The Center for Photography at Madison

303 S. Paterson St.

Madison, WI 53703

For information on classes, see: http://www.cpmad.org/

Contact for 2010 Classes: cpm_classes@me.com

Moving from Snapshots to Photographs.
Tuesday, February 9, 16, 23 & March 2. 7-9 PM
CPM Members, $80. Non-Members $95

Being self-taught, I am quite aware of how I made the transition from tak-
ing snapshots to making photographs. It is both simple and time-consuming. Fre-
quently it requires patience we don’t know we have. It also requires a vision – pho-
tographs can happen “by accident” but they are much more likely to be made when
we pre-vision them.
Just because with a digital camera “it doesn’t cost anything” to take 100
pictures doesn’t mean you have the time to sort through 100 looking for one or two
“that worked”. You’re much more likely to make an image you can be proud of if
you slow down, consider what you want to do and what it will take to accomplish
that, and make 5 or 10 photographs, from which you can spend some time deciding
which is the one that best captures your intent.
In the course of four weeks, we will consider what makes a strong image
(composition). We will examine the different ways to use light to increase the im-
pact of your images. We’ll look into the debate over whether to crop or not (a fool-
ish debate…) and what software tools to use to get the most out of your vision (no
image is complete or finished “as shot”).
We’ll begin by examining examples from my own work, but by the second
session and on we will appraise and offer supportive critiques of your own work. It
is too much to expect that over 4 weeks you will be able to master the art of photog-
raphy. Instead, I hope to give you the tools to enable you, with practice and reflec-
tion, to begin to make the photographs that you intended when you picked up your
camera and went to work.

Instructor: Bill Pielsticker is a professional fine art nature photographer with nearly
20 years experience in photography. He exhibits his work in galleries, and displays
and sells at art fairs large and small. He is currently working on a multi-year pro-
ject rephotographing the work of Wisconsin’s 19th Century landscape photographer
H.H. Bennett.

Enrollment limit: 12

http://www.cpmad.org/