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Join Leica Store Miami for an amazing small group analog photography workshop in Scotland! Limited to only 6 attendees, this film photography workshop will cover the full analog workflow including film selection, exposure, filters, developing and printing. The workshop will culminate with the creation of silver gelatin prints of your own images in a traditional darkroom! Analog photographers Marcus McAdam and Michael Turek will be your workshop leaders and will be with you every step of the way as you discover (or re-discover!) the magical world of analog photography.
A 19th century private hunting lodge on the Isle of Lewis will be your home base during the shooting portion of this workshop. You’ll experience a dose of traditional Highland hospitality with amazing, locally sourced, home cooked food.
The Outer Hebrides is one of the most isolated parts of the UK and makes for an incredible subject for analog photography. It’s the lack of commercialism which is one of the island’s main attractions and provides its unique atmosphere and charm. With world-class beaches, stunning sea stacks, natural arches, mountains, castles and ancient stone circles, the island has enough subjects to keep any photographer happy for days.
How to Visualize a Photo
In the digital era, this is an art which has been largely lost, as you can simply look at the review screen and see how the photo turns out, before making any necessary adjustments. You cannot do this with film, so you need to visualize the final image in your mind and then go about capturing it, developing it and finally printing it.
Film Selection
Using the right film for the right scene (light) is important. You’ll learn that not all films have the same properties. Some have high dynamic range, whereas others have low dynamic range. Marrying up the right film to the scene is key to being a successful film photographer. *35mm, 120 or sheet film are welcome on this workshop!
Exposure
Learn how to use a handheld light meter or just estimate the exposure by eye. Learn about Reciprocity Law Failure – something most films suffer from, and how to work it into your exposure calculation.
Use of Colored Filters for Film
Learn how to control contrast by using different colored filters with black and white film at the capture stage.
How to Develop Film
Whether it be 35mm, 120, or sheet film, we will show you how easy it is to develop it yourself. Learn all about pushing and pulling film so that you can rate it at a different ISO to what it says on the box.
How to Print from a B&W Negative
You’ll spend a full day in the darkroom in Inverness, under the supervision of an experienced printer, who will walk you through the stages of making a master silver gelatin print.
This workshop will begin and end in Inverness, Scotland (INV). To fly to Inverness, you’ll most likely need to connect through London or Amsterdam. We’ll meet for introductions and dinner at the Ness Walk Hotel at 6:00pm on Saturday, March 20th. You can plan to leave at any time on or after Monday, March 29th.
*Upon arrival, you can take a 15 minute taxi ride to the hotel.
*As with all of our international trips, we recommend arriving a day early to avoid any travel/weather delays.
This photography workshop will begin and end in Inverness, Scotland but the majority of our time will be spent in the 19th century private Eishken Lodge on the Isle of Lewis.
The weather in the Outer Hebrides is always changing at this time of year, but you can expect some moody and dramatic skies and seas in your images.
Your days will be spent exploring and photographing the island and its wonderful landscapes. In the evenings, we’ll develop our film and settle down for amazing meals and conversation.
Both 35mm and 120 film are acceptable for this workshop and although you can shoot and develop color film, we will only be printing black and white photos, so you should shoot some black and white film so that you have some negatives to work with in the darkroom.
If you’re interested in ordering film from Marcus so you don’t have to carry it through airports, that can be arranged.
This workshop will begin at 6:00pm at the Ness Walk Hotel in Inverness, Scotland (INV). We’ll meet for introductions in the lobby/bar area and then head to dinner. *It’s about a 15 minute taxi ride from the airport to the hotel.
After breakfast, we’ll load up the van and drive about 90 mins to Ullapool for the ferry to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Upon arrival, we’ll photograph our way to our lodge. Upon arrival, we’ll check-in, settle in, go over everyone’s gear, load film and then head out for an afternoon shoot.
Today, we’ll rise early for a sunrise shoot, before returning to the hotel for breakfast. Then, we’ll catch a ferry to Mykines Island, the jewel of the Faroes. This remote island is home to only 14 people throughout the year, though it plays host to thousands of seabirds nesting along its spectacular coastlines during summer! You’ll have ample opportunities to photograph puffins, gannets, fulmars and kittiwakes as they dive from the black basalt cliff faces into the water on the hunt for fish. The highlight of Mykines is the lighthouse at the end of a steep islet Mykineshólmur, which will take us about two hours. We’ll be rewarded by an incredible view of the ocean waves crashing into the islet from all around.
On most days, we’ll meet for breakfast at 8:00am and aim to head out to shoot at 9:30am. Assuming the weather is suitable, we will stay out all day, with a packed lunch (supplied by the lodge). We will shoot a variety of subjects, from sand dunes, beaches, standing stones, sea stacks, abandoned houses, boats, and lots of other subjects which tell stories about the Hebrides. We will return to the lodge after sunset (around 6:00pm) for dinner at 7:00pm. After dinner we can develop film and/or relax. The goal is to shoot and develop several rolls of film so that we have enough “favorites” to choose from when it’s time to make silver gelatin prints back in Inverness!
After breakfast on the 28th, we will drive to Stornoway to get the ferry back to Ullapool. Depending on the ferry time, we may stop along the way to use up any spare film. We then drive on to Inverness where we check into the Ness Walk Hotel, where we’ll stay for the following two nights. We’ll have dinner this evening either in town or at the hotel.
For the next two days, we will head to the Inverness Community Darkroom to develop any remaining exposed film and to make some traditional silver gelatin prints of your favorite photos from the week. A professional printer will be on hand to guide everyone through the process. On the evening of the 28th, we’ll gather for our farewell dinner either in town or at the hotel.
Today, we’ll wake for breakfast and say our farewells. You can take a short taxi from our hotel to Inverness Airport (INV) or perhaps stay a few more days to explore Scotland.
