Narrative Techniques in Photography and the Power of Hidden Pictures

TOTAL COST: $215
Course Fee: $215
Materials: Student-provided (see Supply Info below)

DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 11 & SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2024
TIME: 12:00PM – 4:00PM PDT (May 11), 10:00AM – 2:00PM PDT (May 12)
LEVEL: Beginner to Advanced
AGE GROUP: Adult (ages 18+), Youth (ages 15-17)
LOCATION: Building 324C, Fort Worden, Port Townsend. (COVID protocol will be observed, read our policies here)

DESCRIPTION
In this weekend workshop, photographer and curator Brian Van Lau will help to begin and form a personal photographic project with you using your own archival images, letters, staged re-imaginings.

Students will create and sequence a project (5-15 images) centered around a person of their choice; someone who has passed, someone we hope to meet, someone we hope to be, someone we hope to know more about (this does not exclude the photographer themselves either). During the workshop, students will be encouraged to explore a wide array of materials within the medium: documentary photography, snapshots, staged photographs and re-imaginings, letters, scans, objects, emails, re-appropriated documents, etc. Through this process, students will explore their relationships with semantic memory, and the means of which they can choose to do so.

Day 1 will focus on the implementation and exploration of different techniques in narrative photography, followed by some time for shooting, archive digging, and preliminary sequencing.

Day 2 will focus on shaping and sequencing to form a narrative voice, followed by the opportunity to present their newly formed projects to each other.

This workshop is intended for any technical photographic skill level, with a large emphasis on passionate storytellers wanting to work in the medium of photography as a narrative tool.

SUPPLY INFORMATION

• Camera.
  
• Unique or meaningful materials including documentary photographs, snapshots, staged photographs and re-imaginings, letters, scans, objects, emails, re-appropriated documents, etc.

After registration, course details are available via the Northwind Art School learning portal. Learn more

ABOUT BRIAN
Brian Van Lau is an Asian-American photographer currently in Seattle, WA. His work is about finding fictitious evidence. In 2019 he was shortlisted for a Lucie Scholarship, and in 2021 he was a finalist for Photolucida’s Critical Mass, shortlisted for the Open Doors Photo Prize, and a winner of the Urbanautica Institute Awards. Most recently, he was a runner-up for the Aperture Portfolio Prize and a selected participant in the 2023 New York Times Portfolio Review, and was awarded the Summer 2023 Innovate Grant. He is the founder and curator of Arcanite Pictures, an online platform dedicated to highlighting emerging voices in photography. His work has been featured on The Washington Post, Fotoroom, Nowhere Diary, Boooooooom, Transference, Der Greif, The Heavy Collective, Palm Studios, amongst many others.

Artist website: Brian Van Lau, @zerkalou

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DISCOUNTS
This course is eligible for a 10% member discount at the Supporter level and beyond. Get a membership today!

Quimper Mercantile and Don's Pharmacy offer Northwind Art School students a 10% discount on art supplies.

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CANCELLATION POLICY
If Northwind Art has to cancel a course for any reason, all enrolled students will receive a 100% refund (including any materials fee).

Students who withdraw from a course at least seven days prior to its first meeting will receive a 90% refund (less any materials fee).

Students withdrawing fewer than seven days from the first day of class are not eligible for a refund except in the case of illness or injury, in which case they are eligible to receive a 40% refund (less any materials fee).

Please note that 10% of every course’s registration fee is considered to be a non-refundable deposit in cases of withdrawal to cover administrative overhead. All refunds will be applied to the same credit card that was used for enrollment. No credits or transfers will be granted. Please contact registrar@northwindart.org for more information.