Fall Foliage Weekend Workshop (finally)

 

I have always enjoyed teaching digital photography and especially sharing the unique photographic opportunities to be found in my special corner of New England.  This has included conventional courses such as a broad Introduction to Digital Photography as well as the many RAW photo editing features found in Adobe’s Lightroom.  I have also enjoyed exploring our region through a couple of annual photography workshops.  My weekend workshops have included an exploration of our peak fall foliage and the spring waterfall season.

Over the last many months Covid has made teaching difficult.  I have been able to hold conventional classes through Zoom, but it has not been as satisfying as when I could gauge the response of students in an actual classroom.  Over the last year and one half, the pandemic has prevented me from offering any of my in-person weekend workshops.  I couldn’t ask people to expose themselves to the virus around photographic locations and especially not in cars as we moved from place to place.  For me, it has been a prolonged period of frustration.  I have struggled with how to run workshops while maintaining an acceptable level of safety.  It is my hope now that, with the use of masking and social distancing along with the critical value of full vaccination, that an interactive workshop can be possible.

My plan is to offer my Fall Foliage Workshop on October 15^th – 17^th - as usual for the Weekend after the Columbus Day holiday,   With the strange weather this year, it is hard to predict autumn color, but in past years this has been a great time to go out leaf peeping in the Monadnock region and southern Vermont.  The schedule will be similar to previous workshops with a few modifications for safety.

First our group will be limited to no more than 8 participants and, for everyone’s safety, I will require that everyone be fully vaccinated. Friday evening will be devoted to getting to know each and to a discussion of key aspect of fall foliage photography.  During this session we will make plans for Saturday’s tour of the color based on the local conditions. This year, we will be gathering through Zoom, a safer option but, sadly, without the opportunity to enjoy my wonderful snacks.

Saturday morning, we will meet at a convenient location before heading out on our exploration.  Cars will be a challenge.  I plan to restrict each vehicle to no more than two occupants, masked and with open windows.  I will plan for locations that have room for several cars and for lunch we will look for a place with outdoor dining – weather permitting.

In previous years, the workshop participants have gathered at my house in the evening for pizza and a chance to review the days shots.  This year, I hope to collect your memory cards and critique your photos during another evening Zoom session. 

Sunday morning, we will head out again to visit more interesting locations and plan to finish up around noon.

I feel bad about all the bothersome precautions, but my goal is to provide the best fall foliage tour while doing all that is possible to assure a safe experience.  It should be great fun and a chance to celebrate our region’s most spectacular time of year.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you wish to attend the workshop, since the number of participants is limited.  This year the cost is reduced to only $195.

If you have questions or suggestions, you are welcome to give me a call at:
603-363-8338 (Home)
603-381-8393 (Cell)

Or email at:
jeffn49@myfairpoint.net

Jeff Newcomer, NEPG
www.partridgebrookreflections.com

Library Time Capsule

Keene Public Library Enhancement Project

The public library in Keene New Hampshire has a long history.  As early as the late 1700’s, Keene residents worked to establish a library.  Book collections moved several times and finally settled in 1898 in its current location, the stately brick Henry Colony mansion.  Over the years the library has undergone several remodeling’s and expansions and currently a major expansion is underway.  In addition to improvements in the existing library, a connector is being built to link the library to the adjacent Library Annex- the site of Heberton Hall. 

The Time Capsule

Time Capsule Space

As part of the project, a time capsule will be placed in the wall between the current main library desk and the new construction.  The capsule will hold artifacts rom our time and place and will be opened in fifty years. I was honored to be asked to contribute pictures from our region to the collection.  Fifty years, I wonder what Keene will be like?  My children will be in their 80s.  Hopefully they would have found a way to save the environment, but if not, perhaps some pictures of trees will be appreciated.

Collection and Preservation

 The people involved with collecting material for the time capsule requested that I submit a few prints and then assemble a much larger collection of regional images to be recorded on a DVD.  The survival of electronic media will be questionable.  The biggest issue is whether people in 2070 will have equipment that can read a DVD, and translate ancient JPG or Tiff file formats.  

We can only hope that an old DVD player will be available somewhere on whatever replaces eBay.  DVD disks have a finite life-span, but we will be using archival disks which are predicted to last for decades, especially when left untouched.  We can only hope.  Perhaps our future viewers will learn most about the sadly inadequate technology of the early 21^st century.  That is where the prints may be most important. 

Using archival ink and acid free paper, the giclee prints should stand up reasonably well in a dark box for 80 years or more.  I have old prints that have lasted for more than 150 years, but I will only be able to squeeze a few prints in the small box.

Choosing

How did I choose which images to include in my collections?  I was given broad discretion.  I started with images from our region.  I tried to think of what folks fifty years from now might find interesting; identifiable locations and structures, events, activities and occupations.  Of course, I am primarily a landscape photographer, images showing the natural attractions of the region had to be shown.  I can only hope that, when the box is opened, the beauty will not seem part of a lost era.

For the digital images, the task of selection was not difficult.  I can fit several thousand medium sized JPGs on a DVD.  I used my standard web format, with a maximum dimension of 950 pixels and file size around 400kb.  The images are organized into separate files for each season and include over 2000 pictures.

Selecting images for the physical prints will be an impossible task.  Perhaps 5-6, 8 x 10 prints.  I’ll start with an image from each season, but then what?  Perhaps I’ll include a picture of my good old dog Nelly and my house from across the apple orchard.  Who know?  You’ll have to wait 50 years to find out.

I was excited to be asked to contribute to the library time capsule.  For a project such as this, the choices that we make, teach us more about our own time and place.  I enjoyed the process of selecting images with future generations in mind, and arriving at the best solutions for optimal archival storage was an interesting challenge.  Finally, given the fragility of electronic media, I realize that, in fifty years, the contents of the capsule may be the only existing substantial collection of my work.   Now I must start on another time capsule to preserve next year’s images.

Jeff Newcomer
www.partridgebrookreflections.com