Post Archive - The Image Flow

2018 Group Exhibition

January 8, 2019 No Comments

January 19 – March 22, 2019 Opening Reception: January 19, 2019, from 7–9PM This year’s group exhibition showcases student photographs from some of The Image Flow’s most popular workshops of 2018. From Photo Essentials (Photography Basics) to Platinum over Pigment Printing — this collection provides a unique chance to see the world from the perspective of a diverse set of photographers. Some of the images were the result of specific assignments, but most are from what I like to refer to as “self-directed projects”. Projects where we as instructors guide and push our students to see more, observe more and realize

An Interview with Environmental Portraiture Photographer Lori Barra

December 21, 2018 No Comments

Here at The Image Flow, we have some pretty amazing clients that we work with on a regular basis. From artists and educators to humanitarians and scientists, people come to us from many different paths, all connected by a love for photography. In an effort to share some of these clients’ inspiring stories and backgrounds, we’ve started to interview some of these fascinating people to help spread their stories and inspirations. In this interview, Lori Barra speaks about her work as a humanitarian, her mentor Mary Ellen Mark, and the importance of connecting with your photography subject. Can you tell

Street Portrait Photography: A Guide to Capturing the Streets

October 23, 2018 No Comments

Photographer Stuart Schwartz gives photography tips for shooting street portrait photography with a sense of place and personal identity. For me, street portrait photography is more than simply taking a headshot of someone on the street. It should have the spontaneity of urban photography while also capturing the essence of the person or the moment. My goal with these types of street shots is to have enough information in the photograph to give the viewer both a sense of place and a sense of personal identity. A few important aspects to creating outstanding street portraits are getting intimate with your

Emotional Resonance in Photography: Greta Carlstrom Transcends Identity

October 16, 2018 No Comments

Of all the eras and styles in the medium’s history, art historian and photographer Jeffrey Martz is most drawn to the 19^th-century amateur pictorial photographers such as Lewis Carroll, Clementina (Lady Hawarden), and Julia Margaret Cameron.
“An amateur photographer was a clearly-defined category of maker in the 19^th century, someone who pursued photography seriously but not professionally. They weren’t in a studio trying to please a client, and because of this, they were free to make the best possible pictures in whatever style they wished. They did their work literally for the Latin root of the word—amore—or love,” Jeffery explained.

An Inside Look at a Private Group Photography Workshop

October 10, 2018 No Comments

Once in a while, we receive a special request for photography instruction tailored to a specific group, or perhaps a location. And sometimes, we get a request for both, allowing us the opportunity to create a truly unique experience for students of photography in a fascinating place. It all started with a phone call from the Director of the design department at Healthline. The conversation was quick and to the point; Keith wanted to know if someone at The Image Flow would be able to provide some fundamental photography instruction to fifteen of the company’s employees during a team

Architectural Marvels in Jaipur, India

September 18, 2018 No Comments

Greta Carlstrom: BEYOND

August 9, 2018 No Comments

September 15 – December 21, 2018 Opening Reception: Saturday, September 15, 2018, from 7–9PM “In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity.” – Erik Erikson The Image Flow proudly presents BEYOND, a solo exhibition featuring the work of California photographer Greta Carlstrom. Beyond the obvious, navigating identity, I’m an explorer creating images from deep within my psyche. My work attempts to capture the invisible edges of my imagination. Exploring imagery that is abstract, emotional, and mysterious, these photographs are filled with feelings and thoughts from my subconscious. BEYOND is a

3rd Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition

June 27, 2018 No Comments

Juried by Daniel W. Coburn, Ed Carey, Glen R. Serbin & The Image Flow July 14 – September 7, 2018 Opening Reception: Saturday, July 14, 7–9PM The Image Flow proudly presents our 3rd Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition, a juried exhibition featuring 37 artists working with a wide variety of historical and analog photographic printing processes. Ambrotype, chemigram, cyanotype, daguerreotype, emulsion lift, gum bichromate, mordançage, photogravure, platinum/palladium, salt, tintype, and Van Dyke brown (along with many multiple-process works) are all represented in this show. Each image is often one of a kind due to the nature of working

History of Photography Lecture Series, Part 5

June 26, 2018 No Comments

Part 5: The Art of Photography July 26, 2018, from 7–8PM The impulse to create beauty finds new expression in the camera. Academically-trained professionals and avant-garde amateurs push photography into the realm of fine art. A debate stirs around the artistic efficacy of machine-made imagery and the role of its operator. By the end of the century art itself will never be the same. Join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for an evening of high definition imagery and discussion featuring the works of Henry Peach Robinson, Julia Margaret-Cameron, Peter Henry Emerson, and many more. A History of Photography Lecture

2018 AIR Program Recipients

June 25, 2018 No Comments

Congratulations to The Image Flow’s 2018 Artist in Residence Program recipients: Francis Baker and Sarah Rose Weitzman. As you may already know, The Image Flow recently held a call for submissions to our brand new Artist in Residence program, with the goal of providing our equipment and resources to assist a photographic artist with the creation of their personal work. With the institution of this program, we are proud to show our continued support to the photography community as a whole. Having received a great many outstanding applicants with some incredibly original work, the selection process was difficult, to say

History of Photography Lecture Series, Part 4

June 12, 2018 No Comments

Part 4: The Documents of Photography, Pt. 2 June 21, 2018, from 7–8PM The romantic imperative and a public eager for the truth of the camera image drive documentary photographers to all parts of the globe. From the mysterious orient to the bleak wilderness of the American West, photography in the 19th-century simultaneously reinforces and shapes our concept of otherness. Back home, social concerns compel pioneering eyewitness photographers into the streets to record the truth of their times. Join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz as we take a journey alongside pioneers Francis Frith, John Thomson, Jacob Riis, and many others. Our

History of Photography: Lecture Series with Jeffrey Martz

June 7, 2018 No Comments

Photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz returns to The Image Flow to offer his updated History of Photography Series. A History of Photography Lecture Series You are invited to join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for a tour through the history of photography. In this series, we will explore the origins, the pioneers, the journeys, the documents, and the art of a medium that revolutionized human communication. Using the best possible reproductions we will see the technologies, practitioners, and key works that made photography central to the story of the world. The series is intended for both the newcomer

