Landscape Photography and the Meaning of Life - Kas Stone

Latow Photography Weekend Seminar & Workshops
              Latow Photography Weekend Seminar & Workshops
     Landscape Photography and the Meaning of Life
          Landscape Photography and the Meaning of Life
                        Art Gallery of Burlington, Ontario
                           Art Gallery of Burlington, Ontario
                                  April
                                    April10-11,    2021
                                          18-19, 2020
                   Information & Registration: www.latowseminar.com
              Information & Registration: www.latowseminar.com

   Weekend Overview: Landscape Photography and the Meaning of Life. It’s a
   bold title, but one that nicely sums up the program for the 2020 Latow Photography
   Weekend and reflects the feeling that many photographers have when standing before a
   beautiful scene with camera in hand: This is what makes life worth living!
   The weekend’s focus is on photographing the natural world, from grand landscapes to
   intimate details, and from our own back yards to exotic locations we visit during our travels.
   We look at ways in which this photographic exploration can become a powerful means for
   personal and artistic expression, for self-discovery, even for recovery.

   Saturday’s four seminar sessions are sequenced to reflect the photographic process itself,
   beginning with the inspiration and motivation for our image-making, moving on to
   craftsmanship, creativity, ethics and environmental concerns, and concluding with
   possibilities for personal projects that showcase our images. Sunday’s two workshops delve
   deeper into the craft, art and meaning of our photographs. Take-home notes for each
   session are provided for handy reference.

   What you will learn: How to use each step in the photographic process to help you explore
   and express your personal connection with the natural world.
What you will learn: How to use each step in the photographic process to
help you explore and express your personal connection with the natural world.

Saturday Sessions (1¼ hours each):

1. Inspiration, Motivation & Meaning: Why am I making this photograph?
The hardest question in photography has nothing to do with f-stops or shutter speeds.
Ironically it is also the question that sounds so simple: “Why am I making this picture?” Yet
the answer can be elusive, especially in the genres of landscape and fine art photography
when often the only reason we can come up with is a lame “because it’s beautiful.” In this
session we grapple with the Why of image-making: why we pick up our cameras in the first
place, why we prefer some photographic genres, scenes and subject matter over others, and
ultimately what it is we want to say with our photographs. Topics include:

• Our photographic motivations: practical, emotional, conceptual, spiritual, therapeutic.
• The connection between the natural world and our personal, photographic world.
• How to kick-start photographic inspiration with a visual (and personal) inventory.
• How to move beyond “pretty pictures” to create more meaningful images that have
  impact and staying power.
• The travel paradox: why the visual excitement of new experiences and exotic locations
  often leads to disappointing images, and what we can do about it.

                                                                          A Tangled Web

2. Craftsmanship & Creativity: How do I make this photograph?
Once we have figured out why we are making an image, the next question becomes how?
How involves two general components: craftsmanship and creativity. Craftsmanship is the
process of competently wielding our cameras and photo editing software to produce a
desired result. Creativity is what makes a photograph sing. In this session we unravel the
How of image-making using a non-technical approach, exploring visual design and creative
strategies to transform our landscape, nature and travel experiences into photographic fine
art. Topics include:

• How humans and cameras see:
  differences, limitations and
  creative possibilities.
• Landscape image-making styles
  and traditions, from documentary
  to popular to imaginative, and
  how to choose the approach
  most appropriate for our selves,
  subjects and circumstances.
• A review of photographic
  craftsmanship and the choices
  available during image capture
  and processing. (Note: for an
  expanded tutorial that includes
  more technical and post-
  processing content, please
  consider registering for Sunday
  morning’s workshop, How to
  Craft a Landscape Photograph.)
• How to SEE: a handy acronym to
  guide our visual design strategy.

                                                                                The Crack

3. Ethical & Environmental Concerns: How should I make this photograph?
Having explored photography as a personal and creative endeavour in the first two sessions,
we now consider it within the broader social and environmental context. Our images may
be judged by others as authentic or deceptive. Our actions as photographers can have
positive or negative impacts on the wilderness we cherish. In this session we tackle the ethics
of image-making and our environmental responsibilities and opportunities when
photographing the natural world. Topics include:
•   How ethics apply to the photographic process.
•   Photographic “truth” and the debate about image manipulation.
•   How photography has been used historically in the service of environmental causes.
•   How today’s travel and photographic trends are impacting the natural world.
•   How we can use our visual artistry and storytelling skills to help educate, inspire and
    advocate for conservation.

                                                                                  Grounded

4. Personal Projects: What can I do with this photograph?
The result of all our photographic outings and travel adventures are hard drives full of
images that bring back happy memories and may even include a few masterpieces. But what
to do with them? In this session we discuss possibilities for assembling images into personal
projects – coherent bodies of work that explore a theme, tell a story, or promote a cause.
We also consider how having a project or purpose in mind can shape our photographic
experiences in the field. Topics include:
•   Projects vs “greatest hits”: pros and cons of both approaches to image-making.
•   Electronic projects: web galleries, AV shows, PDF publications, blogs.
•   Print projects: books, folios, exhibitions, cards, posters.
•   Using complementary media (text, music) to enrich the experience of our images.

