Workshop Questions and Answers

Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images © 2013

I’ve been answering a ton of questions about my upcoming MontanaFair workshop, which leads me to believe I didn’t do a very good job explaining it the first time.

So let me give this another try.

The workshop has three main parts. In the first part of the workshop we’ll look at workflow.

What do I want in my camera bag? What do I carry? How do I carry it? Which lens? What camera settings? What colorspace and what is a colorspace? What’s the difference between jpeg and RAW? Which one should I shoot in? How should my histogram look? What’s the best ways to get my files from my camera to my computer? Once I get them there, what do I do with them? Does this fanny pack make me look fat?

Except for the last one, I’ll answer all of these during the workshop.  For the last one, here you go.

If a woman asks, “No”, is always the right choice.

If a man asks, “Dude, really?” is the proper answer.

These are the easy questions, and I’ll give you the answers that work for me. You’ll use these answers to create a workflow which works best for you. Everyone is different, has different wants and desires. Your workflow should fit your needs.

This part of the workshop won’t be very long. I’ll explain my system and why I’ve made the workflow choices I have. It will only take about an hour of our time to go through this. This is helpful, because it gives us ideas on how to modify our current workflow and makes sure we’re all speaking the same language. Of course, finding the PERFECT workflow is one of those things that will only take us about the rest of our life to refine!

Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images © 2013

Part two of the workshop will focus on finding answers that aren’t readily available in a book.

Things like;

Okay, my photo credential got me through the front gate, now what do I do?

This is the question we’ll be working on through the next 80% of the workshop. This answer doesn’t come easy, and it’s something that every photographer struggles with regardless of their level of talent or experience.

We’ll work through this question both in the classroom and at the fair.

In the classroom, we’ll look at each other’s work. We’ll edit and critic our work together. We’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t. We’ll determine what techniques and situations were a success and which failed.

In the field, you’ll walk around the fair with me. I’ll point out specific situations which I think might make a photograph. I’ll show you how I approach people (and animals I’m guessing) to produce images that are candid, surprising and pleasing to the eye.

The fair is a photo-rich environment. I’m going to use this environment to help you answer the questions that always pop up. Like where to stand and when to push the button. Simply enough until you ask yourself. Why do I want to stand here and when should I push the button?

These are questions that are worth exploring and that’s why we’ll spend most of our time trying to answer them. Find these answers and you’ll be well on your way to making great images in every situation you find yourself in.

Kenneth Jarecke / Contact Press Images © 2013

The third part of the workshop gives us real-world motivation to improve our work.

The MontanaFair runs from August 9 through August 17. We’ll work together on August 9, 10, and 11, in the classroom and at the fair. Now, workshop participants will have access to the fair through August 17th. You can make pictures there as often as you like or whenever is most convenient.

On August 24, we’ll meet again. This will be an all day event. We’re going to edit and go through the work we’ve created at the fair. This day is designed to enhance and bring home the knowledge you’ve gained throughout your time making pictures at the fair.

This will be an important learning day.

At this time, we’ll also get an idea of what we’re going to submit for our show at the Toucan Gallery, which was our added motivation for learning and improving our photographs during the workshop.

The final edit, the submission of our work and the exhibition of our images will be the final 20% of the workshop. So if workflow was only 1% of the workshop, that means you’ll be agetting 101% of a workshop out of the deal.

That’s hard to beat.

I hope this answers most of your questions.

The goal of my MontanaFair Workshop is to help photographers say, in the most visually articulate way “I saw this. I found it interesting and I hope you do too.”

Contact me here: website (at) kennethjarecke.com

You can also contact the Toucan Gallery to reserve your spot.

MontanaFair Workshop

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Image © 2013

State fairs are wonderful places to make pictures. They’re the perfect training ground for photographers seeking to become better. The fair offers different events and fresh faces every day, but it also has its own daily rhythm. This gives a photographer with a near miss the opportunity to learn from their mistake(s), correct them, and try again.

If a photographer can make great pictures of people they don’t know, without posing them (or at times not even talking to them), I believe they can make great pictures anywhere.