Charles Versaggi: March for Our Lives

April 3, 2018 No Comments

Photography Tips for Teen Program in Cuba–2018

March 22, 2018 No Comments

Kerik Kouklis: From the Ends of the Earth

March 21, 2018 No Comments

April 7 – June 29, 2018 Opening Reception: Saturday, April 7, 2018, from 7–9PM The Image Flow proudly presents From the Ends of the Earth, a solo exhibition featuring the work of California photographer Kerik Kouklis. From the Ends of the Earth includes 46 hand-made photographic prints from Kerik’s recent travels to Iceland, Scotland, the Galapagos, Mongolia, and California, his home. My job is to deliver the message, the mood, the thought, the emotion. The image is the starting place, and printmaking is the language. I make all my prints in my own darkroom, using hands-on processes — wet plate collodion, platinum/palladium,

A Photogenic Journey in Paradise with Top Photographer-Guides–2018

March 19, 2018 No Comments

Jeffrey Martz: Faster but Slower

January 17, 2018 No Comments

February 17 – March 30, 2018 Opening Reception: Saturday, February 17, 2018, from 7–9PM “I want you to play that again, only this time make it faster, but slower.” – Martin Hannett, to the members of Joy Division, during the recording of Unknown Pleasures, 1977 In the spring of 2017, I sat in the passenger seat of my father-in-law’s car, camera in hand, watching Willamette Valley riverscapes scroll past my window. As the light was storm-perfect, my impulse was to ask for photography pull-overs. There were so many fine subjects that I mentally had our touring company stopping every

Jim Hughes: Americana Photography

January 15, 2018 No Comments

January 13 – November 7, 2018 Select images of Jim Hughes’ Americana photography are on display at The Image Flow. Life is made up of moments and moments pass quickly — capturing them is what I do. From Dubai to Shanghai, I travel the world to create enduring images for clients such as HP, AT&T, GE, Exxon, Levi’s, United Airlines, and Coca-Cola. Whether working in the back streets of New Delhi or on Wall Street, my technical experience combined with my ability to work well with people brings ideas and concepts to life. I specialize in lifestyle advertising and have found

For the Love of Photography: Jeffrey Martz on the Amateur Spirit

January 9, 2018 No Comments

Self-Taught Teen Explores Identity Through Film Photography

December 4, 2017 No Comments

Arthur Wechsler discovered photography at an early age. His grandfather was a photographer in the Korean War and Arthur had one of his old cameras sitting in his room “forever.”
“One day, I think a year before he passed away, I asked for a camera, and he got me one for Christmas. I was 11 or 12 at the time,” Arthur said.

2017 Group Exhibition

November 9, 2017 No Comments

January 13 – February 9, 2018 Opening Reception: January 13, 2018, from 7–9PM This year’s group exhibition showcases student photographs from some of The Image Flow’s most popular workshops of 2017. From Photo Essentials to Conceptual Photography to Destination Workshops, this collection provides a unique chance to see the world from the perspective of a diverse set of photographers. Some of the images were the result of specific assignments, but most are from what I like to refer to as “self-directed projects”. Projects where we as instructors guide and push our students to see more, observe more and realize

Lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning documentary photographer Deanne Fitzmaurice

November 9, 2017 No Comments

The Heart of the Story: Using photography to create a visually compelling, meaningful and engaging narrative story. Thursday, December 7, 2017, from 7–8PM Free Where is the tipping point in turning a no into a yes, when people let you into their lives to tell their stories? Deanne Fitzmaurice, Pulitzer Prize-winning documentary photographer, will share her thought process behind her Pulitzer winning project and talk about building rapport with the people she photographs from an injured Iraqi boy to Warriors star Steph Curry. She will discuss her imagery and show how she creates meaningful stories to affect social change.

Between the Lines of Illustration & Photography: Meet Anton Belov

October 3, 2017 No Comments

You may have noticed a new face at The Flow over the past several months. Meet Anton Belov: His official title is Production Assistant, and in his time here, he’s proven to be a valuable member of our small team.
A recent graduate of California College of the Arts with a BFA in Illustration and a freelance graphic designer, Anton Belov has been doing a little bit of everything at The Image Flow, from printing photographs to designing fliers to being available for the next task, whatever it might be. When he is not at The Flow, he can be found freelancing for a number of clients such as Stanford Children’s Health, Saint Mary’s College of California, or the Paramount.
“Recently I’ve been gravitating toward illustration, moving away from graphic design and becoming more interested in the image-making part design, rather than shapes and text,” he said.

Non-Stop Action at Our Slow Food Workshop in Umbria

September 19, 2017 No Comments

Jeff Zaruba and I arrived in Umbria a few days before the workshop began to scout locations with our Italian assistant Lorenzo. Those first couple of days were busy, but they were nothing compared to the non-stop action once the workshop began.
We had 10 students in the group and one of the students brought along his wife. On our first day of shooting, we went to a bed and breakfast we’d scouted a year ago. The location is extremely picturesque and Eleanora was all ready for us: The kitchen was set up for us to shoot while she prepared lunch, and she’d planned a wonderful menu.

2nd Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition

August 23, 2017 No Comments

Juried by Max Kellenberger, Mark Nelson & The Image Flow September 9 – November 22, 2017 Opening Reception: Saturday, September 9, 7–9PM The Image Flow proudly presents our 2nd Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition, a juried exhibition featuring 40 artists working with a wide variety of historical and analog photographic printing processes. Ambrotype, bromoil transfer, color carbon, chemigram, cyanotype, gum bichromate, kallitype, mordançage, photogravure, platinum, and tintype / wet plate collodion processes (along with many multiple-process works) are all represented in this show. Each image is often one of a kind due to the nature of working with these

Reflect & Engage Digital Photography Exhibition

May 24, 2017 No Comments

June 3 – August 25, 2017 Opening Reception: Saturday, June 3, 7–9PM The Image Flow proudly presents Reflect & Engage, a group exhibition featuring 36 artists examining themes of identity and engagement through digital photography. The images in this exhibition are activated through the multidisciplinary pursuits and values of the artists who created them. These artists are not just photographers. They are sociologists and humanitarians, non-profit directors and journalists, environmental activists and defenders of peace. They are world travelers exploring the connection between ourselves, our immediate communities, and our larger global society. Reflect & Engage is curated from nearly

Fading Traditions: Papua New Guinea in Color

May 2, 2017 No Comments

Photographer Fran Meckler is passionate about her social documentary work—she’s visited more than 70 countries over her career. Her latest images were made during a two-week trip to Papua New Guinea where she documented in vivid color the changing landscape, the lives of many different tribes and what is still left of tribal life in the 21^st century, and the mystery of that very foreign culture.
In a new exhibition at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, Fran will show 25 images from the trip, printed by The Image Flow.

