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A recent project from photographer Carlan Tapp has been published on the burn. website - an evolving journal for emerging photographers, curated by Magnum photographer David Allen Harvey.

Clean Coal TVA Ash Spill by Carlan Tapp
click to play video

Moved by December 2008 reports of a spill of fly ash (the combustion waste generated in the burning of coal for the generating of electricity) in Kingston, TN, Carlan set out to document a situation he felt was being down-played in the media. He worked for eight days photographing and interviewing the residents of the area closest to the Kingston electric generating plant. His report, to date, is recorded in photos, audio, and written narrative in “Clean Coal TVA Ash Spill”.

“For the past five years much of my work has focused around the social cost of producing energy in the USA” says Tapp in the introduction to this compelling multimedia presentation, “I continue to work in the Four Corners area of the Southwest on the Navajo Nation striving to photograph the true ‘cost’ of using coal for the production of electricity. An ongoing project, Question of Power, shows the human condition as we mine, burn, and dispose of combustion waste using coal in the creation of electricity.

Carlan shares his techniques for multimedia storytelling with students in his New Media Photo Narrative workshop, August 23 – 29.

Canon’s Carl Peer travelled to Rockport last week to train MMW summer staff on the company’s ground-breaking new technology, the EOS 5D Mark II with HD video capability. The camera is taking both still and video imaging by storm and Canon has made sure that the Workshops are ready to support the demand for training in this new technology, with 4 cameras in the school’s inventory and more on the way.

Thanks to Carl’s three-hour session, Maine Media teaching assistants and technical staff are prepared to pass their knowledge of the camera and accessories on to this season’s arriving students in film, photography, and multimedia programs.

Filmmaker and Canon Explorer of Light Vincent Laforet is in Rockport August 16 – 22 teaching HD Video with EOS 5D Mark II. The camera is also featured in our popular Shooting for Multimedia classes, running August 30 – September 5 and October 11 – 17.

Launched with only $3,000 in start-up money, producer/director Michael Wiese's company, MWP is about to publish it's 140th film book and is now the leading worldwide publisher of screenwriting and filmmaking books.

The company has just signed deals with Amazon Kindle and Ingram Digital which allow digital versions of its books to be accessed via the Kindle, Sony Reader, Blackberry, iPhone and many others.

Michael Wiese

In December, Michael travels to Bali where his next film, Bali Brothers is set. He’s just completed another rewrite of the script and is finishing casting for the film. “Like the students in my Independent Filmmaking workshop, I too must package all the elements, raise financing, and secure distribution on a variety of platforms to increase revenue streams,” says Michael, “Beyond that, my goal is to create films that explore worlds and dimensions rarely seen by Westerners and that benefit all humanity."

Michael returns to Rockport lead his class August 2 - 8.

We recently caught up with Erin Reilly, a 2001 graduate of the MMC Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking Program.

Erin began working on “Zoey’s Room,” an award-winning, interactive technology community for girls aged nine to fourteen, while she was a graduate student. She says that she was attracted to the program because she could choose to work with industry professionals as mentors, and believed this would ensure that her studies “would have a better chance at emerging into a real world application.”

She is now Research Director for Project New Media Literacies at MIT, where she has transitioned the program from a video production group to a multi-project initiative for testing new resources that exemplify a participatory model of learning - in over ten locations throughout the Northeast. Erin adds that one of her key successes at MIT has been developing the Learning Library, “a new type of learning environment that encompasses the characteristics of a participatory culture.” Erin has earned recognition for her work; in 2007, she won a Leaders in Learning Award from Cable in the Classroom.  Her name was also added to the list of Top Twenty Educators to Watch by the National School Board Association (2007).

Erin Reilly (right) at MIT

Zoey’s Room has been up and running for eight years under the umbrella organization, Platform Shoes, that Erin co-founded.  Currently, Platform Shoes is working with MIT to integrate the Tek-Trek model of Zoey’s Room with the Learning Library application, “a more collaborative, participatory learning tool for the girls to use.”    

Renowned photographer Joyce Tenneson leads a private tour of her new exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art, Joyce Tenneson: Polaroid Portraits, Saturday, July 18, for a group of 15 visitors.


"Kindred Spirits" exhibition catalog

A long-time instructor and friend of the Workshops, Tenneson is among the most respected photographers of our time and has been described critically as “one of America’s most interesting portrayers of the human character.”

Tenneson’s show is held in conjunction with another important exhibition, “For My Best Beloved Sister Mia”: An Album of Photographs by Julia Margaret Cameron. A new book Kindred Spirits: Julia Margaret Cameron and Joyce Tenneson will be released in celebration of these events.

The Portland Museum of Art welcomes this small group of Workshops friends and alumni free of charge. Space is very limited, and will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. Please RSVP before July 13 by emailing rsvp@theworkshops.com with “Tenneson” in the subject line. You will receive an email confirming space at the event.

Joyce leads her Creating the Photographic Book workshop July 26 – August 1.

The Workshops’ Annual Open House, featuring free family portraits, is set for Sunday, June 21 from 10AM – 2PM at our 70 Camden Street campus.

photo by Kendrick Disch
photo by Kendrick Disch

Since this year’s event falls on Father’s Day, why not stop by and pose for a new family portrait in the film Sound Stage? The community is invited for snacks and beverages under the dining tent and to tour the campus. Workshops faculty and staff will be on hand to answer questions about the school’s photography and filmmaking programs and facilities.

Campus tours are available throughout the summer on Thursday afternoons at 1PM.

Visit our website for more information on exhibitions, faculty presentations, and all free community events at the Workshops.

photo by Steve Sint

photo by Steve Sint

MAC Group, the United States distribution and marketing company for Sekonic meters, asked if they could tag along on a real wedding assignment and videotape Steve Sint while he photographed a bride’s portraits. Steve politely declined because he felt trying to simultaneously satisfy the demands of a bride’s portraits and Sekonic’s video crew might end in results that were detrimental to both. Instead he suggested an alternative; he offered to design and stage a bridal shoot just for them! He found a venue, designed the set, hired a florist, chose a model, rented a couture gown, accessorized it, hired a make-up and hair artist, shot the photographs, and made room for MAC Group’s video crew to do their thing. Unlike a real bridal shoot, he found getting to make all the creative choices made this assignment seem like a dream come true! Steve’s July 19 – 25 class, The Wedding Photographer, has been a popular choice at MMW for many summers. This year he’s introducing a second workshop Professional Portraiture for Profit July 12 – 18.

Sekonic and Steve are featured in several videos on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ31J58xp98

The Midcoast Maine community came out Thursday, May 28 to join MMC students and faculty in celebrating the graduation of the Professional Certificate Program’s class of 2009.
© Tim Broekema

photo by Tim Broekema

Over 220 moviegoers packed the historic Strand Theatre in nearby Rockland to view a range of narrative films completed by students in the their final trimester. Immediately following the screenings, everyone was invited to walk down Main Street for an exhibition of work by photography students at Asymmetrick Arts gallery. The photo programs’ dual disciplines of traditional darkroom and cutting-edge digital processes were well represented.

Several graduates will be staying in Rockport for the summer to join the Workshops team: Kevin Carragher, also an alum of the 7-week Workstudy program, will head-up the Post Production department, Nicole Marie and Kathleen Guill are photography program teaching assistants, and Lee Feller is a technician in the film department.

Visit the Student Galleries page of the MMC website to view the 2009 student films.

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