Workshops
Guided by photographer Tillman Crane, explore Monhegan Island with your camera, capturing the ever-changing light on its unique landscapes, history, and the sea.
Dates:
Oct 6, 2024 - Oct 12, 2024
Levels:
All
Workshop Fee: $1895
Workshop Duration: Sunday-Saturday
Workshop Location: Travel workshop
Class Size: 6
Artists have been drawn by the light and landscape of Monhegan Island for over 150 years. Here is your opportunity for such an experience on this unique island location, available to only six photographers! With limited cell phone and internet service, you will be unfettered by distractions and at your own pace explore this beautiful and accessible island.
Arrival on Sunday by ferry gives time to begin exploring. Monday through Friday you will work on a project of your choosing. Everywhere is within walking distance and there is no rush to be anywhere, except when you want to be.
With over nine miles of trails along some of the highest seaside cliffs in Maine, the Monhegan Light, Cathedral Woods, beaches, coves, and headlands offer a variety of landscapes to capture your imagination! Expect to walk between 3 – 5 miles per day.
Please be advised that the terrain on the island varies. Please review this page. Participants need good hiking shoes and should carry their own water bottles. We highly recommend exploring the island with others. Please print or download this map.
This workshop is about seeing, thinking, and creating your body of work. Return to the same subject several times during the day or over the week and see how it changes. More importantly, see how your reaction to it changes. The light will always be different, the sea is ever-changing, and your understanding of a location will become more profound as you experience it regularly.
Utilize this opportunity to get away from schedules and assignments, focus on your vision, and learn what you can create that adds to the conversation of generations of artists before you.
I believe that learning about the history of a location aids in making better and more informed images. I expect you will research the history of the art created by an extraordinary list of artists who have visited and lived on the island.
Equipment
All cameras and formats are welcome, including iPhones! Your equipment should include, but not be limited to, camera and lenses, tripod, laptop computer and file management software, cards, batteries, chargers, connecting cables, and hard/thumb drives. It is expected that you can use a color management system, edit your work, and export files to a thumb drive. If you choose to shoot film, please note that processing is not available at this workshop.
Please note: There is minimal internet and Wi-Fi on the island. Do not count on cloud-based editing suites.
Schedule
Please plan to arrive in time for Sunday dinner for introductions and a brief orientation to the island. (Departure is Saturday, October 12, 2024).
After this, you will set your own schedule to explore and find your subject. I will be available each day for individual reviews and conversations about your work in progress. I expect that throughout the week in this unique environment, you will feel excited, bewildered, lost, and renewed. This environment has the potential to let you see deeper and discover yourself making new images in the finite domain the island provides.
Lodging
Lodging is at the Monhegan House. We have booked six (6) rooms at the Monhegan House. There are no ensuite rooms at this facility. Private bathrooms and showers are down the hall from the rooms. Room includes Breakfast and Dinner. Lunch will be on your own.
Prices range from $155 to $307; breakfast and dinner are included.
Arrive Sunday, October 6, and depart Saturday, October 12, 2024.
Students are responsible for booking directly with the Monhegan House.
Call 207-594-7983 and tell them you are part of the Tillman Crane/Maine Media Monhegan Light Workshop.
Meals
Breakfast: Some may want to shoot sunrise, while others sleep in. Included with your room, no reservations needed.
Lunch: On your own. Available at one of the local shops
Dinner: Tillman makes a reservation for the group at the hotel each night.
Transportation
Ferry service to the island is available from Boothbay Harbor, Port Clyde, and New Harbor. You should arrange your departure and return from one of these three services. All have parking for cars while you are on the island.
Port Clyde: https://monheganboat.com/
Boothbay Harbor: https://topsideinn.com/blog/monhegan-ferry-in-boothbay/
New Harbor: https://hardyboat.com/
Weather
This time of year, temperatures range from the mid-50s to the mid-60s. It will feel cooler because the wind will be coming off the water. The sun rises at about 6:15 a.m. and sets around 6:45 p.m.
I hope the idea of creating new images in this beautiful environment excites you as much as it does me. I look forward to working with you to make those images a reality.
Registration is through the Maine Media Workshops. For any photography related questions, please contact me ([email protected]).
– Tillman Crane
More images from previous workshops:
All images: ©Tillman Crane
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Instructor: Tillman Crane
Tillman Crane’s distinctive platinum photographs combine 19th century materials with a 21st century aesthetic. From photojournalist to teacher and artist he has honed his technique and mastered his craft over the past 35 years. He made his first platinum print in 1987 and since 2001 his work has been exclusively shown as platinum prints. He works with 5x7, 8x10 and 5x12 view cameras.Today’s images focus on the unique sense of place he finds in the ordinary, everyday locations where he lives and teaches. He has published four limited edition books: Tillman Crane/Structure (2001), Touchstones (2005), Odin Stone(2008), and A Walk Along the Jordan (2009). For the discriminating collector, Tillman collaborates using images of your choice to create one-of-a-kind handmade books of platinum prints.
