Note: There is an enrollment limit for this course and registration is required.

WHAT WILL YOU BE LEARNING AT THIS WORKSHOP

One of the great things about photography, is the learning process never ends and each environment creates its own special photographic needs.

We shall be learning how to utilize available light, camera settings, composition, and fill flash techniques to capture the images that will separate the everyday mundane image from the creative images you are all capable of creating.

IN HIS OWN WORDS  NOL PUTNAM (OUR INCREDIBLE BLACKSMITH)

"So why chose to pound iron? Why choose to stand in front of a 2000 degree fire in July? Why choose to make my hands black, my clothes dirty? And why, in God’s name, would anyone choose a profession where you get burned every day?

I think these choices are often personal, but I think too, that they are rooted in our deep ancestral paths having to do with iron in our blood and iron in the fabric of the earth. For me it is all of that and more. My great, great grandfather was a blacksmith and carriage maker; my great grandfather was an engineer in the Navy and always tinkering with parts that had to be newly worked to keep the ships sailing; my grandfather likewise was an engineer and well knew his way around metal. And now in my generation, both my sister and I have been drawn to the manipulation of metal. So for me, ironwork is in my blood and also in my genes. And all the time I thought I had a choice!

Using the four sacred elements of earth (iron), fire, air and water daily, I am not sure how much closer I could get to the essence of life. I walk from my house with my faithful Tye, around the pond, past the salt lick for deer, over the first of two small bridges, past the daffodils in the spring, past the old wall that reproaches me daily for not making it whole again, and up to the forge. On a good day I throw open the doors and let the sunshine flood the space.

Still, today, after 35 years of forging, I get the excitement of a new piece … of imagining it, of designing it, of creating it. Every day I get to work as an artist, an engineer, a coal carrier, an accountant, a teacher. Every day I get to work variously with my head, my heart and my hands. What’s not to love? The work continues to give me life."

IN MY OWN WORDS

I entered Nol Putnam's workspace hidden back in the woods, and realized that I was, for me, in a completely foreign environment.  But for some reason I felt surprisingly  comfortable in this world that Nol had created around himself.

There were all kinds of well used and worn tools, many of which he had made himself.  The heat of the fire radiated through the structure, which in itself, was warm and welcoming.  All around me were pieces of art that Nol created each in itself a wonder that came from pieces of pure iron that were hammered and bent in a roaring fire and on a clanging hammer and anvil.

Nol went to work for our photographic endeavor. Besides all of the wonderful things to photograph around the primary workplace, we began to shoot, as Nol created a piece of art.  The sparks were flying, the smoke lightly plumed its way up, the white, red, and oranges of the furnace, all began to photographically become a journalistic and artful documentary.

Just shooting tight and photographing Nols hands, and facial expressions were incredibly telling of the work he was doing and the passion he had for it. 

WE HAVE PROVIDED A LINK ABOVE TO AN ARTICLE WRITTEN ABOUT NOL OR JUST CLICK HERE

WHAT ELSE SHALL WE DO DURING THIS DAY OF CREATIVE AND ARTFUL PHOTOGRAPHY

We have several other photographic endeavors planned after we are finished shooting at the forge, and shall move on to Sperryville Virginia where a surprise adventure will again enhance your photographic skills.