Rory Earnshaw: Spectrums of Solitude

March 6, 2017 No Comments

March 9 – May 26, 2017 Artist Reception: Saturday, March 18, 2017, from 7–9PM The Image Flow proudly presents Spectrums of Solitude, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Bay Area-based photographer Rory Earnshaw. Spectrums of Solitude spans over four decades and includes 44 diligently processed, hand-made darkroom prints. Rory’s small-scale, intimate prints in this exhibition explore the quiet, minimalist beauty of an empty urban landscape. Shooting only with film and often with a large-format camera, he takes advantage of the slow and deliberate process of classic silver gelatin darkroom printing and toning. When I’m out shooting personal work

The Ins & Outs of Photographing Auto Racing

February 13, 2017 No Comments

Dennis Gray was introduced to photography right about the same time his father started sneaking him into the Stockton sport races in the trunk of his car—he was 14. “I got a Nikon F, one of the first ones they made in 1959, and at the same time, my father bought a go-kart that he and I raced. We were both gear heads,” recalled Dennis. “He snuck me into the races so he didn’t have to pay the $2 entry fee.”

Pei Ketron: iPhone Photography

February 2, 2017 No Comments

February – June 2017

2016 Group Exhibition

February 2, 2017 No Comments

December 2016 – February 2017

The Positive Side of Abnormal: Washington, DC, Women’s March

January 28, 2017 1 Comment

Social documentary photographer Nancy Richards Farese on the Women’s March in Washington, DC, and what it means for the future of democracy.

Pei Ketron Lecture on Instagram Success

January 25, 2017 No Comments

Instagram sensation Pei Ketron on her unconventional road to photographic success. Tuesday, February 7, 2017, from 7–8PM Free Pei Ketron is a San Francisco-based photographer who has followed an unconventional road to photographic success. After more than ten years of slowly building a photography business as a side job while working as a public school teacher, her career exploded when social media, specifically Instagram, became huge. She now has over 830K followers on Instagram. Suddenly, Pei was able to leave her day job and found herself getting paid to travel the world and take photographs for major brands and dream

Old Maps Reborn Into Digital Life

January 4, 2017 2 Comments

Michael Jennings and Cecilia Malaguti are the couple behind Neatline Maps, a vintage and rare map dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area. They came to The Image Flow to make a digital archive of their collection—which consists currently of over 300 maps—both for their online store, and as a way to preserve the maps and the stories they represent. The reproductions are being made with TIF’s medium format Hasselblad, which offers extreme resolution and sharpness.
Michael and Cecelia became interested in maps through their training as archaeologists—Michael works for the nonprofit Center for Digital Archaeology in Marin. They started out collecting a few maps they particularly enjoyed, but a year ago, they decided to turn their hobby into a business.

Stephen Johnson Lecture: Digital National Park Project

December 17, 2016 No Comments

Canon has named Stephen Johnson one of their Explorers of Light and sponsors speaking engagements with him around the country! Thanks to Canon, Stephen will be talking at The Image Flow about his recent project on the National Parks With a New Eye: Photography Changed Forever. Thursday, March 2, 2017, from 7–8PM Free Stephen Johnson walks us through his travels to over 50 national parks and the ideas, tools, inspiration, and means of accomplishing his massive five-year project, With a New Eye: Photography Forever Changed. The bleeding edge of technology has left its marks on Stephen, and left us all

Getting to the Heart of Slow Food in Umbria

October 18, 2016 3 Comments

Stuart Schwartz recently spent three days with his family in Umbria, Italy, as part of a scouting trip for a new workshop next summer focused on the Slow Food movement and the local Italian lifestyle.
“My goal is to create a workshop in which we’ll create an accurate portrait of Umbria—the people, lifestyle, landscape, and architecture—but also get an intimate experience of what it’s like to actually live in Umbria, if even for only a short time,” writes Stuart.

Gallery Presents Tribute to Iconic SF Photographer Ken Graves

September 26, 2016 No Comments

Photographer and collage artist Ken Graves is best known for his black-and-white street photography of San Francisco at the transition from the 1960s to the 1970s. Graves passed away earlier this year at the age of 74, leaving behind a legacy of more than 50 years of work. Almost two dozen pieces are part of SFMOMA’s permanent collection, and now the Anglim Gilbert Gallery in San Francisco has put together a new exhibition, The Home Front, to pay tribute to this great California artist.

Chasing Stars: Don Whitebread’s Night Photography

August 27, 2016 No Comments

Don Whitebread owns a decent telescope but admits he’s not much of an astronomer. He bought the telescope to do astrophotography, and then realized it didn’t give him the opportunity to play with time in the way he’d imagined.
“The work I’m doing, I feel like I’m capturing a particular moment. It’s a long moment, but still, it’s a moment in time when these stars happen to line up with this foreground and it creates a composition,” he said.
The work he’s referring to is part of an ongoing collection called Starlight. He shoots mostly with a medium-format Hasselblad and black and white film—digital cameras don’t allow for the type of exposure he’s after. Each exposure requires an exposure of around an hour and a half. The result is a glimpse of thousands of stars moving across the night sky.

TIF Kids Workshops Guide Students to Self Discovery

August 23, 2016 No Comments

It’s been a busy summer at The Image Flow with two sessions of our Summer Photo Camp for Kids and the Angel Island Summer Photo Excursion. All of these kids photography workshops are geared toward middle school-aged shooters, one of my favorite ages to teach because they’re able to handle more challenging concepts and assignments and they learn so fast.
The goals of the workshops are simple: Teach kids how to use their camera on manual mode and how to do basic post-processing in Lightroom—I find that even my intermediate students benefit from the review and practice of using their cameras with the exercises I give them. In the Angel Island workshop, which is made up primarily of students that already have some photography experience, we do some work with Photoshop as well.

Photography Brings Hope to Camp Hope

August 19, 2016 No Comments

Jeff Greenwald, an Oakland-based photojournalist, author, and founder of the nonprofit Ethical Traveler, has been photographing in Nepal since 1979. He first visited Camp Hope, one of Kathmandu’s most progressive earthquake refugee camps, in the fall of 2005.
“One of the kids—a very smart and completely charming 10-year-old girl named Laxmi Sherpa—asked to borrow my camera … such a request would normally give me pause. But Laxmi had impressed me with her honesty and sense of responsibility—so I handed it over,” said Jeff.
That afternoon was the beginning of his project with Looking Glass Photo. The idea was simple: Provide cameras to the children Camp Hope and teach them how to document their daily lives.