I’ll be helping you raise your photography to a higher level at the MontanaFair in Billings starting August 9. Each workshop participant will be issued a special credential to the MontanaFair which will give them photo access for the duration of the fair. Students will work personally with me, both in the field and in the classroom. I’ll help you learn to recognize and capture interesting, unposed images on the fly.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Image © 2013

Our schedule is somewhat flexible, because we may want to take advantage of special photo opportunities or spend more time in the classroom.

Day 1 - August 9th (Friday)

At 1pm our group will meet at the Toucan Gallery at 2505 Montana Avenue in Billings. I’ll show images I’ve made in the past, from the MontanaFair and other situations. I’ll start with basics like digital workflow and how to get the most out of your photography equipment. We’ll look at street photography (which is in essence what we’re doing). I’ll describe how to recognize and approach a subject. I’ll explain how I identify situations that may lead to interesting images. Finally, we’ll set our goals for the workshop.

At 5pm we’ll head to the fair. I’ll find situations where I feel a photograph might happen. I’ll explain why I think so and describe specific reasons for my thoughts. We’ll work like this until we run out of light or energy, whichever happens first.

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Image © 2013

Day 2 - August 10th (Saturday)

At 7am we’ll meet at the fair. We’ll work until the morning light disappears.

At 1pm we’ll meet back at the Toucan and go through our work from Friday evening and Saturday morning. I’ll look at everyone’s images and make suggestions on how to make them better. This is a group event which will allow us to learn from one another.

At 5pm we’ll head back to the fair and work our butts off.

Note: This will be a long day, or how it’s known in the world of editorial photography, a normal day. Workshop participants will not be required to work past their comfort levels, rather they’ll be encouraged to take a break, eat some deep-fried something or other, and enjoy themselves. Photography and learning should always push you, but that doesn’t mean they also shouldn’t be fun!

Day 3 - August 11th (Sunday)

I’ll be at the fairgrounds at 7am. Whether you join me or not is up to you.

At 1pm we’ll meet at the Toucan for another grueling editing/therapy session.

At 5pm we’ll head back out to the fair grounds!

Day 4 through Day 9

From August 12 through 17 you’ll be on your own. You’ve got your credentials and your fellow workshop participants for support, and by now you should have learned the skills to make the kind of pictures you’re after. How hard you work during this time is completely up to you. I won’t be there, but I’m leaving you with the gift of motivation.

Because...

Kenneth Jarecke/Contact Press Image © 2013

Day 10 - August 24 (Saturday)

At 9am we’ll all meet at the Toucan. We’ll edit our MontanaFair work. My critique will be somewhat brutal, because our final selects will be submitted to the owners of the Toucan Gallery who have generously agreed to curate and exhibit our images. That’s where your extra motivation comes from. The best of our work will be hanging in the Toucan Gallery, matted and framed, for our family, friends and neighbors to see (yes, every workshop participant will be represented) and purchase (we can only hope).

August 31 - Our final prints will be submitted to Mark Sanderson and Allison O’Donnell, of the Toucan Gallery.

September 18 (Wednesday) - Opening night reception at the Toucan Gallery from 5pm until 8pm.

Note: Our print size will be uniform. The paper will be 17 x 22. The image size will be approximately 12 x 18. The cost and making of the prints are your responsibility. I can help you, maybe even produce some of the prints with you at my office. The gallery has graciously offered us a heavily discounted rate for matting and framing (but you can have this done elsewhere if you like). Equally gracious, the gallery will only take a 20% commission on print sales. Amazing, since normally galleries take no less than 50%.

The workshop fee is $695 and limited to twelve participants.

To reserve your spot contact me at,  "website(at)kennethjarecke.com".

I Can Haz That?

I thought they were going to release this last month, but no such luck.

Stop toying with us already and hand it over!

This is why all the Time/Life publications are now on the selling block. It is not about the people (left) working there, the archives, or the quality of content they can produce. All that stuff is meaningless to any serious potential buyer.

It's only about the branding. Putting the word "time" in red, or the word "life" in white surrounded by a red box on a delivery system like the one above (a Gizmodo mock-up btw).

That's the appeal.

The important thing to remember is that this gadget will come with an iTunes type of shopping cart in which people can buy the content you create. You don't need a big record label to sell your music on iTunes.

That's what I mean when I say photographers need to become "end-users" of their own work. So Steve, stop screwing around. We'd all like to get back to our jobs!

(Consider this an officially apology for that last sentence.)