Join Leica Store Miami and fine art photographer Richard Sexton for an all-inclusive Monochrom workshop in scenic southwest Ireland. We’ll journey to Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, the Aran Islands, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway and more. Richard Sexton, a lifelong Leica photographer and a master of monochromatic printing, will be your instructor. Leica specialist Peter Dooling from Leica Store Miami will be the trip organizer and will give assistance and advice and help you get the most out of your Leica.

Craggy coastlines, lush forests, quaint villages, prehistoric ruins, castles, rolling hillsides, lively pubs, all steeped in a rich, complex history, make Ireland the perfect location for a destination workshop, particularly for black and white photography.

For all Ireland’s beauty, the weather can be challenging. Sunny days can suddenly be filled with windy drizzle. A cloudy, foggy day in Ireland is a normal day. But for those working in black and white, if you brave the mist you can come away with some truly dramatic, atmospheric imagery. This is the beauty of black and white photography: It is more subjective, more interpretive. And it requires a certain vision, an ability to interpret a reality rendered only through shades of gray. Light and shadow is the language of the image.

Black and white photography is not easy, nor is it merely color photography absent the color. It is a separate, challenging medium and Ireland is the perfect proving ground.

The Leica Monochrom is not simply a camera setting, it is a purpose-built instrument devoted entirely to black-and-white capture. Its files possess a depth, tonal subtlety, and luminous quality that cannot be replicated by converting color images to grayscale.


Working with a Monochrom requires intention. Throughout the workshop, we will focus on:


Seeing & Capture

• Pre-visualization and committing to black and white at the moment of exposure

• Recognizing contrast, texture, gesture, and light as primary compositional tools

• Achieving precise exposure with a monochrome sensor


Color Filters in Black & White

• Using yellow, orange, red, and green filters to translate color into tonal value

• Shaping skies, skin tones, and architectural detail at the moment of capture


Post-Production Workflow

• Optimizing Monochrom RAW files in Adobe Lightroom

• Refining tonal structure and local contrast in Photoshop

• Developing a consistent monochrome aesthetic


Printing

• Understanding why monochrome printing is more interpretive and nuanced than color

• Producing one or two gallery-quality black-and-white prints to take home (or ship)

• Exploring paper choice, tonal separation, and final presentation

Participants will enjoy exclusive location shoots, thoughtful critiques, hands-on processing sessions, and meaningful dialogue about photographic intent and authorship. Each attendee will also receive a signed book from Richard Sexton.

Richard Sexton will be your instructor. He is a widely published and exhibited photographer, who is also a lifelong Leica photographer, beginning with a used M4 in the 1970s and continuing to the present day with the M10 Monochrom. Along with Richard, Jonathan Traviesa of Richard Sexton Studio will help to guide you during your printing session. Leica Specialist Brandon Woods from Leica Store Miami will be on hand to give assistance and advice. He’ll share his favorite tips and tricks to getting the most out of these exceptional cameras. Take a look at a few behind the scenes images from a previous workshop.