A MASTERCLASS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

If you are interested in attending our next workshop starting Monday 29 January 2018, please send an email to workshops@edebooks.eu to provisionally reserve a place.

The primary objective of the workshop is to give the participant a comprehensive experience that provides an overall understanding of the art and technique of Black and White film photography, film processing and darkroom printing.

The course will be structured in such a way as to give the participant a sound technical understanding of the film process but more importantly, the course debates the value of photography in contemporary art and how the medium becomes a platform for personal expression and artistic pursuits.

Each participant of the workshop will have the opportunity to complete a photographic assignment of his or her own choice, process the films and print a final image on fine art paper.

The Workshop will take place at the EdeBooks studio in Sliema. Theory sessions are held on Monday,  Wednesday 7pm to 9pm. Practical darkroom (sessions 7-9 listed below) will be held Monday-Friday with group split between maximum 2 participants.

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Introduction to the workshop and general overview
of the topics to be covered

Session 1: Monday 29 January 2018 | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 6

Introduction to the workshop and general overview of the topics to be covered

Debate:

Why film photography in a digital world?

Fine art photography, a brief history and discussion about what makes an artistic photograph (as opposed to a record document).

The ultimate objective: making visible the invisible.

Technical session:

The camera: formats, functions and basic technical explanations. The shutter The aperture Focusing and depth of field.

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Session 2: Wednesday 31 January | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 6

Debate:

The political viewfinder: meaning and misconception in photography

Composition and the process of hyper selection

The relation between photographer and subject: the painful process.

Technical session:

The viewfinder, techniques of composition and framing

Depth of field and depth of focus Lenses and focal lengths.

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Session 3: Monday 5 February 2018 | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 6

Debate:

Narrative in photography: the objective lie.

Meaning and universality.

Light as the palette of the photographer.

Technical session:

Film and exposure

Light meters and the grey card

Overview of film processing

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Session 4: Wednesday 7 February 2018 | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 6

Debate:

Workshop f/1.4 assignment: discussion with participants on individual photographic assignments to be completed as part of the workshop.

Technical session:

Film processing – practical demonstration part 1

Session 5: Monday 12 February 2018 | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 6

Technical session:

The enlarger and printing – practical demonstration part 2

Session 6:  weekend 17 – 18 February 2018 | Duration: — | max. number of participants: 1

Assignment

Each participant is engaged to shoot an assignment of his choice using the films provided by the workshop.

Session 7* | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 2

Technical session:

Film processing of each student’s films

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Session 8* | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 2

Technical session:

Contact printing

Session 9* | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 2

Technical session:

Making a fine art print from a negative

Session 10 | Wednesday 28 February 2018 | Duration: 2 hrs | max. number of participants: 6

Debate: Picture editing

Open Tutorial
Final group session with discussions about the photographic assignments, problems encountered and results obtained.

*Sessions 7, 8 and 9 are coordinated with the tutor from Monday to Thursday in groups of 2 for Darkroom use

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DAVID PISANI

David Pisani is a professional photographer who has been through the whole gamut of commercial photography from studio work, through fashion and advertising and most prominently architecture, industrial and interior design. He has worked on numerous architectural and conservation projects including commissions by the Government of Malta, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the Getty Foundation and the Courtauld Institute. He has lectured at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Architecture on “photography and conservation technology”. He is the author of an extensive personal photographic essay on Valletta entitled “Vanishing Valletta” which in 2000 was included in the permanent collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Vanishing Valletta was also published as a monograph in 2007. He has also produced a photographic essay on the city of Dubai entitled “Future City” which was commissioned by Emirates Airlines for their corporate art collection. He is a fanatical darkroom printer with over 25 years experience in both commercial and fine art printing.

ZVEZDAN RELJIC

Zvezdan Reljic is a publishing industry specialist with 30 years of hands-on experience in photography, pre-press, printing and graphic design. He graduated from the Graphic Arts School in Belgrade in 1983 with a specialisation in Photography Reproduction.
In the last 3 years, Zvezdan holds film photography workshops and community-based darkroom in his studio. He is working on several film photography projects and in the last several years concentrates his work on silver gelatin lith printing.
In 2015 Zvezdan was commissioned by the Valletta International Arts Festival to produce portraits as hand printed silver gelatin lith prints of 20 Valletta residents for the exhibition ‘Beltin’ curated by Raphael Vella. In the same year, he also produced 100 portraits for the breast cancer awareness campaign. The 100 portraits were photographed on 35mm film and printed by hand. In 2017 he collaborated with three UOM dance studies students on ‘Somna’ Photography exhibition which took place at the Malta Postal Museum, Valetta. ‘Somna’ lith prints were on view at MPM in May and June 2017.