 |
| Lower Purgatory Falls, Wilton NH |
I
just finished a great Spring Waterfall Workshop, with enthusiastic people who
were excited, not only about waterfalls, but also digital photography in
general. Now it seems a good time to announce my plans for the
fall-winter classes and workshops.
Introduction
to Digital Photography
Sponsored
by Keene Community Education
Four
Tuesday Evenings from September 18th thru October 9th, 2018
Keene
High School
My
introductory class on digital photography has evolved over the years as I have
tried to find better ways to inform and excite students about the amazing
capabilities of digital cameras. The course includes 4 two hour classes
and two photo shoots. I cover a wide range of topics from understanding the
differences in camera types, to image file formats, file management and
archiving. Special emphasis is placed on exposure, composition and the use of
different types of light. All these topics are applied to the results of
the photo shoots. This class always fills very quickly, so watch for the
announcement and brochure in mid-August from Keene Community Education and sign
up early.  |
| Understanding Exposure |
Email
Erin White at ewhite@sau29.org to get on
the list to be notified when the on-line brochure is available.
http://www.keenecommunityed.org/
 |
| Intro to Digital Photography Class, Spring 2018 |
Fall Foliage
Workshop Weekend
October
12th – 14th, 2018
Monadnock Region and Southern Vermont
This autumn, I will again
be offering my Fall Foliage Weekend Workshop. I will be following the
same format that seemed to work well over the last two years. Again, I
picked the weekend after the Columbus Day weekend craziness. It is an
opportunity to see great color without the same crowds that typically congest
our beautiful countryside. Our base of operations will
be around my dining room table in Spofford, NH. I will host the
participants at my home on Friday evening for snacks and a discussion about
photography in general, and the specific opportunities and challenges of
foliage photography. It will also be time to plan the shooting for all
day Saturday and Sunday morning.
Monadnock Region and Southern Vermont
This autumn, I will again
be offering my Fall Foliage Weekend Workshop. I will be following the
same format that seemed to work well over the last two years. Again, I
picked the weekend after the Columbus Day weekend craziness. It is an
opportunity to see great color without the same crowds that typically congest
our beautiful countryside. Our base of operations will
be around my dining room table in Spofford, NH. I will host the
participants at my home on Friday evening for snacks and a discussion about
photography in general, and the specific opportunities and challenges of
foliage photography. It will also be time to plan the shooting for all
day Saturday and Sunday morning. 
 |
| Green River, Guilford Vermont |
Saturday, we will head out early to explore as many different
locations as possible. My goal. Will be to place the group in beautiful
locations and then help them get the most from the opportunities. Depending on
the state of the color we may travel west to some of my favorite locations in
southern Vermont, such as Guilford and the magic village of Green River, or we
may explore the hills and farm around the Monadnock region and my own village
of Chesterfield.
In the evening, we will return to the dining room table for an
informal dinner of pizza and some gentle critiquing of the day’s shoot.
We will head out again
Sunday morning for more of our exploration of color, and I will finally let
people go around noon. I promise you will come away exhausted but thrilled with
the experience. I look forward to sharing
my love for photography in this special time of year.
 |
| Foliage Workshop 2017 |
The three-day program
is $195, including the delicious snacks and an elegant pizza dinner. Please get in touch early, by email or phone,
to assure your place on the workshop list. If you are coming from outside of
the area, I can send you a list of some the best local accommodations.
jeffn49@myfairpoint.net
603-363-8338
Introduction
to Lightroom Classic – AND the Transition to Photoshop
Six
Tuesday Evenings January 8th - February 12th
Monadnock
Imaging, Main Street Keene New Hampshire
I am a dedicated long-term user of Photoshop, but over the last
few years I have become increasingly impressed with the power of Lightroom, in
terms of both its image management tools and its sophisticated editing
capabilities. I still bring almost all my images into Photoshop for
final tweaking, especially when complicated masking is required, but I now use
Lightroom for 80-90% of my global editing. Given its power and ease of
use, for the majority of digital photography enthusiasts, Lightroom is likely
all they will need to get started with image management and editing.
During the last
couple of years., I have offered a comprehensive introductory course covering
all the essentials of Lightroom. I run the class as a live demonstration.
Students are encouraged to work along on their own laptops, but a
computer is not necessary to benefit from the material. I’ve had a great
time and, as is always true of teaching a course, I have learned a ton. Over
the last couple of years Lightroom has evolved and grown, with increased
capabilities, and I have worked to keep up with the changes.  |
| Lightroom CC |
Recently Adobe has
complicated our lives by splitting the Lightroom Program in two. There
are many good discussions of the differences between these very different
programs, but simply speaking, the new Lightroom CC is an
entirely new cloud-based program. With a simpler interface, but
significantly pared down capabilities. It is designed for more casual
photographers, and those who work primarily through a mobile interface.
