Explore and learn to finesse the art of black and white photography and printing in the digital age.
In this two-day class, we will explore the black and white capabilities of modern printers and their controls, subtle nuances of tonal and image tint, the glow of traditional looks and the drama of completely new ways of seeing black and white. Our lab printers have the critical dedicated gray inks in addition to the color inks needed for beautiful black and white printing.
My love of classical black and white landscape photographe runs deep. I come from the world of large-format black and white photography. I’ve spent years in the darkroom then helped to develop some of the techniques used in high-quality digital photography technology today.
Limited to 4 people.
Tuition and supplies: $450
Hahnemühle Paper Supplied
2019 Black and White Class.
Topics Include
Black and white printing modes
Special printing drivers
RIPs for black and white
Special ink sets
Traditional looks and new looks
Fine art and traditional papers
Selective conversion
Tone and beauty
More About the Workshop
Stephen has been deeply involved in the development of techniques for the digital photography world we now live and work in. His fundamental premise is that these new digital tools and materials should be equal to or surpass traditional methods. Digital black and white photography of superb quality has arrived, and in the last decade black and white digital printing risen to beautiful heights.
Stephen has maintained his deep love of black and white photography while leading the transition into digital photography. His first digital black and white work dates back to 1992 with the Kodak DCS 200, the original Leaf Hasselblad back and later the BetterLight Scanning Back, Kodak dedicated B&W cameras and the Foveon X-3 B&W mode. Stephen’s use of custom Iris inks, gray inks for Epson printers and development work on the HP Z series black and white modes show a long-term interest in bringing digital B&W into the mainstream digital world. This is why one of Stephen’s black and white photographs was the first digitally derived print offered by Friends of Photography on their print collector program in 1995.
The workshop’s discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on projects will include conversion from color files to black & white, using filtered color for traditional tonal effects and duotone controls for tonal tuning.
Printing: The workshop will cover many black and white printing options and papers in detail, including the new gelatin-silver look papers which Steve lobbied the industry to develop for many years.
This workshop will be a first-class experience for lovers of black and white photography. Do join us. It will be very informative, and most of all, fun.
Featuring Hahnemühle Fine Art Papers
Testimonies
"Stephen's deep understanding of the technical, combined with his incredible artistic sensitivity is such a benefit to his students. The knowledge and understanding I gained in his digital printing class left me feeling much better equipped to make the choices necessary to elevate my own printing."
—David Gardner, Lightight Photography
Stephen Johnson is a photographic educator with exceptional talent and dedication. His talents as a teacher are no less than his skills as a master printer.
To Register
Registration fee must be paid in full to secure a spot in the class. Additional information will be sent upon registration.
Call to Register: 650 355-7507.