A workshop with Geir Jordahl, PhotoCentral, 1099 E Street, Hayward, CA 94541
Questions? Contact geir@photocentral.org, 510-881-6721.Class #250074
Open to color and black/white photographers in traditional and digital formats.
This unique semester long course is designed to assist photographers in creating a meaningful collection of work on a specific theme of their choice. Photographers in all media are encouraged to enroll as this course will stress enhanced development of skills in photographic craft and vision. Modeled after a college course he has taught since, 1984, Geir Jordahl will encourage each artist to find their personal creative path. Each participant will complete a portfolio of work and be invited to exhibit in the PhotoCentral Gallery. This course may be used for course credit in the Photo Techniques Series toward a certificate in photography. Participants are asked to try to not miss more than two of the scheduled meetings. Topics discussed will apply to all types of photography stressing the interrelated nature of what we create to what is most important in each person’s life.So what will be up to this year? As many past participants can attest…the title is the same but the approach always changes.
Yes…you will find a path to express your work reflecting your life and your concerns.
You bet you will! It will be beautiful, professional and reflect a cohesive melding of your chosen craft with ideas, concepts and vision.
Interaction and sharing is a cornerstone of this experience. By the end our group will feel like an artistic family and our resulting exhibition will embody a synthesis of styles, subject matter and techniques.
Yes, you should! If you are reading this you are ready. Often our most reluctant participants blossom the most! Past attendees will help you feel at home – sharing their experiences to encourage you.
So….What are Geir’s concerns, topics and issues this year?
Isolation has always been the photographer’s muse and his nemesis. Workshop is where we can gather in a like-minded supportive environment to test the waters with our new works and ideas. Photography has been fractured by the speed of technological development. Now, it is more important than ever to network creatively.
I am currently exploring the notion of ‘life’s work’ in a more specific way. Ansel Adams said to us in a workshop years ago that the problem in life is not what you do but what not to do. Specifically he referred to filling our creative toolbox with sills, techniques and ideas such that we are able to create a lot! Different subjects different cameras, techniques etc. So…he said what to choose? We will examine how to get there for each individual.
How to keep going? How to continue to create when the path gets steep and you are winded? How to prioritize are in your busy life?
Inspiration always comes when you least expect it to. We will explore some poets. writers. and filmmakers that have inspired me lately. The creative process is non-linear – it is full of twists turns and roundabouts. What does it mean to live an artistic life? To further these ends our cornerstone textbook this year will be: The view from the studio door: How artists find their way in an uncertain world, Ted Orland, Image Continuum press, 2006. Ted will supply us with signed copies!
Our approach in class will be to always address craft and technique as to how it conveys you message or not. Craft is a means to an end and not the end itself. The world has more than enough sharp images of fuzzy concepts! Photographers have spent their lives filling a toolbox of skillful craft and seldom thought about what they were saying. You will find the tools once you have something to say!
There will be time for your personal concerns and I encourage all participants to bring their ideas to the table. I always have an agenda that is malleable to the group dynamic. Together we build this class into what you want and need.