As artists, we all need a kick in the pants. No matter how passionate or how dedicated we may be, it takes practice and commitment in order to reach that next level. Maintaining that discipline is perhaps the biggest obstacle we face in becoming better photographers. This workshop is designed to guide, stimulate and motivate those who love making pictures, but often find it hard to get out there and shoot.

Through intensive weekly critiques and class discussions, we will explore new ways of going about making pictures while continuing to refine our own existing creative process. Discussions and demonstrations will occasionally focus on different technical aspects, like being resourceful with portable lights, keeping shooting situations simple yet effective and developing the ability to solve visual problems with creative solutions. Most importantly, this class will provide a forum for students to show their work on a regular basis and receive individual feedback from their instructor, their classmates and occasionally from visiting professional artists— feedback that is honest, productive and geared toward the weekly progress of each photographer.

If you’re looking to begin a longterm project, or are in need of a new perspective on your current project, this course is ideal.

Prerequisites: No Prerequisites.

Get your creative juices flowing! This workshop aims to reinvigorate the artist in all of us utilizing toys, tricks and techniques such as cross-processing color film, solarization of black and white prints, making your own pinhole camera and much more. On a weekly basis we will go out and shoot creative assignments as a group which will eventually lead us into the darkroom to attempt new techniques in developing. Some assignments will require film, but others will be focused less on the printing process and will allow for digital shooting. If you are looking to have some fun, find a new idea for a project or attempt something out of your normal realm of photography - this course is for you!

Photography can be a powerful tool for communication and self-expression. This course in visual exploration will help students to “think outside the box” and channel their creativity by introducing them to an array of conceptual and artistic methods in photography. Each week, the works of historical and contemporary artists will be discussed to encourage students to articulate their own unique ideas through imagery. Students will learn about “reading” images and apply this knowledge to create photographs reflective of their own “voice.” Relevant areas of exploration include the Decisive Moment, light and form, abstraction, time and memory, multiple imagery, appropriation, self-portrait, and more. Students will be encouraged to explore subjects that are personal to them, shooting weekly and bringing their images into class for group critique.

Prerequisite: As this course is conceptual in nature and not a technical class, basic technical knowledge in photography is expected.

Lost your art mojo? Struggling to regain your love of photography? Trying to restart a floundering project? Looking for ways to actively seek and nurture inspiration? This class is for you! Drawing upon the 20 years of experience from established fine artist Stephen Sheffield, this class is an opportunity to enhance your way of seeing and take your photographic vision to the next level. Through enjoyable, creative weekly assignments and in-class critiques, students will work to break through the barriers that are holding them back photographically.

This workshop is specifically designed for anyone who is feeling in a rut with their photography, who wants to loosen up and expand their work, making it more creative and enjoyable in the process. To benefit most from this course, students should expect to shoot each week for this class, and will enjoy digital lab and darkroom access throughout the workshop to support them in their efforts to regain their creativity.

Prerequisite: As this is an advanced critique-based course and is not technical in nature, students are expected to be proficient with their photographic equipment.

A photograph can communicate a tremendous amount of information to the viewer. When a person is the subject of your image, how you photograph them – their expression, body language and body position, gestures, environment, what you choose to include and what you choose to exclude – can “speak” volumes about the individual. This advanced course is designed to help photographers enhance their skills of creating editorial portraits of people at home, in the studio, or out on the street. You will learn how to make compelling editorial images in any kind of situation, dealing with subjects of all shapes, sizes, occupations, and personalities. You will learn lighting techniques that are creative, simple, and best of all---portable. Effective ways on how to deal with AND direct your subject will be discussed weekly, as will the best ways to approach and make photographs of total strangers in a wide variety of locations and lighting conditions. Class discussions will include looking at the work of some of today's most successful Fine Art, Editorial, and Photojournalistic "people" photographers.

Prerequisite: As this is an advanced, critique-based class, students should have a solid foundation in technical photographic skills.

 Unleash your creativity! By applying unique darkroom processes to photographs, we will open the door to evolving these images in to dynamic mixed-media works allowing for endless creative possibilities. We begin with found or created images (photographs, drawings, cartoons, text) from which we create paper negatives that can be manipulated, distressed or exaggerated in a painterly fashion. Ortho-litho film serves as the mechanism of transference, turning your paper negatives into film negatives, allowing for a silver gelatin print to be made for further creative exploration. Once prints are accomplished, we will explore bleaching, toning and hand painting techniques to extend the boundaries on the handmade mechanical print!

Estimated Materials Cost: $75, ortho-litho film and fiber b/w paper to be discussed on the first night of class.

