Rex Naden Photography

Rex Naden has been serving for many years as the assistant to well-known fine art photographer Charles Cramer in teaching 5-day workshops at the Ansel Adams Gallery. Two classes are scheduled for 2011: May 4-8 and November 2-6, 2011. These Shooting and Lab classes are intended for intermediate to advanced photographers who intend to create the best possible Fine Art Images.

Instructors: Charles Cramer, assisted by Rex Naden
Dates: May 4-8, 2011 (sold out) or November 2-6, 2011 (sold out but wait list available)
Location: Yosemite National Park
Level: Intermediate
Class Limit: 8
Tuition: $1,350 (Material Fee Included)
Rooms have been set aside for workshop participants in Yosemite Valley. A form will be sent to you upon registration that will allow you to reserve one of these rooms.

Charles Cramer and Rex Naden will show you everything you need to know to make the finest digital prints from your digital camera files, transparencies or negatives. From capturing your vision in digital or film images to scanning film to choosing the right printer, Charlie and Rex will share the results of extensive testing in the pursuit of making the best possible prints. This class will expose students to the state-of-the-art in digital techniques and equipment. And beyond the technical details, you will learn ways to make your images stronger and more compelling, including for each participant a review of your own images with your peers and instructors.

Students should have a working knowledge of Photoshop. Exercises and a complete work book developed by Charles Cramer will be distributed prior to the class; "pre-work" is encouraged.

Subjects covered will be workflow oriented and will include color management, digital capture and RAW developing, scanning, using Photoshop to fine-tune your images, equipment selection and preparing files for Inkjet printing. A brief review of Adobe Lightroom will be provided. Students will have the opportunity to capture, scan, fine-tune and print their own images on the Gallery's Epson and HP printers.

Subjects covered in detail will include:

Digital Capture and developing RAW images
Purchase vs. service bureau---do I need my own scanner?
What is a good scan and how to tell
Recommended scanning parameters---resolution and size, color space, and sharpening
Defining your own Vision- Composition, image detractors, image strengthenors
Color Management (covered in depth)
How to insure consistent results from monitor to final print
How do I color-profile my own monitor, scanner, and printer?
Which calibration software works best
Image Processing
Recommended techniques for working on files
The Master File and adjustment layers

Photoshop selection tools---tips and techniques
Setting density and color balance
Retouching, burning and dodging
Preparation of files for output to various printers
Sharpening
Using the "Sharpen Only Edges" action (included)
Equipment Selection
Recommended Computers and Monitors
Printers for proofing and printers for final output
Software for image processing
Storage for large image files, CD and DVD writers
Digital cameras
Presentation
Archival methods of mounting and matting digital prints

In addition to time spent in the digital classroom, workshop participants will have the opportunity to participate in up to four instructor-led field sessions. During the workshop, field sessions will take place in the morning and evening hours, giving students the opportunity to make images around the Yosemite region while receiving instructor feedback.

CHARLES CRAMER (www.charlescramer.com) studied piano for 25 years, receiving an M.A. degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. George Eastman, who also founded the Eastman Kodak Company, endowed this conservatory. This connection between music and photography can be seen in the lives of many photographers. Cramer gradually turned to full-time photography by 1980. What initially started out as wet darkroom work transited into the digital era in 1997. Although far removed from darkroom-intensive dye transfer prints, the digital process gives him incredible control over the final image. These new advances allow Charles Cramer to realize his lyrical landscape images at their strongest and most compelling. Cramer has taught photography for The Ansel Adams Gallery, and in 1987 was selected by the National Park Service to be artist-in-residence in Yosemite. National Geographic, the Sierra Club, and the Yosemite Association have published his work. His photographs are in numerous public and private collections in the United States and abroad.

REX NADEN (www.rexnaden.com) has been a photographer for 40 years. His initial commercial interests were in sports and wedding photography before concentrating on fine art nature work. He pursued and has retired from a parallel career in the semiconductor business. Rex has been a full time professional photographer now for many years. His work has been shown in multiple galleries and is owned by numerous corporations and private collectors. Having a strong technical background, he has recently directed his interest towards Composition and the refinement of great images based on the sum of their elements. His subject matter, "Defining your Vision" is baed upon actual image critique and is included in this course. In this lesson Rex presents examples of image elements that can weaken your image, as well as elements that can strengthen your image. Rex is a Trustee of the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, CA.

Fine Art Photography Workshops at Ansel Adams Gallery, Yosemite Valley