First Annual Alternative Process Photography Exhibition

August 15, 2016 No Comments

September – December 2016

James Clift on “Assignment Discipline” in Intermediate Photography

August 9, 2016 3 Comments

Balancing your photographic pursuits with the ups and downs of daily life can be a difficult task. Keeping pace with a photography series requires not only dedication but also a clear direction to ensure building success. Here, workshop student James Clift talks about how creative assignments with concrete deadlines can help expand the horizons of the intermediate photographer.

Liz Caroli: Chasing the Light

July 26, 2016 No Comments

Liz Caroli is a recently retired teacher with a newfound passion for photography, but looking at her photographs, you might think she’s been shooting for a very long time. However, she bought her first “real camera” barely three years ago. She credits her rapidly improving skills behind the camera to hard work and the excellent teaching skills of the instructors at The Image Flow.
Her first initial impetus to pursue photography came during a trip to Belize. On a side trip to Half Moon Caye National Monument, Liz snapped a few shots of a flock of birds flying overhead.

Masters of Photography Lecture Series, Harry Callahan

July 4, 2016 No Comments

Harry Callahan Thursday, July 21, 2016, from 7–8PM Private, self-taught, and committed to the amateur spirit, Harry Callahan is a central figure in the practice of subjective photography in mid-century America. His five-decade-long career encompassed a wide-ranging, experimental, and restless approach that resulted in some of the most original images of the 20th century. Masters of Photography Lecture Series You are invited to join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for an evening celebrating the life and work of the most influential practitioners in the history of photography. This new photography lecture series Masters in Photography will use the best

7 Tips for Building and Sharing a Professional Photography Portfolio

June 28, 2016 3 Comments

As a commercial photographer, workshop instructor, and owner of The Image Flow, Stuart Schwartz is no stranger to the portfolio review—and he’s sat on both sides of the table. Here he offers his tips for building your portfolio for success. First and foremost, there is nothing more impressive than a printed portfolio.
Periodic portfolio reviews are an essential part of any serious photographer’s game plan. They’re a great opportunity to get your work literally under the noses of the right people. But before you submit your work to a professional portfolio review, you’ll want to be sure your portfolio is in the best shape possible.
How does one begin creating a successful artist’s portfolio? The information I will share with you here will be useful to anyone working in fine art or commercial photography, illustration, or art, and who would like to present their work in a professional manner to potential clients, friends, and colleagues.
To be successful, an artist must have a vision, must master the technical skills required in their chosen medium, and have a basic understanding of the art business.

Mark Citret Lecture: Parallel Landscapes

June 20, 2016 No Comments

Join architectural and landscape photographer Mark Citret and book designer Gudrun Thielemann to learn about the process of creating and designing the new fine art photography book Parallel Landscapes. Thursday, September 8, 2016, at 7PM Mark Citret’s new book Parallel Landscapes is a collection of 47 beautiful photographs of the landscape of his dreams: a massive construction site in southwest San Francisco. The images chosen for the book were distilled from more than 100 photographs taken between 1990 and 1993, a project that Mark says constitutes the finest body of work he’s produced in five decades as a photographer. During

Masters of Photography Lecture Series, Bill Brandt

June 3, 2016 No Comments

Bill Brandt Wednesday, June 22, 2016, from 7–8PM Widely considered the greatest British photographer of the 20th century, Bill Brandt is a central figure in the development of photographic modernism. Brandt’s wide-ranging lens was equally masterful in the fields of photojournalism, portraiture, landscape photography, and the nude. His rich, five-decade-long career continues to inspire, challenge, and influence photography to this day. Masters of Photography Lecture Series You are invited to join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for an evening celebrating the life and work of the most influential practitioners in the history of photography. This new photography lecture series

The Story Behind the Ice Images on the Wall at The Image Flow

May 10, 2016 2 Comments

Scott Orazem studied photography at the Art Center College of Design in California. He spent fifteen years shooting fashion in Los Angeles before launching a second career in creative direction and brand strategy. Now, Scott is exploring the personal side of his photography with a focus on patterns, textures, and scales found in nature.

Big Red, Jay Ruland, Withering Roses, exploration of age and age issues, pictures of flowers, flower photography

Jay Ruland on the Beauty of Growing Old

April 26, 2016 1 Comment

After 25 years in the workforce, Jay Ruland decided to go back to school and, not surprisingly, found himself surrounded by 20-somethings. While he says he was welcomed by his junior contemporaries, he was struck by the way they perceive the world; that is, the things they found to be beautiful also tended to be as young as they were. As a 50-something, Jay says the aging process is beautiful in itself, and the desire to show that is the basis for his Withering Roses floral photography series, which will be featured in his new solo exhibition at The Image Flow As the Allure Fades opening on May 14.
“The younger students sort of had a bias toward things in society that are young and pretty, and we’re taught through the media that younger is better. But if you look closer in nature, things that are getting older are still beautiful and the process itself is a beautiful process,” says Jay.
He chose to work with roses because they are a societal symbol for beauty, something you’d give on a first date or use to decorate your house, but also because they can communicate ideas, from the number you give to the color, and transgress cultural barriers.

The Artifice of Photography

April 19, 2016 No Comments

It is no secret that the medium of photography has become increasingly complicated by the advent of the digital age. Nearly every image we encounter—from advertising and billboards to packaging and fine art—receives some level of digital treatment before arriving in our periphery. Altered images have become so commonplace that they are no longer questioned.
Knowing this, why then is there a persisting notion of photography as a mechanism of truth? It seems to exist as a residual concept of the photograph as something objective and substantiated by its relationship to reality.
But what we perceive to be real is malleable and shifting. This is where my personal interests in photography seem to manifest, in a space where artists are free to toy with the artifice that is inherent to photographs. Through individual choices regarding process, presentation, and content, the following are a few contemporary photographic artists that tread the boundaries of illusion and reality.

Masters of Photography Lecture Series, Eugène Atget

April 15, 2016 No Comments

Eugène Atget Thursday, May 5, 2016, from 7–8PM Practically unknown during his lifetime and practicing an archaic working method, Eugène Atget is the central figure bridging the documentary world of the 19th century and the straight photography world of the 20th. His resolute commitment to visual facts mingles with a perfect understanding of light and space to create images that are both objective and poetic. This enigmatic man dies unknown yet goes on to inspire some of the greatest careers in the history of the medium. Masters of Photography Lecture Series You are invited to join photographer and art historian

Don’t Miss Annie Leibovitz’s “Women” at the Presidio Through April 17

April 11, 2016 No Comments

Annie Leibovitz, a San Francisco Art Institute alum, began her famed career as a photojournalist for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s. Over the past 40 years, she has created some of the most stunning and most controversial photographs of her day. Her new exhibition Women: New Portraits now on display at the Presidio’s Building 649 at Chrissy Field features portraits of some the world’s most influential women, from ballerina Misty Copeland to anthropologist Jane Goodall to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

5 Tips for Taking Amazing Photographs at Night

April 7, 2016 No Comments

Fine art photographer Hendrik Paul is best known for his surreal black and white landscapes of the Marin Headlands, but he also likes to venture out at night to take ethereal images in both urban and rural settings.
Here our most accomplished night shooter shares his tips for night photography, from the best equipment to use to the best time to shoot, so you can start taking beautiful photos at night!

