the same material. Locations vary, as do facilities and fees charged. The Ansel Adams Workshops include the opportunity to participate in field photography sessions in Yosemite Valley. For the Picture Element Workshops, you will need to bring your own computer/laptop. Picture Element is also offering an "alumni" workshop for those who have survived one of my regular workshops. All the workshops have received excellent ratings from students.
CHARLES CRAMER has been photographing and making prints for 30 years. In 1997, he started scanning his original 4x5 inch transparencies at very high resolution and digitally applying the photographic techniques he used in dye transfer printing. He has taught digital imaging for the Ansel Adams Gallery Workshops, Palm Beach Workshops, Anderson Ranch Workshops, the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging, the Luminous Landscape workshops, and others. He was also fortunate to have the great Bill Atkinson co-instruct with him at many of these workshops. Charles Cramer’s landscape work has been published by National Geographic Books, Sierra Club, and the Yosemite Association. He has been profiled in PhotoTechniques, PhotoVision, Outdoor Photography (UK), and View Camera Magazines. He is also included in the book “Landscape: The World’s Top Photographers”, now available in paperback! His work can be seen in galleries internationally, and at his website, www.charlescramer.com.
Picture Element
Santa Clara, California (Silicon Valley!)
Three Day Workshops
For workshop description, see the top of this page.
For more information on this class, and/or to sign up, email
Note: With our streamlined workflow and wireless network drive (thanks to Rex Naden), students are making more prints than before! So we have increased the lab fee slightly.
Dates for 2010: April 9-11, June11-13, Nov. 12-14
Fee for class: $995, plus lab fee of $75 Class limited to 8
Picture Element specializes in high-end reproductions of art of all kind, and have a wonderful facility with three large-format Epson printers. Picture Element is also expert in the production of prints on canvas. The classroom is quite large, with an excellent setup for viewing lots of prints at one time. Although they can provide a few computers, most students will need to bring their own laptops with the imaging software that you use.
Photographer Rex Naden will be our full-time assistant. Contact me for information or to enroll.
Alumni Print-Making “Intensive” Session! March 12-14, 2010· Fee: $1095 plus Lab fee of $120 · Limited to 8 · Same meeting times as above · Includes discussions and demonstrations of handling problem images, with majority of class time devoted to helping students optimize and fine-tune their own images, with extra time printing. Prerequisite: Having attended any of my previous workshops.
The Ansel Adams Gallery
Yosemite National Park
Five Day Classes
Dates for 2010: May 11-15, November 2-6 (Sorry—both sessions full—waiting list available)
Fee for class: $950 Class limited to 8
These five day workshops include field sessions in and around Yosemite Valley. I have chosen the dates for their photographic potential. May will have the freshness of Spring, with lots and lots of water! The dogwood should also be in bloom. The November dates will feature the wonderful variety of Fall color in the Valley. The sun also stays at more of an angle, creating more interesting light.
The Gallery has just remodeled Ansel's workroom (next to his darkroom) for workshop use, so this is a location with lots of history. And the location in the heart of Yosemite Valley is unbeatable. (A few steps out the door, and there's Yosemite Falls!). The Gallery has a collection of excellent printers, including many HP 9180s, an Epson 3800, and an HP Z3100.
I'm proud to have taught workshops for the Ansel Adams gallery for 23 years now, covering subjects from Dye Transfer and Cibachrome Masking to the current digital imaging and printing. (...from the darkroom, to "Lightroom"...)
Rooms have been set aside for workshop participants in Yosemite Valley. Photographer Rex Naden will be our full-time assistant.
To sign up , or for more information, go to www.anseladams.com, and click on "Photography Education".
John Sexton Photography Workshops
I am delighted to be teaching with John for his esteemed workshop program. We will be doing two different workshops together. (These will be quite different from my usual "Digital Printing for the Fine Art Photographer").
The Mono Lake workshop will be primarily a "shooting" workshop. The Luminous Print workshop will include field sessions in Monterey area, but will delve into the mysteries of making a good print. Although John and I share a passion for printmaking, we make prints in very different ways! John uses film and prints in the darkroom. I now capture digitally and print via Photoshop to various inkjet printers. So, in these workshops, we will be stressing the commonalities we share. We will strive towards a synthesis of our ideals and techniques that will be of value to both "analog" and digital photographers.