Sunday Workshops (2½ hours each):

Morning: How to Craft a Landscape Photograph
Many people believe that crafting a landscape photograph happens in the field, where we
use our camera gear and technical skills to capture the awesome beauty of a natural scene.
But for others, pressing the shutter button is really just the beginning. The craftsmanship
continues in the digital darkroom with the application of sophisticated software to transform
the camera’s light and colour data into works of landscape art.
This workshop takes a holistic approach to crafting a landscape image that integrates
in-camera and post-processing choices to help us express our personal response to the
landscape. In the first half of the workshop we address key technical challenges in the field.
In the second half we explore image enhancement and creative possibilities at the computer.
Kas will share before-and-after examples from her extensive landscape image portfolio and
demonstrate some basic editing techniques.
The emphasis of this workshop is on the rationale for various camera and processing
decisions, and on general techniques that can be achieved with any of today’s equipment
and software. It is designed to be accessible and non-intimidating to people of all skill levels
(i.e. this is not a how-to-do-things-with-Photoshop® tutorial). Topics include:
• The “classic” landscape: a recipe for creating the traditional wide-angle, tack-sharp,
  deep-perspective photograph – and why you might want to break from this tradition.
• Exposure: how to handle challenging natural light conditions.
• Focus: depth of field and hyperfocal distance explained so you actually understand and
  can put them into practice, along with other options for achieving desired sharpness in
  your images.
• Field of view: how your choice of lens and camera position influences scale and
  perspective in an image, and how to use this for expressive purposes.
• Image enhancement workflow: a review of simple post-processing techniques, and an
  introduction to some advanced options to whet your appetite.

What you will learn:
How to harness your technical
skills in the field and in the
digital darkroom to craft a
creatively expressive landscape
photograph.

                             Resilience

Afternoon: How to Look at Images
When we first become interested in photography and start to look seriously at images we respond
instinctively with “I like it” or “I don’t like it.” Then, as we become more knowledgeable, our
perspective shifts and our image-viewing is often framed in terms of “How would I make this image
differently?” and our response tends to be a critique of the image’s technical and compositional
flaws. Eventually, with more experience, we outgrow our preoccupation with technique and seek
something deeper in an image, which leads us to ponder a maker’s intent in creating and showing
it to us. We also become more self-critical and strive to see our own images more objectively.
This participatory workshop takes a constructive approach that helps us to view, evaluate and talk
thoughtfully about images – our own and other people’s. Personal preferences and technical
elements are an inevitable part of the process, but our primary focus is on an image’s emotional and
conceptual appeal, and what it communicates to a viewer.
The first half of the workshop introduces important guidelines for image evaluation. The second half
puts them into practice with a moderated group discussion of approximately 15-20 images, and,
whenever possible, a demo of simple edits that might strengthen them. Workshop participants are
invited (but not required) to submit a photograph for this evaluation, and are also encouraged (but
not obliged) to contribute to the discussion. The evaluation experience is worthwhile even if your
image is not selected. Please be sure to read the image requirements and selection notes below
prior to submission.

What you will learn: How to look more thoughtfully at images to evaluate not merely their technical
and compositional competence, but also their emotional, aesthetic and storytelling power.

Image Submission Requirements:
• Number of Images: One
• Preferred Genre: Nature-inspired (grand landscape, intimate detail, fine art)
• Image Size: Maximum 1920 pixels horizontally x 1080 pixels vertically
• Image Format: JPEG high-quality
• File Naming: FirstnameLastname_ImageTitle (e.g. KasStone_NorthernLight)
• How to Submit: First, register for the workshop, then email your image to seminar@latow.com
  with “Image for Latow Workshop Evaluation” in the Subject line.
• Extra Information: You are welcome to include a brief (maximum 100-word) note about the
  image describing the backstory, your reason for making it and any concerns you have about it.
• Submission Deadline: Sunday April 4th 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EST

Image Selection Process:
• Only images that meet the submission requirements will be considered.
• Participants should be willing to answer questions about their image during the discussion.
• Although it is tempting to submit a perfected image, you (and other participants) will learn more
  if you submit an experimental image or one you are uncertain about or feel could benefit from
  improvement. In fact, “perfect” images are less likely to be selected for discussion.
• Time constraints will allow only 15-20 images to be evaluated. From the images submitted, Kas
  will select a variety of those that best illustrate the workshop topics. Please be understanding if
  your image is not included.

Spirit of Adventure

Speaker Bio:
Kas Stone is a professional photographic artist and
writer based on Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast, where
she finds plenty of inspiration in the wild scenery
and moody weather right outside her door. Her
portfolio includes an extensive list of publications,
exhibitions and environmental projects, including
two outdoor guidebooks published by The Boston
Mills Press and feature articles in Canadian and
U.K. magazines. Visit Kas and learn more at
www.kasstone.ca.