Via Sree Sreenivasan

“I definitely have a faith, it's internalized.”

Read Vibhuti Patel‘s in-depth interview with photographer Dinesh Khanna about his latest book project – Living Faith. The introduction to Khanna's book on India's faiths is written by the well-known travel writer, Pico Iyer.

Several years ago, I noticed Khanna's coffee table book, Bazaar. Despite having lived in India for 12 years, I was moved and somewhat surprised by the liberal use of color in India. Somehow, just as everything seems to work amidst the apparent chaos that is India, swathes of different hues gel together amicably in the end.

Bryan O'Neil Hughes and I obsess about the same thing – photography.

When I was seven years old, my mother put a camera in my hands and asked me to take some pictures of an office party. After an interminable wait for the film to be processed, I saw what a little bit of vision, a little bit of luck and a whole lot of patience could produce; I was hooked.

The colors in his portfolio are punchy and pure. In one of the images of a dilapidated car – ”a vintage junker,” he called it – I can literally smell the rust. His black & white images are so incredibly tactile. In a recent email he writes: “I'm a big believer in waiting for the warm light, which as you know, is really only available at the nose and tail of the day…in fleeting 30 minute glimpses.”

How he arrives at his images is a mystery, but it is one that I hope to solve on a forthcoming trip to the West coast. Bryan lives in the Bay Area and works at Adobe, on the Photoshop team.

I get my share of junk email and so was glad the filters I have set up hadn't squashed Tina Dehal‘s recent note.

Short and sweet introductions are so hard to pass up. Here is what she said: “I am a photographer based in bombay, India……i just happen to come across your site and was very impressed with the amount of information you had on it…”

I suggest you check out her web site. I was very impressed with the way she approaches fashion – it's vastly different from what I have seen coming out of India and what makes it special may just be the way she chooses to light her subjects.

David Pogue's article in today's New York Times promises to make it easy for us to share our images with our friends and family and even have them printed at a photo store of our choice.

Please let me know of your experiences, if any of you actually use the two services mentioned; OurPictures.com and ShareALot.com. From David's article I understand that OurPictures.com is a Window-only based program. ShareALot.com appears to be open to Windows and Macintosh platforms. It's not rocket science to figure out which one I'll be using.

I get asked where one could learn photography. There is a long list of colleges and institutes. But none of them will be as much fun as Julia Dean's workshops. They are out of this world. Trust me. I have watched her teach. I spent some time as an intern with Julia Dean several years ago. She is a fabulous teacher and photojournalist. You will be inspired by her energy and enthusiasm for all things photographic.

Check out the line up of people for April and May. While she may not be teaching all of these courses, there is something for everyone; from beginner to advanced photographer. Julia's contact information is listed below should you need to get more information. And, yes, while Julia offers workshops in a great many places around the world, you have to be in LA for all these workshops. If you do sign up with her, tell her I sent you!

April 2004

Portfolio Review:
How to Create a Winning Portfolio with Debra Weiss
April 3 (a one-day workshop), Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm
This is a wonderful opportunity to have a former professional photo agent give you advice about your portfolio, how to put it together and how to improve it. Debra — now a creative consultant — was an agent for some of the top names in the business.
Workshop Fee: $250

Lighting and Dramatic Portrait on the Venice Boardwalk
with Michael Grecco
April 12 – 16 (a one-week class), Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm
Michael Grecco, one of today's premier portrait photographers, will guide you on a photo journey along the Venice Beach Boardwalk. Michael has taught here before, but only for one day. This time, he'll be teaching a week-long workshop, so take advantage of this great opportunity. Michael will show you many different lighting techniques, as well as how to work with the people you are photographing to make them more at ease.
Workshop Fee: $825 (fee includes all equipment rental)
http://www.michaelgrecco.com