How to Be a Better Photographer in 4 Easy Steps

March 28, 2016 No Comments

Our favorite kids instructor Constance Chu gives us four tips for young photographers (and you too) on how to be better at photography. She says, getting good at photography is just like anything else: To be good, you’ve got to work at it.
While she won’t guarantee you fame and fortune in photography, she says becoming a better photographer is not as daunting a task as it may sometimes seem—and it will also be a lot of fun!

Catherine Karnow Lecture: The Creative Eye

March 24, 2016 No Comments

Behind the Scenes for National Geographic in Switzerland April 27, 2016, from 7–8PM Free How do you land in a foreign country and capture compelling images while planning an entire photo shoot on your own—in just ten days? Come hear National Geographic photographer Catherine Karnow talk about her creative process while she regales us with stunning images and exciting anecdotes from her recent assignment in Switzerland to shoot a major ad campaign for National Geographic. Catherine will tell us how it’s done: the pitfalls, the mishaps, the anxiety, the joy, and her ultimate success. This is sure to be an

9 Iconic Cameras Every Photographer Should Know

March 22, 2016 1 Comment

Photography has come a long way since the daguerreotype. While the first 100 years focused on perfecting the chemical process, the next 100 years focused on popularizing it. Read on to discover nine of history’s most iconic cameras, and how they influenced photography.

Eugène Atget, Quai d'Anjou, 6h du matin, 1924

Masters of Photography: Lecture Series with Jeffrey Martz

March 21, 2016 No Comments

Photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz continues his inspiring lecture series Masters of Photography in a free event at The Image Flow. You are invited to join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for an evening celebrating the life and work of the most influential practitioners in the history of photography. This new photography lecture series Masters in Photography will use the best possible reproductions and an interactive format and is intended for both the newcomer and the curious expert looking to contribute to the discussion. Stay tuned for subsequent dates to be announced shortly. See you there! Eugène Atget

Lundy Canyon, 1993, 4x5 platinum/palladium print. Photo © Kerik Kouklis. Best paper for platinum/palladium printing

The Best Paper for Platinum/Palladium Printing

March 15, 2016 2 Comments

Photographers who work with the historic, hand-made or otherwise alternative printing processes know that a good print requires a good paper. Each process has different requirements for what makes a “good” paper, and those of platinum/palladium printing are among the strictest.
It’s been almost 30 years since Kerik Kouklis made his first platinum/palladium print, and in that time, he says there’s never been such a selection of new and improved papers coming onto the market at the same time.
Here, in his own words, Kerik reveals the best of the best from long-time industry stalwarts Hahnemühle, Legion Paper, and Arches.

Penny Wolin Lecture: Descendants of Light

March 14, 2016 No Comments

Photographer Penny Wolin will present her new book, Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry, in a lecture and book signing at The Image Flow. Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 7PM. Free. Award-winning photographer and author Penny Wolin traveled across the country for more than six years for her most recent book Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry. Penny photographed and interviewed more than 70 of the most important Jewish photographers in history. Some of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century were made by Jewish photographers: Philippe Halsman’s portrait of Albert Einstein, Herb Ritts’s portrait

Photographing Cuba: Beyond Expectations

March 8, 2016 No Comments

The Image Flow is back from our second (perhaps annual) workshops in Cuba. There were new experiences, old friends, and of course a night at the Tropicana. The group came home exhilarated and stimulated and with a portfolio of work even beyond our own expectations. Stuart Schwartz fills us in.
We wanted to build on the success of our first photography workshop in Cuba in April 2015, and this past February organized two more back to back, Cuba: Behind Closed Doors and The Havana Highway: Rum, Cars & Cigars. It was particularly satisfying to us as organizers that all six participants from last April signed up again, and we added to that some great new faces, including two old friends of mine who joined us all the way from Switzerland.
Both sessions turned out to be just ideal, from student participation to the variety of shooting opportunities. Of course there were glitches, as there will be when organizing a group of people—especially in Cuba—but it’s a testament to both our local guides Ramses and Alex and the go-with-the-flow attitude of the group that no matter what came up, we made the best of it. Ramses Batista, a renowned photographer in his own right, was our man on the ground; he’d make a call, and all of a sudden we were in a private apartment shooting portraits of a fascinating individual. Often, those little glitches served to make our experience even more authentic and unique.

Top 10 Instagram Accounts to Follow by Bay Area Photographers

February 22, 2016 2 Comments

Need some #inspiration? Here are our 10 favorite Instagram accounts from Bay Area photographers (and one SoCal) that we follow—and why you should too.

Photo Retouching Expert Chrysta Giffen is Passionate About Digital Images

February 9, 2016 No Comments

If you read magazines or watch TV (or have landed at SFO recently) you’ve seen Chrysta Giffen’s work. With more than 12 years in the photography industry, she’s one of the most sought-after digital retouchers in the business. Her extensive client list includes Nike, Disney, and Sephora; Bravo TV, Discovery Channel, and Showtime; New York Magazine, Wired, and Men’s Vogue; and a certain giant albino python—just to name a few.

Library of Congress Exhibition

February 1, 2016 No Comments

February – May 2016

Gary Yost: The Beauty of Fiji Can Make You Cry

January 25, 2016 No Comments

Marin County, CA-based filmmaker Gary Yost is best known for his short film The Invisible Peak about a project to restore the West Peak of Mount Tamalpais to its natural state. The film was shown in numerous film festivals to acclaim and awards. Most recently, Gary was invited to the Fijian island of Vanua Levu by Gavin de Becker, founder of the Naqaqa Giving Foundation to film the indigenous people of that island.

