Creative: The Workshop Look

With Japan right around the corner and Berlin leaning in from the edges of next year, I’m beginning to devote a few seconds to “The Workshop Look.” Before I embark on a workshop, whether that means taking or teaching, I always put thought toward a photographic goal. As a student, the goal takes on a primary role. As an instructor, the goal is far down my list of priorities, but still there because it makes the journey more fun, provides a target, and helps to establish a visual theme.

Many years ago, I shot the same way all the time. For over a decade my drugs of choice were Leica rangefinders and TMAX 3200. Day or night. This was the rig. The border, Sicily, Man vs Nature, North Shore, Los Angeles, political conventions, gang life, etc. all shot the exact same way. There is something nice about this. Working in the exact same way builds consistency and cohesiveness, making things like a mid-career retrospective much easier to pull together. However, I’m past mid-career, and my photographic goals and aspirations are very different now.

For Japan and Germany, I’ve decided on an atypical look and feel.

For the books, of course. I don’t make plans or goals for digital presentations. I plan for print only. The digital will be used, but it’s trivial. This blog, this blog, and this blog are the only digital futures I see coming to fruition. But the books, oh baby. The books are already being designed in my head, and the look has already been settled. Both books will be the same size, and will utilize the same paper, cover materials and will be the same length. A pair, if you will. (Last night I showed my Zine project at a dinner party. Always have something on you, otherwise you end up as one of those dreaded “Here, let me show you something on my phone,” people.)

I’m about to do something that might seem impossible. I’m about to do something most online photography folks are petrified of. I’m about to credit where I got my idea. Heaven forbid. I wasn’t the first person to adopt this look. Nope, wasn’t me. Might not have been the person I’m about to reference. But I’m tipping my hat, adopting the technique, then adding my own twist. I’m using a look I first encountered via an Australian designer named Lorenzo Princi. Lorenzo is a machine. He’s cool, intelligent, talented, a distance runner, and a guy you would like to hang out with. And he happens to be the author of one of my favorite books.

Blurb Trade Book, 6×9, hardcover, Imagewrap, #50, economy black and white paper. Expensive cover, cheap guts. And lots of pages.

Choosing to go this route means I have to make changes to my normal procedure. I have to shoot differently, and I have to prep my files differently. Drastically different. I know this because of the extensive testing I’ve done over the past decade. I can attempt to give you a shortcut but it’s just that, an attempt. To get you where you need to be often requires you to do your own testing. And a look like this might be the last thing you are after. That’s okay. This look will work with the shooting technique I have in mind, but it’s not something I’m going to use all the time. My New Mexico project, for example, looks entirely different.

Economy black and white paper isn’t about tonal range. Forget Ansel, think Daido. This paper is about black and white. Grey, not so much. This means simple, abstract images work well. Images with hard light and hard lines and edges work well. Landscapes, no. Portraits, no. This will require me to look differently. I can’t fall back into what I know. I must learn to see in a new way and do so consistently. (Odds are not great.)

The book will also contain at least 50% writing. Maybe more. I’ve found as I get older, I don’t need as many images as I once did. I can get the point across with half the visuals. But this also speaks to an audience deadened by the “Great Deluge.” And forget about anything matching. Forget about uniform, traditional, standard or the expected. The copy and images will be a perfect example of sibling rivalry. A book you will be challenged to define. On Sunday I explained my New Mexico Project to a stranger. “What are you taking pictures of?” he asked. “Mostly birds,” I replied. “So, it’s a bird book,” he asked. “No, it’s not about birds,” I said. “It’s a book about everything,” I added. “Cool, man,” he said.

The images you see here are simple tests to iron out a few of the details. The first image is a simple color spread. Nothing fancy, although I do like this image. The second image is of a black and white spread but with no image adjustments. You can see how flat this is. The third image is of the same photograph but prepped for the specific paper. Were I prepping this for Proline or standard paper I would have done something very different. The rest of the spreads are “five-minute specials.” Drills to see what sticks.

Some of these images still require a bit more tweaking but you should get the idea. There is one aspect of the photography that will change from what you see here to what I shoot in Japan and Germany. This technique will help me achieve high-key imagery. Again, this works for this paper. I might not try this with a standard paper or anything that allows for normal tonal range. I’ve also gone with a three column grid but then played with bouncing from two to three. It’s a bit odd but breaks up the copy and makes me study the page a bit longer. The paragraph breaks would not line up in the final layout, but remember, these are five minute drills. Just testing and trying to see if something feels right.

Remember one thing. This is FUN. Playing design and photography games, writing. It’s what makes searching for pictures so fulfilling. A destination with endless possibility. Something that takes time and practice, and something that can be done with a pen and paper anywhere, anytime. Many have said it before me. Story is king. Tellings stories dates back to our earliest times. What you and I are doing now is no different. Celebrate your narrative. Give it time. Give it space.