For more serious photographers who store larger image archives locally on
hard drives and who want to use the full features of the “old” Lightroom, the
new program has no significant place.
 |
| Lightroom CC Classic |
For me and most
serious photographers, the “new” choice is called “Lightroom Classic”. It
sounds disconcertingly like the old “Coke Classic”, but Lightroom Classic is
just the old Lightroom CC with all the amazing features and functions and a few
new tricks. This split seems to be designed to create a simpler path for
mobile, and other smart phone photographers, without stripping the power of the
“Classic” Lightroom program. Adobe promises to keep up with innovation on
both versions of Lightroom. We will be watching.
If you, like many, are
still confused, just know that the CC and Classic versions are both included
among the options in the Adobe
Photography Subscription Plan, and still for
$9.99/month.
My course will be
covering the full power of the Lightroom Classic Program.
I initially thought that that
four, two-hour classes would be enough to cover the program's many features,
but because of my tendency to ramble and lots of great questions, I added a
fifth class to cover the Slide Show, Book and Web Modules.
A Sixth Class
 |
| Complicated Photoshop Selections for Focus Stacking |
I will focus on the
transition from Lightroom to Photoshop.
Starting with pictures which have been optimally edited in Lightroom, I
will examine some of the important ways that Photoshop can refine those images
using more precise selections, layers and compositing. Consider it a chance to dangle your toes in
the ocean of possibilities that is Photoshop, but for many who already own
Photoshop as part of the Adobe Photography Plan, it can be an encouragement to
take the plunge.
I have held previous
Lightroom classes at my home in Spofford NH, and had to limit the classes to
the 8 people who could fit comfortably around my dining room table. Last
year, the great folks at Monadnock Imaging in Keene generously offered to host
the class at their store in Keene New Hampshire. This allowed me to
expand the group to a maximum of 12, and it also made the location more easily accessible, especially during the snowy winter weeks. With my next course
in January, I will again gratefully accept Monadnock Imaging’s
hospitality. There will be no struggling
over Chesterfield Hill in a blizzard, except for me.
There will be. not five,
but six, two-hour, evening sessions, and of course, snacks will be provided.
The expanded course will be $225. Please get in touch by phone or email as
soon as possible to reserve your spot on the list.
jeffn49@myfairpoint.net
603-363-8338
As
I have been planning my teaching, I have also been working on scheduling my
exhibitions. I have always understood the importance of showing my work
throughout the region and it is well known that I have never seen a public wall
that I didn’t like. The number of my framed work is finite, and It can be
a challenge juggling my pictures between the various venues in the region.
Spring also seems to be the season for fund raisers, and I have been
honored to donate several of my works to worthwhile local causes.
Currently
a few of my pictures decorate the walls and entertain the sweaty patrons of the
Keene Family YMCA. Not the best
place to find enthusiastic buyers, but it at least gets me to the gym a few
days per week.
I
also have a larger exhibit in one of the function rooms of the Keene United Church of Christ.
It is the iconic white church at the head of the square. The show is up
now and will continue through June.
In
July I will be moving to one of my favorite local venues. Kristin’s Bistro and Bakery at 28
Washington Street, just off Central Square in Keene New Hampshire. Kristin’s
has nice walls, friendly people and some of the best soup in town. I will
be showing there for the month of July.
Keene’s
Annual Art in the Park is scheduled for September 1-2. I’ll be there with my
old 10x10 pop-up and its jerry-rigged hanging system. This is the only
art festival that I do all year, primarily because it is a great time to hang
out with all my local friends and make them look at my work.
Not
all exhibitions are large or solo affairs. As part of Keene’s Annual Art Walk, for a week beginning
on June first, I will again be at the Greater
Keene Chamber of Commerce, showing a few of my pictures in their two big
windows facing Central Square. For the
duration of the show, the Chamber has generously offered to remove from the
windows their posters advertising local events.
I plan to feature two of my big new canvas-wrap images.
Keene
is fortunate to have a very active historical society and I am happy that
beginning on June first two of my pictures will be part of the society’s show
featuring art celebrating our Monadnock region. The Historical Society of Cheshire County is located at 246 Main Street
in Keene New Hampshire. The exhibition will run through December 4th 2018.
Finally,
several of my pictures continue their long-term exhibition at Syd’s Carpet and Snooze Room at 43 St.
James Street in Keene. For a long time,
Syd’s has offered their showroom walls to displace the work of the Monadnock
Area Artists Association.
I
think that is definitely enough for now.
I hope to see you at my exhibitions and that you will join me for one,
or ALL, of my workshops and classes. I’m
getting too old for this, but hey, what is “retirement” for?
Please
let me know if you have any suggestions for future programs or venues for my
work.
Jeffrey
Newcomer
No comments:
Post a Comment