September 2019 Newsletter

Gallery News

 I hope you had a wonderful summer! Ours was busy between workshops, visitors and preparing new large platinum prints to hang in our new partner Stanhope & Spencer Gallery just down the street in Rockland. We will be working closely with Henry and Maureen in the coming year with new exhibits in October, May and possibly another in the fall. This fall I will be exhibiting new platinum prints 16×20 and up to 21×27, which I am really excited about! Henry Van Wyck Spencer makes beautiful jewelry using repoussage and chasing techniques with precious metals. This is an exciting new partnership for us and we love this beautiful space to showcase new work.

Making the platinum prints as large as 21×27 was an eye-opening experience for me. It was a big jump from 16×20 and after 30 years of wanting to print big has led to some significant changes in the studio and darkroom. A new computer, two monitors, large format printer and an original super-large Jon Edwards High Output UV box for the darkroom is just the beginning. These changes will allow me to make substantial, platinum prints regularly.

We are instituting a change in how we sell these large prints. They will be sold as a unique addition of 1/1. We are guaranteeing that this, plus one artist proof, are the only copies of this image that will be made at this size. This also allows me to reprint some of my favorite photographs in this larger size. These prints are almost twice as large as my standard 16×20 prints and I find them beautiful and compelling.  This is incredibly exciting for me to be stepping out on this new path in my career.

The Platinum Atelier

The updated equipment in the studio and darkroom provides a new opportunity for anyone wanting to make platinum prints and we’re calling it The Platinum Atelier.This past year I have worked with several photographers who came to create a platinum print portfolio. Several came to learn the process and others returned just to print, rather than setting up their own darkroom at home. You bring your digital files ready to print and we will create the curves for your negatives. Drop ship your paper and platinum kit to me so you don’t have to travel with them. You will make all the aesthetic decisions and make the prints with me available while you are here for consult. You will do all the work and make all the decisions for your platinum prints.  If you have ever had the desire to learn the process or to create a platinum portfolio of your work, consider The Platinum Atelierthe opportunity to do so

With the new emphasis on gallery and exhibition work, I will be teaching fewer workshop this coming year. At this time there are only three scheduled workshops plus thePhotographers’ Retreat.

Photographers’ Retreat(April 3-5, 2020) Gettysburg PA

This year’s retreat will be entirely different; we are going to one of my favorite places, Gettysburg, PA. In my opinion, the battle at Gettysburg in early July 1863 decided the future of this country by deciding the issue of whether we would be one united country or two separate nations. I believe it to be one of the most important and sacred places in the United States and it is also a beautiful National Battlefield Park. There will be opportunities to photograph, the hotel is right next to the battlefield and we will have a room for our afternoon print sharing. It is a long drive from Maine (10 hours) and I appreciate that for some of you it will mean longer travel time than in the past. I think it will be well worth the journey. Full details will be on the website in late October. Hope you can join me!

Great Smoky Mountains Workshop(April 13-17, 2020) with Visionary Wild

Charlie Cramer and I will be co-leading this workshop for the second time. The workshop filled within the week it was announced last year and it is currently up on the Visionary Wild website so you will need to make a commitment soon if you wish to participate in this workshop. Charlie is a master of Photoshop and especially using curves and layers to create the exact image you want. This is a Monday through Friday workshop with daily field excursions and afternoon critiques. We work in the field from early morning until 9:30/10, returning to the hotel to download and process in the classroom.  Lunch is in the classroom, and we critique in the afternoon. About 3:30/4 we head out and work until last light. We return to Townsend for dinner and call it a day. All the locations we photograph are within an hour of the hotel so we are out working as quickly as possible. The Great Smoky Mountains are beautiful in April and I hope you will join Charlie and me for a great week in Townsend!

Introduction to North Dakota Workshop(August 13-15, 2020)

The North Dakota workshop takes place in a unique location for photographers. The abandoned environment brings abundant opportunities to work on a focused project or explore various questions and as they relate to abandoned structures. The locations and opportunities are abundant for photographing from sunup to sunset. Dueto the distances that must be covered it makes it challenging to schedule teaching and critique opportunities.

This introductory, three-day intensive workshop allows the first time student to North Dakota to be prepared for the full week workshop. We photograph a location each morning and then spend the afternoon together crafting images and talking about how to work in this unique environment. After dinner until dark you may return to the location we photographed in the morning. This workshop is for those who have never been to a North Dakota Workshop and want a gradual introduction to the abandoned environment and instructions on photographing and critique of the work just created.

North Dakota Portfolio Week(August 16-21, 2020)

This week is for the self-directed photographer who wants the opportunity to create a body of work with very little in the way of structured time. People come to this workshop with the intent to create a unique portfolio of work exploring the nature of abandoned sites, whether for the first time or after many returns. There will be no organized critique times as the emphasis will be on creating new work. I will be available for individual reviews or critiques sessions, but it will come out of your shooting time. There will be two evening opportunities to share work, Tuesday and Friday. Tuesday will be to show what you have created so far. Friday evening, you will share a rough draft of your weeklong project with the group.

Details and registration for the North Dakota Workshops and the Photographers’ Retreat will be on our website by the end of October. The Visionary Wild workshois open and ready for registration.

Have a great Fall!

tillman