Rangefinder Magazine
January 2007

The Santa Fe Workshops by Paul Slaughter
A Beautiful, Peaceful New Mexico Retreat

In the high desert community of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where the climate is rarefied and skies are painted like theatrical backdrops, wonderful things happen.

Amidst the quaint adobe architecture, art and photography galleries abound. Music, film, folk art festivals, and Spanish and Indian markets fill the calendar. Many weeks of the year, dedicated individuals from different professional backgrounds journey to Santa Fe from far-flung regions of the United States and the world to pursue a vision. Their vision is directed and their technical knowledge enhanced by leading photographers of the nation at the Santa Fe Workshops, located at a beautiful, peaceful retreat center at the foothills of the majestic Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

In 1975, Reid Callanan, founder and director of the Santa Fe Workshops, graduated with a degree in geology from Saint Lawrence University in northern New York. After college, being interested in photography, he took a part-time job at a camera store in Baltimore. One day he picked up a brochure about the Maine Photographic Workshops. Little did Reid realize his life was about to take a new and exciting direction.

A few weeks later he was in Maine participating in a workshop and remained for the summer as a work-study student. He was asked to stay on, became the lab manager, and worked in the day-to-day operations of the workshops. Then he was appointed the manager of the Maine Workshops.

Jennifer Spelman	Gary Rust	Nick Pedersen

During his 14 years in Maine, Reid was able to immerse himself in the world of creating images and discuss photography with some of America’s preeminent photographers, including Eliot Porter, Arnold Newman, Ernst Haas, Sam Abel, Jay Maisel and Paul Caponigro, to name but a few. Eventually, Reid tired of the cold Maine winters. He longed to run his own workshops.

On several occasions he had visited Santa Fe and thought it would be a perfect location for photographic workshops. The weather is great, with an average 300 days of sunshine a year, and there are numerous photogenic locations all around. In 1990, Santa Fe Workshops was born, funded by savings and a charter sponsorship from Eastman Kodak.

Ellen Rennard	Mike Williamson	Frank Smith

In preparation for this article, I spent time in two summer workshops: “The Color of Light” with Arthur Meyerson, an award-winning advertising, corporate and editorial photographer from Texas, and “Crafting the Digital Print” with John Paul Caponigro, a talented fine art photographer with a painting background who exhibits internationally and is based in Maine.

The Color of Light

I accompanied the gregarious Arthur— cowboy hat, Texas drawl and all—and his class on a field trip on one of those magical New Mexico sunny days. Just past dawn, we drove to the Pecos National Monument southeast of Santa Fe to capture landscape and architectural images of the ruins. The Monument preserves 12,000 years of history, including the ancient Pueblo of Pecos and two Spanish Colonial missions. Afterwards we drove to Las Vegas, New Mexico, to photograph the historic storefronts on Bridge Street near the Old Town Plaza. The small town has over 900 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Nora Odendahl	Mike Williamson

It was the Fourth of July, and American war veterans were holding a remembrance ceremony in the Plaza. The scene abounded with excellent editorial images. In the field, Arthur advised workshop participants about lighting, composition and subject matter.

The next morning he assisted them with editing the work they created at Pecos and Las Vegas. I found Arthur to be a very thoughtful, thorough, exacting teacher. He teaches in the winter and summer at the Santa Fe Workshops, and in the fall at San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. His website is www.arthurmeyerson.com.

Susan Landmann	Susan Landmann
	Nora Odendahl

Crafting the Digital Print

At 9:00 a.m., John Paul arrived at the digital lab wearing his perennial black tshirt and jeans, his ponytail combed neatly and pulled back from his face. He greeted everyone and laid out each day’s work schedule on the blackboard. John Paul gave each participant a CD containing valuable information regarding digital printmaking. Afterwards he showed some of his exquisite digital prints. He discussed print quality and how Epson pigment inks affect different types of paper.

