Black-and-White Film Photography III

Advance your analog photographic practice in this intensive course designed for makers ready to gain expertise with sophisticated tools and build a professional body of work. You will move into advanced camera and darkroom techniques, including an introduction to medium format cameras and fine-art printing. Through demonstrations and critical lectures, you will refine your technical skills and aesthetic vocabulary to solidify your personal visual language.

Course Structure

• Duration: 24 instructional hours.
• The Journey: A progression from reviewing established practices to exploring new formats and advanced chemistry, ending in a final project critique.
• Skill level: Advanced.

Prerequisites: You must be comfortable with your manual camera and have experience photographing and printing films. Those who have taken Black-and-White Film Photography II will be ideally set up for this course. Students should already be working on, or prepared to start, a cohesive body of work.

Students of this course also receive: 10 additional hours of lab time to complete class and personal projects, free entry to the museum, discounts at the ICP Café and ICP Bookshop, use of ICP’s extensive research library, and a connection to a community of advanced imagemakers.

What will you learn?

• Technical: Expertise in diverse camera formats, and an understanding of how camera choice and print size impact the expression of your ideas.
• Darkroom craft: Advanced printing techniques such as flashing for highlight control, split filtering, toning, and spot bleaching.
• Visual language: Critical skills in editing and adept sequencing of images for maximum effect, alongside a survey of photographic genres like photojournalism and the social landscape.

How will you learn?

• Self-directed practice: Significant lab time is dedicated to independent work, allowing you to apply advanced techniques directly to your own projects.
• Expert workshops: Technical sessions on sophisticated chemical processes and camera systems to expand your creative toolkit.
• Thematic lectures: Wide-ranging presentations on various photographic themes and genres, tailored by expert instructors.
• Constructive dialogue: In-depth critiques that build the ability to engage with other artists using supportive and forward-looking feedback.

What are the course outcomes for you?

• Technical expansion: Build a high-level skillset that includes toning, flashing, and professional print finishing.
• Independent choice: Strengthen your thematic and visual choices, gaining the decision-making skills necessary to sustain a long-term photographic practice.
• Professional presentation: Understand how variables like paper choice and print size affect your final presentation.

Who should attend?

• Serious practitioners: Image makers seeking ways to strengthen their current projects through new technical abilities and advanced feedback.
• Black-and-White Film Photography II graduates
• Portfolio builders: Students focused on moving beyond single assignments to create an image series and/or a cohesive body of work.
• Technical explorers: Photographers eager to transition from 35mm to larger formats or experiment with fine-art toning and bleaching.

Course Level / Prerequisite: Advanced: You are comfortable with your camera, whether film or digital, and with your photographic practice. You have already produced or are working on a body of work. You are proficient in Adobe applications such as Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, et cetera. You understand printing or portfolio revision processes. You may be seeking ways to strengthen your work through sequencing, theoretical readings, and group critiques.

Students are encouraged to review ICP's Classroom Disclaimer for current information regarding COVID-19 policies, classroom guidelines, and more. These policies are subject to change at anytime.

Courses are subject to minimum enrollment. Please register early, within five days of the start-date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation and to ensure you receive all course-related materials in time to prepare for class. Registration for this course will close one day prior to the start date of the course.

Fee Breakdown