Prerequisite: Basic Darkroom or equivalent knowledge

This lecture and discussion based class is built upon the understanding that to really excel at something, it is crucial to understand what has happened in the past.  We are always standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.  Over the course of 10 weeks we will look at artists and photographers from the 20th and 21st centuries and see how different ideas and movements of the past have shaped what is going on in the contemporary art world, and additionally, how it is possible to draw inspiration from an old idea, and reinterpret it to make it relevant today.  Throughout the course, there will be occasional readings assigned to support discussions in class, and each student will be encouraged to complete a project of their choosing that will contextualize their own work in some way with either a historical movement or their contemporary peers.

Please Note: This 10 week course will be held over 12 weeks. The course begins on 9/13/10. There will be no classes on 9/20/10 and 9/27/10. No classes will be held at NESOP over Thanksgiving week. The course will conclude on 12/6/10.

This course brings students onto the streets of Boston to capture the pulse of this exciting city. Discussions will cover both the history and practice of street photography and will focus on such topics as approaching strangers, candid, unobtrusive and confrontational shooting techniques, subjective vs. objective imagery, controlling light and exposure on the street and telling the story you observe or choose to create from your surroundings. Assignments will include candid shooting, street portraiture and urban landscapes and will focus on anticipating the moment, developing a sensitivity to lighting conditions and framing the shot. Street Photography is open to both digital and film photographers.

This course picks up where Street Photography I leaves off, bringing students onto the streets of Boston to capture the pulse of this exciting city. Discussions will cover both the history and practice of street photography and will focus on such topics as approaching strangers, candid, unobtrusive and confrontational shooting techniques, subjective vs. objective imagery, controlling light and exposure on the street and telling the story you observe or choose to create from your surroundings. Students will be encouraged to develop their own individual projects to work on throughout the 10 week session. Assignments will include candid shooting, street portraiture and urban landscapes and will focus on anticipating the moment, developing a sensitivity to lighting conditions and framing the shot. Street Photography is open to both digital and film photographers.

Prerequisites: Street Photography or equivalent.

As documentarians, we are in the “point of view” business. How do we tell our stories with integrity, clarity and honesty? Where does personal vision come from and how do you tell a story with your unique point of view? What makes a story valid or worthy? What are the practical considerations and how do we keep a long-term project on track? This is a workshop about telling a story with pictures and having it bear your unique vision. We will explore personal style and vision, the elements of editing, the concept of process and how to solve the basic picture problem. Audio will also be explored.

The goal of this workshop is to develop skills needed to become an effective photo documentarian. The course will generate complex questions for the serious photographer and provide a framework to fulfill future projects. Each photographer will select a project that he/she will photograph throughout the workshop. Weekly critique of the ongoing work is at the heart of this workshop.

Prerequisites: Students in this class should already be comfortable with digital or film SLR camera operation.

Designed for intermediate and advanced photographers, Extended Projects continues the work begun in the Documentary Project workshop.  In this course, we mirror and deepen the development of personal vision and the development of a visual voice.  This is a workshop about telling a story with pictures and having it bear your unique vision. The course will continue to generate complex questions for the serious photographer and provide a framework to fulfill future projects. Each photographer will either continue a pre-existing project or select one that they will photograph throughout the workshop.  Weekly critique of the ongoing work is at the heart of this workshop.

Prerequisite: The Documentary Project

There is nothing like the experience photographing with a Holga. No one takes you seriously. You won’t even take yourself seriously! That is, until you process your first roll and discover images you could never have made, or seen, with any other equipment. In this course you will discover that you don’t need the latest equipment, the most expensive equipment, or the sharpest lenses to create compelling, vibrant images. You will truly discover that the artist makes the photograph, not the equipment.

This 10 week course is open to anyone willing to embrace photographic possibilities with a plastic camera, shooting black and white film, with an interest to learn, or be re-introduced to the magic of the darkroom process. Time will be split between photographing around the city of Boston and processing and printing our work in the darkroom. Students will come away from this course with renewed vision, significant darkroom skills, and an appreciation of photographic craftsmanship. Participants are required to provide their own Holga camera, black and white film, negative sleeves, and printing paper. Supplies will be discussed during the first class session.

Prerequisite: Basic Darkroom or equivalent knowledge.

The landscape has been a subject for artists of all types since art has existed. How an individual relates with their surroundings is both personal and universal. Using the camera, we take time to record what we find pleasing or interesting in the world for others to see. Everyone makes landscape photographs when they go on vacation. What separates the good from the great, the great from the transcendent? This class will provide a platform to study the genre of landscape photography and discover new approaches for personal expression. Students are required to bring in images (analog or digital) for group discussion each week. Through weekly slide lectures, analyzing examples, and studying the history of the genre, students will gain a greater understanding of landscape photography and develop and expand their personal style of image-making.