7 Inspiring Photography Subjects Near California’s Salton Sea

January 13, 2016 No Comments

Ted Orland is one of The Image Flow’s favorite wandering photographers, with a love of photography and life that is truly infectious.
He began his career as a young graphic artist working for famed designer Charles Eames and later served as photographer Ansel Adams’s assistant. Now a celebrated landscape photographer himself, Ted’s portfolio spans classical black and white photography, hand-colored photographs, and one-of-a-kind multi-image panoramas. He also co-authored the best-selling artists’ survival guide book Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking.
This spring, Ted will lead a new landscape and travel photography workshop to California’s Salton Sea and Joshua Tree National Park along with Brian Taylor, artistic director of the Center for Photographic Art.
In his own words, Ted shares seven of his favorite photography subjects throughout in this unique region of California.

Brian Taylor & Ted Orland Lecture: The Quirky Corners of California

January 4, 2016 No Comments

Hitch a ride along the road less traveled and discover the quirky corners of California and the West during this rousing photography lecture with Brian Taylor and Ted Orland. Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 7PM Free Renowned artists Brian Taylor and Ted Orland have spent much of their photographic careers exploring the natural and social landscapes of the West. This month, they will share their work in a free photography lecture at The Image Flow, offering guests a foray into the less-traveled and otherwise quirky corners of California and the West. Both Brian and Ted are recognized masters of their craft:

Ramses Batista Guides Photographers Behind Cuba’s Closed Doors

December 22, 2015 No Comments

Ramses H. Batista is one of Cuba’s most renowned modern photographers, his career spanning more than 20 years and virtually every subject imaginable: portraiture, social documentary, religion, landscapes, and most recently, nudes. But Batista didn’t start his artistic career as a photographer; as a young man, he was a painter, until one defining interaction with an instructor changed his path forever.
“His painting instructor told him, ‘You’re a terrible painter. But you would be a very good photographer,’” says San Francisco-based photographer Jock McDonald, a long time friend of Batista’s who has himself made more than 50 trips to Cuba.
Ramses took his instructor’s advice and turned toward photography and cinematography. He has since worked with several Cuban and international photography agencies and magazines, and has had numerous solo exhibitions in Cuba, Canada, and Europe.

5 Tips on How to Photograph a Usual Place in an Unusual Way

November 3, 2015 1 Comment

Ever get up at the crack of dawn and haul out of the hotel/condo/AirBnb with a cup of coffee and camera and haul down to a beautiful beach or center of a quaint Eastern European city ready to take the perfect sunrise photography, only to be overcome with the feeling that it’s already been done? Here, travel photographer Jeff Zaruba offers five tips for turning the ordinary into extraordinary.

An Action-Packed Weekend of Landscapes & Nudes in Big Sur

October 27, 2015 3 Comments

The Image Flow headed down to Big Sur for an all-inclusive weekend photography workshop shooting nude models and the rugged California coast, not to mention a tour of Ansel Adams’ private darkroom and a behind-the-scenes look at the Edward Weston estate. Stuart Schwartz offers a few words:
This is the first time we’ve held Big Sur Landscapes & Nudes, and you never know how a new workshop is going to go, so there’s always a bit of apprehension. But as soon as we got to the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, CA, on Thursday, for a presentation of work by instructors Michelle Magdalena and Ken Parker and a motivational talk with Artistic Director Brian Taylor, it was pretty obvious it would a special weekend.

Grizzly with Salmon © Mary D'Agostino nature & landscape photographer

Mary D’Agostino: Seeking Beauty in Nature’s Fleeting Moments

October 20, 2015 No Comments

Emerging nature and landscape photographer Mary D’Agostino is as homegrown as much of her work. A busy executive by day, Mary used to spend her vacations painting wildlife, but in recent years, she has developed a passion for photography. She put herself through a “school of photography” taking workshops and classes at The Image Flow and started working one-on-one with Stuart. “I was doing projects and shooting a lot, and I would routinely bring my work in for critique from Stuart.”
Mary has also sought critiques from experts in the field of nature photography, which have been met with increasing success. “I’m fearless when it comes to finding people in the field of photography to evaluate my photographs,” she says.

The Hybrid Life: Nathan Lomas on Combining Antique and Digital Processes

September 29, 2015 No Comments

Nathan Lomas has been a photographer since the age of five. He’s dabbled in painting and a few other pursuits, but photography is the one that stuck. “My dad put an old Ricoh camera in my hands about that age. I didn’t really know what I was doing,” he says. Jump ahead a couple of decades, and Nathan has definitely figured it out.
Nathan is The Image Flow’s newest team member, a photographer, adjunct professor, and studio owner specializing in making antique tintypes modern again.

Leanne Hansen: Slow Down and Look at the Light

September 1, 2015 No Comments

On the cusp between student and teacher, Leanne Hansen discusses her career before photography, the importance of light, and finding her best images close to home.
“To make successful photographs, we need to understand all of the possibilities and variations for light.” Her new workshop The Language of Light for Photographers offers photographers the opportunity to explore and experiment with the different types, shapes, and colors of light.

Christa Blackwood & Kent Krugh at Gallery 291

August 31, 2015 No Comments

September – November 2015

Youth Photography workshop OMG workshop-10 sm

OMG! Summer Photography for Youth Turns Out Amazing Results

August 25, 2015 No Comments

The Image Flow has been buzzing with kids this summer, and we couldn’t be more impressed or proud of the work they’ve turned in! Our most recent workshop, OMG! Summer Photography for Youth, saw our very own Constance Chu lead a group of extremely talented kids ages 11 – 14 around Mill Valley while they looked for light, shadows, and shapes while learning how to maximize their cameras’ manual settings.

The Dry Land: An Evening with Photographer Matt Black

August 11, 2015 No Comments

In a benefit lecture for the California Drought Relief Fund, photographer Matt Black will present his work documenting the impact of California’s drought on the Central Valley. Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 7PM $10 General Admission Photographer Matt Black returns to The Image Flow Thursday, September 10 to present his work documenting the impact of California’s historic drought on the Central Valley. A native of rural California and one of the newest nominee members of the prestigious Magnum Photos Agency, Matt has spent the past two decades photographing life in the Central Valley’s small towns and farm fields. His work

Time Portal platinum/palladium precision digital negatives Mark Nelson

6 Questions with Precision Digital Negatives Developer Mark Nelson

August 11, 2015 No Comments

Mark Nelson, photographer and developer of the patented Precision Digital Negatives process, says you always have to be on the lookout for an opportunity. Mark gave up a successful career in the mental health industry to pursue photography, and while he has a loyal following of galleries and collectors, he is known for a system for generating the best digital negatives for alternative processes.