TO SIGN UP FOR EITHER OF THESE WORKSHOPS, PLEASE DOWNLOAD THIS APPLICATION FORM from John's webpage.
John asks everyone to submit an application. There is no deadline for this application, but the workshops may fill quickly, so prompt application is advised.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
Here are the workshop descriptions:
THE LUMINOUS PRINT: A SYNTHESIS OF TRADITIONAL AND DIGITAL
Charles Cramer and John Sexton
March 22-27, 2010 Carmel Valley, California
This unique new workshop brings together two talented and skilled photographers who have specialized in making prints of exceptional quality for many years. Although Sexton works in a traditional black and white darkroom, and Cramer in color with digital techniques, their end goal is the same: to create the finest, most expressive and luminous prints possible. This workshop will work toward a synthesis of their ideals and techniques that will be of value to both darkroom and digital proponents.
Photography is a language of light. This unique workshop will help participants improve their fluency in this magical language. The workshop will emphasize not just how to do things, but more importantly, why, and is open to photographers working in all formats, recording their images on film or digitally. There will be indoor instruction and demonstration sessions, along with constructive and supportive portfolio reviews by both instructors, as well as an opportunity to put concepts into practice during directed field sessions. One very special aspect of this workshop will be a visit to Ansel Adams’ darkroom!
There will be demonstrations in both traditional black and white printmaking, as well as recommended digital processing techniques. Charlie will also discuss making digital negatives to combine the best of both approaches, as well as properly preparing digital files for reproduction and display on the web. In addition, both John and Charlie will talk about the importance of proper handling and storage of film, digital, and print files. Talented photographer Anne Larsen will be assisting John and Charlie.
The workshop is based in John Sexton's studio in Carmel Valley and will begin at 7:00 pm on Monday, March 22, and conclude late on the evening of Saturday, March 27. The workshop tuition includes daily refreshment breaks and three meals during the workshop, along with workshop handouts from both Charlie and John. The workshop will be limited to a maximum of twelve participants, and is sure to fill fast. We are sorry, but no guests are allowed.
Fee: $1,150
MONO LAKE AND THE EASTERN SIERRA: EXPLORING AUTUMN LIGHT
Charles Cramer and John Sexton
October 10-15, 2010 Lee Vining, California
The Mono Basin and Eastern Sierra have some of the most exciting photographic opportunities imaginable. Autumn light and fall colors will add to the magic and wonder of this area. This field workshop - offered for the first time - will allow you to explore the spectacular photographic possibilities of this area under the leadership of two skilled and talented photographers, Charles Cramer and John Sexton, and is open to dedicated photographers working with either traditional or digital materials. The most important thing is to come with an open mind and a desire to work hard at improving your photography.
John and Charlie have selected a number of exciting locations to explore during the workshop. We will be photographing late and early light at Mono Lake, as well as exploring side canyons and the high country of the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountains. Sexton and Cramer, along with workshop assistant Anne Larsen, will be available to assist participants in the field and will be offering indoor instruction sessions. We will utilize a large, comfortable classroom facility in Lee Vining, just a few hundred yards from the shore of Mono Lake and within walking distance of our motel. Along with instructor presentations and demonstrations, an important aspect of the workshop will be constructive portfolio reviews of prints participants will bring to the workshop. It will be a time of great scenery, photography, and camaraderie.
Included in the workshop fee will be a specially catered dinner the final night of the workshop, as well as two lunches in the field, and handouts from both Charlie and John. Lodging, additional meals, and transportation costs are the responsibility of each participant. The workshop is limited to twelve people, and no guests are allowed. Early enrollment is advised. The workshop begins at 12:30 pm on Sunday, October 10 in Lee Vining and ends late evening Friday, October 15.
Fee: $1,300
TO SIGN UP FOR EITHER OF THESE WORKSHOPS, PLEASE DOWNLOAD THIS APPLICATION FORM from John's webpage.