He is partial to Epson papers, especially their Ultra Smooth Fine Art paper. John Paul is extremely Photoshop-savvy, a master teacher who is detailed and patient. He repeated his Photoshop techniques on printmaking until all of the students fully understood the technical steps to making good digital prints. Some of his tips that stayed with me are, “Empower the viewer with your prints,” “Digital printmaking is experimental,” and “Compare and evaluate your prints.”

Jan Wessels	Nora Odendahl

In the well equipped digital lab, each student has a dual-processor Power Mac G5 computer, a 23- inch Apple LCD monitor and an Epson 2400 inkjet printer at their individual workstation. Large format Epson printers were also available. I visited with the participants and discovered extremely creative work being done. John Paul’s website, “Illuminating Creativity” (www.johnpaulcaponigro.com) is educational, packed with great information, and contains a comprehensive set of PDF files on proofing and printing. You can also subscribe to his free e-mail newsletter, Insights. John Paul teaches a few times a year at the Santa Fe Workshops.

Dale Peterson	Gary Rust

I have led over a dozen workshops at the Santa Fe Workshops myself and have met many remarkable, talented, creative photographers among my students. Some were beginners, while others were more experienced. But they all had one thing in common: a dedication to and a great love of photography. During winter and summer workshops in Santa Fe, there are classes in all fields of photography: portrait, landscape, architecture, studio lighting, photojournalism, color and black-and-white.

The Digital Lab Workshops are run yearround. In the fall, five weeks of workshops are held in the charming and colorful city of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. A week at the workshops is exciting and invigorating. Let me give you a sampling of what a week is like: It all begins with a welcoming Sunday night dinner and an orientation with your instructor. Classes and fieldwork begin first thing Monday morning.

PHOTO COPYRIGHT © 2006 JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO

Throughout the week, students improve their photographic abilities through daily critique sessions of their work with the members of their class and discussions with their instructor. On Monday and Wednesday evenings, the week’s instructors give talks and show their work in visual presentations. The residents of Santa Fe are welcome to attend. It’s a very informative, entertaining evening, and admission is free. On Friday night, there is a dinner to celebrate the week’s work and a visual presentation from each class. Saturday morning is a wrap-up for the week.

The behind-the-scenes staff and course assistants make sure the workshops run smoothly and the experience is a memorable one. Lodging, breakfast and lunch are available on campus. The week flies by much too quickly. Reid Callanan founded the Santa Fe Center for Photography (SFCP), now called Center and formerly known as the Santa Fe Center for Visual Arts, in 1994.

PHOTOS COPYRIGHT © 2006 ARTHUR MEYERSON

It is a nonprofit organization that honors, supports, and provides opportunity for gifted and committed photographers. Their programs include annual awards, competitions, and Review Santa Fe, an annual conference for photographers and picture professionals that offers portfolio review sessions, educational seminars, and intensive retreats on relevant issues in photography. Center is a separate entity from the Santa Fe Workshops.

Center (SFCP) P.O. Box 2483, Santa Fe, NM 87504 (505) 984-8353 www.visitcenter.org Santa Fe Workshops P.O. Box 9916, Santa Fe, NM 87504 (505) 983-1400, fax: (505) 989-8604 www.santafeworkshops.com

The Santa Fe Workshops collaborates with National Geographic Expeditions, offering workshops in Mexico and Italy. The Workshops also offers a series of Onthe- Road Workshops in Mexico, Ireland, Provence, New Mexico, Australia, Venice, Italy, and Maine. Custom, One-on-One and Master Craft Workshops are also offered. Please contact the Santa Fe Workshops for specific information about classes and instructors.

Paul Slaughter is a world-traveled photographer, writer and ASMP member who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Paul specializes in stock and fine art photography and writes articles on travel and photography. A special love of his is jazz. He has an extensive photographic collection of the legends of jazz. See the profile on Paul in the December 2004 issue of Rangefinder. Visit www.slaughterphoto.com.