5 Things Not to Do When Taking Pictures of Your Kids

July 28, 2015 No Comments

Our children’s childhoods are fleeting, but the images we take of them don’t have to be. In the age of digital photography, just about everyone has a camera around at any given moment, ready to capture the next adorable moment in their children’s lives. But the pictures don’t always turn out as well as they could.

How to Protect Your Images Online

July 21, 2015 No Comments

Whether you’re uploading your pictures to the Internet for business or pleasure, here are a few tips for how to protect your images in this digital world.

Mike Roberts Wish You Were Here America's Postcard King

Retouching the Life & Times of America’s Postcard King

July 7, 2015 No Comments

In Wish You Were Here, author Bob Roberts details the life and work of his father Mike Roberts, which spanned more than 50 years. A self-taught pioneer in the development of color photography and printing, Mike was a 20^th-century icon known as America’s Postcard King.
Lightroom expert and in-house retouching specialist Taralynn Lawton worked three years to retouch 70 of Mike’s historic color and black and white images.
“There was one piece that we had from the cover of a Disneyland magazine. It was really a disaster and she patched up the color and the image so that you have no idea,” says Bob.

Catherine Karnow San Francisco photography

5 Bay Area Spots Just Waiting for You To Come Photograph

June 30, 2015 2 Comments

Catherine Karnow has shot in far-flung places around the globe, but she loves shooting at home in San Francisco and Marin. She says one of the reasons she lives in Mill Valley is because of how photogenic the Bay Area is. She gave The Image Flow the inside scoop on her five favorite places to for stay-cation shooting.

Catherine Karnow Lecture: The National Geographic Travel Story

June 17, 2015 No Comments

Improve your travel photography with National Geographic photographer Catherine Karnow! Free lecture July 9, 2015, at 7PM In this free lecture, learn how Catherine puts together a set of images that tell the story of a place while she regales you with the surprising and often crazy stories behind the photos, and get the inside scoop on how a National Geographic Traveler story is conceived and produced. She will explain how she researches a place, discuss the process of shooting, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what really happens in the field. You will also get to see how

Doug Ethridge & Ann Pallesen at Gallery 291

June 17, 2015 No Comments

July – September 2015

film photography Zac Mosher processes his black and white images at The Image Flow

Growing Up In the Digital Age, Zac Mosher Loves to Shoot Film

June 2, 2015 2 Comments

Zac Mosher, a 14-year-old student at Mill Valley Middle School, has been spending several hours per week in the darkroom at The Image Flow for the past six months processing and printing his black and white images.
“I actually started shooting film after I started with digital, but I wasn’t super into photography at the time,” he says. Later, he discovered his mom’s old cameras while going through a storage unit with his parents. “I thought they were really cool. So I got the cameras and went out and got some film. That’s what really sparked my interest.”

Ardi Arni sunrise Cuba photography workshop

Our Cuban Family: Seven Unforgettable Days & Nights in Havana

May 26, 2015 7 Comments

Stuart Schwartz and Jock McDonald led a group of American photographers to Cuba for a week of shooting. The week started in Miami. Stuart Schwartz and Jock McDonald met their six workshop participants in a hotel the night before the flight to Cuba. The group spanned more than five decades in age and as many shooting styles.
“My chief concern was, are these people going to get along?” says Stuart. “It was a big cross-section of participants, but it was a harmonious group of people, they were a family. It was a family trip.”

5 Questions About Where to Find a Photographic Story & How to Tell It

May 21, 2015 1 Comment

It’s no secret that we live in a culture saturated with photographs. These days, any body with a phone is a photographer, and shooting pictures all the time. We look at images day in and day out, but what we don’t often see are photographs carefully considered and shot in way that really tells a story. Instructors Susanna Frohman and Kathleen Hennessy discuss how to tell a visually compelling story about a subject in your own backyard.

Cyanotype workshop with Daniel Coburn at The Image Flow

Cyanotype Workshop Turns Out Great Work & Reunites Old Friends

May 19, 2015 No Comments

The Image Flow hosted cyanotype guru Daniel Coburn of the University of Kansas this past weekend for a three-day workshop. The diverse group of participants from across the country was nine-strong; 14-year-old prodigy Zac Mosher was the youngest, while the oldest (we won’t name names) was somewhere north of 70. Fun, photography, and Sol Food was had by all!

Enjoy this new night photography workshop with Hendrik Paul this summer at The Image Flow. Photo © Hendrik Paul.

From Studio Portraiture to Photography For Kids—The Image Flow’s Summer Workshop Line-Up Has Something for Everyone

April 28, 2015 No Comments

The Image Flow has long been known for its fantastic assortment of photography workshops, geared to all levels of photographers. This summer, The Image Flow is expanding its workshop offerings to include a whole host of workshops for photographers of all ages. From how to prepare for a major photographic excursion, to storytelling with images, TIF has a workshop for you.

New York Gallery to Feature Bill Green’s Long Lost Rock Photographs

April 24, 2015 No Comments

In late 1972, 14-year-old rock photographer hopeful Bill Green began sneaking into the legendary Academy of Music in New York City to snap photos of rock ‘n’ roll’s biggest stars. His images quickly caught the eye of promoter Howard Stein who offered Bill full access in exchange for prints of his stylized black and white images. For the next three years, Bill photographed every show that came through NYC, including icons like Kiss, Alice Cooper, Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, Iggy Pop, Jethro Tull, The Who, Joe Cocker, Santana, and ZZ Top.
Eventually, Bill grew up grew up, and his life moved away from rock n’ roll. His catalog of some 20,000 images has been packed away for the last 40 years, until now. These incredible images will be part of a new show Rock Palaces of New York, The Fillmore East and The Academy of Music at New York’s Morrison Hotel Gallery, featuring the golden period of the NYC rock scene.
Herewith, five questions with Bill on his early obsession with photography, picking up girls, and how The Image Flow’s own Stuart Schwartz helped save a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll history.

Avoid These 6 Common Photography Mistakes on Your Big Trip

April 13, 2015 2 Comments

Here at The Image Flow our clients often bring in photos to print that were made during amazing trips to every continent. Many of the images we see are world-class and require very little adjustment before an excellent print can be made. But an unfortunate percentage of camera work was not completely successful, and the finished product is limited by one or more technical mistakes made by the photographer in the field. No matter where your journeys may take you, a similar set of pitfalls can plague any photographer wherever she or he may go.