The Black & White Course II with Julia Dean
April 12 – June 21 (a six-week class over 12-week time period), Monday evenings, 7-10 pm
This course is all about seeing in Black & White, developing a personal vision and style, and creating a body of cohesive work. We discuss all the genres of photography such as landscape, nudes, portraits, still life's, documentary. Each week, you then pick a genre, and will photograph under a specific lighting situation such as contrasty light, low light, inclement weather, to get a good grasp of how to expose in all kinds of lighting situations.
Workshop Fee: $415

Basic Photography with Julia Dean
April 13 – May 18 (a six-week class), Tuesday evenings, 7-10 pm
(This class is full.)
Workshop Fee: $415

Alternative Photography:
Pinhole Cameras, Plastic Cameras, Polaroid Transfers
with Aline Smithson and Julia Dean
April 21 – May 12 (a four-week class), Wednesday afternoons, 12-4 pm
This class is as much fun as a grade-school art class! People who take this class are either (1) novices who don't know anything about photography or (2) more advanced photographers who want to add some creative approaches to their work. If you want to know more about all of these “alternative techniques,” we will be having an exhibit opening on April 16th of “alternative” work. (Invitation to come next week!)
Workshop Fee: $395
Lab Fee: $75 (covers all supplies and equipment for each process, including a plastic camera that participants will keep
http://www.alinesmithson.com

Intermediate Photography with Robert Rosenheck
April 22 – May 27 (a six-week class), Thursday evenings, 7-10 pm
This class is for those who have had a Basic Photography class and are ready for the next step. Robert will not only be reviewing topics such as exposure and composition, but he'll be adding additional information such as “night shooting,” and much more!
Workshop Fee: $415
http://robertrosenheck.com

Infrared Made Simple with Stephen Schafer
April 24 & 25 (a two-day workshop), Saturday and Sunday, 1-5 pm
This is a beautiful technique, but rather difficult to figure out on your own. Avoid years of frustration with Stephen's simple formulas. Check out Steve's work to for beautiful examples of what you can do with infrared film.
$250
http://www.schafphoto.com

The Photojournalistic Approach with Daniel Milnor
April 28 – July 7 (six-week class over 12-week time period), Wednesday evenings, 7-10 pm
Not only is Dan a fabulous documentary photographer, but he's a natural born teacher as well. For those of you who know me, this was a hard class for me to give up, since it's one of my very favorites. THAT should tell you how much I think of Dan's teaching.
Workshop Fee: $415
http://milnorpictures.com

May 2004

Introduction to Color Photography with Robert Rosenheck
May 1 – 22 (a four-week class), Saturday mornings, 9 am – 12 pm
This goal of this class is to obtain a working understanding of how film reacts to light and records color. You will learn how to “see” color and how to develop a personal color sense. The class covers types of film, such as negative versus transparency, and tungsten versus daylight. You'll learn about cross processing and various other creative techniques too.
Workshop Fee: $350
http://robertrosenheck.com

View Camera Workshop: Portraits and Landscapes
with Norma C. Smith
May 1 – 22 (a four-week class), Saturday afternoons, 1-4 pm
This hands-on class will give you a chance to learn and practice skills using large format cameras. The class will cover all aspects of view camera use, such as movements, exposure, equipment choice, lens choice, film handling, and filters. There is nothing more beautiful than a BIG negative. And Norma is a great teacher!
Workshop Fee: $395 (Fee includes view camera rentals and Polaroid backs)

Studio Portrait and Location Lighting
For the Working and Aspiring Photographer with Harold Sweet
Manager of the Rental Department at Samy's Camera
May 25 – June 29, (a six-week class), 7-10 pm
(This popular class is full.)
Workshop Fee: $600 (Fee includes all rental eqiupment)

Julia Dean & Associates
The Julia Dean Photo Workshops
3111 Ocean Front Walk, Suite 102
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
310-821-0909 phone
310-821-0809 fax
email: julia@juliadean.com
workshops: http://www.juliadean.com
child labor project: http://www.childlaborphotoproject.org