I am seriously the most inspired I have been in a long time with photography, I can barely contain myself! I ran into Diana Bloomfield, one of my long-time favorite photographers, at an exhibit opening at the Mahler Gallery for Jon Kolkin. She invited me to be a part of a small photo group that gathers once a month. I wasn’t too sure about committing to a group that focuses on fine art photography during a time where I was really trying to refocus my efforts on my portrait business, but I have been shooting more art images lately, and I have been trying to be open to new experiences and what I can learn from them so I agreed. The first meeting Diana showed work she had recently taken at the Crabtree Jones House and printed with a vintage process from the 1800s called gum bichromate printing. (Click the link for a full description and history) I LOVED the images, and using this process they just felt so soft and dreamlike- and I just knew at that moment, I wanted to try it with some of my work. When I shoot in my off time, I shoot in very quiet, serene places and I just knew printing these in this way would complete the look I wanted to get across with my imagery. Plus, I also imagined how beautiful this process could look on my portrait work, both the candid work as well as the more formal. Soooo, after thinking about it for the next few days, I asked Diana if she offered private workshops. And thankfully she does, so it didn’t take long for me to figure out a way to make this happen! In the meantime, I talked to my student, Rae’s, mom about the whole thing and sent her to Diana’s website. We all agreed that Rae’s images would also be perfect for this process, and that even though Rae is only 11, she wanted to do it, so we signed ourselves up! Rae and her mom and I spent 10 hours with Diana this past Saturday in her gorgeous studio renovated by local builder, Greg Paul. It was such a treat to do work in a space where there was beautiful natural light streaming in, the color of the wood floors and ceiling bouncing off the walls, and great music overhead to keep our energy alive. And to top it off we broke for an amazing potluck lunch:) She is an amazing teacher, so patient and generous, and we had an inspiring day- filled with learning but also sharing stories and lots of laughter. And at the end, somehow Rae, I guess because she is 11, still had energy and talked me into a little delirious dancing:) And then, I went home and slept the best I have slept in ages! I was full of inspiration, excitement, and really sore back and feet! I awoke at 5:30 am full of ideas and thoughts of how to make this happen. I will give you a hint of this plan… it includes a really cool vintage trailer turned workspace/studio-(Thanks to Kristen Randall of MoodSwing jewelry- who makes the gorgeous pendants made from eye glass lenses that we did together- she has been putting this in my head and sending craigslist ads for the most amazing trailers! and a possible career change to photography for her which could include more collaboration), traveling with the studio/work space to different cities for a few weeks out of the year, working on a mix of my landscape and portraiture. I am about to hit 20 years in business next year, so this is the perfect time for some inspiration, change it up a bit, to keep me motivated for the next 20????PHEW! I was so excited to learn this process and see the images transform before our eyes. It is a long labor of love but completely worth the effort. I can’t wait to create more-so the next step is working out the details to get the equipment and space needed. So I am off to work to start saving! Oh, and one more thing…Rae is having an exhibit opening in June here at my studio! She will be including the prints she made in the workshop but since they were her first and are so special, they will be for exhibit but not for sale. Check out the invite on our blog/website or facebook page! And if you want to see more of Diana’s amazing work, or are interested in a workshop, please visit her website here! www.dhbloomfield.com
Gum Bichromate printing workshop with Diana Bloomfield
May 13, 2014 by elizabethgalecke
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alternative process photography, Diana Bloomfield, Elizabeth Galecke, Greg Paul, Gum Bichromate printing, Jon Kolkin, Kristen Randall, Mahler Gallery, Moodswing, Rae Stevenson Photography | Leave a Comment
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