Daniel Coburn: Using the Right Process for the Right Body of Work

April 7, 2015 1 Comment

Photographer Daniel Coburn says photography is about ideas. “As image makers we have a valuable opportunity to engage with a variety of historical processes, to make images that are beautiful, unique, and rich in concept.”
Daniel first discovered 19^th century alternative photographic processes as an undergraduate studying under the accomplished alternative process photographer Marydorsey Wanless. Although he has recently come to be known for his work with the cyanotype process, Daniel has worked in the full range of alternative processes. He says it’s not about the process; it’s about choosing the right process for the project.

Lightroom Tips to Make Organizing and Editing Your Images Even Easier

March 17, 2015 2 Comments

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is designed to make everything about digital photography easier. Many photographers, from amateur to professional, have put Lightroom at the center of their digital imaging workflow. Whether your photos are from that “trip of a lifetime,” or for a paying client, Lightroom offers a suite of tools and editing system for your most important work. And—the Develop module in Lightroom has even replaced the need to use Photoshop to process most images made with modern digital cameras. This is an essential program for photographers on the go.
In her Lightroom workshop, Taralynn Lawton shows you how to automatically embed your name and copyright information in each of your photos during import, and how to delete images in batches—a great way to get rid of out-of-focus or otherwise unusable images, without having to delete them one by one.
Taralynn also shows you how to take advantage of Smart Previews, so that you can store your images on an external drive, and still access them with the Develop module, even if the external drive isn’t attached. Once the external drive is plugged back in, Lightroom will automatically sync any changes you made while the file was offline. This feature wasn’t available until Lightroom 5, and is a valuable new feature for photographers who travel!

A Passion for Photography, Or, Welcome to The Flow Constance Chu!

March 13, 2015 No Comments

Constance Chu, the newest member of The Image Flow team, has a PhD in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and her most recent job was working with autistic kids doing applied behavioral analysis. So what is she doing at The Flow you ask? No, she’s not developing a new darkroom process—yet.
“Photography is my passion!” she says. “I want to be immersed in photography. I want to be around it all the time.”

Gary Yost to Premier Mt Tamalpais film, Featuring the Work of Artist Genna Panzarella

Gary Yost to Premier Film about Mt. Tamalpais, Featuring the Work of Artist Genna Panzarella

March 10, 2015 No Comments

Photographer and filmmaker Gary Yost will present a series of short films at the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts including the premier of his new project, Mountains Made of Chalk, Fall into the Sea, Eventually The film features the work of artist Genna Panzarella, who paints a 10-foot-wide mural of Mt. Tamalpais as it was when it was whole—literally inside what used to be the mountaintop. The film will premier with Gary’s new series about Mill Valley at a special event at the O’Hanlon Center for the Arts on Thursday, April 2 at 7PM.

Anthony Fendler Catherine Karnow exhibition-quality printing Vietnam retrospective

Ink on Paper: Catherine Karnow Exhibits 25 Years of Vietnam

March 3, 2015 No Comments

Photographer Catherine Karnow has made a name for herself shooting surprising and thought-provoking images of Vietnam since 1990. Her new retrospective will open at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong March 9.
Catherine is well known in Vietnam: She began shooting in the country in 1990, and calls the late General Giap a personal friend. In 1994, she was the only foreign journalist invited to accompany him privately to Dien Bien Phu, the site of the battle that won Vietnam independence from the French.

A Destination for Alternative Process Photography

February 17, 2015 3 Comments

There are very few opportunities to study the alternative photographic processes like gum bichromate, platinum/palladium, or wet plate collodion printing—especially in the west. The Image Flow brings together the world’s best photographers and instructors to teach these processes on a rotating schedule.
“For anybody interested in the alternative processes, it’s a rare opportunity to learn them,” said Ed Carey, owner of Gallery 291 and the alternative process workshop liaison at The Image Flow.

Working out of Ramses Fiat Lunch Box All the photo gear on the roof

A Cuban Will Give You the Shirt Off His Back

February 10, 2015 No Comments

Jock McDonald went to Cuba for the first time in 1990 with Bernardo Gonzalez, the son of Mexican Minister of Culture Juan Francisco Gonzalez. The elder Gonzalez had had become somewhat of a mentor to Jock on Latin American culture after giving him his first retrospective show in Mexico. “Juan Francisco said to me, ‘You’ll never understand Latin America if you don’t understand Cuba,’” Jock recalls.
“But he said, ‘I’m not going, I’m married. I’m going to have my son take you.’ I will never forget the look in his son’s eyes, the look that said, ‘I’m not taking a gringo to Cuba!’” Jock laughs.
Since 1990, photographer he has made some 50 trips to Cuba. What keeps him coming back, are the friendships he has found.

Jock McDonald Lecture: Cuba – Stories From Behind the Tourist Curtain

February 9, 2015 No Comments

Saturday, February 21, 2015, at 7PM Free Photographer Jock McDonald has visited Cuba some 50 times in the past 25 years. In his new lecture, he will take you on a visual journey behind the tourist curtain of Cuba. Cuba and the U.S. are shaping a rational relationship with each other and real action has taken place with the swapping of political prisoners, but what does that mean? Where were we, and where are we now? You will experience 25 years of Cuba through Jock’s exciting slide show and talk. He will discuss what has changed, and how contact between

A History of 20th Century Photography: Lecture Series with Jeffrey Martz

February 4, 2015 No Comments

Winter 2015 Thursdays, from 7–8PM Free You are invited to join photographer and art historian Jeffrey Martz for a tour through the history of 20th century photography. Using the best possible reproductions, we will see the technologies, practitioners, and key works that made photography central to our story of the world. The series is intended for both the newcomer and the curious expert looking to contribute to the discussion. See you there! Part 1: Pictorialism & Straight Photography Part 2: Photo-Graphics & the New Vision Part 3: The Social Document, Part 1 Part 4: Pictures in Print, Part 1 Part

Documentary Photographer Rudi Dundas on The Face of Water

February 3, 2015 No Comments

This month, The Face of Water, a series of portraits by Rudi Dundas that tells the stories of people affected by the lack of clean drinking water, opens at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco. On February 26, Rudi will give a lecture about the images at The Image Flow.

Hillary Sloss Digital Photography for Youth

How Young Photographers Can Make Their Work Youthful, Not Childish

January 13, 2015 No Comments

How can we let our kids be kids, to see the way kids see, while still teaching them something about photography? Hillary Sloss is a veteran photojournalist based in Marin County and a digital and film photography instructor at the San Francisco Waldorf High School. Her new class, Digital Photography for Youth, is designed especially to encourage young people to explore their world through photography.
The idea is, she says, to help young photographers create beautiful images that are youthful, but not childish. “It’s important to give young photographers enough so that they can advance their photographic skills, without inundating them too many rules,” says Hillary.