Lay Brothers’ Refectory, Fountains Abbey, England — Barnbaum

At Bruce’s home/studio/darkroom, Granite Falls, Washington

Workshop Fee: $1775 (includes complete lab fees)

This workshop, based at Bruce's home/studio concentrates on both the traditional film (negative) and darkroom (printing) approaches to photography. The Ansel Adams Zone System of optimum exposure of film negatives is fully explained in an easy, understandable way, and then put to immediate use in the field under Bruce’s guidance. You’ll see how simple it really is, and after putting it to use outdoors, you’ll develop your exposed negatives in Bruce’s darkroom with his help throughout. Bruce then shows simple, straightforward methods of printing negatives that give you exceptional control — all that you need, in fact. When you print in the traditional darkroom you control the situation, rather than having digital programmers, most of whom are not photographers, creating the tools you can use. Then you can print your own negatives—either those exposed and developed earlier in the workshop, or those created prior to the workshop that you brought with you. At the end Bruce shows how to mount and spot prints, creating the finished print for display purposes. By going through the entire photographic exposure, from the Zone System of negative exposure to the display print, the workshop truly deserves the title of “The Complete photographic Process.” These processes can then be fully applied to any photographic subject matter: architecture, fashion, landscape, nude, photojournalism, portraiture or any other subject matter that you gravitate toward.

Through his own photography, his books, and his workshops, Bruce is recognized as a leading figure in photography today, and is in demand for his clear, understandable way of explaining the thinking and methodology of photography, both outdoor in the field, and indoors in the darkroom. His acclaimed book, “The Art of Photography,” has been translated into nine languages, including German, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, and most recently, French, indicating the universal appeal and demand for his understanding and clear teaching. The complete photographic process is taught in depth and easily understood in just six days.

The triumph of this workshop is the seamless integration of the photographic process: from finding a scene that excites you (your discovery), to envisioning the final photograph based on that scene, exposing and developing the negative, and then printing that negative with the qualities you want your print to have (your creation). Bruce will work with you on all aspects of this: including a day of demonstrating darkroom printing techniques that will rocket you ahead in your learning curve toward the print you want. The days are long and exciting, and so filled with both information and fun that you'll hardly notice. You'll get wonderful refreshments throughout the day prepared by Bruce's lovely wife, Karen, and fabulous breakfasts that she prepares each morning. Their dogs make the week even more pleasurable.

The most important part of photography is seeing light as the camera sees it, and the second most important part is carrying that seeing through to a final image that conveys your thoughts to others. Whether your route is traditional film-based photography or digital photography, this workshop will dramatically enhance your seeing, and your ability to carry it through to the final print. You'll learn about strong seeing, about light, about effective composition, about creating a mood and interpreting a scene to turn it into your own vision. You'll learn how to express yourself better about the world that is photographically important to you, and how to create whole new worlds. 

Traditional film has an enormous brightness range, but few users are aware of it (nor are many instructors). Today's traditional b&w darkroom offers astounding control via simple but powerful tools to bring your vision to completion. Furthermore, it’s all very intuitive. By taking full advantage film’s extraordinary range and the darkroom’s immense power and flexibility, together with the use of a few simple but extremely exacting darkroom tools for critical burning and dodging, these hands-on workshops explore all aspects of the modern b&w process, from negative exposure and development to fine printing of the negative. Our emphasis remains focused on one central goal: teaching photography as an artistic, expressive form of non-verbal communication. You’ll find it to be remarkably straightforward and intuitive, despite the general idea that it is complicated. It isn't. It's a far more direct, intuitive approach than digital offers.

You'll learn how to most effectively expose and develop your negatives to control their contrast range and make your prints glow. You'll see demonstrations of printing by a master printer using the highest quality variable contrast papers, including his unique burning and dodging tools (which you then can make yourself at almost no cost). You’ll learn about potassium ferricyanide reducing—bleaching—for refined control and additional print brilliance. And you'll produce them yourself because the workshop is hands-on: you print your own work in Bruce's fully equipped, state-of-the-art darkroom with suggestions and direct help from him throughout. We do not know of another workshop that offers this opportunity. Demonstrations will show selenium toning of prints, full archival processing of prints, plus mounting and spotting of prints for home, gallery or museum display. And you’ll discover one other thing: your own darkroom becomes your refuge, a contemplative place conducive to creating fine art.

Workshop details: 

The workshop begins on Sunday morning, November 10 after breakfast—prepared and served by Bruce lovely wife, Karen—at their home. We request participants arrive Saturday, November 9 to join us that evening at 7:00 p.m. for dessert, wine, an informal get-together to meet one another and see the facilities we’ll be using during the workshop. The workshop runs through Friday afternoon, November 15, ending at about 1:00 p.m. Please plan your travel to allow full participation in this workshop. 

Workshop Setting and Accommodations:

The workshop couldn't be in a more beautiful setting. An hour's drive north of Seattle, and into the North Cascade Mountains (a strikingly rugged range) Bruce and Karen’s home is surrounded by over a hundred acres of forests, meadows and marshes, with immediate access to forest and mountain hiking trails on U.S. Forest Service land in the surrounding mountains. Participants can stay in Bruce and Karen's home or guest house, plus camping on their property, at the nearby Paca Pride Guest Ranch, or at U.S. Forest Service campgrounds nearby. 

Once you return your application, we send you complete information about all accommodations. We'll make all reservations on your behalf, beginning the Saturday night prior to the start of the workshop, and running through Thursday night prior to the close of the workshop on Friday afternoon.

If you have questions concerning this workshop (or any other on this program) please email Bruce Barnbaum at barnbaum@aol.com.

Covid-19 is still not defeated, but largely contained. For maximum safety we request all participants to be fully vaccinated and boosted. We strongly recommend the latest boosters by Moderna or Pfizer, with the exception of those who have a legitimate medical reason for avoiding such vaccinations. We acknowledge that nobody can be 100% safe from the virus, but let’s make try to be as close to 100% as possible, especially since the workshop is in Bruce and Karen’s home, and we’ll be in close contact to one another.

To register for this workshop via the website, please return to the top of the page, and click on the button Add to Cart. Fill out the information, including your choice of a deposit ($250) or full payment ($1,750) for the workshop. Payment via this website can be made using your Visa or MasterCard credit card. If you register with a deposit, the full payment will be due 6 weeks prior to the workshop. You will receive an email response to your application shortly. (If you are applying for more than one workshop, please do this for each workshop you wish to attend.)

If you do not use Visa or MasterCard, or prefer to not use credit cards as payment method, we accept registration with a check (deposit or full amount) and an application. Please download, print out, and fill out the the application (click on: Workshop-application.doc or Workshop-application.PDF). Specify whether you will pay the deposit or full payment, and make the check payable to Bruce Barnbaum. Mail the check with filled out application to the address below. We will notify you by email to confirm your resignation.

Bruce Barnbaum Workshops

P.O. Box 1791

Granite Falls, WA 98252

If you have specific questions, please contact Bruce by phone at (360) 691-4105 or by email: barnbaum@aol.com.